'Transhumance' is a term with two accepted usages:
A seter in
Gudbrandsdal,
Norway. It is above tree line in mountains and is used for summer pasture.
★ Older sources use 'transhumance' for vertical seasonal
livestock movement, typically to higher
pastures in summer and to lower valleys in winter. Herders have a permanent home, typically in valleys. Only
herds and a subset of people necessary to tend them travel. This is termed ''fixed transhumance'' below.
★ Some recent studies consider
nomadism, where livestock move to follow
grazing over considerable distances following set
seasonal patterns (with a whole family of herders living in temporary shelters which move with herds all year round), a form of transhumance. This is termed ''nomadic transhumance'' below.
Traditional or fixed transhumance, in which livestock ascend to mountain pastures in summer and descend to relatively warm areas in the valleys, foothills, plains or desert fringe in winter, occurs throughout the world, including
Scandinavia,
Caucasus,
Morocco,
France,
Italy,
Romania,
Bulgaria,
Greece,
Spain,
Turkey,
Switzerland,
Georgia and
Lesotho. It is also practiced amongst more nomadic
Sami people of
Scandinavia. Transhumance is based on a difference of climate between mountains (where herds stay during the summer) and lowlands (where they remain winter). Its importance to
pastoralist societies cannot be overstated.
Milk,
butter and
cheese —
dairy products of transhumance — often form a basis for a local population's diet.
Fixed transhumance
In the past transhumance was widespread throughout Europe. In many areas — such as the Isle of
Lewis, and the
Highlands of
Scotland, where agricultural workers spent summer months in
bothies[1] — it has faded out, but was practiced within living memory. Today much transhumance is carried out by
truck.
Balkans
In
Balkans, the
Sarakatsani,
Aromanians and
Yörüks traditionally spent summer months in the mountains and returned to lower plains in the winter. As national states appeared in a former domain of the
Ottoman empire, new state borders came to separate summer and winter habitats of many of the pastoral groups. However, until the middle of the 20th century borders between
Greece,
Albania,
Bulgaria and
Yugoslavia were relatively unobstructed. In summer, some groups went as far north as the
Balkan mountains while winter they would spend in warmer plains in vicinity of the
Aegean sea.
Scandinavia
In
Scandinavia, transhumance is practiced to this day, although arrival of motorized vehicles has changed its character. The 'seter' is the term for a common mountain or forest pasture used in the summer for transhumance and a mountain cabin which was used as a summer residence. In summer (usually late June),
livestock is moved to a mountain farm, often quite distant from a home farm, preserving
meadows in valleys for use as
hay. Livestock were typically tended for summer by girls and younger women, who milked and made cheese.
Bulls usually remain at the home farm. As autumn approaches, once grazing is in short supply, livestock are returned to a home farm.
In
Sweden, this system was predominantly used in
Värmland,
Dalarna,
Härjedalen,
Jämtland,
Hälsingland,
Medelpad and
Ångermanland.
Due to Norway's highly mountainous nature, it was common to most regions in Norway. "The
Gudbrandsdal area includes lateral valleys such as
Gausdal,
Heidal,
Vinstradal, and
Ottadal. That area comprises lowland parishes 200 m above sea-level and mountain parishes 800 m above sea-level, fertile soil in the main valley and barren summits in Rondane and Dovrefjell. Forests surround those farms, but higher up, woods give way to a treeless mountain
plateau. This is the ''seterfjell'', or summer farm region, once of vital importance both as summer pastureland and for haymaking” (Reference: Welle-Strand).
While previously many farms had their own seter, today it is more usual for several farmers to share a modernized common seter (''fellesseter''). Most of those old seters have been left to decay or are used as cabins.
The name for the common mountain pasture in most Scandinavian languages derives from the
old Norse term 'setr'. In (
Norwegian) the term is 'sæter' or 'seter'. In (
Swedish) the term 'säter' is used. The place name appears in
Sweden in several forms ''Säter'' and ''Sätra'' and as a suffix: -''säter'', -''sätra'', -''sätt'' and -''sättra''. Those names appear extensively over Sweden with a centre in the
Mälaren basin and in
Östergötland. In most of Sweden, it used to mean "forest pasture at a distance from the settlement", whereas it in western Sweden meant "mountain pasture".
The Pyrenees
Transhumance in the
Pyrenees involves relocation of livestock (cows, sheep, horses) to high mountains for summer months, because farms in the lowland are too small to support a larger herd all year round. Their mountain period starts in late May and early June, and ends in early October. Until the 1970s transhumance concerned mainly dairy cows, and cheesemaking was important activity. In some regions up until this century, nearly all members of a family decamped to higher mountains with their cows, living in rudimentary stone cabins. That system, which evolved during the
Middle Ages, lasted into the 20th century, but broke down under pressure from
industrialization with concomitant depopulation of countryside.
The Alps
The traditional economy of the
Alps was based upon rearing cattle. Seasonal migration between valley and high pastures was critical in feeding an increased number of cattle and supporting a higher human population. That practice has shaped a lot of landscape in the Alps, as without it, most areas below 2000 m would be forests.
While tourism and industry contribute today much to Alpine economy, seasonal migration to high pastures is still practiced in
Bavaria,
Austria and
Switzerland, except in their most frequented tourist centers. In some places, cattle are taken care of by local farmer families who move to higher places. In others, this job is for herdsmen who are employees of the cooperative owning the pastures.
Austria has over 12 000 sites where 70 000 farmers take care of about 500 000 cattle. Alpine pastures amount to a quarter of the farmland.
Bavaria has about 1400 sites hosting 50 000 cattle, about half of them in
Upper Bavaria and the other half in the
Allgäu.
In Switzerland, about 380 000 cattle including 130 000 cows as well as 200 000 sheep are in summer on high pastures. Milk from cows here is usually made into local
cheese specialities, handmade using traditional methods and tools. Alpine pastures amount to 35 percent of Swiss farmland. Transhumance contributes a lot to traditional Swiss culture, e.g.
Yodel,
Alphorn or
Schwingen are closely connected to Alpine pastures.
England
In southern
England – particularly the
Weald, where climate is mild and hills low – transhumance historically took the opposite form to that in Switzerland, with cattle grazed on dry, sandy
heath in winter and rich
flood-meadows in summer once flood-water receded. While this form of pastoralism sees little use today, most
flood plains being controlled to permit year-round grazing, it has left its mark on English toponymy, as attested by nearby paired placenames such as ''Winterfold Heath'' and ''Somersbury Wood''.
[2]
Lesotho
Traditional economy of the Basotho in
Lesotho is based upon rearing cattle. Seasonal migration between valley and high plateaus of the Maloti (basalt mountains of Lesotho) is critical in feeding an increased number of cattle and supporting a higher human population. Pressure on pasture land has increased due to construction of large storage dams in these mountains to provide water to
South Africa's arid industrial heartland.
While tourism is starting to contribute to the economy of Lesotho, and more people are moving permanently into Highlands there, seasonal migration still augments this trend. Seasonal migration is part of the job of herdsmen who are employees of farmers who own herds in Lesotho. Growing pressure on pastures is contributing to degradation of sensitive grasslands and could contribute to sedimentation in man-made lakes.
Nomadic transhumance
Often traditional
nomadic groups settle into a regular seasonal pattern, which has been described by some
anthropologists as a form of transhumance. An example of a normal transhumance cycle in the northern hemisphere follows:
★ Spring — (early April to the end of June).
★ Summer — (end of June to late September).
★ Autumn — (mid-September to end of November).
★ Winter — (from December to the end of March).
These movements in this example are about 180 to 200 km from desert plains in winter to a higher plateau of summer pastures, with spring and fall spent in transition. Camps are established in the same place each year; often semi-permanent shelters are built in at least one place on this migration route.
These regular patterns are distinguished from those of pastoral nomads, who follow a seasonal migratory pattern which varies from year to year. Grazing needs determine timing and destinations of migration. Such nomadic societies create no permanent settlements, but live in tents or other movable dwellings the year round. Pastoralist nomads are often self-sufficient, producing their own food, shelter and other needs.
Nomadic transhumance was historically widespread throughout less fertile regions of Earth. It is found in areas of low rainfall such as the Middle Eastern
Bedouins and the African
Somali people or in areas of harsh climate, such as the
Arctic Sami people,
Nenets people and
Chukchis.
There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world.
[3] Seminomadic pastoralists and pastoral nomads form a significant but declining minority in such countries as
Saudi Arabia (probably less than 3%),
Iran (4%), and
Afghanistan (no more than 10%). They comprise less than 2% of the population in the countries of
North Africa, with the exception of
Libya and
Mauritania."
[4]
The
Mongols in what is now
Mongolia,
Russia, and
China and the
Tatars or
Turkic people of
Eastern Europe and
Central Asia were nomadic peoples who practiced nomadic transhumance on harsh Asian
steppes. Some remnants of these populations are nomadic to this day. In
Mongolia, about 40% of the population continue to live traditional nomadic lifestyle.
[5]
The nomadic Sami people, an indigenous people of northern
Finland, Sweden, Norway, and the
Kola Peninsula of
Russia, practice a form of nomadic transhumance based on
reindeer. In the 14th and 15th century, when reindeer population was sufficiently reduced that Sami could not subsist on hunting alone, some Sami, organized along family lines, became reindeer herders. Each family has traditional territories on which they herd, arriving at roughly the same time each season. Only a small fraction of Sami have subsisted on reindeer herding over the past century; as the most colorful part of the population, they are well known. But as elsewhere in Europe, transhumance is dying out.
Worldwide transhumance patterns
Transhumance developed on every inhabited continent. Although there are substantial cultural and technological variations, underlying practices for taking advantage of remote seasonal pastures are similar.
Africa
The
Berber people of northern Africa were traditional farmers, living in mountains relatively close to the
Mediterranean coast, or oasis dwellers; however, the
Tuareg and
Zenaga of the southern Sahara practice nomadic transhumance. Some groups, such as the
Chaouis, practiced fixed transhumance.
Maasai are semi-nomadic people located primarily in
Kenya and northern
Tanzania who have pastoral transhumance cultures that revolve around their
cattle. That dependence was historically very strong, with even huts of the Maasai built from dried cattle dung. They are related to the
Zulu, a people who live mainly in
South Africa who were also formerly semi-nomadic.
North America
Transhumance, relying on use of public land, continues to be an important source of livestock feed in the western United States. The American tradition was based around moving herds to higher ground with the improvement in highland pastures in spring and summer. It was based on a semi-nomadic
cowboy or the nomadic
shepherd who often traveled with a herd. The Mexican ''
charro'', is a continuation of this tradition to the south.
South America
South American transhumance relies on "cowboy" counterparts, the ''
gaucho'' of
Argentina,
Uruguay,
Paraguay and (with the spelling "gaúcho") southern
Brazil, the ''
llanero'' of
Venezuela, the ''
huaso'' of
Chile.
Asia
Transhumance practices are found in temperate areas, above ~1000 m in the
Himalaya–
Hindu Kush area (referred to below as Himalaya); and the cold semi-arid zone north of the Himalaya, through the
Tibetan Plateau and northern
China to the
Eurasian Steppe.
Mongolia,
China,
Kazakhstan,
Bhutan,
India,
Nepal and
Pakistan all have vestigial transhumance cultures. For regions of the
Himalaya transhumance still provides mainstay for several near-subsistence economies — for example, that of
Zanskar in northwest
India.
Another example of this way of life is the
Bakhtiari tribe of Iran. All along the
Zagros mountain range from Azerbaijan to the Arabian Sea, pastoral tribes move back and forth with their herds every year between their home in the valley and one in the foothills."
[6]
===The
Qashqai - the story of a Turkish tribe of southern Iran===
:"To survive,
nomads have always been obliged to fight. They lead a wandering life and do not accumulate documents and archives.
:But in the evenings, around fires that are burning low, the elders will relate striking events, deeds of valour in which the tribes pride themselves. Thus the epic tale is told from father to son, down through the ages.
:The tribes of Central Asia were forced by wars, strife, upheavals, to abandon their steppes and seek new pasture grounds . . . so the
Huns, the
Visigoths, and before them the
Aryans, had invaded India, Iran, Europe.
:The Turks, forsaking the regions where they had dwelt for centuries, started moving down through the
Turan and
Caspian depressions, establishing themselves eventually on the frontiers of the Iranian Empire and in Asia Minor.
:We are of Turkish language and race; some say that we are descendants of the Turkish
Ghuzz Tribe, known for its cruelty and fierceness, and that our name is derived from the Turkish "Kashka" meaning "a horse with a white star on its forehead". Others think this name indicates that we came from Kashgar in the wake of Hulagu. Others still that it means "fugitive".
:Though these versions differ, we believe that the arrival of our Tribes in Iran coincided with the conquests of
Jengis Khan, in the thirteenth century. Soon after, our ancestors established themselves on the slopes of the Caucasus. We are descendants of the "Tribe of the Ak Koyunlu" the "Tribe of the White Sheep" famed for being the only tribe in history capable of inflicting a defeat on
Tamerlane. For centuries we dwelt on the lands surrounding
Ardebil, but, in the first half of the sixteenth century we settled in southern Persia,
Shah Ismail having asked our warriors to defend this part of the country against the intrusions of the Portuguese. Thus, our Tribes came to the Province of
Fars, near the Persian Gulf, and are still only separated from it by a ridge of mountains, the
Makran.
:The yearly migrations of the Kashkai, seeking fresh pastures, drive them from the south to the north, where they move to their summer quarters "Yeilak" in the high mountains; and from the north to the south, to their winter quarters, "Qishlaq".
:In summer, the Kashkai flocks graze on the slopes of the Kuh-è-Dinar; a group of mountains from 12,000 to 15,000 feet, that are part of the
Zagros chain.
:In autumn the Kashkai break camp, and by stages leave the highlands. They winter in the warmer regions near Firuzabad, Kazerun, Jerrè, Farashband, on the banks of the river Mound, till, in April, they start once more on their yearly trek.
:The migration is organised and controlled by the Kashkai Chief. The Tribes carefully avoid villages and towns such as Shiraz and Isfahan, lest their flocks, estimated at seven million head, might cause serious damage. The annual migration is the largest of any Persian tribe.
:It is difficult to give exact statistics, but we believe that the Tribes now number 400,000 men, women and children." Told to Marie-Tèrése Ullens de Schooten by the 'Il Begh' Malek Mansur, brother of the 'Il Khan', Nasser Khan, Chief of the Kashkai Tribes, in 1953.
[7]
Kyrgyzstan
In
Kyrgyzstan, transhumance practices, which never died out during the
Soviet period, have undergone a resurgence in the difficult economic times following independence in 1991. Transhumance is integral to
Kyrgyz national culture. Felt tents used on these summer pastures (or ''jailoo'') is known as the
yurt and its main structural component is symbolised on their
national flag. Those shepherds prize fermented mare's milk drink
kumis; a tool used in its production lends its name to the country's capital city,
Bishkek.
Australia
In Australia, which has a large ranch (
station) culture,
stockmen provide the labor to move the herds to seasonal pastures.
References
1. "T. Pennant ''Tour in Scotland 1769'': "Bothay, a dairy-house, where Highland shepherds, or graziers, live during summer with their herds and flocks, and during that season make butter and cheese.", Dictionary of the Scots Language, accessed 26 May 2007
2. Surrey Place-names, , Gavin, Smith, Heart of Albion Press, , ISBN 1-872883-84-2
3. NOMADS - The FACTS
4. Dale Eickelman, The Middle East and Central Asia. An Anthropological Approach. Fourth Edition. Prentice Hall, 2002, p. 11
5. Mongolia Today - online magazine
6. Rouhollah Ramazani, The Northern Tie. Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey. D. Van Nostrand Company: New Jersey, 1966, p. 85
7. Ullens de Schooten, Marie-Tèrése. (1956). Lords of the Mountains: Southern Persia & the Kashkai Tribe. Chatto and Windus Ltd. Reprint: The Travel Book Club. London, pp. 53-54. See also pp. 114-118.
★ ''Adventure Roads in Norway'' by Erling Welle-Strand, Nortrabooks, 1996. ISBN 82-90103-71-9
See also
★
Cowhand
★
Drover
★
Yaylak
★
Kuchis
★
Seasonal human migration
External links
★
U.S. Department of Agriculture Discussion on Asia
★
U.S. Department of Agriculture Discussion on Africa
★
Transhumance and 'The Waiting Zone' in North Africa
★
limited traditional transhumance in Australia
★
Pastoralism
★
short mention of transhumance in North America
★
Swiss land registry of alpine pastures (German)
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