Attrezzi e strumenti del norcino al Museo del Salame by Luca RossiMuseo del Salame di Felino
A social ritual
Before the use of cold rooms, was the arrival of the cold season that determines the time of the pig’s killing: an ancient rite of peasant culture, “cruel but necessary” feast, sociality and aggregation moment that brought together the family members and the neighbourhood.
Bicicletta e tabarro del norcino by A. FochesatoMuseo del Salame di Felino
The operation took place in early morning, immediately after the sunrise, in the yard or in the open space next to the domestic pigsty. The butcher, wrapped in his coat, riding on a bicycle adapted to the transport of the necessary tools.
Once at his destination he prepared his tools, beginning with the harpoon, which he also used to carry his tools: he put it on the shoulder and hung the tools bag on it.
Sporta del norcinoMuseo del Salame di Felino
But the iron hook, grafted at the end of a long wooden stick, mainly served to catch the pig, getting it out of the cage, and to hold it still for killing.
Museo del Salame: uncini da norcino (2010) by Luca RossiMuseo del Salame di Felino
The butcher assistant, helped by another person who grabbed the animal by the tail, hooked the pig under the snout and together they overturned it on a bale of straw or on the ground and immobilized it to allow the butcher to quickly hit its heart with the “accoratore” stiletto.
Cattedrale di S. Maria Assunta, NovembreMuseo del Salame di Felino
The tool is an iron rod flattened and pointed at one end and, at the other, curved to form a ring and a short shaft. He squeezed his hand by passing it between the index and middle fingers and hit the animal's heart with determination, to cause a definitely fatal wound and an almost immediate end, but with the least possible suffering.
Torcinaso (Sec. XX, prima metà) by Zibello (PR)Parma Ham Museum
In the lower plain, near the Po, the twisting nose was typically used to keep the pig still.
Raschietto (ras'ciarola da tavlòt) (1960 ca.) by ParmenseMuseo del Salame di Felino
The next step was peeling or shaving, to scrape the bristles off the pig's skin, using scrapers and boiling water poured from a pitcher. The water was heated in a large cauldron placed on the furnace, a masonry structure or even simply a metal bin, in which a fire was made.
Paiolo (Sec. XX, prima metà) by Langhirano (PR)Parma Ham Museum
The water was heated in a large cauldron placed on the furnace, a masonry structure or even simply a metal bin, in which a fire was made.
Carrucola (1920 ca.) by Ardola (PR)Parma Ham Museum
Once the shaving was complete, the body of the pig was hung by the hind legs on pulleys or on the gallows: a pole or beam arranged horizontally, equipped with hooks, which was then hoisted with two other poles arranged perpendicularly.
Forca (fórca dal gozén, impicadóra, stanga, cadnèr) (1940 ca.) by ParmenseMuseo del Salame di Felino
In this way the suitable structure was obtained to keep the pig hanging to be gutted and divided into half carcases. The blood of the animal dripped down and it was easy to collect it in a basin and then cook the black pudding. Then with the cleaver the two halves separated.
Always with this tool, left to pass at least a day, the first large sections of the animal were cut. The work surface for the activities of the butcher and his assistants was a rustic plank placed on trestles: on it leaned the legs to be salted, the dough for the salami to be seasoned and mixed..
Attrezzi e strumenti del norcino al Museo del Salame by Luca RossiMuseo del Salame di Felino
The tools for slaughtering the pig have remained the same for centuries, as can be verified by comparing them with their depictions in paintings, sculptural reliefs, mosaics and miniatures from various eras, from ancient Egypt to the Roman age to the late Middle Ages and beyond.
It is also interesting to note a linguistic-anthropological aspect: in the area the pig, as soon as it is killed, changes its dialectal name, becoming the animal par excellence, for its ability to cheer up the tables of princes and nobles, with the most renowned cured meats, as well as to feed entire families of poor people with the less valuable cuts. So much so that in Emilia the saying was born: "The pig is like Verdi's music: there is nothing to throw away".
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