The scene is gruesome, like something out of a horror film. Bits of animal, hooves, heads, and hides are scattered over the ground and thick red blood has formed limpid pools in the low-lying places. It looks as though a family of goats exploded here just a few moments earlier. Men stand around with large knives, talking and laughing and sharpening. The women sit in small circles, hovering over bowls of hot water and intestine. They too are laughing, for it is a joyous occasion.
An old metal door clangs closed and the final sheep is led out. This one, like the ones before it, senses its impending doom and fights with the men as they drag it out into the open. The look in its eyes is one of terror and surprise. Surrounded by the sights and smells of his dead brethren, this sheep is forced onto its side and is held down by two of the men, one of whom brandishes a large knife. This man kneels down behind the sheep’s head, feels under the sheep’s chin for just the right spot, and then, before you think to look away, digs the knife blade deep into the fleshy neck, almost completely severing the head from the rest of the body. The blue blood turns red as it spills out of the animal and meets the surrounding oxygen. The sheep thrashes around on the ground and, like his brothers before him, attempts to flee the scene, rising quickly and stumbling wildly, head bouncing and blood spilling until he runs headfirst into a nearby wall and collapses. The sickening sound of gargling blood is the only noise audible as the men watch the dying sheep breathe evermore slowly. Finally, the breathing ceases completely and the men approach their slaughter with smiling faces. The first man nears the sheep and reaches out to grab it, but just as he does, the animal begins thrashing yet again, with all the energy it can muster, one final effort at escape that lasts a mere twenty seconds and is over as quickly as it had begun. The sheep is dead, and now the work begins.
Two men can skin a sheep in roughly fifteen minutes. They start by rubbing water on the open flesh of the neck, washing away the blood before it dries on the meat and fur. They then turn to the hooves, cutting the ligaments in what would be the sheep’s knees and bending the joints backwards with a satisfying crack. The remaining piece of flesh is severed and this chunk of leg and hoof is thrown into a pile with the others. The first incisions are made on the inside of the hind legs. From here, the skin is cut away from the meat and fat and slowly peeled off, little by little. After a short while, the hind legs and tail are completely bare and the carcass is hung by the leg upside down in a nearby tree. The men continue peeling the animal, separating the hide and meat by slicing through the connective tissue and by hitting it with their fists and handles of the knives. The sheep now looks as though it is midway through taking off a fleshy dress, the top of which is folded over, inside out, and slowly being pulled down towards the ground. After a few more minutes, the body is bare and the only places where the skin is still connected are at the front knees and neck. It is at this point that the head is completely severed from the body, and the remaining blood and some stomach bile spill out of the open neck and onto the feet of an amateur sheep skinner. As he splashes dirty water onto his sandals and socks, the pelt is completely removed and hung, still inside out, on another branch of the same tree.
The men now begin disemboweling the animal. A small slit is made and slowly the fleshy underbelly is cut open, allowing the stomach and other organs to flop out. The small intestines are pulled out first, handful by handful, and placed into a bowl of warm water. Next, the organs are removed, one by one, liver, heart, lungs, and placed in water. These are then given to the women to be cleaned and prepared. Then the stomach is removed, opened, and its contents spilled out upon the ground. The stomach is then cleaned and added to the rest of the meat. These insides will be eaten first. Finally, hot water from a teakettle is poured into the animal’s anus, flowing backwards through what is left of the intestines and flushing out what is left of the animal’s last meal. This marks the end of the slaughter. The sheep carcass is now carried inside and set on a table where it will remain for the next week. The family will slowly hack away at it, cutting off a piece here, a piece there, grilling and boiling and steaming and pressure cooking until all that remains of the once vibrant sheep is bones and memories.