posterrëm [series i]
august 2023
isniq, kosovë
posterrëm [series i] captures the sacrifice of a calf in kosovë.
usually there are two times a year that calves are sacrificed: either as kurban -- after the fasting month of ramadan -- or as posterrëm in the winter -- which serves as a preparation and conservation of meats for the harsh winter. nonetheless, the act of sacrification can be expanded onto other periods.
in this instance, the calf was sacrificed for a family wedding -- only a day before the wedding took place. it simultaneously serves as a blessing to the couple as well as a gift to them and the attendees.
as is customary, the sacrifice takes places within one’s own grounds and always outside. halal slaughtering requires the utterance of bismillah [بسم الله] as well as the cutting of throat as the only means through which the blood can shed. then, the animal is left to bleed out.
there has, however, been a shift in the procedure of today’s sacrifices: oftentimes, it is through a preemptive [bolt] shot into the head, that the animal is killed. after follows the slitting of the throat and the bleeding out -- following tradition. indeed, also the involvement of a butcher is rather unusual. posterrëm has been predominantly an event, in which only one’s family -- or if you were to share the meat, also the other party -- would be involved.
as seen in the following pictures -- a chronology of the sacrifice -- the process is highly gendered. the initial part: towing the animal out of its shed, the slitting of the throat and also the cutting of the bigger parts is predominantly executed by men. it is after the bigger chops/pieces have been produced that the women step in and take care of portioning the different pieces of meat.
posterrëm is a principal subject in my texts. as it is cyclical itself, it also is constantly re-iterated in my work. it is the aesthetics as well as the religious and cultural elements to posterrëm that are of interest to me.
august 2023
isniq, kosovë
usually there are two times a year that calves are sacrificed: either as kurban -- after the fasting month of ramadan -- or as posterrëm in the winter -- which serves as a preparation and conservation of meats for the harsh winter. nonetheless, the act of sacrification can be expanded onto other periods.
in this instance, the calf was sacrificed for a family wedding -- only a day before the wedding took place. it simultaneously serves as a blessing to the couple as well as a gift to them and the attendees.
as is customary, the sacrifice takes places within one’s own grounds and always outside. halal slaughtering requires the utterance of bismillah [بسم الله] as well as the cutting of throat as the only means through which the blood can shed. then, the animal is left to bleed out.
there has, however, been a shift in the procedure of today’s sacrifices: oftentimes, it is through a preemptive [bolt] shot into the head, that the animal is killed. after follows the slitting of the throat and the bleeding out -- following tradition. indeed, also the involvement of a butcher is rather unusual. posterrëm has been predominantly an event, in which only one’s family -- or if you were to share the meat, also the other party -- would be involved.
as seen in the following pictures -- a chronology of the sacrifice -- the process is highly gendered. the initial part: towing the animal out of its shed, the slitting of the throat and also the cutting of the bigger parts is predominantly executed by men. it is after the bigger chops/pieces have been produced that the women step in and take care of portioning the different pieces of meat.
posterrëm is a principal subject in my texts. as it is cyclical itself, it also is constantly re-iterated in my work. it is the aesthetics as well as the religious and cultural elements to posterrëm that are of interest to me.