The adjective itinerant is used to indicate that something or someone travels regularly. This word comes from Latin and literally means "going from one place to another". In Spanish there are several synonyms that we can use: nomadic, itinerant, errant or migratory.
In any activity in which it is necessary to travel, a route or route must be followed, that is, an itinerary. For the way to go to make sense, some kind of support or support tool is necessary, be it a map, a GPS device, a compass or simply a good sense of orientation.
In relation to people
When man began to master agricultural techniques, he abandoned nomadism and became sedentary. This general rule has some exceptions, since today there are nomadic peoples, such as the Tuaregs of the Sahara desert or the Eskimos of Greenland.
It is worth remembering that some peoples in the Amazon basin practice a type of itinerant agriculture, since when the soil is no longer fertile they are forced to move to other places.
Certain professional activities are characterized precisely by being carried out on an itinerant basis
Street vendors or traders, postmen, drivers, or street vendors are examples in this regard.
Certain professions that had disappeared or were on the way to extinction were carried out on an itinerant basis, such as the omen who sold water from house to house or the knife sharpener that traveled through various towns offering their services.
Probably the activity in which there is a more evident displacement is grazing during transhumance (if we take the territory of Spain as a reference there are still a few transhumant shepherds).
In the field of occupational safety regulations, possible commuting accidents are considered, that is, accidents that occur on the route between the worker's home and his place of work.
Outside of the world of work, there are people who in their daily lives have the habit of going from one place to another without a fixed direction, such as homeless people or some travelers. Of course, the fugitive who flees from justice also leads a wandering life.
In culture
In the art world, many exhibitions are not held in a fixed place, but rather are organized in an itinerant way. With this approach, the works that are exhibited can reach a greater number of people.
Theater companies usually tour and, therefore, their activity consists of moving from one town to another.
Fotolia photos: Nito / Brimeux / Olivier Rault
