Abstract

ABSTRACT

This research project looks at the current state of nomadic life style taking comparisons from global nomadic cultures and those currently living within the South West of England. By analysing the predominant values of transient communities and the reasons for which such life style choices are made. The various findings ranging from commercial to more ideological reasons are then explored through an ethnographic interpretation of my own life style and opinions with regard to the theoretical concepts identified within the research. The research was particularly useful in exploring the representation of travelling communities and revealed that the ideology behind a transient existence was not as detached as previously thought. The tendency towards negative representation within the media is subjective and lacks distinction. This research found that in reality there is diversity within the travelling community and this lack of understanding, due mainly to the reclusive nature of the communities, has resulted in stereotypical assumptions which in many cases lack sufficient evidence to the contrary. The established ‘us and them’ mentality has drawn invalidated conclusions that suggest travellers hold more radical and different opinions within their belief systems, whereas this research would suggest that the ideology expressed by various forms of nomadic people is not too dissimilar to that of the wider accepted society. It is however due to circumstance and cultural conditioning that these people maintain their way of life through secretive means which is a direct result of such misrepresentations. The research concludes that, other than the relation with space and land, the ideology and dominant beliefs of nomadic communities is almost identical to our own.