No Fixed Address: Nomads and the Fate of the Planet

Quarterly Essay #24

by Robyn Davidson

In every religion I can think of, there exists some variation on the theme of abandoning the settled life and walking one's way to godliness. The Hindu Sadhu, leaving behind family and wealth to live as a beggar; the pilgrims of Compostela walking away their sins; the circumambulators of the Buddhist kora; the Hajj. What could this ritual journeying be but symbolic, idealised versions of the foraging life? By taking to the road we free ourselves of baggage, both physical and psychological. We walk back to our original condition, to our best selves.

After many thousands of years, the nomads are disappearing, swept away by modernity. Robyn Davidson has spent a good part of her life with nomadic cultures. In this fascinating and moving essay she evokes a vanishing way of life, and notes a paradox: that even as classical nomads are disappearing, hypermobility has become the hallmark of contemporary life. In a time of environmental peril, she argues, the nomadic way with nature still offers valuable lessons. No Fixed Address is part lament, part evocation and part exhilarating speculative journey.

Genres: Nonfiction, Essays, Travel, Australia, Environment, Politics

128 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2006

About the author

Robyn Davidson was born on a cattle property in Queensland, Australia. She went to Sydney in the late sixties, then spent time studying in Brisbane before moving to Alice Springs, where the events of this book begin. Since then, she has traveled extensively, living in London, New York, and India. In the early 1990s, she migrated with and wrote about nomads in northwestern India. She is now based in Melbourne, but spends several months a year in the Indian Himalayas.

Reviews

[Kylie Maslen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stunning essay looking at what we can learn from nomadic traditions in a world of privilege and hyper mobility.

[Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't grasp where this was going until the conclusion crept up. The short format in this instance was shapeless and somewhat vague.

[Ma · Rating 5 out of 5]

"It was when we settled that we became strangers in a strange land, and wandering took on the quality of banishment."

Heart beating fast, head buzzing with new ideas, enthusiasm soaring up. What is happening? Oh, nothing, I'm just reading some of Robyn Davidson's prose (my spirit animal). This very short, very wise essay on nomadism brings more than you expect. Aboriginal Dreaming, the rise of agriculture, global warming, hypermobility. It's all here. Clever.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of a mix between an op ed piece and a college essay, but with no sources. I would recommend ”An Unnatural Order" by Jim Mason to delve deeper into the topic of how agriculture changed humanity.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative paper.
Interesting read.
A bit depressing really when you contemplate how problems have grown and increased since this paper was presented in 2006 but still relevant

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting essay on nomadism. Ultimately pretty depressing, because the takeaways seem to be 1) the move from nomadism to settlement & agriculture was where it all went wrong and 2) there's no way to go back. It did make me think about The Dispossessed and other Le Guin stories, and I wonder, now, that she hasn't written about a utopian planet where the population remained in the nomadic stage. Or a planet that was colonized by people who don't settle it per se, but remain nomads on its surface. (Or maybe she has done and I just haven't read it yet.)

I also realized that I know basically zero about the culture of indigenous Australians, and they are FASCINATING. According to this (Australian) author, they don't think about time in a linear manner, and also there is this concept of the "dreaming"/"Dreamtime" which is . . . I am unable to describe it here, but it's . . . well, very interesting. And difficult around which to wrap one's (Western) mind. I definitely want to read more about aboriginal culture & mysticism.

[Erika · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am finding the 'Short Blacks' books tend to be either a short and sweet glimpse leaving you wanting more, or an impenetrable rant as the author tries to fit an entire philosophy into 40-50 pages.

This one crams a lot into its 52 pages, including but not limited to nomadism, hunter gather lifestyles, past civilisations, agriculture, Aboriginal culture and the Dreaming, deforestation, Nepal...
They are really weighty themes. It's a lot to take in.
While I won't personally be taking up a hunter gatherer lifestyle as seen in the year 10,000BC (and arguably - can any of us, now?), I found the discussions of Aboriginal culture to be very insightful.

[Timmy Fearn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very quick well written read in which the exploration of connections between the nomadic lifestyle and humans health and balance with nature is introduced. Thought provoking with angles of perspective that are unique, the author attains a surprising depth in this vignette.

[SP · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learnt more about the spiritual side of the Aboriginal people in the short time I read this book than anything else I have read or seen on a documentary. I totally wasn't expecting what I got from the content of this book. However, I'm very glad I read it, highly recommended.

[A. C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant commentary

A brilliant commentary on Aboriginal consciousness, the transition of hunter gather nomadic) society to agriculture, and the new nomads of the age of anti-naturism.