Waders landais

The waders landais are the symbol of the pastoral world in the Landes of Gascogne. The use of the stilt S in the Moors goes back to the 17th century and lasts until the end of the 19th century. They were used for the Berger S to supervise their herd, to go quickly on the wet grounds, and protected the feet from the cold and the punctures of Ajonc S.

End of the agro-pastoral system

The Law of the imposing June 19th, 1857 to the communes of the Moors of Gascogne to timber their territories, reduced more and more big spaces of which the pastors were useful themselves for their herds, which gave place to many confrontations between shepherds and foresters. The pastors were accustomed to setting fire to parts of the moor in spring for clearing of undergrowth. These hearths were propagated, sometimes voluntarily, with the incipient forest, as for example at the end of the Second Empire close to Audenge where 6300 ha of pines planted by the brothers Pereire were destroyed. The disappearance of the vast pasturages involved the reduction in the herds, and sylviculture took the step not only on the pastoral moor, but also on the cultivated grounds. Almost all the waders landais had disappeared after the Great War.

Stilts nowadays

At the time of the disappearance of the agro-pastoral system in the Moors of Gascogne, the arcachonnais Sylvain Dornon (1858 - 1900) held so that the use of the stilt S is preserved, and that they become a Sport and a Jeu. He invented a new speciality landaise: dance on stilts.

detailed Article Sylvain Dornon

One sees still today spectacles of waders landais in some seaside resorts of the Côte of Money, as estival animations.

See too

tchanquées Huts
History of the Moors (department)

Old photographs

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