Grazing land in Ariège is insufficient at low and middle
altitudes to support the herds of cows, sheep and horses for the entire year,
so in late spring the farmer leads his livestock to the high mountain pastures
where they will spend the summer and early autumn. This phenomenon is called
the "transhumance."
In the distant past, the shepherd or cowherd who looked
after the animals slept in a tiny, round hut made of stone called an orri,
built by hand without mortar and sometimes topped with slate or tree branches.
They measured no more than two by two and a half or three meters and were so
low that standing upright was impossible. A wooden or stone shelf piled with
leaves and pine needles served as a bed, which took up half the space.
In the Couserans and around Auzat the orris were sometimes
grouped in little hamlets and each had a different function, notably cheese
storage.
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