έπαψα να είμαι κυνηγός εδώ και πολλά χρόνια...
που και που όμως, για να περάσει λίο η ώρα μπαίνω στο φόρουμ αυτό (παραπάνω μπαίνω στο ψάρεμα !!!)
εγράφτηκα μέλος χτες για να κάνω το ποστ αυτό και να σας μεταφέρω τα πιο κάτω...
διαβάζω τωρά ένα παλιό βιβλίο και βρήκα ένα κομμάτι που αναφέρεται στην πανίδα της κύπρου που ίσως το βρείτε ενδιαφέρον....
το βιβλίο τούτο που διαβάζω τωρά ονομάζεται Travels in the Island of Cyprus τζαι έγραψε το ένας εγγλεζάς....το 1905 περίπου (1909 δεύτερη έκδοση)....
το βιβλίο είναι μία μετάφραση του βιβλίου Viaggi per V isola di Cipro που έγραψε κάποιος Giovanni Mariti to 1769.
O Giovanni Mariti ήταν νεκατωμένος μέστες πρεσβείες τον καιρό εκείνο στην Κύπρο... (από το 1760-1767 ήταν στη Κύπρο).
ότι αναφέρει στο βιβλίο αφορά τα 7 αυτά χρόνια (1760-1767) .
επειδή κάπου αναφέρει και κάτι τιμές για 'πουλλούθκια'
επισυνάπτω μια φωτό από το βιβλίο που αναφέρει τις 'τιμές συναλλάγματος'...τα παρακάτω είναι κομμάτια από κείμενο που αναφέρονται στη πανίδα της Κύπρου....
ίσως βρείτε ενδιαφέρον τα 'πουλλούθκια', το κυνήγι λαγού με σκύλλο, το τι πουλιά υπήρχαν κτλ....
enjoy....
απόσπασμα 1
----------------
Wild goats, deer, wild boars, wild asses and wild cattle have all
been exterminated ; as well as pheasants, which abounded in
Cyprus even after its unhappy absorption in the Ottoman
Empire.
===========================================
απόσπασμα 2
----------------
Of wild quadrupeds there are only foxes and hares : the
latter, owing to the fine pasture, are better flavoured than our
own. The European residents keep horses and dogs, and
amuse themselves greatly at all seasons of the year in hunting
these animals.
Among birds the commonest are francolins, partridges,
woodcock, quails, thrushes, and every kind of waterfowl : we
may say in fact that no winged game is lacking. The price
of francolins and of partridges is the same, five soldi each.
Woodcocks are a little dearer, for though they are abundant
enough they are more prized, and other birds are extremely
cheap. I must not forget the beccafico and the ortolan, which
are very plump : they are sold indiscriminately at four soldi
the bunch of twelve, and they are so plentiful that even at this
price they are a source of profit to the villagers. The largest
catches are made near Santa Napa. Some are sold fresh, but
most of them have the head and feet cut off, are scalded, and
then put into vinegar with certain drugs. Thus prepared they
keep for a year, and are sold at the same price as the fresh
birds. The sale of these little birds is in the hands of the
Europeans at Larnaca, who continually receive commissions
from England, Holland, France, and some parts of the Turkish
dominions, from correspondents who desire them for their
own use. Every year 400 little barrels are exported, some
containing 200, others 400 birds. The way they are generally
prepared here for the table is to cut them in two, and put them
on the gridiron with bread crumbs and a little parsley which
gives them an excellent flavour.
In the months of July and August one sees many vultures
standing in the fields like flocks of sheep ; but they are only
birds of passage, whilst all the other creatures we have
mentioned are natives : unless we should except the woodcock,
whose nest has never been found in any part of the island, nor
indeed, so they say, elsewhere.
================================================
απόσπασμα 3
----------------
Among the venomous beasts there is a kind of snake, which
the Greeks call κουφή, or deaf, whose bite is mortal. The
longest are two feet in length, and their thickness across about
a thumb's length. They are yellow and black, and have two
little horns on the head. The Greeks err in calling it the deaf
snake, as it is certainly not deaf, for the peasants when they
reap the corn, among which it chiefly lives, to guard themselves
from its attacks, besides keeping their boots always on
their feet, have also little bells bound to their sickles to alarm
and scare them away. A useless precaution, were the snakes
really deaf. I ought to add before leaving the subject that at
Tremitiu, a village in the island, is a Greek family which is
said to enjoy the hereditary virtue of curing persons bitten by
these serpents. I have seen myself two persons who within
twenty-four hours after the bite presented themselves to one
of this family, and by a simple pressure of the wound were
healed. On the other hand others have died who did not
seek, or who despised, this remedy. But it is true that their
virtue consists in a particular secret, for when they press the
affected part, they deftly apply some powder which causes
severe but momentary pain.
The Tarantula of Cyprus is a spider of dark hue inclining
to black, all covered with long hairs. Its bite is very dangerous,
but not mortal; it never fails to cause pains accompanied by
fever. That of the Galera is poisonous and mortal. This is
a narrow beast, flat, about six inches long, of a yellowish hue,
and furnished with a quantity of legs which it moves all together
like the oars of a galley, whence it takes its name. There is
also a black snake five or six feet long. This is not venomous,
and may be handled without offence. It is sometimes skinned
and cooked, and said to be a savoury morsel.
The horses are not fleet, but in Pafo there is a breed which
is renowned for the pace called chapqun^ a short amble, which
they can keep up for six hours running, over hills or plains,
without the least inconvenience to the rider. The donkeys
have the same pace, and the mules of both sexes, which are
considered the finest in this part of the Levant.
The oxen are small and lean ; the Greeks do not eat beef,
upon the principle that the beast that tills the ground should
not be used as food for man.
The sheep supply the best meat. There are some magnificent
ones, with a tail so large that it weighs as much as fifty
pounds, and some have three and even five horns. The lambs
are chiefly eaten in the summer. The flocks of goats are
really beautiful on account of the remarkable cleanness of
the animals, the different colours and varied spots of their
coats.
The greyhounds are much valued for the chase, and their
speed is such that when one goes to hunt with falcons, dogs of
a slower race are taken, so as not to lose one's pleasure if the
hare were caught in the twinkling of an eye. The best breed
is white, with long hair about the ears and tail, and a long but
stout and strong foot, the rest of the coat being somewhat
rough.
================================================
τζαι ευτυχώς που υπήρχαν τζαι τούτα, γιατί οι 'γενέτζιες' ήταν άσιημες !!!
==================================================
The Cypriots are generally well formed, tall and good
looking, sober and temperate. The women have mostly good
eyes, but ugly features, and few are seen of any special beauty :
they are tall, spirited, little industrious, and luxurious : they
are long lived, and often re-marry when they are already greatgrandmothers.
All Greeks like amusement, but the Cypriots
to excess ; and though they be never so much oppressed by
the government they never lose their liveliness.
