pitahayero?

Question

In Romulo Gallegos, La Trepadora:

"Vamos a tumbar las puertas y a sacar las mujeres arrastradas por los cabellos, para echarselas a los pitahayeros"

In context, clearly refers to a group of men, a rabble or following, on foot, that accompanies a pair of mounted bandits attacking a village.

English: "We are going to knock down the doors and drag the women out by the hair, to throw them to the (pitahayeros).

Just wondering what the derivation could be. Venezuelan context. - hharmony, Nov 28, 2013

Answer 1

I don't know but here in Baja "pitahaya" is a kind of fruit that grows on certain cactus.

Thanks, sounds credible. In Mexico, another cactus fruit is "tuna", is that the same or different? - hharmony, Nov 28, 2013

InSpain´´ tunas ´´are Prickly Pears, horribly spikey. - annierats, Nov 28, 2013

Very similar. Pitahayas are about the size of a peach or plum but are basically the same as tuna or prickly pears. - gringojrf, Nov 28, 2013

only larger than prickly pears. - gringojrf, Nov 29, 2013

Answer 2

¡Hola!

I think you are correct about the cactus fruit. Here are are a couple of small fotos of pitahayero cactus:

and also .

The pictures made me wonder if "dragging the women by the hair and throwing them at the cactus plants" was like the old time mariners punishment of keelhauling offenders and dragging them over the barnacles on the hull to scrape and injure their skin.

Waddya think? Is it possible?

Regards/Saludos

By the way, they are delicious, very sweet. They come in white and red The ones shown here have white pulp inside and the red or red inside and out. - gringojrf, Nov 29, 2013

The spines are very sharp. So yeah it would hurt a lot. A very evil punishment. - gringojrf, Nov 29, 2013

Gringorjf, I think the cactus connection is valid, but I don't buy the keel-hauling analogy. In the context it is clear that the threatened punishment would be gang rape. The naming of the pitahayeros could have to do with them being "thorny". - hharmony, Nov 29, 2013

Thanks for the photos. The other Mexican cactus is nopal, and the fruit is called tuna, if I recall correctly from 40 years ago. - hharmony, Nov 29, 2013