Japanese Occupation : Rearing of Pigs

Each litter of piglets would be from 5 to 9. And during the Japanese Occupation, it was normal for a house wife to keep a litter secretly hidden away from the eyes of the Japanese soldiers who would suddenly pounce on the village. They would come by their longboats, along the Rajang River.

So the pig sty had to be hidden away from the road in a safe place, and often hidden under some trees. And preferrably next to a pond so that water was readily available to bathe the pigs three or four times a day and to keep the pig sty clean.






The pigs were slaughtered for each festival and mainly for home consumption.

Pigs grew fast if fed on rice husks, yam leaves and rattan tops. My grandmother Wong was very provident as she worked hard to rear a litter of piglets every two years. Besides, sago logs were bought from the relatives of the Ibans and Malays who worked for the rice mills. Sago was dearly loved by the piglets.

Grandmother Wong reared only local pigs which were smaller than the commercial pigs we know of today. These black skinned and "coloured skinned" pigs were smaller but tastier. They would grow to about 50 to 80 katis (not kg) and were ready for the slaughter for festivals.

According to an elderly cousin, 50 years ago, every Foochow girl knew how to rear pigs and there was no question of a girl not willing to take care of a litter.

Collecting wild vegetables for pig food was part and parcel of her young life before she got married.