July 28, 2011

65 + kg wild boar in Selangau

Have you wondered why this wild boar is headless? The head has been taken according to some communal practices by the men who cleaned the animal. That is their reward for in the old moneyless days any labour provided would be paid in kind. In thecase of preparing a wild boar for the table the people who helped would be given the head as the prize. Today the tradition is still carried on by most longhouse people.

This also means that those with some money would never have the chance to buy the pig's head !! So if you want to eat some pig's head you would have to volunteer to do the preparation of the animal..



Headless pig.
Another view of the animal



Two men are needed to weigh the animal


At first weighing the animal was 65 kg



More careful weighing...63.5 kg.
Weighing a huge animal is not easy in the rural areas. 

Have you ever wondered how animals were weighted in the olden days? Not by bathroom scales definitely.

This brings to mind once long ago how in the school we tried to prove that different scales could be different in their measurement.

The daching was used and the students were put into a sarong and weighed. You can imagine the fun we had using the old Chinese daching. But it did measure our weights to a certain extent. We did even manage to weigh a boy who was more than 70 kg....and he got into the sarong with such grace!!

It would be good in a community museum to have a really good set of Chinese daching to tell the new generation how we used to weigh things in the past.

Scales and daching should be true.

Have a good day.

16 comments:

Lee said...

Hi Sarawakiana, I have not heard that word, 'daching' a long time.
Yes, I remember that being used way back in the '50s, even '70s.
And that is one huge boar!

Yes, I have encountered these big fellows in deep jungles, and love to eat them. Better than domestic pigs, cleaner.
Wild boar curry the best!
One thing I can tell you, these big fellows are short tempered, and they don't take prisoners.

One hilarious incident, I was chased by one, he protecting his harem...and I grabbed the nearest tree branch to climb up....that branch was rotted and broke under my weight.
I fell on my back, boar stopped to stare at me maybe laughing...

Then the next thing, a swarm of bees attacked me, and I ran towards a nearby swamp, that boar thought I was charging him. He ran.
Should see my contractors rolling on the ground laughing themselves silly, at my expense.

Have a nice day.
Lee.
ps, here there's wild boar farms....sold for meat.

Anonymous said...

Does the meat of the wild boar taste the same as the raised pigs?

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

You had a good science teacher.

I remember one class had a teacher who wasn't trained as a SCience teacher. They never went to the lab. I was lucky to have a Miss Q aka chiu.

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

this wild boar is very thin, but I still don't eat this meat. Communist time, I told you why.

Ensurai said...

Hi Uncle Lee
It's nice of you to drop by...Yes...I have read some of these wonderful stories of yours in your blog about meeting this and that in Sarawak jungles. Nice to know of them and how you are associated with Sarawak....Sarawak is always an interesting topic and place..I love Sarawak...and about the wild boar farm..that's most interesting...is there a web site??? I won't mind operating a WB farm!!! LOL dreams....thanks. cheers.

Ensurai said...

Dear Anonymous...Wild boar meat is completely different from the commercially farmed pig...and if the meat is lean it is actually exquisite if you know how to cook it well.

Simple stewing is best although stir fried in special Chinese wine also makes it a top range restaurant dish!! Fit for a king I must say...The Ching Dynasty Emperors loved wild boar meat as well as deer meat...

Ensurai said...

Ann
I think I really had a good science teacher every year of my secondary school. Except one who was determined to discourage girls from taking science...I am sure he would be surprised how many of the girls did well in life in the end. One collected a PhD ...But our late Mr. Temple was the best of all. He was inspiring. Oh Yes! I remember many science teachers who never took their students to the lab.....

Ensurai said...

In a way YES Ann the WB was thin...but I have not really seen huge ones in the last few years...Not that I have seen many. Not enough fruits...

sarawaklens said...

that's a big boar!

Ensurai said...

Yes...my amazement and thrill..part of my short road trip...In fact that is a record for me to see such a big one...Usually I see only the chopped up meat...

Anonymous said...

i am curious if wild boar is considered babi by the muslims. since it is different from the real babi, they should be able to eat wild boar?

Ensurai said...

Anonymous...Nope Wild Boar is in the Babi category because of its split hooves...I have a photo to show the split hooves..another day...then.

However strangely...Egypt has one of the most unusualy pig husbandry industries....

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

CY,

go ahead and persuade you FIL to give you a plot of Iban land for you to start your eco tourism farm.

I will tell you where to get wild boar. In Singapore, can you believe it? NTU was built on the jungle. Now, it border a jungle . Sometimes, we see wild piglets dashing across the road. You get ant eater too.

Seriously, I will persuade my sis Margaret to get her students to come and plant the crops for you. You can be syndicated to her university, and let her students get their practicum done at your frm.

Ensurai said...

Thanks..Ann...It is so tempting to think and act...Will see what I can do in the next two years...I am a little nomadic at the moment..Even thinking of finding a cave with Wireless...

Yes...Your sis and her students helping me out is a great idea...but again it could require some political connections.

Anonymous said...

Can you get me a pair of wild boar@real wild boars at a price to be kept at my farm. At moment i rearing local breed boars(black and white) not the one you found at Kuching-serian Road. Marketable hobby and i always run out of stocks. Selling cheap ma...RM. 14-15/kg. very tasty,free range and feeding on natural food and foliages. e-mail me,serious Ann. E-mail Maling@jmg.gov.my (kuching-Sarawak)

Ensurai said...

I will get in touch with Dublin but how do I send it to you? Can you come to Miri if I give you Dublin's address.

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