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G@ttoGiallo
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G@tto: On SALE in South Sardinia

Showing posts with label miscellanea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label miscellanea. Show all posts

March 10, 2010

The Practice of Euthanasia in Ancient Sardinia...

... or : "Su ohi de s'accabadora"*

After a phone call with a friend recalling some conversations with old people
on a topic that has always been a taboo,
I just googled two keywords :
Accabadora and mazzoccu.

- The "femina accabadora" or "agabbadora" (Span. v. acabar) is the woman
who completes the task - meaning she "helps" to pass away or, in short, a
"terminator". This character
used to be an old woman dressed in black, veiled
face - often the midwife of the village, who was called to end the agony of the
dying when it lasted too long, causing unnecessary suffering.
H
er task accomplished, she moved away. Her performance was not paid
with money, but rewarded with flour, salt, lard or other common items.

It was an ancestral form of euthanasia, practiced in cases of extreme necessity.

- The "mazzoccu" or "mazzolu" is a piece of wild olive wood, T-shaped like
a hammer
(more info here to translate).
Like all items related to the most secret rites and traditions, this tool was kept
carefully hidden, when people didn't get rid of.
However, one of them is still
visible at the Galluras ethnographic museum, in Luras.


A single sharp blow of this instrument on the temporal bone was supposed
to end the agony
, though sometimes choking with a hand or a pillow was
enough to stop a weak breath of life
. The accabadora's performance was
so fast it appeared to be painless...


The latest reported activities of the Accabadora
would have occurred in Luras (1929) and in
Orgosolo (1952)
, although someone believes
that the last case
would be as more recent as
in 2003
.


The Luras case is certainly emblematic : when
a 70 years old man passed away - with some
help from such a black angel,
the local police
and prosecutor were unanimous in reporting
the act to a humanitarian context, so the woman wasn't convicted and the
case was filed.



[luoghimisteriosi]

Infos gathered thanks to :
- Contusu.it
- Galluras.it
- A. Satta.pdf

Alberto La Marmora and William Henry Smith were the first to report this primitive
practice of euthanasia in Sardinia in their travel journals, in the early 19th century.

___
* [the sentence "su ohi de s'accabadora" means "the last lament of the dying"].

July 13, 2009

Waiting for the virtual postman...

... to deliver 10 MB Google additional storage
for G@tto's pics
on Picasa.

... Now, as it may take up to 24 hours for the 10 GB of storage
to appear in my account, maybe there will be some new posts
(with pics) on PPG before I leave
for a 2 weeks vacation...
___

July 08, 2009

April 12, 2009

Precious Easter Eggs for Your Eyes...

... laid by a very special hen, Carl Gustavovich Fabergé, of course !
(Wikipedia)


1. First Imperial Egg, 1885
2. Renaissance Egg, 1894


3. Rosebud Egg, 1895
4. Lilies of the Valley Egg, 1898


5. Spring Flowers Egg, 1899
6. Cockerel Egg, 1900

____________

Happy Easter Holidays
yours faithful G@tto

February 04, 2009

Réservé aux Musicos Parisiens...

... habitant Paris ou environs
(pour raisons de logistique).


CABINE INSONORISÉE en vente.
Excellent état et insonorisation parfaite.

Des amis déménagent à l'étranger et la cabine
représente
une complication supplémentaire,
surtout qu'elle est trop grande pour leur futur
appartement. Ils ont donc décidé de s'en séparer...

Achetée 10,000 €, elle sera revendue 4,000.


Si vous étes musicien, vous savez déjà qu'il
est impossible
de répéter chez-soi sans avoir
de problème avec ses voisins, à moins d'habiter
une maison entourée d'un grand
parc, ce qui est
rare en ville.



Détails de l'annonce et contact ici !
___________________________

Too late... sold to a drummer on Feb 15th !

January 03, 2008

Selenite is a many splendoured crystal

The Naica Mine of Chihuahua, Mexico
and the Crystal Cave of Giants.

(Images : (c) Javier Trueba, Madrid Scientific Films).

In April 2000, brothers Juan and Pedro Sanchez
were
drilling a new tunnel when... (read).

Giant Crystal Cave's Mystery Solved
National Geographic - April 7, 2007

___

March 21, 2007

Having fun with iPhoto...



Bottles in the street - Saint Paul du Marais, Paris.

*



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