PJRT V: PJRT V: USES OF THE COCONUT PALM FOOD
CHAFTER 7 CHAFTER 7 THE BABAI
Te babai i s a tuberous p l a n t of t h e Araceae famiLy :!hich g o v s i n stagnant water; t h e a e r i a l p a r t s reach a height iof 3.5 m ( p l a t e s Id, XIIIb, c ) . The leaves a r e extremely vide, -ri.th more o r l e s s thorny p e t i o l e s . The e d i b l e tubers a r e o f ~ e n vider than they a r e lonx. Food value should approximate t h a t of t a r o ( ~ o l o c a s i a e s c u l e n t a ) .
Te babai i s found i n the G i l b e r t end E l l i c e Islands, t h e Cxroliae Islands, the Marshall Group, and i:i French Oceania. There a r e a l s o small areas of babai on F~anrlin~ Island (Liue I s . ), Gardner I s l a n d (phoenix I s . ), Hull Island (phoenix I s . ), and 1ar;e areas of wild babai and t a r o a t Washington Island ( ~ i n e 1s. )
.
The assigninent of a c o r r e c t i d e n t i f i c a t i o n .to the babai seems t o have been, f o r a long time, t h e s u b j e c t of g f e a t confusio'n. YG has been f r e - quently mis-talteii f o r : Colocasia esculenta ( t a r o ) ; Caladiuni cordi?oliunl;
Alocasia rnacrorrhiza o r Alocasia i n d i c a . 1927 Christophersen gave, ac- cording t o Merrii c o r r e c t i L e n t i f i c a t i o n : Cyrtosperma chamissonis ( ~ c h o t t ) M e r r i l l
I n the Gilberts t h i s p l a n t occupies an i r q o r t a n t p l a c e i i l n a t i v e l i f e . It i s i n f a c t the onlj' crop a c t u a l l y c u l t i v a t e d by t h e Gilbertese. They.
grow i t with ';he utmost care, b u t it should be noted a t t h i s p o i n t t h a t -the babai i s ilo-t, a s i s eenerall;. believed, a s t a p l e food, a t l e a s t nowa- days. There i s no do~xbt th a t , i i l s e v e r a l islands of t h e Group, 'the babai was much more extensively grown i n the old days than i t i s nOV7, a s evi- denced by the ixurber of abandoned pii;s. Iil a t o l l s such a s Abemama t h e ground m s i i t e r a l l y riddled with p i t s vhich have beea gradually abandoned and p a r t l y f i l l e d up by -the s l i d i n & oi" t h e embanluneiit s l o p e s . The babai is now almost a m x u r j . After livin; i i l close contact with tine nai;ives we came t o t h e conclusion t h a t , f o r t h e Gilbertese, t h e value of Lhe babai s e w s g r e a t e r from t h e p s y c h o l o ~ i c a l :!oin.L of view than a s a foods-tuff.
The graving of babai i s , inSteed, surrounded with a number oi' i r a d i t i o n s i n which pride seems t o be predoixi.iiant. For instance, much care i s s t i l l lavished on specimens of rrhich t h e only remaining value i s t h a t of ornament and the enormous s i z e of t h e i r leaves. A native w i l l d i s p l a y the :reat- es-L p r i d e i n a babai t e n years o l d ( o r even o l d e r ) vhich has reached an extraordinary s i z e , althou& the -i;uber, i f i t s t i l l e x i s t s , has usually gram too hard a i d b i t t e r . Moreover, pulliiig up a babai ia order t o o f f e r the tuber t o a distinguished gulsi; i s considered t h e grea-Lest honour t h a t can be paid t o hiu. I n more i?;eneinal 'Leniis, i-i; w i l l be e a s i l y uilaerstood
l ( f r i e d
Professor E . D. Meri-ill recently s e n t us c o i i ~ p l e k iiAdi- cations vhich enabled us f u l l y t o c l a r i f y t h i s i d e n t i f i c a t i o n .t h a t a n l a n t so d i f f i c u l t t o plan-L, vhich s r o w so s l o w l j recluires s o much tendii:,:, i s a food t h a t c a n ~ ~ o t be used indiscriminate1.i.
The s i z e of the babai p i t s v a r i e s considerably v i t h Lopogrqhic and edaphic codditions. They may ran&e II.o~:I t e n t o s e v e r a l hundi'ed square meters. Several f a m i l i e s . o r s e v e r a l iiidividuals often share a p i t ( s e e Table X I ) . The shares a r e q u i t e v~1eyua.1; one person maj orin t e n p l a n t s
or i;loye, v h i l e eiloi;her has only 'cro. The areas belonging t o each a i d in- v o l v i i ~ n orriership of babai p l a n t s a r e s a i d t o derive from a i ~ c i e n t land r i ~ h ' c s . I t i s ~ e n e r a l l y considered .that a fully-grovn babai -eciuires one square meter of l i v i n g space.
Most Gllbertese p i t s a r e veiy aacieilt, we have no r e c o l l e c t i o n of' seeing one of recent o r i g i n o r being prepared. The old p i t s are s t i l l used, and occasionally a p i t which ham long been abondoned i s b;.ouzht i n t o use ZGain.
A f a c t should be mentioned ::hich a t f i r s t glance seems parado::ical.
Some i s l a n d s of the northern group, i n vhich the food supplj- i s b e s t , have remarkable p i t s and a p r o p o r i o n a t e abundance of babai. Oil t h e other hand, some of t h e southern i s l a n d s where r a i n i s extremely i n - frequent have very fev and very poor p i t s . This i s a m'cLer f o r i-e~i-et, s i n c e a S r e a t e r produc-tion of tubers ~roulcl be a vu1uabl.e o f f s e t a g a i n s t the food shortases vhich somei;imes zff?c-t these i s l a n d s . But i t should be r e c o g n i ~ e d t h a t s o i l conditions a r e a l s o a g a i n s t them.
We s h a l l see l a t e r t h a t many piLs a r e often given uj? because t h e .,.rater has Secome brackish. I n oi;her i e ~ ; i o i l s , p i t s were abandoile& a long time ago, sometimes over very l a r e e a r e a s . This was o f t e n -the consequence of a demographic disturbance vhich r e s u l t e d i n olden times firm1 l o c a l
native p o l i t i c s ( t h i s i s t h e case i n Abemama, Aranuka and possibly ~ u r i a ) . Brief co~iuneilts on some of t h e a-Lolls v i s i t e d :
lvlarakei: This i s the i s l a n d where -;he bzbai seems t o be most ex-tensively grown. There i s a & r e a t number ol' p i t s . Most of the p l a u t s a r e over 3 r11 t a l l a n d a r e ell and c o i ~ s i s t e n t l ; , c a r d f o r .
Abeii!aifia and. Aranulia: There a r e t o o few pi'cs f o r t h e iluviber of inha'bitants, and most of -them a r e not ~ e l l kept. Abefiiama was, i n the pas-&, pl-ctctically riddled v i t h p i t s , b u t today coconu% palms occupy- the depressions which a r e a l l t h a t remains of them; these si.e of course amone; t h e h e a l t h i e s t palms on t h e island. M0s.t of these p i t s have been out of use f o r a long .time, possibly since t h e end of Binol;ol.s r.ei&n. I n those days t h e babai maj have hzG. a greater r i t u a l i s t i c s i g n i f i c a n c e . There a r e a l s o p i t s abandoiied when rater became braclrish, a s on Bike Island, ilou uninhabited.
Tairalia: The p i - & a r e generally very f i n e and the babai flourishin,:; f o r instance, those ;;rowing i n t h e v i l l a ~ e s of E i t a and Biliei~ibeu 2 r e almos'c 8s renlar!coble a s on Marakei.
Ai-orae: The p i t s a r e remarkable, mostly- because of .the % r e a t ainount of vork required f o r t h e i r excavation. The rocky platform i s o f t e n of e x ~ e p t i o ~ i a l thickness ( p l a t e I d ) and very coupac-t. An enormous volume of e a r t h some- times has t o be dug o u t and t h e s i d e s of 'the p i t s have t o be la.bo:.iouslji propped up. A s t r i k i n g f e a t u r e of t h i s i s l a n d is t h a t t h e material dug from
t h e p i t s through c e n t u r i e s 118s forrtied a fi10w1d on each s i d e .
Nilmimu: In t h i s i s l a n d .the piks a r e found mostly i n t h e north, the p i t miter being s a i d t o become brackish i n the southern p a r t . The r e s u l t i s t h a t t h e inhabi'tan-ts of t h e sowbh ask t h e northern people, a s a. :'eat
favour, f o r t h e i r permission t o tiig a p i t i n one of t h e i r p l o t s . The r a t h e r miserable condition of most of t h e babai g r o m on t h i s i s l a n d gives a p a i n f u l impression. I n most cases theye a r e even no baskets mound t h e p l a n t s . ivhintenance i s s o often neglected t h a t one ~.ionders rihether such carelessness r e f l e c t s discouragement on t h e pa.rt of the imtive i n t h e f a c e of such a poor groiith. Most ansirex t o our questions l e d us t o think t h a t l i Y c l e i n t e r e s t ~ i a s bestoved on these p i t s and their. babais.
Cultivation:
C:yrtospeima i s c u l t i v a t e d i n p i t s because it grows successfully only when l i v i ~ x i ~ l fresh-water marsh$ laA?d. @,ring -to t h e very s p c i a l grouild conditions i n 'c'ne G i l b e r t s t h e ha-tires have t o d i g down t o t h e rock;. p l a t - form and -1;hrough it i n orcer t o reach t h e ground rrater l e n s . This vork often represents a considerable e f f o r t , s i n c e t h e pla-tform i s solnetimes a t a g r e a t depth. As a r e s u l t , t h e e x a v a t e d m.%terial occupies iilLlcl1 space and is some-Limes a s high a s 1 . 5 meters. The conglomerate layer i s o f t e n s o hard t h a t it 'cakes a crowbar t o br.eak it. The next s t e p i s Lhe s-trengthen-
ing of t h e p i t walls rrherever t h e r e i s a of t h e i r collapsing, using blocks of muddy e a r t h from tine 1los.t e::cavation. Lastly, the boLtom of t h e p i t i s l e v e l l e d and the your13 babai shoo-Ls plan-ted i n i t . As they cror,r, a mixture made of humus ~ a t h e r e c l under c e r t a i n t r e e s i n -the bush and of
s e l e c t e d leaves i s spread around them. 3 b a s k e t of pandanus leaves and stakes ( p l a t e XIIIC) keeps t h i s debris i n place and a l s o suppor-ts the p l a n t . As more humus i s added t h e increasing w e i ~ h t anchors the rrhole more firmly t o t h e bottom. Tnus t h i s i s r e a l l y l i k e growing p l a n t s i n pots and
-
a t l e a s t during t h e f i r s t s t a g e s-
-the p l a n t s a r e f l o a t i n g .I f t h e roots, i n s t e a d of spreadill& ~ii'thin t h e supporting mass, grew down i n t o t h e ckep mud, t h e p l a n t r.1ou1d. d i e . I-t grows only because it i s rooted i n ail a y t i f i c i a l and a e r a t e d nedium.
When a p i t abandoned i n t h e Gistant p a s t i s r e s t o r e d t o use, i t has t o be e::cavated m d cleared of -the s o i l rrhich has i n e v i t a b l y s l i d i n t o it, and the botiiom must be le-yeled aeain. Ins-Lead of diggin;; t h e whole of t h e a r e a t h e n a t i v e s s t a r t by diggin;; holes of t h e required s i z e f o r each bab8.i p l a n t , rridedn;; them a s the p l a n t s grow, u i l t i l , -&he holes having merged., the rrhole p i t ! r i l l . Ilzve t h e same l e v e l . The irork has thus beem% mix11 l e s s toilsoine, siilce it has ilolr been spread over nany years.
The n a t i v e alira.ys chooses fo2 the s i - t e of h i s babai p i t a l o c a t i o n vhere f r e s h ~ r a - t e r i s a v a i l a b l e . Contrary 'Lo t h e viei%5 of soae au'thors,
t h e water of babai p i t s i s not brackish. Indeed, it is of-ten f r e s h e r
than 'chat of v e l l s used f o r drinlring o r cooking. During p r o l o n ~ e d d r o u ~ h t s , if m t e r becomes brackish t h e babai i > l a : ~ t ~ a r e s a i d t o ~ . r i l t rapidly.
Brackish riater i s d e f i n i t e l y noxious iiha'i.ever t h e age of a pl.axt. Long immersion due t o rain-rrater may be f a t a l -too, but only t o y o u n ~ p l a n t s . F e r t i l i z e r s :
Leaves from various p l a n t s sx16 other f e r - t i l i z i n g e1ei;ieilts a r e brought
LO t h e babai p i t . Each ovner has h i s s e c r e t technique for plaikini, and tending t h e 13lailt rrhich he keeps i ' i . ~ ~ everyone outside t h e f m i l y c i r c l e , laio~rledse of it i s transmitted oil17 Iroii~ f a t h e r t o son. The s e c r e t is i n t h e technique r a t h e r t h a i t h e ~1a-txre of t h e f e r t i l i z i n g n z t e r i n l , t h i s being obviously knorrn t o everybo&r s i x e i h e choice is ra-ther limi-Led. O f these techniques very few were tiisclosed t o us, but i;hrou&ll scr2.ps of in- foiwation ?re ve1.e siven t o unders-Land t h a t they sometimes involve tampiins vrith t h e fee-t of t h e s o i l around -Ghe /oUilg babai, o r selectio.? of par- -ticulaiq seasoils t o use c e r t a i n I'c?tilizei"s, o r sometimes t h e proportions of t h e various componeilts used i;, tile compost.
The leaves mainly used, a r e , i n order of importance, -those of t h e
f o l l o v i n ~ p l a n t s : Te kaura:
-
Sida fal.la;i L.--
t e u r i : Guettarda speciosa L.--
-he ren: lilesserschmid~a argentea
--
.be mai: A r t o c a i u s s o .--
t e '&o:Boerhavia d i f f u s a L.
--
t e kaura, xi banaba: k d e l i a bif2oi.a D. C . ('chis used fi~ainly in Abaiaag)--
t e kanaria: CordLa subcor6ata Lam. Less f r e - cluently used a r e : t e kiaou: Triumfetts procumbens Forst. znd t e Tao:Bibiscus t i l i z c e u s L. ( c a l l e d te ~iaiai-y: The l a . t t e r i s r a t h e r r a r e i n %he G i l b e r t s .
To -the leaves of these various p l a n t s i s added a y ~ a a t i t y of vegetable refuse, more p a r t i c u l a r l y o l d ptmdailus leaves, pieces of ro.&Leii cocoi3ut trunks, e t c . A s p e c i a l menJcion should be made of t e :<aura (Side f a l l a x ) . The leaves of t h i s very common ivlalvaceae a r e very seldom brouglit :yeen t o t h e ba.bai; vhen the,y a r e , d i r e c t c o n t a c t %with the plailt i s carefL!lly
avoitled. The n a t i v e know tha-t -the fernen-tation of these leaves vould pro- duce heat which vould e i t h e r k i l l t h e ba'uai or be very hairiiful. I f time i s s h o r t
-
o r i f it has been impossible f o r %ly other r e a s o ~ l 'to cky t h e leaves f i r s t-
t h e n a t i v e w i l l talie care ilev.er t o tover .t!lem with other m a t e r i a l vhen p l a c i n z them around t h e baba.i t h a t they may dry more cluicirly and remaii~ well a i r e d . Generally .$hey a r e d r i e d i n the sun o? mats i n f r o n t of t h e owner's hut. T h q a r e -Lhen s-Lored i n a basket t o be tnlren l a t e r on t o the p i t , mixed o r not with o t h e r f e r t i l i z i n ~ iiiateiial ( p l a t e XLI1d). To f e r t i l i z e the joung babai p l a r t s , rrell-dried leaves of -te kaura ace o f t e n mixed with surface s o i l , preferably gathered under Gue'cLarda t r e e s , t o vhich w l l - g r o u n d pumice is sometimes added. This preyaration, on ~ r h i c h moulds tend t o develop, i s s t i r r e d from time 'to t i u e i n t h e basketi l l vhich i - t has been mixed; ire ucre t o l d -that it 1.70ulcl thus be s t i r r e d , turned over and perfected f o r two months and longer before being applied 'co t h e babai.
Once t h e young babai i s set tile n a t i v e no longer rrorlss a t t h e bottom of t h e p i t if it i s too flooded by r e c w t r a i n s . S t i r r i n g the water and treading t o o near t h e p l a n t s when the r o o t systems a r e s t i l l rrealc, misht t e a r them from t h e i r support. Laker 011, ~rhen the babai i s s t r o n g l y rooted i n , the n a t i v e w i l l go and tend i t evea i f t h e r e i s much ?rater i n the p i t . The tending w i l l c o n s i s t i n inspecting. t h e gabions, replacing a loose s t a k e o r pandanus l e a f , cleaning the p i t of ail$ extraneous m a t e r i a l such a s f a l l e n coconut fronds, and weeding out c e r t a i n invading p l a n t s such a s t e mam
( J u s s i a e a a n g u s t i f o l i a Lam.); t e inaunei (Eleocharis genicula-ta (L.) R . & S.
and t e
rit,anin(Cyperus
javanicus Houtt.) But the most important p a r t i s the "feeding" o f n b a i . The tubers a r e s a i d -to be much more t a s t y i f the p l a n t has been abuixlantly and regularly fed. A net? betch of f e r t i l i z e r every t h r e e months i s therefore considered iiecessary.Propagation:
Several methods a r e used, depending on t h e v a r i e t i e s , almost always vegetative; the seeds of v a r i e t i e s with f e r t i l e seeds a r e seldom used.
1 ( a ) . The method most often used, and vhich i s obviously t h e simplest, c o n s i s t s i n %akin& suckers from the base o r t h e mother p l a n t aild s e t t i n g them according t o the procedure described e a r l i e r .
1 ( b ) . Under s p e c i a l conditions, vhen suclsers a r e laclcint or when t h e native i s dealing with v a r i e t i e s such a s t e ikauraura and t e ilsaraoi rihich produce f e e shoots o r only a f t e r three o r f o u r years, t h e a r L i f i c i a l p r o - l i f e r a t i o n of shoots is stimulated: Te baku, the top p a r t of the rhizome with the bases of the p e t i o l e s and termiilal bud, i s c u t from a babai uprooted f o r e a t i n g and i s f i r s t planted i n a p a r t of the p i t where i t cannot be reached bjr mter. I f it were p l a ~ t e d d i r e c t l y a t the bottom of t h e p i t i n a water-logged environment it might r o t before graving roots. It ? r i l l be l e f t i n t h i s temporary s i t e u n t i l t h e f i r s t two leaves have unfolded.
The natives know t h a t a t t h i s stage t h e r o o t system has already developed.
They w i l l then c u t t h e terminal shout a t a given height, which stimulates the a r t i f i c i a l p r o l i f e r a t i o n of suckers. When these reach a normal s i z e they a r e broken o f f , j u s t as spontaneous shoots would be, arid planted i n t h e bottom of the p i t .
2. Another method follo~,rs much tile same l i n e s a s the above b u i n s t e a d of c u t t i n g t h e termiLlal shoot, the rrhole p l a n t i s uprooted and s e t ;,ermanently a t the bottonm of t h e p i t . By t h i s uethod, a rhizome i s obtained i n half t h e time required with spontaneous suckers.
Insect Pests:
Two p e s t s should be mentioned which do not y e t cause very serious W a g e , b u t a r e none t h e l e s s a t h r e a t .
One of these l i v e s underground. It i s a scarabaeid b e e t l e , Pentodon sp. o r Papuana sp. The larvae bore g a l l e r i e s i n the o l d e r tubers.
Fortunately t h i s b e e t l e i s not coi;-wa~ly found i n t h e babai; i-t i s more freyue.nt i n the old banana p l a n t s ( a l s o grown i n p i t s ) , where it bores p . l l e r i e s j u s t under t h e base of the shoot: one vonders vhether it has n e t been in'croduced rrith banana plaxtiilg s-Lock. It might have gone from t h e r e t o t h e Cyrtospema. The Taram n a t i v e s s t a t e t h a t t h i s b e e t l e is a l s o found a t the f o o t of coconut p a l m . ( s e e p . 28 )
The other p e s t l i v e s above p o u n d . It i s a lepidopteran of the family P h a l a e n i b e : Prodenia l i t u r a . Fabricius. The c a t e r p i l l x i some.times causes serious damage t o t h e babai leaves, mostly oil young p l a t s .
I ;
may e a t a s f a r a s the c e n t r a l p a r t . This iilsec-t i s unfortunately very widely d i s t r i b u t e d throughout t h e archipelago, as i n many other a r e a s . The f a c t t h a t tine mLives seem t o shorr no coicern about t h i s p e s t and t h e damage it causes does not exclude the tlecessity of undertaking a s a c t i v e a con- t r o l of i - L as possible, p a r t i c u l a r l y a s it a l s o feeds q o n a. 1mge number of other u s e f u l p l a ~ ~ t s .V a r i e t i e s :
A s i n the cese of t h e pandanus, it rrould be easy t o enur,~erate many babai names, perhaps representin:: nore o r l e s s t y p i c a l v a r i a t i o n s or
merely d i f f e r e n t n'ames which vary froili one i s l a n d t o anotiner. Guir e f f o r t s were t h e r e f o r e prima.rily d i r e c t e d t o ~ w r d s i d e n t i f y i n g well d i f f e r e n t i a t e d v a r i e t i e s .
The c r i t e r i a used by Taraiia natives t o d e t e m i n e t h e differeiat v a r i e t i e s ?,rere checked and a r e subn~itted a s a p r a c t i c a l key f o r i d e n t i f i - c a t i o n
able
XII).Remarks on v a r i e t i e s :
1. Te anrairalri: a l s o c a l l e d t e babue; medium height ( n o t over 2u t a l l ) ; not very comnoa. Q u a l i t y of tuber, ~ o o d . Said t o be eaten a f - t e r three o r four years.
2. Te natutububua: medim hei;ht; not very hardy. The full;? grorm p l a n t i s s a i d t o produce no nev leaves, but 2 considerable number of shoots (bubua about one huinhxl). The tuber i s v i d e r than it i s long (pail-shaped).
Quality of tuber, e x c e l l e n t . Said t o be eaten from t h e t h i r d year oinrards.
i;.
Te kailiui: Very t a l l , reachin2 3 meters. Tuber mi la;^ reach a lenz'ih of 30-'10 cm. Q u a l i t y of tuber, e::celleist. Said t o be eaten from -the fourth year oiirrard.1:. Te i k a r a o i : Extremely t a l l (soaetimes over 3 m within iour o r f i v e y e a r s ) . I i i s the f i n e s t of a l l 3ab;li. Ii; requires much iiloi-e tealdin&
thaa the others, p a r t i c u l a r l j ~rhen young. Few o r no shoots (propagated by me.Lhods 1. ( b ) an6 2 ) . Said t o have t h e l a r g e s t tuber and t o be ea-ten around t h e f o u r t h p a r . r&alit;, very 2008.
5.
Te oinelre: H e i ~ h t sometimes exceeds 3 la riithin four o r f i v e years.Under surface of l e a f desq-te,
epidermis bearing lobiform appendices
Leaf undulate and upper extremity of p e t i o l e d i s t i n c t l y bent i n " s m 8 s neck"
Leaf normal A/ P e t i o l e green
a/ P e t i o l e spiny
l o / Number of leaves normal ( f 5 )
l I
Te natutububua
1/ Young leaves
sometimes s p a t u l a t e Te kaikui 2/ Young leaves
always nonnal Te i k a r a o i
201 Number of l e a v e s ciouble (
*
1 0 ).
Te oineke-
b/ P e t i o l e no; spiny
l o / Seeds f e r t i l e Te ibuota
20/ Seeds u n f e r t i l e Te katutu
B/ P e t i o l e yellowish orange
C/ P e t i o l e y e U a r i s h orange only a t t h e base
Te ikauraura Te tukuna
Table
XII,
V a r i e t i e s of babai i n Bikenibeu, Tarawa A t o l l .Numerous leaves: it i s by the nwii'uer of leaves t h a t natives distiilsuish it from t e ilcaraoi. Reproductioii b~ shoots o r by seeds. %ber i s longer than it i s vide. Said t o be already zood f o r consumptio:~.~ af-Ley s i x t o nine months. It i s the most precocious of a l l and g r o w ver,? l m ~ e i n the s h o r t e s t time.
6.
Te ibuota: P l a n t e r e c t , medium height, not very common. F e r t i l e seeds.Flower s a i d t o appear only a f t e r three o r four years. Said t o be edible a f t e r two o r three years. a a l i v y , good ( a l i t t l e poorer than t e oinelce).
7.
Te lca-tutu (pi-onounced kasusu): Medim height (1-2x1 ). The natives say"man height". Very hardy, requires l e s s tending than a i ~ y other. Flower appears around the second year i f the @ a n t has been w e l l tended. Con- tinuous abuitlance of suckers requiring thinning. Some a r e uprooted and replanted elsewhere.' The tubers a r e eaten as e a r l y a s a f t e r
9
t o 12 laonths vhen t h e i r weight ranses from 0.5 t o 1 k i l o . These f i g u r e s vaxy v i t h thef e r t i l i e e r s applied a t the time of @anti:?g. The tuber zroirs hard very quickly a f t e r flowering. S o w p i t s contain up t o 90$ of katutu, ~ i h i c h means t h a t harvestins can be cawled on-almost a l l year rouncl. This v a r i e t y is considered a s too comgil t o be used on s p e c i a l occasions ( v i s i t s , vedclin~s, Christmas, Easter, e t c . ) ; i t s qua1it.y ai:d s i z e a r e below the proper standard f o r g i f t s . Ctuality, good. If .the l e a f s t a l k
i s s l i g h t l y yellow, sub-variety uraura. I f the l e a f s t a l k i s quite green, sub-variety roro.
8. Te ikauraura: Very t a l l , souietimes over 3 m within four 01- Pive years, e r e c t , more hardy than t e i k a r a o i . May f l o v e r a f t e r tvo years only i f the p l a n t is very v e l l tended. Tuber does not grow as l a r g e a s t h a t of t e
i k a r a o i . Quality, good.
9 . Te tukuna (pronounced sukuna): Medium height. Very s i m i l a r t o t e oinelce.
C&ality, good.
The species of babai observed most frequently a r e : Te lcatutu, t e iliaraoi, t e oinelce arid t e ikauraura.
Of the follov7iing v a r i e t i e s fouild on Nilcuneu (south), .the four under- l i n e d v a r i e t i e s a r e similarly c a l l e d a1 Tarava Atoll: Te inar,raro, t e kairoro, t e ltaiuia, t e unikai, t e teboa, t e tani:~ganibulci, t e babue,
t e ikaraoi, t e ltailru, t e katutu.
Of those fould on Maraltei ( n o r t h ) t h r e e i d e n t i c a l names (uilderlined) a r e found: Te moaine, t e atinimaimku, t e iokanai, t e ikauraura, t e ilraraoi, t e katutu.
',
A l a s t v a r i e t y was m e n t i o ~ e d t o us s e v e r a l times, b u t ire rrere never a b l e t o see it: t e il-tournu, the tuber of vhich cannot be eaten until i t i s over four years o l d . It is s a i d t o be the slowest-maturing v a r i e t y , t o re- seiiible -be ikaraoi, v i t h s h o r t e r l e a f s t a l k s , and t o be s i m i l a r i n -taste.
Stages of Grovth:
We vere given by the Gilbertese descriptions of f i v e d i f f e r e n t s i z e a of babai, ~ r h i c h they measure with t h e i r aims. These observations 'irere adapted t o a growth curve ( f i g . Yi).
Te Bunei corresponds t o a plailt approximately nine months old. A t t h i s s t a g e t h e tuber wouldbe very tender. Te lsatutp is t h e v a r i e t y fiiost cornonly eaten a t t h e lsunei stage. Sorae varieties. a r e highly p r i z e d
a t the t e naanatanibura s t a s e , which corresponds t o a g m t h of approximately -three years; o t h e r v a r i e t i e s a r e much l e s s r e l i s h e d a t thtit stage, t h e
tuber sometimes being too b i t t e r . The s t a g e t e nawtanibura corresponds t o a filljr mature babai. The natives s t a t e t h a t Prom t h i s stage oii &he quali$y of the tuber decreases. The te a n p s t a c e .refers t o a plti116 appro;:lmately seven years old. Customs and t r a d i t i o m r e q u i r e t h a t f o r c e r t a i n r i t u a l s a Gabai of t h i s s i z e be selected. This is a l s o t h e case f o r t e b ~ i ~ ~ u a ,
~ r h i c h may be e s t i m t e d a t -Len y e w s o l d o r iitol.e, The tuber, r ~ h i c h has
;;ro~m very hard and of considerable size, i s a &&Lpregaiicled present froqt a young man's family t o the family of 'the g&rl he i s t o mari-y. O f t e n a babai of t h i s age has ?cached such sp9c*g$&t+&" d.eve&.opwat ii; i s kept
i n the p i t merely f o r p r i d e or, accorQng fig go.ae g e o ~ l e ' s b e l i e f s , be- cause i t 11111 stimulate the growth of the j~gn& pL@n% i;ioTriil~ ileal- it.
Food value and importance a s food:
Authors recognize the hi&h s t a r c h content of Cyrtosgeni~a tubers but they i n s i s t t h a t they should be eaten onlf vhen p e r f e c t l y cooked ( b o i l e d o r roasted). A l l t a r o a r e generally considered
as
being poor i n vitamin B and proteins.To a s s e s s accurately the consurptioil of
a
given n w b e r of persons could only be done by contiixious dilecliinc; o w t & spat, which ?rould b e d i f f i c u l t . As t h e babai is the ()illy crop reguiring r e a l worl<'-Prou t h e n a t i v e he does not g e n e r a l l y . e a t i t more often than W e e or four Limes a month and increases -this consumption oill'J i n those periods. of t h e year when psndanus and b r e a d f r u i t a r e ecarce.Methods of Use:
Foods :
Te buatoro: For t h i s dish rav babai is ~ r a t e d , The p a s t e thus made
* . i s vrapped i n leaves of t e mai ( ~ r t o c a r p u s ) o r even t e babai, divided
i n t o portions, each portion ~,rei&hin:, a p p r ~ ~ t e l y 1 lb
.
These bundles, t i e d with s t r i p s of f r e s h coconut l e a f l e t s , are iuunersed i n b o i l i n g water.The coolring p o t i s placed a t the ed&e of t h e f i r e and l e f t t o simmer f o r approximately 45 minutes; tbe bupdles a r e then taken OWL of the v a t e r , opened and the preparation csil be consumed a s is., o r mixed v i t h Iiamaimai (toddy molasses).
Te bekei: Te buatoro i s crushed i n a pan, then covered with coconut cream which has already been prepared and heated. The mix'u~re i s t i e l l s t i r r e d and may be consumed at t h i s s t a z e o r trhen cooled. Gourmets w i l l pour kamainmi over cold bekei.
. .
. . .
Te t a n g a a : The babai is peeieh, booked, then crushed. Iil days of o l d i t was crushed by nieans of a rrooden o r c o r a l p e s t l e i n a ,-imt clam s h e l l . Today a meat grinder i s inore often use&. Kamaiuai and xi-ated
coconut a r e added Lo t h e crushed babai. I~iiported fl o u r may a l s o be added t o make lmeading e a s i e r , b u t t h i s i s not e s s e n t i a l . The mixture obtained is rrrapped i n babai o r b r e a d f r u i t leaves and s e t i n t h e n a t i v e oven rrhei-e i t remains overnizht i f it has been put i n l a t e i n the evenin:. This preparation may be kept f o r .three o r four days. If it is t o be kept l o n ~ e r , it i s cooked again every. ttro o r t h r e e days t o avoid feimentatioi. Pandanus i s sometimes added t o t h i s Toad.
Te kabuibui i l i babai: This preparation i s .the r e s u l t of a process de- signed t o iilsure longer preservation. Tile pieces of babai t o be preserved a r e f i r s t parboiled, then crushed or, b e t t e r , p u t through a meat z i i n d e r . The ground product i s dehydrated bx sun &;ring, and t h i s kabuibui may be kept a whole year o r even louger. The same technique i s ; ~ l s o c ~ s p l i e d t o
b r e a d f r u i t , then t i n c t o r i a F o r s t . ) a r e prepared i n i t is c a l l e d t e kzbuibui n i mai. s, s i m i l a r wcy and t h e deh;/dra2Leci preserve F r u i t s of t e bero (picus
-
is c a l l e d 'ce ical~uibui n i bero. I n the southern islands these recipes of kabuibui appear t o be more commonly used than elsevhere due t o 'die more s e r i o u s e f f e c t s of intense and prolonged &rou$h'cs.
Pharmacopoeia:
Ehquiiries i n t o i ~ a t i v e pharmacopoeia too often y i e l d l i t t l e o r ilo infor- mation, unless -the i n v e s t i g a t o r l i v e s f o r a long time amon2 the natives.
The babai may be used f o r more then one treatment, b u t t h e oiily one d i s - closed t o us is a formula f o r curing. skin diseases ( t h o u ~ h 110 one could t e l l us which o r show us 8. c a s e . )
The tuber i s c u t i n s l i c e s , rrhich a r e l a i d i n the Suit. Yellow lilould i s sa-id t o develop, Tihich is c a r e f u l l y scraped o f f and sprinkled over the s o r e . The gatherin:: of t h i s mould i s the prerogative of only a fev s p e c i a l i s t s on each island, a d i s considered a very d e l i c a t e t a s k . We could ilot obtain a specimen of t h i s mould and d i d not succeed i n i s o l a t i n g i - L . Such 2 v a r i e t y of moulds developed on the s l i c e s of Cyrtosperma irhich ve placed i n various conditions t h a t t h e natives theinsel-ves could n o t t e l l us vliich m s t h e one generally used.