A) Sometimes people form a group because they are citizens of one country, e.g. Indians or Americans.

B) Sometimes they form a group because of their common culture, way of life and language, e.g. the Aborigines and the Bedouins.

*Such groups are often called ethnic groups. Ethnic groups need not all being to one country.

• Tatars- these Turkic-speaking people were once nomads who traveled across the Asian and Russian steppes with their families and herds of cattle and sheep. Most of them are now Muslims. They inhabit parts of many countries like Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, China and Kazakhstan.
• San- these people were, and many of them still are, nomadic hunter-gatherers of the Kalahari Desert in Africa. They are generally short, possess only what they can carry and use poisoned arrows to hunt. They have a rich folklore, language and art.
• Gonds – these people form an ethnic group in central India. They are mostly Hindu. They had a small but powerful kingdom in Madhya Pradesh in the 18th century. Their livelihood is dependent of farming, hunting and fishing.
• Bedouins – these are nomads belonging to the deserts of the Middle East. They are devout Muslims. Camel and sheep breeding is their main livelihood. These people are divided into different tribes with a sheikh at the head.
• Sami- these peoples have inhabited the Scandinavian region for thousands of years. Traditionally they have lived by fishing, hunting, boat buildings and reindeer herding. Most of them now live in Norway, but many also live in Sweden, Finland and Russia.
• Aborigines- these people are the original inhabitants of Australia. Their traditional way of life was hunting and food gathering. They supposed to have come here about 40,000 years ago from Asia.
• Inuits – the name of these people means `the people who are alive at this time’. They are often called `Eskimos’, a name which they think is insulting. They are supposed to have come to North America from Asia thousands of years ago. They came over the Bering Land Bridge, which is now covered by the sea. The harsh cold does not allow agriculture, so they traditionally depending n hunting.
• Gypsies – these nomadic people are supposed to have traveled from north- west India to many countries of the world. They have been persecuted on many occasions. They usually travel in caravans and make a living by doing different things like metal working of horse dealing. They are famous for their music and dance, and the women for fortune telling.

• Written by madugundu krishna.
• In category Customs and Culture.
• 15 years ago.

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