Shearing, secular use in Madeira. 
Today, the shearings only assume a recreational and ethnographic character, but in the past they held social and economic significance, which, in an effusive and festive environment, gathered crowds in a mix of breeders, traders and families on the go. 
In the past, there were shearing places in various parts of the island, along the central mountain range, such as “Paul da Serra” and “Serras do Poiso” (“Ribeira dos Boieiros”, “Chão das Feiteiras”, “Chão da Aboboreiras” and “Chão dos Terreiros”). 
Currently, there is still a true interest in grazing and forestry, and the tradition of shearing that still occurs annually, has been proposed as an ecotourism product, with the recovery of old places where they occurred, being projected as a way of disseminating this cultural heritage. 

Credits: Museu de Fotografia da Madeira - Atelier Vicente´s.

 

 

JOAQUIM AUGUSTO DE SOUSA | Clippers at Paul da Serra | ant. 1905
16.4 x 21.5 cm | Simple negative, glass | Gelatin and silver salts
MFM-AV, Inv. JAS / 204

 

 

 

FIGUEIRAS PHOTO | Shepherd shearing a sheep, at Paul da Serra | post. 1930
9.9 x 14.9 cm | Simple negative, glass | Gelatin and silver salts
MFM-AV, Inv. PHF / 74