 |
| Nipa palm fruit |
Antonio de Morga, a high ranking colonial official in the early 17th century, also recorded that the indios enjoyed "wine made from the tops of coco and nipa palm of which there is a great abundance. They are grown and tended like vineyards, although without so much toil and labor. Drawing the tuba they distilled it, using for alembics using their own little furnace and utensils, to a greater less strength and it becomes a brandy. This is drunk throughout the islands."
Agustinian Fray Alonso de Mentrida, who was for a time assigned as parish priest of Panay, Capiz, included many terms related to nipa, tuba, the many uses of nipa and the activities related to these terms in his 17th century dictionary.
The nipa palm is most productive when grown in brackish water. The spirit distilled from this sap is called " vino de nipa" and possesses "weedy taste much prized by the natives," preferring it over the superior products like anisado, ginebra, and other Manila-manufactured drinks.
Distilling tuba into spirits was a successful enterprise in Capiz from the mid-1860s until 1910s when strict internal revenue regulations and declining prices folded the establishments one by one. Nipa spirits were among the province's top exports, amounting to 1,698 barrels in 1903 and 2,036 barrels in 1904.
At the turn of the 20th century, American government records revealed that there were 10 distilleries operating in the province, 3 of which were owned by Ayala and Co. The firm virtually controlled the province's nipa distilling industry, the company, being the only one to ship nipa to Manila and also the only house to distill nipa into spirits. Its significant clout in the industry enabled the firm to fix the price of nipa wine at P2.40 per arroba. The produce of the local distillers, meanwhile, were consumed by the locals but majority was stocked in warehouses and sold when price exceeded the amount pegged by the Ayalas.
In other parts of the country, nipa wine-making was also a profitable affair. Manila had 6 distilleries and other provinces, like Bulacan, Cebu, Ilocos Sur, Pangasinan and Pampanga,had 43 more, although 10- 12 were not in operation. Aside from these distilleries, provincial treasurers reported a total of 441 cauas, a species of primitive still, in operation, ensuring the locals were well- supplied for merriment and otherwise.
Nipa leaves were most useful in building houses. Governor Simeon Mobo Reyes told Governor Taft that nipa weaving was "the industry of poorer people inhabiting the nipa swamp." The natives, usually women, would make roof shingles by weaving nipa leaves around a section of cane. A thousand pieces of these shingles were sold at P2.50 to P4.00.
Agustinian botanist Fray Manuel Blanco praised the nipa for its healing properties. He recommended chewing its leaves and applying it to the stings of centipedes. Nipa decoction was to be washed on wounds. Nipa was also useful in the kitchen. Tuba may be made into yeast for wheat bread in the 19th century. In fact, tuba yeast, Blanco argues, does not spoil as fast as flour yeast, although the former sours sooner than the latter. Tuba, after sitting for a few weeks, makes an excellent vinegar.
