ABSTRACT
The following discussion is based on field research conducted among Sheikhanzai pastoral nomads of north-west Afghanistan in the spring and summer of 1977. My objective in this research was to investigate systems of belief, ritual, and cultural values and to demonstrate their effects on patterns of economic activity and ecological adaptation. Such an investigation is novel in studies on pastoralism because of the attention devoted here to ideological aspects of adaptation and because of the apparently uncharacteristic religiosity of this population of pastoral nomads. In this discussion, after presenting a descriptive summary of aspects of Sheikhanzai society and culture, I will focus my attention on how the Islamic, Afghan, and nomadic values of the Sheikhanzai influenced their participation in the programs of the Herat Livestock Development Corporation during the period of my investigations.
