Herder

For the German publishers, see Herder publishers. For the German poet and philosopher, see Johann Gottfried Herder.

Maasai man, Eastern Serengeti.

A herdboy grazing his goats at Chinawal, India

A herder is a worker who lives a possibly semi-nomadic life, caring for various domestic animals, in places where these animals wander pasture lands.

Usually if the person is a minor, he is called herdboy, if adult sometimes by contrast herdswoman. Because their work is necessarily mostly outdoors, they move around from place to place in the course of their labours. The possibility exists that the lands upon which their beasts graze are not claimed as any single person's property.

A number of romantic legends have sprung up around some aspects of their way of life. Some herders whose lifestyles have become mainstays of fiction include:

• The shepherd, featured in pastoral literature
• The cowboy, hero of Western movies and fiction, featured in romantic tales from the United States
• The gaucho, who in the Southernmost Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay plays a similar role to the cowboy.

Other names

• A campino is a cattle herder in the Portuguese region of Ribatejo.

See also

• Cowboy
• Goatherd
• Herding
• Pastoralism
• Shepherd
• Fulani herdsmen