Written by: Mila
Edited by: Sofia
Graphics by: Jeffrey Yuecheng Su
Cuisine is an essential part of one’s culture, and cooking keeps the traditions alive. Many people enjoy trying food from all over the world, and the Aetas’ unique approach to cooking is exciting and refreshing to witness. The Aeta tribe live in Bicutan, in a forest near El Kabayo Falls, also called by the native name Tintingin. A majority of their ingredients come directly from the rainforest where the community lives. Their methods of food preparation also rely on nature as a source of materials and tools. Instead of using the typical pots and stove, which are in western cooking, the Aetas instead use bamboo stalks as their cookware and an open fire as the source of heat.
The Aeta tribe is incredibly intune with nature. Not only is the rainforest their home, but their supermarket. They know what is edible, what has medicinal properties, and what can be used for building. For example, Ubod, or heart of palm, is one of the staples in the Aetas’ cooking. It is cooked in a variety of dishes, some including ingredients like fermented fish and other native plants. According the village elder, the plant tastes slightly different depending on the moon cycles. Despite the variety of plants and trees available to them, the most essential plant to this community is bamboo.
There are two main bamboo varieties that grow in the area. The first is kawayan, a woody type of bamboo that is dried and used in building all sorts of structures, from the beds that the Aetas sleep in, to the roofs over their heads. The second is buho, which is the type used most prominently as a cooking vessel. It is used fresh, so that the water inside the wood steams the dish.
The community uses bamboo to cook many of their dishes. For instance, as with many communities in the Philippines, rice is the basis of any meal for the Aetas. Their cooking methods developed in such a way that it almost seems like bamboo is uniquely suited to cook the rice. The natural divisions in the stalks are used to create an enclosed space and a small cut is made in the middle to add in the rice and water. It is then closed up and cooked on an open flame until all the water boils. The result is perfectly cooked rice: hot, fluffy, and delicious.
A slightly different method is used to prepare meat. Bamboo is cut fully open and the meat and spices are placed inside with a little bit of liquid, such as water or vinegar, depending on the dish. The stalk is leaned against a bar or metal grate to keep it standing in the fire, and it is occasionally rotated to ensure everything is cooked evenly. The meat turns out unbelievably tender, and using the plants found in the surrounding forest as spices, incredibly flavourful as well.
The spread of more modern cooking technologies has certainly impacted the Aetas, they do not rely solely on their traditional methods. Stovetops with pots and pans are used, as well as ingredients from the supermarket. But this does not stop the Aeta’s from fighting to maintain their cultural practices, despite pressure to relocate from the forest and pollution affecting their ingredients. Much of their practices rely on the forest, so relocation is not an option.
Cultures are interesting, specifically due to such unique practices, and highlight the importance of preservation. It is incredibly eye-opening to be exposed to these techniques by the Aetas, which many in the MAD Subic iCARE site have not seen before, and learn about how something being modern does not mean more effective, or the best in a particular situation. The ingenious utilisation of the materials found in the forest is ingenious, especially when contrasted with the globalised and interreliant modern world.
