Yesterday, the pueblo of Sineu celebrated the annual Fira de Sant Tomas, where a Mostra de les Matances was held once again to show how things were done in Mallorcan fincas and possessios the traditional way in bygone times. Matances are gatherings of pig slaughter and the preparation, cooking and making of sobrassadas, butifarrons, camaiots and other embotits.

In Mallorca, pigs are raised from as early as March and fattened throughout the year with a view to being sacrificed on or after November 11th (Dia de Sant Martí) and in particular in the lead-up to Christmas when a hearty broth, a festive Frit de Matances or a Christmassy Lomo con Col was always welcome. In the old days, the cured, boiled or fermented pork products were meant to last for the best part of the following year and thus, each small scrap of meat, offal, blood, grease, organs, fat and even trotters was used and carefully processed. Modern times and rules and regulations have resulted in a diminished uptake of these old ways of the slaughtering feast but, in most villages there are still some families maintaining the matança tradition. Yesterday in Sineu, one could witness the individual steps of the matança process at close range and even taste some of the finished products on offer.

The photo (top) was taken in Sineu, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: December 11th, 2011. The time was 12:20:54. The mediaeval image (bottom) was borrowed from the Internet, courtesy of wikipedia.org.

Muchas gracias.