Salto del pastor
Encyclopedia
The shepherd's leap is a spectacular folk sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...

 practised throughout the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...

.

History

The origins of salto del pastor may date back to the Guanches
Guanches
Guanches is the name given to the aboriginal Berber inhabitants of the Canary Islands. It is believed that they migrated to the archipelago sometime between 1000 BCE and 100 BCE or perhaps earlier...

, the aboriginal inhabitants of the islands prior to the Castilian
Crown of Castile
The Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne...

 conquest period of the early 15th century. Canarian shepherds required a specialised means of transport
Transport
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...

ing themselves safely across ravines and down steep embankments, and settled on the use of long wooden poles known as lanza or garrote. These poles are fitted with sharp metal points called regatón.

Description

Salto del pastor practitioners have developed a wide range of techniques to facilitate quick and agile movement across extremely difficult and dangerous terrain. These techniques range from pole-vaulting
Pole vault
Pole vaulting is a track and field event in which a person uses a long, flexible pole as an aid to leap over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the ancient Greeks, as well as the Cretans and Celts...

 across crevices to the "dead drop" in which the practitioner leaps into space from heights of up to eight metres, jamming his/her garrotte into the ground below and then sliding down the pole. There are many other types of leaps, depending on the nature of the obstacle that needs to be cleared. Some of these are so fraught with risk
Risk
Risk is the potential that a chosen action or activity will lead to a loss . The notion implies that a choice having an influence on the outcome exists . Potential losses themselves may also be called "risks"...

 that they have given rise to beautiful legends, such as the salto del enamorado (lover’s leap) and the salto de media luna (half moon leap).

Development

As salto del pastor has now developed into a folk-sport, the garrote is also used in competitive events, which include climbing up and jumping over walls, speedy descents down steep rocks, precision leaps, acrobatic feats and leaps of various styles.
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