Indigenous weather forecasting by Gujii pastoralists in Ethiopia

The paper “Indigenous weather forecasting among Gujii pastoralists in southern Ethiopia: towards monitoring drought” by Mekuria Guye et al, published in Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice (2022), investigates the use of indigenous weather forecasting (IWF) methods by Gujii pastoralists in southern Ethiopia to forecast drought. Data on IWF were collected through household surveys, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Meteorological data were used to determine the frequency of drought events in the area. The study revealed that pastoralists have used a variety of weather-forecasting indicators, such as reading livestock intestines, observing animal and insect behaviour, and interpreting star and moon alignment. However, IWF is gradually declining because of the growing generation gap and external factors such as religion, technology and formal education. To improve pastoralists’ prediction capacity, the two sources of knowledge should be integrated.

Posted on 27 January 2023 in Pastoralism & Climate Change, Pastoralism & Natural Resources