AG:
Antonio Monteiro, you are
raising at the moment six woolly donkeys of the Miranda breed in the region of
Castelo Rodrigo. How did this passion grow and why are these donkeys so dear to
you?
AM: During a survey of cliff birds in the Douro
International Natural Park, in 1995-1998, my wife and I noticed these tall and
strong woolly donkeys in the Miranda plains, with their white mouth, white
around the eyes and woolly ears. I realized that they were similar to the
Zamora-Leone breed from the other side of Spanish border. I went, together with my wife Ana, to
meet some Spanish breeders in the village of Sayago.
We then decided to encourage the realization of a zoo-technical study of the
Miranda breed. This research, financially supported by the newly created Douro
International Natural Park, and done by engineer Luisa Samões, identified the distinctive
traits of the Miranda breed.
With this 1999 report, we went to meet the department
of agriculture, which then recognized the Miranda donkey as a distinct breed in
2001. Together with some friends, we set up the association for the study and
protection of donkeys in Portugal, the AEPG,
with the Miranda breed as a main focus. This NGO still exists and is doing a
great job at promoting and organizing events about rural issues especially. My
wife Ana and myself also decided to start breeding a few donkeys to contribute
to this conservationist project. Since 1999, we managed to produce 50 young
donkeys, which is not insignificant given that it their gestation lasts for a
whole year and that the whole current population is estimated at around 800
donkeys.
AG: Do
people still use it for agriculture?
AM: This donkey is quite strong and well adapted to
local conditions. It is a heavy and peaceful worker. Local farmers – probably
in the range of 300 of them in the Miranda, Vimioso and Mogadouro area - still use it for their daily farming activities: ploughing, transporting wood for fire, etc. Some of
them now also breed donkeys to produce young ones, which they then sell.
AG: People
like Eugène Ayrault, back in 1867, and more recently Carlos Pereira (2009),
tell us that there have historically been connections in various directions
between the Miranda breed and two other woolly breeds, the French Baudet du Poitou and the Spanish
Zamora-Leone breed. For example, some believe that the Baudet du Poitou would
be of Spanish origin, that the Miranda breed would actually be quite a recent
breed, also of Spanish origin, dating back to the 19th century (Pereira, 2009:
47). It also seems that a lot of mule and donkey trade took place since the
17th century for export to Brazil, through a Poitou-Spain-Portugal-Brazil
chain, taking advantage to some extent of the Santiago Pathways before crossing
the Atlantic. What are your views on this?
AM: The Santiago pathways story sounds quite romantic…
I sometimes doubt as well about these stories involving the trade of animals on
such long distances. This being said, the Miranda and the Zamora-Leone breeds
are definitely connected. I believe that the wool probably came from the Zamora
breed, a more northern and rustic animal, Miranda donkeys having less wool.
Zamora donkeys have wool on the legs and feet, which is extremely rare for
Miranda ones.
Another difference between the two breeds is their
size. Zamora farming differs significantly from Tras-os-Montes farming. In
Spain, there was an intensive production of mules which explains why the Zamora
breed is bigger and stronger. That type of selection did not take place in
Tras-os-Montes with its small property divisions, more mountaineous landscapes,
higher population density, lower standard of living and less intensive farming.
The animals were selected for heavy work in the flat fields of the Miranda
planalto, not for mule production. Given how easy it was to cross the “raia
seca” border with Alcanices-Zamora, there was a certainly an intense animal trade
across borders. But the Portuguese way of life in rural areas always promoted
smaller animals than the Zamoran, and also very docile and calm ones.
AG:
Historically, there has been a competition between breeding mules for
agriculture - which required crossing a mare and a preferably large donkey -
and breeding horses for war. Back to at least the 14th century, and certainly
up to the middle of the 18th century, there have been "anti-mule"
laws restricting the production of mules to make sure enough horses would be
raised to serve in the army. The Portuguese king, D. Joao II, even imposed in
the 15th century the death penalty for anyone shoeing a mule for riding
purposes (Pereira, 2009: 30). Do we still find traces of this history,
notwithstanding the fact that the Miranda donkey might be a relatively recent
breed? You seem to think that the large woolly Miranda donkeys were not used to
produce mules. But were they used as a substitute for mules to get around
anti-mule laws?
AM: I believe that the Miranda donkey is quite an
ancient breed, which does not mean of course that it has always been used for
the same tasks over time. Also, the involvement with mules probably was a more
intense activity in other parts of Portugal, such as possibly in the Alentejo. Over
the last 100-150 years, the Miranda breed has been very scarcely used for mule
production… Of course, this leaves unanswered the difficult question of the
origins of the mules found in Tras-os-Montes in the 40s, until the 60s. They
probably came from the south. Miranda male stallions were crossed with Miranda
mares, but there were very few horses for that. In general, people crossed
donkeys with donkeys and occasionally stallions with donkey mares. But more research
is needed on this.
AG: Are
there any connections between the Miranda donkeys and the Alentejo?
AM: Miranda cows used to be very widespread all over
Portugal in the 1940s, including in the Alentejo. They were our Portuguese top
rustic medium-heavy tractors. The same did not happen with Miranda donkeys.
Perhaps because donkeys were so abundant in Portugal, with several regional
varieties, some of which have now gone extinct: from Alcobaça, Sintra, the
Sado, the Algarve, the left bank of the Guadiana. In the Beiras, there was
probably a mix of breeds. In the northern mountains they tended to prefer horses
and cows to donkeys. In Alentejo, there is a strong influence of the Andalusian
breed and I believe that there is no connection between Alentejo donkeys and
the Miranda breed.
AG: What
is the future of the Miranda donkey?
AM: We will probably be able to maintain a population of
around 300 individuals in the Miranda region. People here like this animal a
lot, even if very few still use it for farming. And perhaps we will be able to
preserve another population in the range of 300 mares in holiday houses along
the Portuguese coast, for urban people with small farms near cities or for alternative
neo-rural farms who keep them in groups of 5-15 animals, for tourism, tracking
or farming activities, including milk production.
AG: To conclude,
tell us one or two anecdotes about one or two of your donkeys.
AM: I remember Curro, a donkey that jumped the mares at
the rythm of 3 jumps in 15 minutes! He was quite … active and effective with
female donkeys. He was reacting very well when I called him too, almost like a
dog. At some point in spring, as he was near our guesthouse, people could not
sleep. One guest told me that he heard him barking every hour: at 1 o’clock at
night, then at 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,….
I also recall another
experience with a group of donkeys. I brought them with a friend to a place, 10
km away. And then on the way back, the night fell and we decided to ride two of
them and to speed up as it was getting darker. This led to a lot of confusion
and I fell down. I was lying on the floor, surrounded by galloping donkeys.
Then, a large mare ran in my direction with the intention of attacking me, as
donkeys tend to do with dogs and wolves. It was really dark. But as soon as she
realized that it was me, she just avoided me at the last second and went her
way.
Pictures: Antonio Monteiro
Reference: Carlos
Pereira (2009), Des origines du Baudet du Poitou, La Crèche: Geste éditions, 195p. + annexes
