QR La Sauvetat 10
The bujade
Laundry in days gone by
Laundry was only done once a year and would take about a week! It was often done in the month of May. The women would go to the washhouse to « lave » (or clean) the washing, then carry it home in their wheelbarrows. The next day, the laundry was placed in a large vat known as a budzadi, a process known then as sieta. The large items were placed at the bottom and the heavy linen shirts at the top. Everything was covered with a large sheet called an ash tray or a fleuri. Finally, some well-sieved wood ash from the chimney where vine shoots were burnt was sprinkled on top.
The laundry was left to stand overnight, and the next morning pots of boiling water were poured over it to « cook » the ash. Once the washing had stood all day, late in the evening it would be taken out of the vat, a process known as dissetia. The following day, the men took the laundry to the washhouse in their carts. The washerwomen would beat the washing with the beaters, rinse it thoroughly and then lay it out on the grass to dry.