Abstract
This paper analyzes the discourses and voices linked with the shepherd process of change. The disappearance of traditional shepherd has begun a sequence of transformations in the sheep livestock in the depopulated rural areas in central Spain. Mainly are changes associated with the organization of work, the size of flock and the management of rural space. These processes of change present different characteristics even in small rural areas. The methods are mainly qualitative based on semi-structured interviews and extensive presence in the research area. The case study is the Pela Mountains in Soria province. The results of qualitative analysis suggest a process of change in the management of sheep, mainly associated with the increase of flock of sheep, disappearance of the salaried shepherd and a process of individualization in the use of municipal space.
Highlights
The disappearance of traditional shepherd has begun a sequence of transformations in the sheep livestock in the depopulated rural areas in central Spain
The shepherd of a rural community has constituted a social figure of remarkable permanence in the rural areas due to the traditional extensive nature of sheep farming
The social figure of the shepherd is emblematic in the rural areas
Summary
The shepherd of a rural community has constituted a social figure of remarkable permanence in the rural areas due to the traditional extensive nature of sheep farming. The shepherd constitutes a symbolic figure that can adequately exemplify the remarkable processes of change that have taken place in the depopulated rural communities and allows the analysis of new strategies on the traditional management of the depopulated space. In rural communities of central Spain, the figure of the shepherd was linked to a type of traditional mixed production, with a certain degree of self-consumption and not strictly commercial relations. Until the decade of the fifties and sixties of the twentieth century, the shepherd constituted a singular figure of a certain socio-spatial relevance in the countryside, which originated a cultural organization with notable territorial nuances (Elías, 1989; Acosta, 2001; Palleruelo, 1991)
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