At 60 years old, Joaquim Marvão is the only transhumance shepherd in the municipality of Gouveia, in the district of Guarda, guarding around 500 border sheep in the Serra da Estrela in July and August.
The pastor of Vila Nova de Tazem maintains the tradition of transhumance, the seasonal movement of his herds into the mountains, recreating the habits he learned in his family. The cycle has been repeated for 40 years.
“I came with my father and some other people. It was easier before. More people came. In the end, I brought more than a thousand sheep,” Joaquim Marvão told Lusa while guarding sheep in the Vale do Rossim area of Serra da Estrela, more than 1,400 meters above sea level.
“Down there, everything was busy. The mountains were delicious. The land was all clean,” he recalls. “Today, the situation is completely different,” the pastor notes, looking around.
“The pastures exist because I create them. If I didn’t clear them, everything would be overgrown with weeds,” says Joaquim Marvão, not hiding his pain at the sight of the “abandoned mountain.”
In the first months of the year, the shepherd goes up into the mountains to prepare the land and sow grain in the wastelands so that there will be fodder for the cattle in the summer.
The shepherd would like to see the mountains cultivated, not given over to the brooms. “If everyone did what I do, there would be no fires,” he says.
This year he went up into the mountains at the beginning of July with four flocks of Bordeaux sheep and several goats, heading for the most nutritious pastures, useful for the animals and for milk production.
He brought his animals and three other family herds. The cattle are identified by the owners’ initials so that they can be distinguished.
It is in Estrela that he spends his days and nights in the company of his sheep and their dogs Mondego, Fiel, Farrusco, Negro and Piloto.
To sleep, he takes refuge in a van, and for short trips he takes an old motorcycle with him.
On his lunch break, while the sheep hide in the shade of a broom, Joaquim Marvão heads to Mondeguinha, a tourist stop that marks the source of the Mondego River, to grab a bite to eat at a roadside kiosk.
Over dinner, he says he can handle it. “If necessary, I’ll go to Sabugueira. I can handle it here,” he describes.
Joaquim Marvão wears a traditional sheepskin coat and vest and always carries a staff in his hand. “The sheep need to know who’s boss. I have a collection of staffs: some I make, and others they give me.”
Joaquim Marvão wears a traditional sheepskin coat and vest and always carries a staff in his hand. “The sheep need to know who’s boss. I have a collection of staffs: some I make, and others they give me.”
When day breaks, the sheep signal that it is time to go to pasture. “It was six minutes to ten today when they went. I was already awake, but I had to get up,” says the pastor.
They spend a few hours in the pasture and when the sun shines, they go into the shade to return to the field in the late afternoon. The tasks end around 9:30 p.m.
Joaquim Marvan does not complain about the daily routine, he only complains about the wild boars that have damaged the crops and regrets that the authorities do not control this species.
The pastor from Vila Nova de Tazem admits that it is a tiring season, but he has no intention of giving up the tradition. “If I have health, I don’t want to give up. But convince yourself that transhumance will end because young people don’t want to do it.”
Joaquim Marvão will descend with the flocks on August 18, with the help of other shepherds who will come to meet him along a route that visitors can follow, on the initiative of the Gouveia City Council.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Tifany Hawkins, a professional journalist with years of experience in news reporting. I currently work for a prominent news website and write articles for 24NewsReporters as an author. My primary focus is on economy-related stories, though I am also experienced in several other areas of journalism.