DOI article:
Mingote Calderón, José Luis: Yokes for three cows: a vanished technique for breaking in cattle in La Sierra Norte of Madrid
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49004#0014
6
J. L. MINGOTE CALDERON
Draught cattle in La Sierra Norte of Madrid
Our working area coincides with that delim-
ited by the “Patronato de Areas de Montana
de la Comunidad Autonoma de Madrid”
within the framework of the ethnological
work carried out in 1988, which includes the
19 villages indicated in Fig. 2.
Despite the insistence on stressing the cul-
tural homogeneity of the Sierra Norte of Ma-
drid there are also differences - some very
slight - in some aspects of the material culture
and more specifically in some of the aspects
related to cattle.7 The first difference relates
to the type of draught animal used to pull the
plough, and the second to the use of carts as a
way of transporting cereals. In respect to the
use of threshing machines, there do not seem
to exist such differences as in the case of
plough.
With regard to draught animals which pull
this implement and ancillary harrows we find
two types of villages. In the first the preva-
lence of cattle is absolute, while in the other
the farmers will also use equids: mules or
donkeys. The first group is the most impor-
tant and most of the villages of the area be-
long to it (Fig. 3-5). The second one is much
more narrow and only two villages belong to
this one: Robledillo de la Jara where cattle
and mules and donkeys were of similar im-
portance8 and La Puebla de la Sierra where
donkeys and mules were the most commonly
used. At both villages mixed teams of cow
and mule known as de ganga were present.9
The use of cattle has also been important
for carts. Only in very recent times and then
only rarely is it possible to find carts for a
single mule. In several villages, however, the
use of carts has been combined with the use
of mules/donkeys to transport the crop. The
preference for one over the other method is a
very clear reflection of the social status of the
farmer, since not everybody could afford to
have a cart at his disposal. This was the case
Fig. 3-5. Yoked oxen for ploughing from Gandul-
las (Madrid). Photographed by J. L. Mingote Cal-
deron 1988. □ Ochsen im Joch zum Pfliigen, aus
Gandullas (Madrid). Fotografiert von J. L. Min-
gote Calderon 1988.
for La Puebla de la Sierra, Robledillo de la
Jara and further away for La Acebeda where a
rugged landscape and the absence of track-
ways wide enough for carts imposed the ex-
clusive use of mules/donkeys for carrying the
crop.
J. L. MINGOTE CALDERON
Draught cattle in La Sierra Norte of Madrid
Our working area coincides with that delim-
ited by the “Patronato de Areas de Montana
de la Comunidad Autonoma de Madrid”
within the framework of the ethnological
work carried out in 1988, which includes the
19 villages indicated in Fig. 2.
Despite the insistence on stressing the cul-
tural homogeneity of the Sierra Norte of Ma-
drid there are also differences - some very
slight - in some aspects of the material culture
and more specifically in some of the aspects
related to cattle.7 The first difference relates
to the type of draught animal used to pull the
plough, and the second to the use of carts as a
way of transporting cereals. In respect to the
use of threshing machines, there do not seem
to exist such differences as in the case of
plough.
With regard to draught animals which pull
this implement and ancillary harrows we find
two types of villages. In the first the preva-
lence of cattle is absolute, while in the other
the farmers will also use equids: mules or
donkeys. The first group is the most impor-
tant and most of the villages of the area be-
long to it (Fig. 3-5). The second one is much
more narrow and only two villages belong to
this one: Robledillo de la Jara where cattle
and mules and donkeys were of similar im-
portance8 and La Puebla de la Sierra where
donkeys and mules were the most commonly
used. At both villages mixed teams of cow
and mule known as de ganga were present.9
The use of cattle has also been important
for carts. Only in very recent times and then
only rarely is it possible to find carts for a
single mule. In several villages, however, the
use of carts has been combined with the use
of mules/donkeys to transport the crop. The
preference for one over the other method is a
very clear reflection of the social status of the
farmer, since not everybody could afford to
have a cart at his disposal. This was the case
Fig. 3-5. Yoked oxen for ploughing from Gandul-
las (Madrid). Photographed by J. L. Mingote Cal-
deron 1988. □ Ochsen im Joch zum Pfliigen, aus
Gandullas (Madrid). Fotografiert von J. L. Min-
gote Calderon 1988.
for La Puebla de la Sierra, Robledillo de la
Jara and further away for La Acebeda where a
rugged landscape and the absence of track-
ways wide enough for carts imposed the ex-
clusive use of mules/donkeys for carrying the
crop.