Coconut fruit are used for cooking drinking, as a varnish for hunting bows, as a medicine for sores, and sold at markets (T. Warama, p.c.). Immature coconut fruit is harvested for coconut water and soft, jelly-like flesh. Mature coconut fruit are used to make coconut cream. Men, primarily, ferment coconuts to create an alcoholic beverage (M. Giwa, p.c.). Coconut leaves are used as a ground cover to sleep on. Fronds are used as a broom, mats, or in making baskets, and new shoots are used for decoration. Husks are used as torches and fuel for fires as well as to brush teeth or fill cracks in canoes. Heated coconut skins are pressed against the skin if someone is experiencing pain or has a sore. Coconut liquid is also used to wash hair when someone has lice. When coconut palms die, the stem is used for firewood, as a post, as a sitting place, or as a bridge across a creek (they will not be carried far for this purpose, but if one is close to a creek, it can be used for this.) (T. Warama, p.c.).
Different varieties of coconuts are often distinguished by fruit and leaf color. All coconuts are used for eating and drinking coconut water, while others are better for making wine or for chewing on the husk (T. Warama, p.c.). Growing coconuts along rivers is said to result in sweeter fruit (T. Warama, p.c.). Coconuts are planted during the wet season near houses or in the bush or near creeks during the dry season to ensure sufficient water and proper root formation (T. Warama; M. Giwa, p.c.). To plant, a hole is dug with a knife or digging stick, the seed is placed in the hole with the shoot facing up, the hole can be covered with soil or with grass, leaves, food scraps, and “rubbish” and then covered (T. Warama; M. Giwa, p.c.). Fathers will plant coconuts for their children so that the children will know which palms they can take fruit from for drinking and which ones are saved for dried coconut (T. Warama, p.c.). Coconuts are also planted as a memory of travel or as sign of agreement between people, e.g. a coconut palm was planted at the Limol community hall (T. Warama; M. Giwa, p.c.). The largest fruit are often saved for planting (T. Warama, p.c.). Compost might be added to coconuts while growing, when a palm is 2-3 m tall to help it grow (M. Giwa, p.c.). |
The growth and development of the coconut palm and fruit are characterized by eleven stages of development (S. Karao, p.c.).
Developmental stages of coconut (S. Karao, p.c.)
Developmental stages of coconut (S. Karao, p.c.)
- Kokoang /kokaŋ/ - coconut growth stage where the new shoot first emerges
- Ttambllag /ʈʂambɽaɡ/ - coconut growth stage after kokoang where the seed is ready for planting
- Sisi /sisi/ - coconut growth stage where the new shoot first emerges
- Ngepopo /ŋe popo/- coconut growth stage where the shoot opens and the plant flowers
- Bänbän /bənbən/- coconut growth stage where new fruits form
- Ngetikop /ŋetikop/ - coconut growth stage where fruit is about 5cm in diameter
- Kukrub /kukrub/ - coconut growth stage where the fruit is immature, and the endosperm is all liquid (prior to the solidification of the endosperm)
- Gonglem /ɡoŋlem/ - coconut growth stage where the fruit is immature, and the endosperm solidifies (coconut meat forms)
- Kuang /kuaŋ/ - coconut growth stage where the fruit is mature, the coconut water is ready to drink and the meat is good to eat
- Tawekutt /tawekuʈʂ/ - coconut growth stage where the fruit begins to get dry and the outer skin starts browning
- Dɨdɨr /dɪdɪr/ - coconut growth stage where the coconut fruit is completely dry
Close to Limol village (an approximately 15-20 minute walk) is the site of the old village where there are about 70-80 mature coconut palms. There are four color-types of coconuts: ttall nge (yellow, with yellow leaves); gogo (dark green); pall (red); and bäbnge (light yellow and green). This describes the color of the outermost layer (exocarp) of the coconut.
There is no season for harvesting coconuts. Readiness for harvest is assessed by identifying fruit stage and need, drinking versus cooking (T. Warama, p.c.). Varying numbers of coconuts are harvested at a time, with a crop load of 20-70 fruit per palm (T. Warama, p.c.). The number of years that a coconut will produce fruit depends on soil quality and is estimated at between 20-30 years (T. Warama; M. Giwa, p.c.). Young men are the primary harvesters of coconut as people believe that women will get cancer if they hit their breasts while climbing a coconut palm (T. Warama, p.c.).
Harvested coconuts are tied to a line and kept away from houses and in the sunlight in order to keep them dry. Coconuts harvested in the bush are stored in sets of two in the yamhouse and removed as needed, like in preparation for a feast (T. Warama; M. Giwa, p.c.). Sometimes they are kept, sprouted, and the new shoot (koko) is eaten (T. Warama, p.c.).
There is no season for harvesting coconuts. Readiness for harvest is assessed by identifying fruit stage and need, drinking versus cooking (T. Warama, p.c.). Varying numbers of coconuts are harvested at a time, with a crop load of 20-70 fruit per palm (T. Warama, p.c.). The number of years that a coconut will produce fruit depends on soil quality and is estimated at between 20-30 years (T. Warama; M. Giwa, p.c.). Young men are the primary harvesters of coconut as people believe that women will get cancer if they hit their breasts while climbing a coconut palm (T. Warama, p.c.).
Harvested coconuts are tied to a line and kept away from houses and in the sunlight in order to keep them dry. Coconuts harvested in the bush are stored in sets of two in the yamhouse and removed as needed, like in preparation for a feast (T. Warama; M. Giwa, p.c.). Sometimes they are kept, sprouted, and the new shoot (koko) is eaten (T. Warama, p.c.).
Issues in cultivation include drilling insects and beetles that eat the shoot, killing the plant. Particularly in the bush, newly planted coconuts can be destroyed by deer and pigs (M Giwa, p.c.). Palms may be too difficult to climb if certain fungi grow on the stem or if ants or bees build a nest or hive on the trunk (T. Warama, p.c.). Birds, particularly parrots, and certain rodents can make holes in and eat and destroy coconut fruit. Drought results in fist-sized coconuts that are dry and have no water (T. Warama, p.c.).