LES FÊTES DE LA TRANSHUMANCE

In the past, transhumance brought together sheep from the plains and hills of Languedoc, who, as soon as the first heat and the scarcity of grass appeared, would head for the heights of the causses and the foothills of the Margeride and Aubrac. After a journey lasting several days, decked out in bells, cockades and other finery, they would reach the summer pastures, where they would remain for the whole summer. Nowadays, the transhumance is usually carried out by truck, but a few enthusiasts renew this tradition every year, providing the pretext for a traditional festival that perpetuates the conviviality of the farming world of yesteryear. It generally takes place around mid-June, on the Aigoual massif, at l'Espérou, and on Mont Lozère, where the spectacular passage of some 3,000 ewes is accompanied by a large farmers' market and events focusing on ewes... and bees (yes, they transhume too!).

Further north, in the Aubrac region, cattle are the main attraction. This transhumance festival takes place earlier, towards the end of May. It perpetuates the ancestral tradition of l'Estive, the time when shepherds lead their herds to the high pastures, the beginning of a period of solitude, during which the daily milking of the cows and the making of tomme (which will become cantal) punctuated their lives in the "burons".