Văratul oilor în Mărginimea Sibiului
The sheep farm in Mărginimea Sibiului

Summary/Abstract: As traditionally developed by the herders from the area of Mărginimea Sibiului (Sibiu County, Romania), the pattern of pastoral transhumance attains its completedness in the summertime grazing of local sheep herds. Such second seasonal phase (after the wintering of the flocks in the lowlands of regions like Banat, Dobrogea, and the Transylvanian Plain) takes place in the neighboring highlands of the mountain chains of Făgăraș, Lotru, and Șureanu. Beyond the temporary alternance of climate and landscape, the summertime shepherding is associated to the pastoral production of the milk and the cheese varieties of telemea and brânza de burduf, as well as to the wool collected before the sheep encampment within the mountain pastures. The text below will describe the conditions of hiring and managing mountain grazing lands by the herders from the villages of Jina, Poiana Sibiului, and Tilișca, with an emphasis on the social organization of these activities, the main assortments of cheese in the area, and the valorization of wool in the craft industries and the commerce that the Mărgineni villagers engage on such a ground.

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