This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 42, November
27-Dcember 3, 2005
Sayote: ‘Hanging Green Gold’
Filipinos are familiar with the sayote, but not everyone knows its
origins and its many uses.
BY ARTHUR L. ALLAD-IW SAGADA, Mountain Province —
Filipinos are familiar with sayote (Sechium edule) but not
everyone knows that this vegetable was introduced by the Spaniards. Sayote
(called chayote by Spaniards) was introduced in Sagada sometime in 1922 by
Spanish soldier-turned-farmer Jaime P. Masferre, the father of the legendary
photo-artist Eduardo L. Masferre. The older Masferre introduced fruits and
vegetables of Spanish origin in the Philippines. The older Masferre brought
the first sayote from Mexico when he and his son came back to the
Philippines. They were on their way home after Eduardo lived in Spain for his
elementary education, according to the June-July 1995 issue of the Sagada
Postboy, a publication of the Saint Mary’s School, an American-established
school in Sagada. In an article written by
Bartholomeo Dao-as, Eduardo’s maternal cousin, the father and son returned home
from Spain to Sagada in 1922. That was after the older brother of Eduardo died
and after Eduardo finished his elementary education in Spain. Propagation
The Sagada Postboy
traced that when the first sayote were then propagated in Sagada, “it
eventually spread throughout the Cordillera as perhaps the most sustainable
vegetable in the region,” according to an article written by then Sagada Mayor
Thomas Killip. Masferre established in
Batalao, Sagada a 32-hectare farm, which was later reduced to 21 due to land
claimants, said Jake Masferre Reyes, Jaime’s great grandson by Eduardo. The
older Masferre had in his farm sayote and other foreign fruits and
vegetables. However, with a cultural system where seeds and products were
communal, he shared the propagated sayote and other plants with the
Sagada residents. “The chayote (or sayote)
has climbed its way into the most barren and rocky terrains,” stated the
Sagada Postboy. Sayote
survived in the Cordillera because its climate
is similar to that of Mexico. In an article by R. Lira Saade of the National
Herbarium of Mexico, chayote has been cultivated in Mexico since the
pre-Columbian times. The plant’s common names of native origin, like the Mexican
Nahuatl’s chayote or chayotli, are concentrated mainly in Mexico
and Central America. She said the species was “undoubtedly domesticated within
the cultural area of Mesoamerica, and specifically in the region lying between
south Mexico and Guatemala.” Saade added that chayote
is grown in the area preferably between 800 and 1,800 meters in altitude. In
Oaxaca, Bolivia and Chihuahua, Mexico, it is cultivated above 2,000 meters.
With the similarities in
climate and altitude, sayote survived well in the Cordillera. The
altitude explains also why it failed to survive in areas with lower altitude
like the Cagayan and Ilocos regions. The sayote was soon
called the “hanging green gold” due to its economic value and resilient
character, able to survive tough conditions. The Sagada Postboy said
sayote is high-yielding while requiring little input. It is also
environment-friendly as it is non-polluting. In Sagada and the whole of
Cordillera, sayote provides ready foods from its uggot (tops) and
fruits. Uggot can be prepared easily like the fruits which can be chopped
and added to the etag (Igorot ham), with or without chicken. Surplus sayote is
also used as alternative animal feeds. In fact, Dao-as said that Eduardo
Masferre used sayote to feed his hogs, poultry and rabbit in Batalao and
recycled, on the other hand, the wastes of these animals as fertilizers for his
sayote and other plants. The sayote root is
not much utilized for food by the Cordillerans, unlike Mexico’s indigenous
Mayans who also eat the starchy roots – like the fruits and tops – and added it
to beans. Sayote was also the staple food of the indigenous Aztecs in Mexico. At
present, sayote can be prepared and eaten raw as salad. It may be stuffed
and baked and may be prepared mashed, fried or boiled. It can also be used as
soup or cream. Unknown to many, however,
the sayote is also a medicinal plant. Its leaves can be made into tea. It
can dissolve kidney stones. On the other hand, it is also used to treat
hypertension and arteriosclerosis, according to an article on sayote
history and lore on the Internet. Northern Dispatch/Posted by Bulatlat
© 2005 Bulatlat
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Northern Dispatch
Posted by BulatlatReady food, medicine