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Traditional Mallorcan object

Empelt i navalla d'empeltar

At a glance

Empelting: inserting a part of another tree with buds into a branch or trunk so that they join together and produce another fruit (DCVB). Empelt is the act…

Objects and tools
Traditional Mallorcan object
Words
empelt, empelt d'escut / d'estaca, empeltar, esporgar, «Net i esporgat»
Events
1
Self-Made bud-grafting knife Segedinac.jpg
Self-Made bud-grafting knife Segedinac.jpg — Gmihail at Serbian Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 rs, Wikimedia Commons

What is

Empelting: inserting a part of another tree with buds into a branch or trunk so that they join together and produce another fruit (DCVB). Empelt is the act, the grafted piece and, in Mallorca, the newly grafted plant, especially the young vine or olive tree (DCVB, Mall.). The tool is a curved blade knife (navalla reganxada or pruner).

How is

  • Navalla: very curved blade, for pruning, grafting and cutting straps (DCVB, names of Massalcoreig and Morella; Mallorcan name, to be verified; see trinxet ).
  • Raffia, reed or palm ties (local material, to be verified).

How is fa

Com s'usa

Types of empelt cited for Mallorca (DCVB):

  • Empelt d'escut: a bud is cut with a quadrilateral of bark (the escut) and applied to a "little window" open in the bark of the tree.
  • Empelt d'estaca: similar form, with this name in Mallorca, Eivissa and Vendrell.
  • Other generals: crown, bark, canonet.
  • Wild olive trees are grafted with olive trees, bitter almond trees with sweet almond trees, and border carob trees with fruit carob trees (common combinations in Mallorca, please verify).

Vocabulary

  • empeltar — graft.
  • empelt — graft; newly grafted plant (Mall.); lie (Mall.).
  • empelt d'escut / d'estaca — graft types (Mall.).
  • esporgar — clean the tree of excess branches; in Mallorca, also removing knots from a cane to make it smooth.
  • «Net i esporgat» — clean, without losses (Mall.).
  • Ignore.: "Empelts estrafalaris" to criticize the fashions in the peasant's dress (DCVB).

History

  • 13th century: Llull: «Qui vol empeltar perer o codonyera en olivera...» (Contemplació, DCVB).
  • 1568: «In Janer deus esporgar los arbres qui perden la fulla» (Aguiló, DCVB).
  • Today: grafting continues on farms and nurseries.

On veure'n

  • Almond, olive and carob farms in winter.
  • Nurseries of local varieties (Son Mut Nou for fig tree).

Why is it design

  • Live design: the page combines two trees to make a new one.
  • The word jumps: empelt = lie, mix, strange fashion.

For the project

  • Metaphor for Indigenous Design: grafting contemporary design onto traditional trunk.

Frequently asked questions

What is Empelt i navalla d'empeltar?

Empelting: inserting a part of another tree with buds into a branch or trunk so that they join together and produce another fruit (DCVB). Empelt is the act…

What are the traditional words for Empelt i navalla d'empeltar?

Some words: empelt, empelt d'escut / d'estaca, empeltar, esporgar, «Net i esporgat».

Sources

Working text from the Disseny Indígena knowledge base, machine-translated from Spanish.

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