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life with indigenous pigs

moonriver posted on Mar 16, 2007 | views: 1164 | Tags: Pig, poo, eating, life, camping, kids, Pig life, poop, humor, river, forest, sophie

this story is about pigs.

or at least pigs figure in this story. after all, this is the year of the pig.

(kruuyai's blog on culture shock made me write this one. so if you've just eaten your dinner and you retch while reading this, blame my friend with an asian nickname... :-)

i've had some years of field work in rural mountain villages among indigenous tribes of a certain southeast asian region. if you did, too, you'd quickly appreciate a common culture that gives prime value to pigs as a converter of vegetable to meat.

originally a wild creature of the forest, indigenous pigs in these parts are easily recognizable because of their coarse and sparse black hair, long and lean build, and almost pointed snouts. among some tribes, they are still allowed to go free, foraging on vegetation among and around the houses, except inside the tightly-fenced vegetable and root crop gardens.

but among the more settled tribes, with wider fields of grain and swidden gardens to protect, letting the pigs range free inside and around the villages is no longer practical. over many generations, these tribes have learned to keep their pigs in enclosed corrals -- built of low stonewalls, mostly under and around the houses on stilts.

the indigenous folk have evolved a nearly zero-waste management program, whereby most household waste doesn't go to waste, but is fed to the pigs.

now this is where my story begins to get really interesting.

when sophie and i were a newly-married couple and had just arrived for work in those villages, we knew we would experience extreme culture shock like we haven't faced before -- especially in her case. we had no idea the first shock would hit us that early morning, right after our first night in the village.

sophie had asked mother k. where the toilet was, because she badly needed to go.

mother k. pointed to the pig corrals, starting from the one directly under the house where we stayed, and then pointing her finger farther away, from left to right, showing a giant hive-like network of low stonewall corrals. the walls were about 1.5 meters high, and maybe half-meter thick. each corral, some bigger than 10 meters in diameter, contained one, two, sometimes three pigs.

"anywhere there will do," mother k. said, smiling at sophie with utmost hospitality.

sophie's face was incredulous. i had never warned her about this, because i barely realized myself that this was still widespread practice. after all, most villagers had attended public school and learned about basic hygiene. but there it was. and there we were, mouths agape.

"but, mother, where do i seat myself?" sophie asked.

"anywhere on top of a wall, although you will want to find a hidden corner that can't be seen from nearby houses."

"and you mean i can just let my waste drop into the corral?"

mother k. smiled and nodded. sophie asked some more details about how and where to wash afterwards, and mother k. basically told her to do a quick wipe right there, and go wash more thoroughly later in the river.

sophie looked at me with SOS written all over her face. i just shrugged and asked, "do you want me to go with you, be your guard?"

not really, she said. "just stay nearby so you can hear and come quickly if i need your help."

so she did. and quickly too. not one minute had passed when i heard her screams. heck, perhaps the entire village heard her.

rushing to her side, i immediately saw the problem. under where she squatted, with bare butt exposed and her pants bundled around her knees, two pigs were rearing up on hind legs, their snouts ready to catch her poop. poor sophie was so terrified, her peeping poop simply decided to slink back in.

half-crying and half-screaming, sophie pulled up her pants and jumped down the wall. "shit, i can't do this, moon, i really can't. isn't there any regular toilet around here? an outhouse? even just a latrine... those pigs are such... such... such dirty, obscene pigs! oh, shit, i have to shit somewhere...!"

i didn't know whether to laugh or cry at sophie's predicament -- which would also be mine in a little while, but at least i was more confident in handling the pigs.

mother k. explained that this was long-accepted practice in this tribe and all the nearby tribes, that within a few seconds after people produced them, human shit turned into pig food. she apologized for the fact that the houses had no indoor toilets nor outhouses. we just had to accustom ourselves to the practice.

for the first few days, i spent those early mornings acting as guard while sophie pooped, not to shoo away human peeping toms (since folks in those parts didn't make a big deal of seeing genitalia in public), but to shoo away hungry pigs whose snouts went dangerously close to her private parts.

the funny thing is that, in my case, i would have dropped all my poop but the pigs would still rear up, grunting lewdly, and point their snouts ominously at my ass. and wait... and wait. only later would i realize that the pigs often mistake my scrotum for a turd piece that refuses to fall.

i was so embarrassed with the entire affair, as we had become the village's top news of the week. so sophie and i devised a new technique. instead of sitting on top of the corral walls, we dropped down to inside the corral itself, sat ourselves and did our morning rituals with our backs to the wall, safely eyeing the pigs' moves. we each held a long stick, so that when the pigs came near with their drooling snouts, we would snappily prod them away. we also brought along a plastic gallon container so we could wash right there.

after a few more days, sophie had adjusted enough, and i no longer had to accompany her. it was for the best, too, since the village youngsters had started winking at us and to ask if pooping was really all that we did behind those walls.

she never did get over the stomach-turning sight of plain-boiled pork being served during ritual tribal feasts, though. i would remind her that native chicken ate live worms, that river shrimps scavenged on rotten scum, so why did she love chicken and shrimps.

"but that's different," she would protest. in a sense, maybe yes. the pig ate her poop, and now she's expected to eat that pig.

i could go on with our misadventures with obscene pigs and orchid-decorated latrines and ice-cold waterfall baths hidden behind giant fern trees. but that's grist for another blog or two.



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Comments

  • gingersoul said on Mar 16, 2007....

    Moon....oh......LOL...this was pure fun.....you made me laugh so loud my dog came in the room alarmed...LOL...

    I can easily imagine poor Sophie trying to mantain her posture and her dignity sitting on top of that corral....oh my...i would have never done it in that way since the beginning....believe me...my desperation would have bring me to immediately choose the solution you found later........

    my butt exposed in that way with ramaging sniffing pigs all aroudn it .....

    no way Jose'.....lol..........

    And its so funny that the kids were naturally so accostumed to the practice that for them the privacy you find was considered, instead, a signal of something dirty going on, something to hid, sexual ....:-0

    Priceless memory...thank you for sharing this pig adventure...:-).

    If you ever will go there again will you be planning to have a differen  approach to the pig-poop situation? Will you think about some more skillfull device to use?

    Or will you happily poop with no shame at all now?

    A pix would be required, thank you.....LOL......{{{hugs}}}

  • secretlife said on Mar 16, 2007....

    moon.  i sat here reading this with my mouth WIDE OPEN.

    i had NO IDEA.

    NO IDEA.

    honestly moon....no idea.

    i know if it were me in sophie's place, i'd never in 5 million years be able to poop.

    forget it.

    find me a plane back home.

    and i'd never in 5 million years eat any of those pigs either.  i just couldn't.

     

    i'd like to read about the ice-cold waterfall baths now....

  • satyr said on Mar 16, 2007....
    man, I grew up next door to a pig farm here in the US moon - who ate the pig shit? It's 10 times worse smelling than human shit - LOL.
  • moonriver said on Mar 16, 2007....
    ginger -- maybe your dog smelled the pig stink too? lol. oh, but before we thought about the prodding sticks, the choice was somewhat like "from the frying pan into the fire" since the cobbled floor of the corrals were also littered with pig poop. and their snouts could be so invasive even in that position. yes, i want to go back, i have no shame now in whatever posture... wanna pic? or peek? :-) but i don't think sophie would ever want to relive those days.

  • moonriver said on Mar 16, 2007....
    secret -- i can see your face now... lol. perhaps exactly how sophie's incredulous, terrified face looked that time. it seems almost heroic how she lasted four months living in those conditions. just don't ask her to do that again. ever. as ginger said, no way jose. and as you say now, never in 5 million years...LOL.

    satyr -- the pig manure, after some time, was gathered, thoroughly mixed with rotten vegetable matter, and plowed back into the muddy fields as organic fertilizer. so, in an indirect way, the shit cycle loops back to people... :-)

    writing about ice-cold waterfall baths... hmmm, i have to get into the right mood first ;-)

  • gingersoul said on Mar 16, 2007....

    Moon...i know what you are thinking about those waterfall....*wink*

    How can you go there after writing about pig's shit?.....only a man......:-0

    No peek...it would be involving smelling  that poop...lol.....

    but a pix would be really funny...not too detailed though, thank you...LOL... 

  • gingersoul said on Mar 16, 2007....

    Moon......you can always daydream with MY pictures for now.....:-)

    here

  • kruuyai said on Mar 16, 2007....
    moon:  You really outdid me this time.  Ha!  What a toilet story!  At first, I was thinking, I wonder how those poor pigs feel about having people shit in their homes.  But then....    mmmmm, and I always felt guilty eating pork, because pigs are supposed to be so intelligent.  Do they eat their own shit too?  Horses have to eat their own shit.  Their digestive process depends on it.  But theirs is mostly grass and hay.  I knew a woman in Colorado who used to eat antelope poop as a party trick.  My, oh, my... look how I get going every time this subject is brought up.  I'll, uh... let you go now.  :)
  • satyr said on Mar 16, 2007....
    LOL - this gives a whole new meaning to "Eat Shit!"
  • beyondtheveil said on Mar 16, 2007....

    moon- My wife would go camping, things like that, but she would have walked to the beach and swam the ocean before hanging it over the pigs.

    Wasn't it possible to find some bushes? I live in the desert and can find bushes.

    Things like this must account in some measure for the disease I hear about in many locations. It doesn't take a whole lot to become a bit more hygenic. What's wrong in so many parts of the world? And poverty isn't a cover it all excuse.

     

  • footballmom said on Mar 16, 2007....
    Wow, thats different cultures for you!  We went camping years ago with our oldest son.  He really had to go when we got to the camp site so I let him squat over a rock and had then planned to pick it up with a bag.  When he was done he stood up and it was then that our dalmatian ran up and swallowed the stinky log in one gulp.  He then thought he would happily jump up and lick our faces!  
  • mom said on Mar 16, 2007....
    wow so your pork tasted like shit?
    I didn't know they did that either, but it explains your user id. :)
  • moonriver said on Mar 16, 2007....
    ginger -- well, after wallowing in a pigsty, a bath does look inviting, doesn't it? oh, btw, i left out other equally interesting details of toilet technology in those parts, like, what did they use to wipe their behinds without the benefit of toilet paper? maybe i should write this down in another blog.

    did the waterfall give you ideas... again? lady, sometimes your thoughts anticipate mine too accurately, it's scary...lol. hey, your pics are ok. will gush and swoon more properly in your blog.

    kruu -- i had wanted to include funny incidents involving a latrine with rotten timber linings (can you anticipate too where this is going? lol), but then again, maybe in another blog. i think pigs have simpler stomachs than ruminants, but i read somewhere that horse stomachs are also very simple. antelope poop, huh. i draw the line at exactly that point... :-)

    satyr -- i can just imagine a sporting yankee who finally adapts, and turns this morning ritual into a fun game..."g'mornin', dearies. real hungry today, huh? sorry i kept you waitin', had to prepare your food real nice first. guess what, this mornin' it's gonna be -- surprise! -- pork and beans! eeeeea--sy does it... watch out for gas... here's a nice big one... oohhhh... there ya go. yummy, huh? want another?"

    beyond -- yes, bushes would be the best alternative outside the village. but see, these were big compact villages where each square meter had its customary use established for many generations. one could actually do it among the backyard gardens but the local folk would sooner or later frown on this because you'd be denying valuable food for their beloved pigs, and literally throwing it to the dogs (who are also voracious eaters of human shit if you allow them).

    surprisingly, medical doctors i know who've also done field work in those areas didn't make a big issue of the practice, except for the need to identify parasite carriers, and to clean and cook pork meat more thoroughly, since they are carriers of encysted parasites. the bigger concern there was (and remains, to this day) malnutrition, upper respiratory infections, and water-borne diseases. one could view the pigs, in a sense, as living waste disposal facilities that filtered and processed waste into meat -- just clean and cook well :-)

  • moonriver said on Mar 16, 2007....
    footballmom -- what i observe is that dogs particularly like baby shit. makes sense too, since the digestive system of children are not yet very efficient... dog sense says, "all that pure dairy side-product must not go to waste!"...lol

    mom -- hmm, wait a sec, let me allow that one to sink in. nope, still floating... lol!

  • mom said on Mar 16, 2007....
    lol, I just threw that out there.
  • hotaka said on Mar 16, 2007....

    There are at least a dozen jokes that come to mind but that was an interesing story and very believable too. In the old days farmers used to get night soil from the cities and use it for fertilizer in the country. Human waste was used to grow food for human consumption. Basically, it's the same molecules being passed around and around in a cycle. Biology takes care of the processing. Whatever went into the pigs muscles was what was needed to make pig muscles. The rest was sent right back out again.

    I was more worried that I was going to read that the pigs took care of the butt wiping with their tongues. That would have been a bit much to take.

  • moonriver said on Mar 16, 2007....
    bwahahahaha. hotaka, sometimes your mind is so... remarkable, you know that? lol. you're right of course. the pig's metabolism doesn't care too much whether its food came from human feces, restaurant slop, or even pig carrion for that matter. i guess it's only us humans who allow psychology, culture, to override matters of nutrition. but beyond's concerns are also valid, in that parasites -- like those that cause schistosomiasis -- can easily transfer from human host to fresh feces to pig host, and can even survive a 10-minute boiling heat.

  • mobil said on Mar 16, 2007....

    Interesting Moon, I like your poetry, but this was very interesting.

    Thanks for sharing these poop eating pigs......thanks Moon

  • moonriver said on Mar 16, 2007....
    mobil -- thanks again, friend. another poetic brew bubbling up from my magic cauldron, a few hours more. if only to neutralize that pigsty aroma that now pervades my blog haha.

  • thexperfectximperfection said on Mar 16, 2007....

    ROFLMAO! Oh...that's good. I have to de honest...I really don't think I could do what Sophie did. Chances are, I would have screamed about the pigs and then I would have falled down on my butt. I have to admit though, your solution, while unorthadox, seems to be a great idea. Seriously though, that story will have me laughing in dead silence during my next test in class or something. ha ha ha.

    *hugs* Your perfect imp friend.

  • beyondtheveil said on Mar 17, 2007....
    moon- My wife recently told me she read where one of the dirtiest things we come into contact with is a grocery shopping cart of all things. The main reason is they find fecal matter on the handle from small kids sitting in the cart. Guess you can find things like you were talking about anywhere.
     
    And those carts are never cleaned.
  • moonriver said on Mar 17, 2007....
    perfect imp -- i imagine you silently giggling in class. hey, you don't want a low grade in that test, do you, laughing your mind off about native pigs and their long snouts, rooting about, and obscenely sniffing bare bottoms for morsels of poop. focus, imp, focus...lol.

    beyond -- *now* you warn me!!! i just went grocery shopping this morning!!! LOL

  • hotaka said on Mar 17, 2007....
    I'm wearing latex gloves from now on when I go shopping! And only use a hand basket.
  • gingersoul said on Mar 17, 2007....

    Beyond.....i always had the feeling of touching something unbelievable dirty when i push those grocery carts so i took the habit to use their plastic bags to cover the bars ....just in case... ...

    Moon.........and what did you buy, pig poop feeder?.....Did you buy pork chop with mustard ???.....lol...

    Hotcake....LOL.....i can see you wearing those gloves at the store...."Attention shoppers. There is a suspect maniac in aisle 3. Drop your mellons and run".........lol...

  • moonriver said on Mar 17, 2007....
    ginger -- how did *you* know??? wanna really know my grocery shopping list yesterday? lessee... tea, graham crackers, the usual kitchen and laundry supplies. we buy fresh fish, meat and vegetables mostly from the local farmers' market.

  • kruuyai said on Mar 18, 2007....

    moon:  Yup... I can see right where that story is going.  You know, this whole post is starting to be rather reminiscent of hotaka's Origin of the Feces.  You must check it out.

  • gingersoul said on Mar 18, 2007....

    Moon......*how* do i know??.....ehehehe....i dont tell.......*wink*..

    Going grocery in a little while and toilet paper will be on my list......lol....

  • moonriver said on Mar 18, 2007....
    kruu -- thanks for the link. i went to hotaka's feces blog just now. funny how feces talk easily turned to zodiac signs huh? here it's veering to grocery lists, lol. btw, i had read one title he mentioned there, sagan's dragons of eden. also elaine morgan's descent of woman, which i think is a tremendously insightful elaboration of the aquatic ape theory of human evolution, from the very specific point of view of women. i think you'd be very interested in ms. morgan's works, if you still haven't read them.

    ginger -- pork chops are my favorite, but you were way off on the mustard. never did go for that icky stuff. my favorite side salad for porkchops is finely chopped spring onions, chili and ginger soaked on soy sauce with a dash of peppercorn. a real hottie!  btw, i'm writing a blog about unusual foods you can buy in local markets here. beyond giant squids and chinese cabbage, i mean... *wink*

  • kruuyai said on Mar 19, 2007....
    Descent of Woman?  Is that anything like The Scent of a Woman?  (just kidding).  What on earth is an aquatic ape?  Looks  like I've got my reading cut out for me, if I can manage to get my hands on either of these books.  Thanks for the recommendations.
  • moonriver said on Mar 19, 2007....
    kruu -- proponents of the "aquatic ape" theory suggest that in the several million years' hominid evolution leading up to homo sapiens, there was at least one million years spent in littoral or semi-aquatic conditions that shaped some of human features that would otherwise be hard to explain. some links:

    da scent of a woman, a book explaining the theory of how some apes can dance the tango like al pacino...LOL. talk about twists in topic evolution, from pig poop to al pacino.

  • secretlife said on Mar 19, 2007....

    i just want you to know moon, that i made pork chops for supper tonite.

    as i was washing the chops and patting them dry, all i could think of was your poop-eating pigs!  I think pork might be forever ruined for me!!!!

  • moonriver said on Mar 19, 2007....
    secret -- you see, kruu, you see? which was why i had agonized for eons whether to publish this blog in the first place or not... LOL!

  • zzz1219 said on Apr 08, 2007....
    funny story.. can i share this with my friends??
  • moonriver said on Apr 08, 2007....
    zzz -- sure. and tell them to be on the lookout for poop-eating snakes too, i hear a mutant species has been proliferating in the public sewers and septic tanks of nyc and LA. one of these days, one will rear up its hideous head from your toilet bowl and receive your deposit as you quietly sit there...LOL. thanks for dropping by, zzz. now to get my...self...some...well...earned...sleep....zzzzzzzz

  • MissMimi said on Mar 13, 2008....
    OMG, I don't know if Grape will see this, but thank you, Secret for linking this.  I'm laughing so hard, I'm crying here.  OMG...
  • moonriver said on Mar 13, 2008....
    why miss mimi.... ((smiles in pleasant surprise))... i'm so glad you discovered this story of mine. easily one of my favorites too.

    secret provided you the link? hey thanks secret... :-)

    this story serves as the watershed of my fascination with poop technology, which i share with that other gentleman-camplife enthusiast. hahaha.

    thanks for dropping by, friend.
  • moonriver said on Mar 13, 2008....
    oh, btw, a month ago, sophie emailed me. (i miss her emails... snifff... haha) she had accompanied a friend to this same tribal territory i blogged about.

    sophie told me that much of the pristine, untouched, and raw attraction of the place remains. but some things have changed. households now have toilets. gone are the days of "morning duels at the ok corral." especially now that tourists have started coming in...

    with that bit of news in mind, part of me's glad, part of me is so wistfully, unexplainably sad...
  • MissMimi said on Mar 13, 2008....
    ah, yes, pooping with the pigs...  those were the good old days.  ;)

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