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The panelo of seixal

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It's one of the finest traditions of the island of Madeira, in the company of the club of the free foot.

Exactly 67 years ago Maria da Conceição Silva could barely walk on her fragile legs and was already walking in the company of her parents to the ground of the Ribeira to celebrate Saint Anthony, patron of Seixal, on the first Sunday after the end of the year. The terraces at this time of year were covered with flowering kale and farmers took advantage of the day to prepare the soil for planting the potatoes, sweet potatoes and beans for the next harvest. The barns housed the animals, instruments of tillage and grass that fed the livestock that contributed to the meager income of the entire family. Early in the fresh morning, family, friends and neighbors lived and celebrated around the stove preparing Panelo. Everyone contributes with what they brought from home, it was the quintessential meal workers, lying everything into the pot and at the end, under a blanket made of cabbage leaves with a towel of squares on top of it lunch was deposited for all to eat as best as they pleased.

 

The music was always present, the cheerful sound of voices and instruments echoed through the mountain, also marked by the passage of bouquets of cabbage raised by young women in twirls. The musicians stopped everywhere to cheer the guests and were treated with spirits, wine and liqueurs in horns in time to quench the dry throats of both playing and singing.

 

 

67 years later Maria da Conceição can barely stop dancing and singing since the beginning of the road to the barn where on socializing with friends and family she celebrates with the same enthusiasm and joy of the past that is now one of the greatest traditions of the island of Madeira. The landscape is modernized. Most barns were recovered, domestic animals disappeared, the land was abandoned, the endemic plants abound everywhere, but the Panelo continues.

This time, Cecilia Pestana, the cook, commands the "troops" to feed 150 walkers of the club of free foot that once again fulfill the tradition. There are 45 pounds of cabbage, 10 kg of "semilhas" (potatoes), 10kg of sweet potatoes, 10 kg of carrots, 15kg of pimpernels, 30kg of beef and pork, and several pounds of sausage making up the Madeira stew. The "secret" they tell me, is the way it is flavored with sprigs of fresh thyme, which is then removed through cooking. Each of the vegetables and meat is put layer after layer, until almost the top of the pot is filled with sprouts and in its small intervals are placed sausages, black pudding and the "farinheiras". Everything is not baked in a wood stove as before, but in the gas slowly for two hours, until the cooking water is drained to prepare the rice. Nothing is wasted in Panelo.

 

But if tradition dictated that before you could eat with your hands, now each brings his own plate, his cutlery and cup and his has the power to satisfy the hunger after a tough track. Once they filled the most basic of human needs, nothing better to end a wonderful late and tiring day than having a full stomach listening to traditional music. See you next year.

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