Indigenous Food Crops of the Aetas Tribe in the Philippines and their Traditional Methods of Food Preparation

Arturo M. Alegado and Romualdo B. de Guzman, Jr.

Abstract

Aeta communities located near forested areas, national parks, or community-based forest management sites, and which utilize foraging for indigenous crops as a traditional method of food gathering were identified for this study. With the assistance of Aeta guides, indigenous food plants were located and plant specimens were initially identified. Subsequently, tribal elders were consulted about the identification, indigenous utilization and processing of the collected food crops prior to consumption. Thirty-eight (38) species of indigenous food crops belonging to 24 families were identified. Fifteen dishes using these indigenous food crops were documented by the study. These included tinutuk or inihaw (shoots of rattan species), tinuktuk (pako), patugong (rice and buho culms), patbu (rice, buho culms and hagikik leaves), nilurok ka lain (gabi leaf sheaths and leaves), imbusu hira (binucao leaves and any kind of meat), nilurok ka yatok/takipan (shoots of fishtail and rattan species), imbuu kamoteng baging (sweet potato root), imbuu kamoteng-kahoy (cassava root), bulanglang na babayan (himbabao leaves/flowers), tinanglarang suso (tanlag/lemon grass), inlaga in aluloy (fresh/green aluloy fruits), imbusu ang gagang (pingol-bato leaves, pako and freshwater crab), habang adava (amaranth leaves, gabi root, processed fish), and Ilung (salad) (dampalit leaves). Moreover, these indigenous crops are also utilized as medicine, bio-pesticide, construction material, for erosion control and as alternative carbohydrate staple when rice is in short supply. Unfortunately, 21 out of the documented 38 species are vanishing due to illegal logging, and slash-and-burn farming systems.