Itinerant spaces: pastoral trashumante and social liminality

Abstract

Transhumance has attracted a lot of interest from historians, geographers, economists and ethnologists, all of whom have provided detailed and precise studies. New, enriching perspectives may be gained when we consider the sheperd’s life from the viewpoint of liminality and transitions. This article reflects upon the anthropological space of the transhumant shepherd – a space that leads him to a characteristic lifestyle. This space is highly revealing – travel, origins and destinations, cross-bordering, life at the borders, all of them are elements that lead to a better understanding of transhumance. The article is based on interviews about the lives of transhumant shepherds in the Valencian Community (Spain).