Analog Photography

Transhumance in Val Senales

Transhumance in Val Senales: "Hoi, hoi, hoi"

In June, thousands of sheep are brought by foot along two routes (Hochjoch and Niederjoch) over a distance of up to 44 km with an increase in altitude of 3,200 m and a descent of 1,800 m over the Ötztal main ridge to the summer pasture areas before they return on the same paths in September. There are 24 farms around the lake of Vernago and 60 farms in the entire Val Senales. This event is different than alpine farming and nomadism. Shepherds take almost 4,000 sheep from Vernago and Maso Kurzras to the high mountain pastures to across the Austrian border and turn back in September to Italy. This local tradition dates back to hundrends of years old. Two weeks before the transhumance, shepherd Josef who is the main owner of Tisenhof starts to increase the stone fences around his grazing territory to protect their own flock from the sheep of transhumance. Tisen Valley is very narrow and located just below the Ötzi mummy found. In Val Senales, the evidence of Ötzi shows us there was human activity during past times and some of the farms have still connected with traditional knowledge since the time of Ötzi. Despite these conditions, transhumance is regarded to be one of the oldest forms of alpine pasture use.

Every year the preparation of the transhumance is well organized with the collaboration of all the shepherds. We joined to transhumance to understand how intangible cultural heritage shape pastoralist landscape in Val Senales and we set up our tent next to the fence of the Tisenhof and observed how alpine farmers and local shepherds prepare themselves for transhumance. One day before the transhumance, the Lake of Verango and it’s around is very active and there was a carnival atmosphere, lots of people came from all over the world to watch and participate in this historical event. Some of the shepherds also started their long journey to the snowy peaks on Maso Kurtzas one day before. The gathering space in Vernago is located the entrance of the village and built by wooden fence. The truck carries 45 sheep from farms around Val Venosta to the Vernago and it carries them 8-9 times each day. Each farm have their own color or symbol to not mix with the other sheep during the transhumance.

There was silence in the mountain. The full moon was lighting the grasslands and the reflection of the moon on the lake was brightening the valley at 3 a.m.,. The first group started at 3:15 a.m. with 1000 sheep. They were loud and their bells echoed throughout the valley, shepherds were shouting to put all the sheep together on the route. I woke up because of the sound of sheep and I joined the second group which started at 4:30 a.m. with 12 shepherds, shepherdesses, and 3 dogs. Before the start, all shepherds were assigned the task of the 7-hour journey. They knew that they should work in harmony. They opened the gate and the sheep started to run, in the first corner 2 young shepherds put sheep on the transhumance path, and slowly we started to walk to the high Alpine pasture. That was hard to see, that it was hard to put them together during the night. Sheep are sensitive animals to the sun and warmth; they prefer to graze in the evening or at night. Our task was to reach Similaun hütte before sunset. That was a magical moment that we were part of the last 6000 years old experience. We were walking on the same ground where Ötzi and his ancestors walked. The same methods of grazing are happening even today. Walking with this consciousness on the transhumance helped us to understand shepherds’ ancestors for how they were using the landscape. After 1 hour we passed the Tisenhof and its shepherd was watching us from his fence. He was sure to not mix his sheep and the sheep of transhumance. Our first stop was just after passing the tree line. When we passed the last larch tree, we rested and during our rest, sheep were grazing, and 12 shepherds made a circle around them to hold them together. The break was 20 minutes and we continued. During the journey, many of the sheep were lost with their baby sleeping and they didn’t want to move forward. Shepherds were pushing Mother’s sheep to walk but she wasn’t moving. Then the old German shepherd found her baby and put her to her mother, then she continued to walk. Baby sheep could lose their path easily, sometimes they lose their mother, and they cry and panic to find their mothers. Our second break was before the last steep climb to the Similaun hut. The wind was so strong that we were struggling to walk. It was easy to see the diversification of the plant species in all the altitudes. Even 200 meters have many differences in species.

The climate, erosion of rain and glaciers, grazing routes and times, human interactions, and diversification of grazing animals and former grazing areas were shaping the soil seed banks and landscape patterns (Shepherd Mani). Until the tree line, Larix decidua and Pinus cembra were the dominant type of forest patterns and after the Alpine tree line, the story is different. During the journey, there were many carved stones, wooden traces, or abandoned steel wires. The strongest landscape element was stone walls. They were built because of the protection of livestock animals. Reading the landscape elements helps us to understand the former times’ grazing schedules and landscape layers. When we started to climb, the third group of sheep was visible, but they were not as crowded as our group. Sheep are guiding and shepherd Daniel says ‘’they know where to go and we just follow them. Also, they understand the best nutrient of grasses.’’ Alpine farming and transhumance have less interaction with the landscape. The alpine farming with protected fences, the grazing is dense, but during summer months sheep can graze on the high valley and inside the forest. In the transhumance, the grazing is happening on the controlled path with many sheep every year. These two types of grazing areas have different plant species, accordingly also different seed banks, and different grazing patterns. The main aim of the traditional farms is to keep their sheep separate from the sheep of transhumance. Until the end of September, the sheep will graze in high Alpine pasture.