When, my friend Kiliii Yu invited me to participate in the slaughter of an ailing sheep, I was ambivolent. I didn't really want to butcher a sheep but I felt it was important to learn the process. Kiliii is a traditional hunting expert so the killing was quick and humane. I have great respect for Kiliii and his group of traditional skills enthusiasts, they work carefully to ensure that nothing is wasted. This is in stark contrast to the cruel and horrific process of industrial meat processing. I believe that eating commercially processed meat is both unhealthy and immoral.
This poor sheep was suffering from severe birthing complications. We sat with her and said a prayer while she nibbled at the grass.
Kiliii shows us where and how to cut.
After the killing We learn how to seperate the skin with a dull tool and my fingers so we don't damage the hide.
Once skinned Kiliii cuts open the body cavity and reaches inside to remove the guts. It's essential to work carefully and avoid contaminating the meat.
The liver is removed for eating later.
Even the fat coating the stomach is removed to later be rendered for use in cooking, soap, and a variety of other products.
Reaching inside the chest cavity to remove...
...the heart and lungs.
Kiliii inflates the lungs, facinating!
An unfortuate fact of this slaughter was the removal of two dead lambs, here Claire begins the work of skinning.
The finished lambskin.
Back at the sheep Kiliii is working hard to cut off the head, very firmly attached.
Jack works on quartering the sheep using an obsidian knife.
Taylor cuts the out the backstrap.
Kiliii makes the final cuts before everything is packed into tubs for transport.
The miracle of life continues. Taylor feeds a brown sheep while a lamb frolics in the foreground.
Oz the cat supervised the entire operation.
Sincere thanks to Kiliii Yu and his crew for sharing this experience with me.