TUBA (Coconut Wine)
For most Catmonanon, drinking is an important part of their culture. This is their favorite past time after day’s hard work, a vital part in every gatherings and special occasions. It is a symbol of sociality; it lubricates social relations, encourages the prized values of talk and verbal wit, and promotes good rapport through singing and dancing. Some even enjoyed good time sharing their individual talent rendering old and self-made poems, story telling and cracking jokes.
Tuba was the most popular drink back then. It is the fermented sap of coconut palm, usually colored red by mixing crushed tungog (tan bark) or of the lawaan tree. (Tuba is commonly extracted from the coconut but nipa, buri, and other kinds of palm may also be the source). Lina is a pure, the freshest and the sweetish sap (no tungog added). Bahal is a day-old sap (with tungog), bitter and sour to taste.
Tuba, or coconut sap is extracted from a spadix, or the tender, unopened part of a coconut floral branch. The tuba gatherer has to climb up a coconut tree, wrap abaca or rattan strip along the length of the selected branch.
The wrapped branch is then tapped with a hardwood mallet so as to carefully bruise and rapture the tender tissues of the floral branch, which is then gradually bent downward. The tip is tied down with abaca string to a nearby leaf branch.
The bending procedure is repeated daily for one to two weeks until the floral branch droops. When the branch is drooping halfway down, the tip is cut open with a sharp knife.
After three days, sap starts dripping from the branch, and is collected in a bamboo segment or plastic container fastened to the branch. The daily slicing of the tip of the branch allows the sap to flow continuously.
The mouth of the bamboo or plastic receptacle is covered with a piece of fibrous net of light brown stalks locally called “guinit”. This keeps out the rainwater, insects, mice and lizards.
The tuba gatherer transfers the sap collected in the bamboo segment to a longer bamboo segment which hangs from his back as he climbs up and down the trees.
For most Catmonanon, drinking is an important part of their culture. This is their favorite past time after day’s hard work, a vital part in every gatherings and special occasions. It is a symbol of sociality; it lubricates social relations, encourages the prized values of talk and verbal wit, and promotes good rapport through singing and dancing. Some even enjoyed good time sharing their individual talent rendering old and self-made poems, story telling and cracking jokes.
Tuba was the most popular drink back then. It is the fermented sap of coconut palm, usually colored red by mixing crushed tungog (tan bark) or of the lawaan tree. (Tuba is commonly extracted from the coconut but nipa, buri, and other kinds of palm may also be the source). Lina is a pure, the freshest and the sweetish sap (no tungog added). Bahal is a day-old sap (with tungog), bitter and sour to taste.
Tuba, or coconut sap is extracted from a spadix, or the tender, unopened part of a coconut floral branch. The tuba gatherer has to climb up a coconut tree, wrap abaca or rattan strip along the length of the selected branch.
The wrapped branch is then tapped with a hardwood mallet so as to carefully bruise and rapture the tender tissues of the floral branch, which is then gradually bent downward. The tip is tied down with abaca string to a nearby leaf branch.
The bending procedure is repeated daily for one to two weeks until the floral branch droops. When the branch is drooping halfway down, the tip is cut open with a sharp knife.
After three days, sap starts dripping from the branch, and is collected in a bamboo segment or plastic container fastened to the branch. The daily slicing of the tip of the branch allows the sap to flow continuously.
The mouth of the bamboo or plastic receptacle is covered with a piece of fibrous net of light brown stalks locally called “guinit”. This keeps out the rainwater, insects, mice and lizards.
The tuba gatherer transfers the sap collected in the bamboo segment to a longer bamboo segment which hangs from his back as he climbs up and down the trees.
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