A Timeless Day

Written: 2/9/09

Wednesday I awoke to a very sad surprise. My Baby-G, the watch I have nurtured and loved since college has finally died. A few days ago the band started to break so I new the end was coming soon. I did not expect so soon. Now there it lays, its little face empty, just sitting on my kitchen table. When I got to school I was in for another surprise. We were finally slaughtering the bull that has been a drain on our resources for the last 6 months. He wasn’t exactly fat, but quite a beast. I had watched Velaphe and Marco slaughter the pig and figured it was time for me to learn where my steaks come from. In the states people complain about animal rights and all that, a quick death. Not the belief here. it was actually a really interesting process. The principal wanted us to slaughter it on the school yard, to show the kids that he has given them beef. I did not agree with butchering an d killing in front of 1000 kids and Marco told me that its not part of their culture to do that. Thus we secretly killed the bull up next to the school yard. I’m going to describe how we did the deed so if you have a weak stomach and would rather not know I would stop reading. I say “we” but my main job was taking pictures and holding a leg out of the way once in a while. Women aren’t supposed to touch the knives and they aren’t really supposed to help with slaughtering. Let me also let you know that the whole process was completed with two knives, palm length, that were definitely not sharp and they had to keep rubbing on rocks to try and sharpen them. One guy started it all by trying to get the bull so his head was braced against a tree. This prevented the bull from ramming the guy with the knife doing the stabbing. Once the bull is flush the guy with the knife stabbed it into the bull’s neck, right at the base of the skull. The first time the bull was a little phased and the guy had to run out of the way. The second time there was a loud crack and the bull fell to the ground unconscious. The left it there for a few minutes to see how much damage was done then decided to cut off the tail even though it wasn’t dead yet. While one guy did that the other started to slit the throat. Not really slit, more like hack. Finally after about 20 mins the big bull breathed his last. It took all 6 of us to roll it onto its back and then the guys all started to skin it. This process was boring but went much quicker than the hours it took to shave the pig. Once skinned then one group started to gut it and one started to cut off limbs. The stomachs were the coolest part. There was almost nothing else inside the cavity except the giant sac that was all 4 stomachs. The lining looks like grey carpet you would find in a dirty old ladies house and is really cool. Our cows are sick and it was neat to see the neon green on the undigested grass contrasted with the little pink and white larva that were the internal parasites. I didn’t get to see the heart but did play with the lungs and liver. Once the legs were off and the insides were now out Velaphe started a fire of twigs and plastic and any other garbage and started to roast little pieces. We finished chopping up the bull by taking an ax and handsaw to the chest and ribcage. The whole process was less the bloody and gory than I would have thought, all except the actual death of the animal. We roasted the meat, I got the first share, and all sat around with the bull in chunks. I love little experiences like this where I am able to see a part of the male side of the culture that women typically don’t share in. The guys have learned not to notice me so I am really able to observe and see how they interact.