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Humans and Reindeer on the Move, this special issue of Nomadic Peoples. carries a challenging intent of purpose. It aims to give a state-of-the-art, comparative perspective of reindeer management spread around the circumpolar rim. Reindeer-related livelihoods encompass the topic in such diverse and multiple ways that movement becomes not only the overarching 'glue" of this special issue; it also invites us, together with the authors, to contribute theoretically to our understanding of the move. The title 'Humans and Reindeer on the Move" stands therefore for a theoretical framework in several dimensions. Movement of humans and reindeer is understood by the authors of this volume in multiple ways including the literal sense, namely migrations of pastoral nomads with reindeer, but also as the constant move between engaging with wild and domestic reindeer. Movetnent is also the transition from a Soviet planned economy to a market-oriented one. which finds expression in the movement of goods and gifts within various spheres of exchange. Finally, we can attempt to clarify the importance and essence of movement in pastoralists' minds, as compared with categories of mobility created by non-pastoralists. All these multiple facets are covered by the contributors to this volume, while we focus in this introduction on the move between what we will call symbiotic domestication in human-reindeer relations, and rationalisation leading to full resource use at the cost of intimate human-animal relations.The contributions, all thoroughly grounded in fieldwork data, were carefully chosen to provide such a broad regional distribution. However, more than this, our reason for focus on reindeer-based economies and livelihoods was precisely to highlight important variables of significance in the study of pastoralism in general. We maintain that the human-reindeer relationship, or rather its various changeable relationships, pinpoint determinants of principle in the development and practice of all forms of pastoralism (and other humananimal-based partnerships or modes of exploitation). These principles might not be apparent through the study of reindeer systems of livelihood alone, but they certainly shine forth prominently there, because of the unique spread over wild, feral, and domestic conditions of the species Rangifer tarandiis, and the many associations these different populations have with humans -it might well be that some of these Rangifer populations are exploited as objects of the hunt and others of domestic herding by the satne people at the same time (see. for example, Ventsel, this volume). The reindeer-human connection thus brings together a remarkable laboratory for the study of key determinants in many of 6

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two enthusiasts of Saami ethno'politics, reindeer pastoralism and northern studies in general, have ensconced themselves at the latter's home in Stockholm. Their mutual project assignment from the journal Nomadic Peoples is to come aw~y with the makings of an interview article featuring Robert, and toward this end the table at which the two white-haired anthropologists sit is strewn with papers and books on herding, and cluttered with cassette tapes, microphone, recorder and a freshly opened bottle of Glenfiddich. It is evening, and Robert, recently arrived from Troms0, Norway, and bursting with the latest developments in Norwegian Saami affairs, is flatly disinterested in any mellow career summation. For him this is a glorious opportunity to talk reindeer and Saami affairs. In fact, for the both of them the pleasures of field memories and herding comparisons prove irresistible, but in the back of a mind whose acuity decreases with the Glenfiddich, Hugh knows he must also coax from Robert some basic reflection on the why, how and wherewithal of his pastoral engagement.