Paper short abstract:

This paper focuses on changing modes of transport, from horse-drawn wagons to motorised trailer homes. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, it explores the intersections of lanes and motorways, and the impacts of modern vehicles and transport infrastructures on traditional patterns of nomadism.

Paper long abstract:

Diverse ways of travelling, from horse-drawn wagons to motorised vehicles, and the modification of landscapes as a result of improved transport infrastructures have had a dramatic effect on the lives of nomadic populations.

Based on ethnographic fieldwork, this paper explores the transformative powers of vehicles and transport infrastructures from a nomadic perspective. It describes traditional modes of transport, and shows how the advent of motorised vehicles have positive and negative impacts on mobility, and on individual and group relationships with established lanes and tracks. These tracks and lanes resonated with familial and community relationships and demonstrated long-standing links to particular landscapes.

Motorised vehicles have greatly enhanced an individual's ability to travel greater distances, and promoted greater cultural, social and economic innovations. Paradoxically, the modernisation of transport infrastructures have led to loss of mobility for some individuals and groups. The control and restriction of geographic space, growing economic prosperity and infrastructural developments have influenced concepts of living space and ideological representations of nomadism. This study also examines issues of marginalisation, and demonstrates how transport infrastructures affect different communities.