Cultural Group Selection and the Evolution of Reindeer Herding in Norway

Næss, Marius Warg

doi:10.1007/s10745-020-00158-0

Cited by 6 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…South-Trøndelag and Hedmark pasture area is the southernmost Sami reindeer pasture area in Norway, and herding is distributed among five different reindeer districts. Also, there is a common winter pasture area -Femundshared by two districts (Fjellheim 1999;Gundersen and Rysstad 2013; for more details concerning the North-South designation, see Riseth, Johansen, and Vatn 2004;Naess and Bårdsen 2015;Naess 2020).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sami cooperative herding group: the siida system from past to present

2021

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The Sami siida has been described as an organizational institution tailored to meet the dynamic demands of reindeer herding. Historically, it has been characterized as a relatively small group based on kinship. It was formed around a core sibling group and distinguished by a norm of equality where herding partners were equals regardless of social status. Moreover, it was informally led by a wealthy and skilfull person whose authority was primarily related to herding. One of the critical aspects of the siida was flexibility: composition and size changed according to the season, and members were free to join and leave the groups as they saw fit. This comparative study of the current status of the siida system in the Northern and Southern parts of Norway shows that the main difference between the historical representation of the siida system and today concerns a loss of flexibility. Only two herders reported to have changed summer and winter siida since 2000. Furthermore, while the siida continues to be family-based, leadership is becoming more formal. Nevertheless, decisionmaking continues to be influenced by concerns of equality.

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Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sami cooperative herding group: the siida system from past to present

2021

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“…Finally, siidas are grouped into districts: formal administration units defined by the Government (cf. Naess andBårdsen 2013, Naess andBårdsen 2015).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…South-Trøndelag and Hedmark pasture area is the southernmost reindeer pasture area in Norway and herding is distributed among five different reindeer districts. Also, there is a common winter pasture area-Femund-shared by two districts (Fjellheim 1999, Gundersen andRysstad 2013, for more details concerning the North-South designation, see Naess andBårdsen 2015, Riseth et al 2004, Naess in press).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is almost impossible for pastoral households to maintain production without cooperative labour investment and mutual help from other households (Khazanov 1994). Nomadic pastoralists thus form cooperative herding groups to solve day-to-day problems concerning herding (Naess 2012, Naess 2019.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The primary kin group consists of several separate and independent families closely related through ties of kinship, reciprocal relations and common residence (Khazanov 1994:128). 1 This points to an essential characteristic of nomadic social organisation-that nomadic pastoralists form cooperative herding groups, consisting of several households, with the explicit aim of sharing and exchanging labour (Naess 2012, Naess 2019, Naess 2020. A prime example of this is the siida system among Saami reindeer herders in Norway.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Saami cooperative herding group: the siida system from past to present

Næss¹,

Fisktjønmo²,

Bårdsen³

2020

Preprint

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The Saami siida has been described as an organisational institution tailored to meet the dynamic demands of reindeer herding. Historically, it has been characterised as a relatively small group based on kinship. It was formed around a core sibling group and distinguished by a norm of equality where herding partners were equals regardless of social status. Moreover, it was informally led by a wealthy and skilful person whose authority was primarily related to herding. One of the critical aspects of the siida was that it was flexible: composition and size changed according to the season, and members were free to join and leave the groups as they saw fit. Comparing the current status of the siida system in the Northern and Southern parts of Norway results from this study show that the main difference between the historical representation of the siida system and today concerns a loss of siida flexibility. Only two herders reported to have changed summer- and winter siida since 2000. Furthermore, while the siida continues to be family-based, leadership is becoming more formal. Nevertheless, while leadership is being formalised, decision-making continues to be influenced by concerns of equality.

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The Relative Importance of “Cooperative Context” and Kinship in Structuring Cooperative Behavior

Fisktjønmo

Næss

Bårdsen

2021

Hum Nat

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Kin relations have a strong theoretical and empirical basis for explaining cooperative behavior. Nevertheless, there is growing recognition that context—the cooperative environment of an individual—also shapes the willingness of individuals to cooperate. For nomadic pastoralists in Norway, cooperation among both kin and non-kin is an essential predictor for success. The northern parts of the country are characterized by a history of herder-herder competition exacerbating between-herder conflict, lack of trust, and subsequent coordination problems. In contrast, because of a history of herder-farmer competition, southern Norway is characterized by high levels of between-herder coordination and trust. This comparative study investigates the relative importance of “cooperative context” and kinship in structuring cooperative behavior using an experimental gift game. The main findings from this study were that in the South, a high level of cooperation around an individual pushes gifts to be distributed evenly among other herders. Nevertheless, kinship matters, since close kin give and receive larger gifts. In contrast, kinship seems to be the main factor affecting gift distribution in the North. Herders in the North are also concerned with distributing gifts equally, albeit limiting them to close kin: the level of intragroup cooperation drives gifts to be distributed evenly among other closely related herders. The observed regional contrasts in cooperative decisions fit with the different historical levels of conflict and trust in the two regions: whereas herders in the South are affected by both cooperative context and kinship, kinship seems to be the main determinant of cooperation in the North.

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Cultural Group Selection and the Evolution of Reindeer Herding in Norway

Cited by 6 publications

References 39 publications

The Sami cooperative herding group: the siida system from past to present

The Sami cooperative herding group: the siida system from past to present

The Saami cooperative herding group: the siida system from past to present

The Relative Importance of “Cooperative Context” and Kinship in Structuring Cooperative Behavior

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