Grooming Diaries
"May the Virgin Mary bless the sheep shearing. And may the Holy Sacrament send us favorable winds."
On the appointed day, we got up at 5 a.m. to start shearing the sheep early. It was cool, and it had even rained the night before, which worried us: the wool they were eager to shear couldn't be wet when we sheared it. Luckily, it wasn't.
Arriving at the place where the shearing would take place, we found Mr. Carlos waiting for us with a serene smile and eyes wide awake, accustomed to the first rays of sunlight he had witnessed since he was a boy. He would bless the flock with the smoke of blessed rosemary, crosses, and prayers to the patron saints. And so it was. The prayer finished, and at the first sign of the shears, a series of chants began, focusing on the different aspects of shearing and thanking the patron saints for the wool and the vigor of the flocks.
The sheep were huddled together, serene. It seemed they sensed the relief that shearing would bring them...because spring had finally begun to warm the lowlands of the mountains.
Shearing is done in order of age. The sheep are organized from oldest to youngest, and the work begins. The first cut is made on the back, then from head to tail, always following the shape of the animal's body. The sheep that are the shepherds' favorites are left with the tip of their tails unshorn. For grace, affection, and distinction.
Once the shearing is finished, the "handler" or shearer calls the sheep one by one and, at the end, with a sweeping gesture, traces a cross over the flock. Then, while he purifies himself with mallow or clover water, the other shepherds proceed to mark the sheep and finally hang bells around the neck of each animal.
Meanwhile, in a hurried but precise manner, the shepherds are preparing the wool. The fibers from the various parts of the sheep's body are separated, forming white, black, or brown wool (the woolen sheath). It is ready to be washed to remove dirt and other impurities that can exceed half its weight, and to extract excess animal fat. It is time to divide it into bales to be sold, but not before the shepherds reserve some for themselves in a quantity considered sufficient to have "maranhas" (a type of woolen sheath) used to secure some pieces for the family.
They, the sheep, have a languid, prostrate expression, relieved by the removal of their wool. Free, fresh, and happy.
This is an ancestral process in the Serra da Estrela region, and it has changed little to this day.
A region where the tradition of shepherding is evident in the earliest historical records, and which time has transformed into a sustainable way of life, an art form, and an industry that continues to sustain it. The land of wool and snow, as Ferreira de Castro said, is a place we seek to elevate, value, and promote—a way of life that balances with the abundant nature of the mountains we call home—to take the art of wool and the knowledge of the communities that weave it even further than the horizons allow us to see from up here.
