Transhumance is a type of mobile pastoralism in which grazing livestock are moved (droved) in herds seasonally between several fixed pastures, in contrast to sedentary pastoralism, where the livestock remain all year round on the same (typically a fenced) area of land, known as a ranch; and nomadic pastoralism, where the livestock are moved irregularly or randomly among different regions in search of any usable pastures. In montane regions, it implies livestock movement between the higher-altitude alpine steppes in summer and the alluvial grasslands in the lowland valleys in winter (i.e. vertical transhumance or alpine transhumance). In contrast, seasonal movement across the same plains or plateaus (i.e. horizontal transhumance) is typically done due to limited forage yield from a single patch of pasture and/or to avoid overgrazing, and is more susceptible to disruption by climatic, economic or political change as with any cross-region livelihoods.
In transhumance, generally only the livestock participate in mass travel, while only a small number of human professionals who directly manage the herds (i.e. the herders) will accompany the livestock's movement and dwell in camps or seasonally used huts/lodges at the grazing sites. This is in contrast to nomadic pastoralists, whose entire pastoral community tend to migrate with their herds in portable shelters such as tents and yurt. Most of the human population involved with the transhumance economy will live in sedentary homes, typically in permanent settlements, and they only come out to visit the herds and help the herders when needs arise. With the rise of modern precision livestock farming technologies, even some herders can work from home using GPS tracking, virtual fencing and agricultural drones, and only need to perform routine (typically daily) or emergency field visits via motor vehicles to personally tend the herds and then return home after the work is done.
Traditional or fixed transhumance has occurred throughout the inhabited world, particularly Europe and western Asia. It is often important to pastoralist societies, as the dairy products of transhumance flocks and herds (milk, butter, yogurt and cheese) may form much of the diet of such populations. In many languages there are words for the higher summer pastures, and frequently these words have been used as place names: e.g. hafod in Wales, shieling in Scotland, or Alm or Alp in Germany, Austria and German-speaking regions of Switzerland and Italy.
Etymology and definition The word transhumance comes from French and derives from the Latin words "across" and "ground". Literally, it means crossing the land. Transhumance developed on every inhabited continent. Although there are substantial cultural and technological variations, the underlying practices for taking advantage of remote seasonal pastures are similar linguistically.
Khazanov categorizes nomadic forms of pastoralism into five groups as follows: "pure pastoral nomadism", "semi-nomadic pastoralism", "semi-sedentary pastoralism", "distant-pastures husbandry" and "seasonal transhumance".Anatoly M. Khazanov, Nomads and the Outside World (2nd Edition), University of Wisconsin Press, 1994, pp 19-23, Eickelman does not make a distinction between transhumant pastoralism and seminomadism, but he clearly distinguishes between nomadic pastoralism and seminomadism.Dale F. Eickelman, The Middle East and Central Asia: An Anthropological Approach, Prentice Hall, 2002, p. 11,
In prehistory
There is evidence that transhumance was practised world-wide prior to recorded history: in Europe, isotope studies of livestock bones suggest that certain animals were moved seasonally.
The prevalence of various groups of Hill people around the world suggests that indigenous knowledge regarding transhumance must have developed and survived over generations to allow for the acquisition of sufficient skills to thrive in mountainous regions. Most drovers are conversant with subsistence agriculture, pastoralism as well as forestry and frozen water and fast stream management.
Europe
Alps
Balkans
In the Balkans, Albanians, Greek Sarakatsani, Eastern Romance (Romanians, Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians and Istro-Romanians) and Turkish Yörük peoples traditionally spent summer months in the mountains and returned to lower plains in the winter. When the area was part of the Austro-Hungary and Ottoman Empires, borders between Greece, Albania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslavia were relatively unobstructed. In summer, some groups went as far north as the Balkan Mountains, and they would spend the winter on warmer plains in the vicinity of the Aegean Sea.
The Morlach or Karavlachs were a population of Eastern Romance shepherds ("ancestors" of the Istro-Romanians) who lived in the Dinaric Alps (western Balkans in modern use), constantly migrating in search of better pastures for their sheep flocks. But as national states appeared in the area of the former Ottoman Empire, new state borders were developed that divided the summer and winter habitats of many of the pastoral groups. These prevented easy movement across borders, particularly at times of war, which have been frequent.
Poland In Poland transhumance is known as redyk, and is the ceremonial departure of shepherds with their flocks of sheep and shepherd dogs to graze in the mountain pastures (spring redyk), as well as their return from grazing (autumn redyk). In the local mountain dialect, autumn redyk is called uosod, which comes from the Polish word (ôsawiedź), meaning “to return sheep to individual farms”. There is also a theory that it comes from the word uozchod (ôzchod), which means “the separation of sheep from individual gazdōwek (farms)”. In this word, there may have been a complete loss of the pronunciation of ch, which in the Podhale dialect (Poland) in this type of positions is pronounced as a barely audible h (so-called sonorous h), similarly to the word schować, which in the highlander language is pronounced as sowa. In the Memoir of the Tatra Society from 1876, the way in which this is done is described: "[...] they herd sheep from the entire village to one agreed place, give them to the shepherds and shepherds one by one, then mix them together and count the number of the whole herd (flock). This is what they call "the reading". The reading is done in such a way that one juhas, holding the chaplet in his hand, puts one bead for each ten sheep counted. The second one takes one sheep from the flock and, as he lets it out of the fenced barracks, counts: one, two, three, etc. up to ten, and after each ten he calls out: "desat"
The leading of the sheep was preceded by magical procedures that were supposed to protect them from bad fate and from being enchanted. For this purpose, bonfires were lit and sheep were led through the fire. It began with the resurrection of the "holy fire" in the kolyba (shepherd's hut). Custom dictated that from that day on, it was to be kept burning continuously by the main shepherd – the shepherd. Next, the sheep were led around a small chevron or spruce tree stuck in the ground – the so-called mojka (which was supposed to symbolize the health and strength of everyone present in the hall) and they were fumigated with burning herbs and a połazzka brought to the sałasz. This was intended to cleanse them of diseases and prevent misfortune. Then the flock was herded around it three times, which was intended to concentrate the sheep into one group and prevent individual animals from escaping. Baca's task was to pull the sheep behind him, helping himself with salt which he sprinkled on the flock. With the help of dogs and whistles, the Juhasi encouraged the herd and made sure that the sheep followed the shepherd. Sheep that fell outside the circle boded ill. It was believed that the number of sheep that fell outside the circle would die in the coming season.
The stay in the pasture (hala) begins on St. Wojciech's Day (23 April), and ends on Michaelmas Day (29 September).
This method of sheep grazing is a relic of transhumant agriculture, which was once very common in the Carpathians. (Carpathian transhumance agriculture).
In the pastoral culture in Poland, Redyk was perceived as the greatest village festival. Farmers who gave their sheep to a shepherd for the entire season, before grazing in the pastures, listed them (most often by marking them with notches on the shepherd's stick, stick or beam), marked them and placed them in a basket made of tynin. In the Memoir of the Tatra Society from 1876, the way in which this is done is described: "[...] they herd sheep from the entire village to one agreed place, give them to the shepherds and shepherds one by one, then mix them together and count the number of the whole herd (flock).
The sheep of all the shepherds were gathered in one place at the foot of the mountains, and then one large herd was driven to the shepherds hut. The entrance to the hala was also particularly emphasized: there was shooting, honking and shouting all the way. This was intended to drive away evil spirits from their animals and to keep the entire herd together.
At the end of the ceremony, there was music and dancing together. The musicians played traditional instruments: gajdas and violins. To the accompaniment of music, the Sałashniks performed the oldest individual dance – the owiedziok, the owczarza, the kolomajka, the swinszczok, the masztołka.
Redyk included many local practices, rituals and celebrations. In modern time it is mainly a part of local traditional entertainment. The modern spring and autumn Redyk (sheep drive) has the character of a folkloric spectacle addressed to locals and tourists, but also to the highlanders themselves, who to identify with their traditions. Sometimes common redyk was organised also in Czechia, Slovakia and Romania. In Poland, the organisers was the Transhumant Pastoral Foundation.
Britain Wales In most parts of Wales, farm workers and sometimes the farmer would spend the summer months at a hillside summer house, or (), where the livestock would graze. During the late autumn the farm family and workers would drive the flocks down to the valleys and stay at the main house or ().
This system of transhumance has generally not been practised for almost a century; it continued in Snowdonia after it ceased elsewhere in Wales, and remnants of the practice can still be found in rural farming communities in the region to this day. Both "Hafod" and "Hendref" survive in Wales as place names and house names and in one case as the name of a raw milk cow cheese (Hafod). Today, cattle and sheep that summer on many hill farms are still transported to lowland winter pastures, but by truck rather than being driven overland.
Scotland In many hilly and mountainous areas of Scotland, agricultural workers spent summer months in bothies or shielings ( or in Scottish Gaelic). Major drovers' roads in the eastern part of Scotland include the Cairnamounth, Elsick Mounth and Causey Mounth. This practice has largely stopped but was practised within living memory in the Hebrides and in the Scottish Highlands. Today much transhumance is carried out by truck, with upland flocks being transported under agistment to lower-lying pasture during winter.
England Evidence exists of transhumance being practised in England since at least medieval times, from Cornwall in the south-west, through to the north of England. In the Lake District, hill sheep breeds, such as the Herdwick and Swaledale are moved between moor and valley in summer and winter. This led to a trait and system known as "hefting", whereby sheep and flock remain in the farmer's allotted area (heaf) of the commons, which is still practised.
Ireland