Of all the
things to do on my bucket list for Armenia as a Peace Corps Volunteer, the most
interesting thing I wanted to do was go sheep herding. I first got the idea to go sheepherding the
first week I got to my village. The
other volunteers and I did a walking tour of Taperakan village and accidentally
made a wrong turn and ended up at someone’s farm. Rather than let us leave quietly, they were
curious about us and invited on to their land and asked about us. We did the normal “We are American volunteers
and living here for two years response” when I noticed that at the corner of
the farm were a large amount of sheep.
The Armenian
word for sheep is pronounced voch-kar.
There were at least 200-300 sheep there and the air was filled with
bahhhhs and mahhhhs. We spoke as much as
we could for only being in the country for one week then left. Over the next few weeks I had seen
sheepherders with their flocks around the neighboring villages and sometimes
blocking traffic. Every now and then I
would a particularly large flock of sheep and what set them apart from the
others I had seen was that they had someone on a donkey and a particularly
large dog with them. They would always
return to my village around a certain time when I realized that they were from
the farm I met with the first week.
Since the
weather was getting warmer in the evenings I noticed the men would sit outside
on their patios facing the open street.
One day I saw one of them attending to the other animals and with my
limited Armenian language and vocabulary asked if I could go with his
sheep. I realized right away that
probably didn’t sound the best so I went back a few days later with my language
instructor to help translate to them that I was a photographer and wanted to
spend the entire day sheepherding with them.
They told us
that their flock was near 600 but in reality it was closer to 400. They also take their flock out every day,
rain or shine. Their day begins at 7am
and finishes around 6pm. They were all
too happy to have me go sheepherding with them and even offered me a job
too! I told them to let me sheep herd
with them for a day first and then I would decide. My host family was kind of surprised that I
would want to do such a thing but knew I was a photographer and liked these
types of photo opportunities. My host
brother was going to go to but backed out at the last minute because he wanted
to go the capital and see the new Captain America movie.
So my classmate
Sarah and I met them at their farm at 7am and we saw new family members we did
not meet before. Aside from offering us
some coffee, they also offered us some cognac too! As we waited near the patio area and spoke
with the father the flock was getting assembled. Finally, the flock, the donkey, sheepdog, and
three sheepherders came out. The
sheepherders consisted of a grandfather, father, and grandson on this
trip. Slowly we took the narrow dirt
road to leave the village and into the open space. We were very fortunate to have good
weather. It was overcast for most of the
day and luckily the heat was kept to a minimum.
After taking the
sheep across a small “stream” we came to a particular open area where they
grazed in peace. We took our first break
and got a chance to practice our language skills with the grandfather and
grandson. Oddly, the father disappeared
once we got past the major highway. The
grandson was quite the football aka soccer player and was constantly on his
cell phone most of the time. After some
time, the grandson told me we would be leaving to another area to meet up with
some others. I left Sarah behind with
the grandfather and minutes later we came across a herd of 50 cows and a dozen
horses. It seemed like they were related
to each other they way they laughed and joked around with each other. We stayed with them for about an hour before
heading back to the sheep. Eventually, one of the other grandfather's arrives to have lunch with us. He's a funny character and proudly poses in front of the camera for me.
There’s so much
free time to think when you are a sheepherder.
The sheep take care of themselves and the sheep dog keeps them in line
if needed. The scenery is quiet and here
is when you have time to ask the deep questions you wouldn’t normally. Between the quiet moments I take the
opportunity to do some group photos as well try to ride the donkey. Not the most graceful of animals but this
donkey in particular is quite friendly and likes to be around people.
After a while,
the grandfather says its time to move the flock to the nearby watering
hole. All throughout the day we take
turns covering different positions of the flock. Most of the time I was on the side of the
flock to make sure they were not going astray while Sarah was holding up the
rear and nudging them along. I learned
that the most important tool a sheepherder needs to be successful is a 4 foot
stick. Its quite handy and plus it makes
look cool like you know what you’re doing.
Sarah doing a great job moving the herd and me getting the photo I wanted!
Sheepherding 101
has taught me that if you are leading the flock of sheep you must constantly
walk at a steady pace for them to follow you.
I only led the flock once because I was trying to take certain photos
and the at time I stopped in the hope the flock would keep on going for the
shot I was trying to get. However, the
sheep interpret this as its time to stop.
The sheepherder in the back (Sarah) was not amused by this and kept
yelling at me to keep moving since they were trying to move the herd.
In the afternoon, I had other plans and could not stay out the entire day with them and it was time to leave. It was an incredible experience and I had a lot of fun. The family members were so friendly and welcoming to us. The pictures I took will last a lifetime and I will try to go sheepherding again. If you ever get the opportunity to do something like this, seize the day, and make experiences happen.
