Kalagan Food Trip

Kalagan cooks and the food trippers pose for a picture in the school grounds of the Sirawan Beach Elementary School.

           

            “Know your city, know your indigenous food.” With this as its slogan, the Philippine Women’s College of Davao (PWC), through its Research and Community Extension Office (RCE), launched its first food trip to Sirawan, Toril, Davao City on April 28 to savor the exotic food of the Kalagan Tribe of Davao.

            The Kalagan food trip is the first activity of the Food and Cultural Exchange Program initiated by the RCE in order to promote community tourism in Davao City. The idea is to make Dabawenyos aware of indigenous communities in the City and interact with them. And what better way is there of knowing them than through their food and culture?

            Ten adventurous souls composed of faculty and staff of PWC and their friends heeded the call to know our indigenous community and their food. The 45-minute trip ended at the Sirawan Beach Elementary School, some seventeen kilometers from downtown Davao. Hadja Coring-Al-Had’z, Norkis Quirod, Jahara Landas, Vanessa Edres, and Barangay Kagawad Ebrahim Coring, representing Brgy. Capt. Madjid Lumpapac of Sirawan, welcomed the food trippers.

Sinigapuna or Kalagan yellow rice. It is usually served during special occasions and celebrations. 

            After a short introductory program prepared by Norkis Quirod, the party eagerly swooped on the table laden with dishes that were totally new to the visitors. There was chicken adobo cooked with tinu (a condiment prepared from coconut gratings and dried fish), wakag (gabi) cooked in coconut milk, and sinigapuna or Kalagan yellow rice. Topping the meal were some sweets -- panyalam (fried rice cake), jampok (baked banana balls), and the popular delicacy amik (fried rice noodles).

            The RCE plans more food and culture trips in the future involving other indigenous Davao communities. It is hoped the idea will be picked up by other groups, particularly the government. The project will not only promote community tourism through food and culture, it will also foster intercultural understanding that will ultimately lead to peace and development in the region. 

Wakag (gabi) stewed in thick coconut milk. 

Amik or fried rice noodles. It is a famous delicacy that only master cooks can make.

(From left to right): Dr. Mac Tiu, Kagawad Ebrahim Coring, Norkis Quirod, Amay Lumangyao, Betty de Vera, Jo-Anne Lim, Vanessa Edres, Hadja Coring-Al-Had’z, Almah Bautista, and Michael Marquez pose after a hearty meal of exotic Kalagan dishes at Sirawan, Toril, Davao City. 

(Published on Sunstar Davao, May 17, 2012)

IP Cooking at PWC (Ata-Manobo)

Braving bad weather in the mountains, five Ata-Manobo cooks traveled all the way from Tapak, Paquibato to demonstrate how they cook their food to an appreciative audience of college teachers and students of the Philippine Women’s College of Davao on July 25. The cooks were Datu Roy Ali, Datu Roel Arthur Ali, Jr., Bae Epefania Pandia, Bae Lameda Dalag, and Bae Rosalyn Jurial. Heading the team was Datu Roel Arthur Ali, Sr. who is currenty the Deputy Mayor of the Ata-Manobos.

Binugsong te manok (roasted chicken wrapped in banana leaves) has a taste and aroma that the PWC teachers and students found very delicious.

Binaki (grated corn wrapped in alik-ik leaves) is a favorite viand by the Ata-Manobo but can also be a delicious afternoon snack.

The dishes that they cooked were humay te kuron (rice cooked in clay pot), binaki (grated corn wrapped in alik-ik leaves), tinalumbo te baboy (pork cooked in bamboo), binugsong te manok (roasted chicken wrapped in banana leaves), binugsong te tilapiya (roasted tilapia wrapped in banana leaves), and tinuog te kasile (roasted camote).

Every time a dish was cooked, the teachers and the students crowded the table to eagerly taste the dish. There were no left-overs, even of the rice cooked in a clay pot.  As it was recess time, some elementary pupils also watched the cooking demonstration and partook of the food. “Kailan kayo balik?” asked one of the pupils who scraped off every morsel of the succulent chicken grilled in banana leaves. 

Elementary students of  PWC eagerly pose with Ata-Manobo cooks Datu Roy Ali and Bae Epefania Pandia. The weighing scale on the table was used by Food Tech students who recorded the ingredients and procedure of cooking.  

 Datu Roel Arthur Ali was apologetic that he could not bring other ingredients for cooking, such as frogs and eels, for the more adventurous palates. It had been raining hard in the mountains and the rivers were swollen. But for the PWC teachers and students, what the Ata-Manobos had just cooked  was simply superb.

The cooking demonstration is part of the PWC’s on-going research into the culinary arts of the Lumads of Davao. The research aims to document and preserve Lumad cooking so that future generations of Filipinos will enjoy the unique and exquisite taste of tribal cooking. 

PWC of Davao Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Amelia B. Bonifacio listens as Deputy Mayor of the Ata-Manobos Datu Roel Arthur Ali, sr. explains the various ways that the Ata-Manobos cook their food. 

The Ata-Manobo cooks. From left to right: Bae Rosalyn Jurial, Datu Roy Ali, Bae Lameda Dalag, Bae Epifania Pandia, Datu Roel Ali Jr, and Deputy Mayor Datu Roel Arthur Ali Sr. The kid is Roel Arthur Ali VI.

(Published on Sunstar Davao, August 2012)

PWC Documents Uvu Cooking

             Armed with cameras, notebooks, and pens, the research team of the Philippine Women’s College of Davao (PWC) traveled to Sitio Macatabo, Barangay Carmen, Baguio District, Davao City on Sept 5. to document Uvu-Manuvu cooking.

The PWC Research Team with the Uvu-Manuvu tribe.

The Uvu-Manuvu cooks were Bae Nilda Landim, Rodelyn Aggas, Mercy Aggas, Vecetation Bangcas, and Datu Paulino Landim, the chief cook.

Datu Landim cooks food stuffed in bamboo tubes over an open fire.

            Aside from cooking the usual pork, chicken, cassava, and rice, the Uvu-Manuvu cooks presented a very rare delicacy: bakbak or frogs. For this special dish, 4 Uvu Manuvu boys had to trek for 3 hours to the Bunoyun River and camp out for the night to catch the frogs. The frogs were cooked in bamboo, while some portions were wrapped in alik-ik leaves and roasted.       

These bakbak or frogs were caught fresh from Bunoyun River.

            For the benefit of the PWC research team, Bae Nilda Landim showed how tinapoy is prepared. Tinapoy is fermented rice that is ordinarily prepared alone, in secret, and in silence by the cook. Violation of this rule will result in failure and spoil the tinapoy, making it inedible. Bae Nilda demonstrated the process of preparing tinapoy upon the request of the research team. She explained that since she was violating the rules of cooking tinapoy, she will throw away what she had made.       

Ka-lot is a poisonous tuber. The Uvu-Manuvu has found a way to make it edible through special cooking procedures.

To end the cooking session, Datu Paulino Landim showed the team the kal-lot, a tuber that is highly poisonous but can be eaten if prepared properly. According to Datu Landim, many hungry, retreating Japanese soldiers died at the end of the Second World War because they ate kal-lot. Unfortunately, the cooks could not show the team how to prepare the kal-lot properly because they only found a small kal-lot tuber  in the forest.

A variety of delicacies cooked in bamboo. Lutlot na bakbak, lutlot na humay, lutlot na manok, linaplap, lutlot na balanghoy, and lutlot na baboy.

            The cooking session with the Uvu-Manuvu is part of the PWC’s research into the Lumad culinary arts of Davao. The research aims to document and preserve Lumad cooking for the benefit not only of the Lumads but also of the entire Filipino people. 

(Published on Sunstar Davao, October 4, 2012) 

A Day with the Diangan-Klata Tribe

Traveling on rocky roads at the steep foothills of Mt. Apo, the Philippine Women’s College of Davao (PWC) Research Team, headed by Research Director Dr. Macario Tiu, embarked on a whole day journey to Tambobong, Baguio District, on Oct 29, 2012. The team was composed of PWC faculty, Michelle Cuestas, Renelyn Bana, Glyd Arañes, Jo-Anne Lim, and students, Angelica Jumalon and Concepcion Cortez. Dr. Ruthlyn Sumandang, a teacher of Magallanes Elementary School, and her husband Alan Joy Sumandang, President and CEO of Solarzoom Business Club who is also of the Jangan-Klata tribe, guided the research team. The mission of the day was to research and document the dying culinary arts of the Jangan-Klata tribe so that these will be preserved before they vanish.

Students of PWC, Angelica Jumalon and Concepcion Cortez, with teacher Ms. Bana (right), pose with the view of picturesque mountains as backdrop.

While the team struggled through the difficult roads to Tambobong, they gasped in amazement at the never-ending scenery of virgin mountains and thousands of sprawling banana trees from plantations. “Murag wala ta sa Davao (It's like we're not in Davao),”  a teacher commented.

The Sumandang family of the Diangan-Klata tribe welcomes the PWC Research Team.

Arriving at the Sumandang family home, the team was welcomed by the patriarch Datu Pandayan Sumandang, with the rest of the family,   Pastor Ruben Sumandang  and his wife Lucrecia Sumandang, DepED Mobile  teacher Alben Joy Sumandang  and his wife  Maribel Sumandang  Brgy. Tambobong  treasurer , Deborah (Subok) Nuñes  and  Mersa Ali. They were dressed in splendid costumes and accessories handed down from former generations.

Subok Nuñes  stuffs rice wrapped in kukos leaves into bamboo while Ms. Cuestas take photos.

Linutlot ngo non’no. Shrimps are wrapped in tawongoy leaves and are cooked inside bamboo.

Lud'dong. Taro tubers and stems, dried fish, and spices are stewed in coconut milk.

 

The team diligently took notes and photos as the Diangan-Klata cooks prepared native delicacies such as dinugdug ngo bulig  (mashed bananas with calamondin rinds), lud’dong (taro stewed in coconut milk), linutlot ngo bal’las (rice cooked in bamboo), linutlot ngo non’no (shrimps cooked in bamboo), linutlot ngo manok (chicken cooked in bamboo), and pinit (vegetable soup).

The banana plantation belongs to the mobile teacher Alben Joy Sumandang and his family. This area was one of the bases of the Japanese during WW2. Landmines and other artifacts have been found in the area.

While the others were busy, Datu Sumandang guided some of the researchers to the woods where various herbs and spices with medicinal and culinary properties could be found. He showed the team the koluki plant; its pod seeds could be used as a cleanser like soap, and the dalikan plant which its heart could be used as an aromatic spice. He also narrated the history of Tambobong where the Japanese invaded the land and was the last stronghold in Davao against the other forces. To this day, Japanese relics such as weapons, soldier uniforms, and landmines could still be found in the area.

The day ended with a small feast featuring the native dishes the tribe had prepared. No leftovers could be found at the table. 

(Published on Sunstar Davao, Nov. 15, 2012)

Notice of Activity

In series of days, I will be posting here my published news articles on the Sunstar Davao local newspaper that feature my adventures with the indigenous peoples of Mindanao. These articles can only be found in the newspaper but not on the Internet, so I thought it would be good to make them visible here. Watch out for them!

It All Starts Here!

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