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Ethnographic Museum of Ripoll

04. Work in the home

Work in the home room.

Work in the home room.

Unlike urban or rural homes, work in the country had a natural continuation in the home. Some of the tasks were routine, others were determined by the seasons, and the family hierarchy would determine who did what. People and animals lived very close to each other. The men would fill the mangers and provide water for the mules, horses, bulls, milk the cows and clean the sties. Meanwhile, the women would tend to the smaller animals, hens, geese, ducks and rabbits, and gather the eggs to take to market along with anything else that could be sold.
Men would go to the woods and return with bundles of wood or split logs, while the women would keep the fire going, do the cooking, the washing, the ironing, repair clothing, and fill pots with cabbages, turnips, beetroots and bran for the pigs. There was a lot of work to do, with no days off, and the older children and their grandparents would join in, along with the young men and women. Throughout the year there were many other activities such as stripping the maize of its leaves, slaughtering the pigs, making soap, tidying up the tools, fixing the carts, making repairs around the house, stacking the dung, kneading dough to make bread, making candles out of wax from the beehives, and shoeing the horses and mules. All this while the girls embroidered and sewed clothing for an upcoming wedding or for exchange with travelling salesmen and accounts were settled with farmers and prices agreed with the butcher.

4.1. The barretin

OBJECTS

<p>Ethnographic Museum of Ripoll.</p>

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The barretina
The barretina
<p>Ethnographic Museum of Ripoll.</p>

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The slaughter of the pig
The slaughter of the pig
<p>Ethnographic Museum of Ripoll.</p>

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Kitchen equipment case
Kitchen equipment case
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