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Weather - at least temperature and humidity
- is all-important for the traditional matançes eivissencs
(Ibicenco pig killing). The climate of Eivissa is not suitable
for the production of cured ham, so popular elsewhere in much
of Spain: traditional 'embutidos' (pig products) on the island
are very specific to its climate and water. The famous sobrassades
and other types of local products from the pig are cured specifically
by low temperatures, certain humidity, and the salt and spices
in the mix. There is no smoke curing as on the Spanish mainland.
For these reasons there is an actual 'pig killing season'
on Eivissa, which officially starts on the day of San Martin
(November 12th, nicknamed 'mataporcs' - pig killing day) and
lasts through to the day of Las Candelas on the 2nd February.
But the mild winter temperatures here make it better ideally
to kill the pig before the end of January - "Mata es
porc pel gener, si vols que es conservi bè" -
'Kill the pig by January if you want it to preserve well'.
Many phrases abound in Eivissenc (the rare early sub-dialect
spoken on the island) related to the timing of pig fattening,
killing, salting, etc: "Per Sant Tomas, agafa es porc
p'es mas"; "Per Sant Marti, mata es porc i enceta
es vi";"Per Nadal, es porc en sal";"Qui
te porcs a la salera, bon any li espera";"Porcella
i dona, tot l'any es bona" and so on almost ad infinitum.
But the cold - or cool - weather is the essential element
in the curing of the 'embutidos', if the winter is too warm
the products don't 'gel' well, they remain slightly softish
and cannot be stored for long before they go off.
Thus extreme care is taken with these pig
killings, not just in regard to the ambient temperature but
also, of course with the type of pig killed. We have already
spoken about the avoidance of killing a female pig within
a certain time around her menstruation. The ideal pig to kill
is a castrated male pig. Ordinary male pigs can, of course,
be killed, but if castrated when young their meat and fat
produce sweeter tasting products. Sometimes the meat of uncastrated
male pigs can be almost inedible: it possesses what is sometimes
called 'boar taint' in English, particularly noticeable if
one cooks such a pig's fat, when it can sometimes give off
a slightly foul, urine-like, sweaty odour. This is caused
by the presence in the fat of a chemical steroid called androstenone
(the precursor of the steroid androstenol), present in uncastrated
pigs. In its precursor form this steroid gives off a rank
smell - not surprising, as it is also one of the major chemical
components of human underarm odour. Androstenone is produced
in the testes and released in the blood. Interestingly, one
of its products, androstenal, is stored in the pigs salivary
glands. When a male pig becomes sexually excited, he froths
at the mouth, releasing this pheromone: if a nearby female
pig is in heat, she becomes immobilised by this chemical and
permits the male to mount her. Even more interesting is the
use that related steroids are put to in certain women's perfumes
(such as Jovan's 'Andron' and 'Realm'). Although there is
(as yet) no concrete evidence that androstenal works in the
same way in humans, one study of college age women in the
US showed that women wearing a necklace impregnated with the
steroid found it much easier to strike up conversations with
men they did not know (? but shouldn't it be the other way
around?). Admittedly this is a slight digression here, but
once one enters the world of pigs anything can happen!
The day of the matança has arrived.
The casa pagesa (peasant house) is full of the extended family,
each ready for their allotted tasks. Some - who might live
far away - may have arrived the night before to be ready for
an early start. Nowadays many peasant families have relatives
who may have not been brought up in the traditional style,
many working on the coast in tourism-related industries or
living in Vila (Ibiza town), and who, although taking part
in the pig-killing for the extended family, are thought not
to like such activities any more. Many peasant jokes exist
regarding (particularly) female relatives arriving from Vila
to the original family homestead clad in fur coats, expensive
jewellery, high heels and with a scented handkerchief never
far from their noses. The famous Ibicenco play, 'Pera Bambu'
('Simple Peter') has such a matança scene, with the
female relative from Vila swooning and fainting because of
the noise of the pig's squeals and the smell of the activities.
Local audiences, many of whom have actually seen similar incidences,
always roar with laughter, it is a scene now familiar to most
Ibicencos.
Early in the morning a group of men - usually
four or five (but in the famous case of the giant pig weighing
42 rovas - 420 kilos - a total of nine men) - will go to the
hut/corral where the fattened pig awaits. Deft rope throwing
lassos one of the pigs front legs and then the struggle is
on to hook in the iron nose hook if the pig is a big one.
Normally a matança pig should weigh 20 rovas (200 kilos)
or more, so they are rather hefty creatures. The men will
pull and push the pig to the banc de matar (pig killing board)
where the matançer (the pig killer) awaits. The matançer
is a respected specialist, it is an ancient and honoured calling,
and he directs and co-ordinates all the activities that day,
almost like a complex ballet. Ideally his wife is a matançera
(a female matança specialist), in which case he will
co-ordinate the men's activities and she will co-ordinate
the activities of the assembled women. Matançers will
travel around the rural areas of the island during the pig
killing season: their work is becoming more exhausting now
though, as their numbers are diminishing and there is a lack
of 'new recruits'. One sad day in the future there may be
no traditional matançers left, then many pagès
(peasant) families may be forced to take their pigs to the
modern butchers if none in their families can step into the
gap.
Traditionally, the men and women would work
in nearby but separate areas. The men work on cutting up the
pig and the women (even today only women that are not having
their monthly menstruation) deal with preparing the 'embutidos'
from the meats passed to them by the men. An exception is
the pig's blood. Once the pig has been placed, struggling,
on the banc de matar, the matançer deftly kills it
with a swift stab of the special pig-killing knife into the
jugular vein. A special woman with a bowl waits by the side
of the matançer to fill up the bowl with this first
large spurt of blood from the jugular. Once this bowl is full
she immediately retires to a corner of the women's area, where
she will stir the blood, whilst still warm and whilst it cools,
with her hand to prevent it coagulating. This blood is that
used to make the botifarras, the large 'embutidos' of blood
that are then cooked for hours in boiling water. Further blood
taken from the pig is drained into a bowl whose bottom has
been covered with salt: this blood is then fried for the matança
lunch. This latter is all done in the women's area, where
other women are also preparing the special rice and other
foods for the lunch (which on Eivissa usually takes place
from around 3pm onwards).
Once the pig has been killed, its hair is
singed off with burning fragrant brands (see previous articles),
but nowadays this is often done with bottled gas flame. The
skin is then scraped and cleaned with a special scrubbing
stone - pedre tosque - ideally of pumice (but nowadays sometimes
of a small square piece of wood with beer bottle tops nailed
'bottom out' to the wood) and hot water. A final skin cleansing,
almost like a close shave, can be done with a sharp knife
and hot water. The hoof extremities are then pulled out and
thrown away. After all this has been done the pig can be weighed
on scales if there are any around. The pig can then be shifted
to a larger and wider wooden bench to be cut up. Placed belly
down on the table, its ankles are cut and the legs bent underneath
it. The matançer then cuts the head off, starting from
the nape of the neck down through the neck column. Shifting
to one side of the bench he then cuts down each side of the
spinal column and cuts and lifts out the large layers of fat
that cover both sides of the back. These thick layers of fat,
called sa xulla, are a great delicacy and can eventually be
sliced or cut to produce es corters de xulla gorda, more manipulable
in size, great as gifts or easy to hang by iron hooks for
curing. The lean meat covering the ribs is then taken off
and now the matançer takes out the os de s'espinada
and ses espatles, the spine and shoulder blades. Step by step
each part of the pig is taken out for use and almost nothing
is wasted. Sa freixura blanca, the heart and lungs are carefully
taken out to be eventually mixed in as part of the content
of the botifarras. As much as possible of the pig is used:
in a pig of, say, 20 rovas (200 kilos), only 5 rovas (50 kilos)
would not be used. Next week we will see how that 15 rovas
would be used.
With thanks to Antonio Bonet Tur and Ana
of C'an Joannot, Bartomeu i Annabel de S'hort den Bartomeu
de sa Plana, Josep de Sa Torra, and for the work of Marià
Torres Torres - and with thanks to quite a few pigs who are
sadly no longer with us.
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All pictures © Gary
Hardy (January 1991))
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Kirk W Huffman
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