Vlachs Transhumance path Grammos by The High Mountains @INCULTUM

Transhumance culture and the Vlachs: The basic characteristic of the Vlachs is the semi-nomadic life that dictates a special way of life and identifies the characteristics of their society and economy. It is about a way of life indicated by the ecological conditions themselves that sealed the collective lives of these people. Until the beginning of the 20th century, only the Vlachs of Aetomilitsa had about 40,000 sheep and goats, from which they produced milk and wool products. There are six Vlach villages in Konitsa, and until today, there are people speaking the Vlach language, which is only oral and is something between Latin, Romanian, and Greek. There are Vlachs on both sides of the borders in Greece and Albania, but for them there is no border, they use the same routes to graze their sheep before the borders even existed. Another interesting element about them is that in some villages they never developed individual land ownership; the land was and is common. Moreover, they developed a system for the distribution and use of pastures. The annual redistribution of pasture use is done by a general "gathering" of the livestock farmers, in accordance with unwritten rules and in a ceremonial manner. The final decision is taken unanimously and is respected by everyone.