The Mallorca of before tourism is preserved in Campos

For nearly 30 years, he has been searching, buying, and collecting pieces, utensils, and objects that are the last testaments to the way of life—and work—of the Mallorca that tourism left behind. What were the chamber pots like? What were the measurements before the metric system? How did our godparents farm and what did they use? How did they clean their noses? What were their school notebooks and globes? Where did they keep their water and oil? And how did they make their bread and noodles?

It's been almost three decades since technical architect Miquel Ballester Julià (Campos, 1969) began collecting all kinds of objects linked to the professions, traditions, and ways of life of Mallorca in recent centuries, but the seed of this harvest comes from much further afield. "I became deaf as a child," Ballester recounts, "and at first I shut myself away a lot. But then I got used to spending time with older people, who showed me how they did things and told me stories. And that left its mark on me; it made me start to feel affection for everything that was old and traditional, and always.

It left such a lasting impression on him that he built a 1,000-square-meter building, designed by architect Jordi Oliveras. It's the Campos Ethnographic Museum, opened last April, and displays everything he's been responsible for collecting over the years, from tableware to dresses, carts, tools from all kinds of trades, and handwritten texts. Collecting, he acknowledges, runs in his family, as it was his father who started the collection, which he has continued, especially since 1998, when he decided to dedicate himself to it professionally. "I was part of a cultural center at the time, and we had organized various ethnographic exhibitions in Campos," he says, "until one day I realized that we were missing an opportunity with temporary exhibitions. It was great to show certain things with those displays, but I thought we needed a place where we could permanently preserve all the life of our ancestors," explains the art historian. In the Ethnographic Fields you can find recreations of traditional carpenters' and blacksmiths' workshops, as well as a shop and a bar.

The collection of weights and measures

The tour of this center, built on the site of an old winery belonging to Miquel Ballester's family, can't be defined other than as a journey through time. He answers, "I can't even throw a stone, because there are countless numbers, and in the end, no number truly represents what is being told here, which is the story of the island's inhabitants," he argues.

However, he doesn't hesitate to choose the item he values most out of the thousands he's gathered: the collection of traditional weights and measures of Mallorca, almost complete and on display as a whole. "It's the cradle of all this, surely what identifies us the most, because it's not easy to find in its entirety, and this is the only place where you can see it. And it's not only used for educational and educational purposes, but it also defines Mallorcan identity. With the decimal metric system, it disappeared, but until then we had used our own way."

However, the collection of weights and measures is only a small part of everything on display throughout the two-hour guided tour that Ballester offers to all those who want to visit the center, always with prior reservation. "It's impossible to tell the story of each and every object on display, but we believe it's necessary to provide support and information that helps put the different rooms and their contents into context," says Ballester, who emphasizes that her partner's involvement throughout the process has been essential to bringing this to fruition. She appreciates the support of all the people who have contributed to shaping the collection, given the diverse provenance of the elements that comprise it.

"We no longer value history"

"There are donations and there are purchases," the center's director summarizes, "and there are many things that the owners didn't really know what they were when they gave them to us," he adds. This last group includes an impressive traditional Mallorcan cart, from a property acquired by a German. "I saw that he had it lying there and asked him what he planned to do with it," Ballester explains, "and since he didn't even know what it was, he gave it to us without any problem. And the same has happened with many other things, because not everyone knows the true value of the things they have in their homes. Now there are individuals who call me to come and see it and discern it."

In fact, the head of the Campos Etnográfico assures that in recent years there has been a resurgence in the buying and selling of traditional elements, although it has been mainly for decorative purposes. "People don't seek them out for their ethnographic value, but because certain things have become fashionable," he asserts, "like, for example, antique shop counters. Before, no one would have thought of buying one, but now many foreigners want to put them in their homes, and they've gained value, as has also happened with the plows that fill them. They're also used to store firewood in the house." However, Ballester admits to feeling concerned about the future, not only of the collection but, above all, of everything it represents. "We no longer value the history of things; globalization has swept through everything, and we've lost the connection with our past," he explains. With the Ethnographic Fields, however, he has managed to establish a link that keeps us connected.

Eight Leaps in Time

If the Campos Ethnographic Museum is a time capsule, the preserved miniature of the cell of Sister Damiana Prohens, a Conceptionist nun from Sineu, is the capsule within the capsule. "It dates from the early 19th century," explains Miquel Ballester, "and was made from items that the imprisoned nun herself sent to her family so they could see what the cell where she lived was like." And no detail is missing: you can see the bed, the stonework, and the prints on the wall.

Among the dozens of Mallorcan wineskin griffons on display at the Campos Ethnographic Museum, which opened last April, one particularly stands out, as it has a built-in key. "There were those who were alive in the inns, and if the Madonna left for a moment, they would take advantage of the opportunity to steal the wine. And that keyed griffon served to prevent that," says Ballester, who has been in charge of cleaning and restoring all the griffons, which come in different sizes and shapes.

In the center's first room, items related to the Mallorcan countryside are displayed, including a blood mill. Nearby, you can also see a machine used to make noodles of different sizes, dating from the 1930s and originating from an old shop in Felanitx, where it was used professionally. "Some had one at home, but mostly it was used by those who were dedicated to it," Ballester explains.

During the tour of the building's various spaces, visitors have the opportunity to rediscover the establishments that once filled Mallorcan towns and neighborhoods. Ballester recreated workshops and shops, as well as the interior of a home, a school, and a bar. Visitors can also see an old barber's shop, where an original price list hangs, and where a first-aid kit and a sterilizer, also filled with real items, can be seen.

Miquel Ballester says that the first Felanitx jugs are documented in the 17th century, although they continued to be made until the beginning of the 20th century. "They were the gift that the in-laws gave to the future daughter-in-law before getting married," explains the center's director. "That's why they were increasingly wrapped. Jealousy between families meant that more and more of each spout was wanted to be shown off." In addition to the jugs, the collection also includes the molds used to make them.

Gastronomy is one of the most prominent themes in this ethnographic collection, which includes everything from pots and cups for hot chocolate to glasses, vases, and plates. Also included in the collection are a handful of antique greixoneres (small pots) with their lids, pots for cooking couscous, and a series of basins for roasting meat, especially suckling pig and meat. "They used reeds to keep the meat from touching the broth," Ballester explains.

One of the trades Miquel Ballester has best documented is that of carpentry. In fact, two workshops are recreated in the center: that of the rough carpenter, in charge of field equipment, and that of the fine carpenter, who worked primarily on furniture. You can see in the center, for six bearers, from the carpentry shop in Can Majora de Campos.

In one of the center's display cases, you can see about twenty pairs of women's shoes that are strikingly modern. "They're from the middle of the last century and were made by Magdalena Sampol, the first female entrepreneur in the Balearic Islands," says Ballester, who managed to recover these extraordinary examples of Mallorcan shoemaking heritage almost by chance. "A dealer wanted to sell me some, but I bought them all," she says.