This post takes you on a journey on the traditional way the Seychellois go about the task of Coconut Picking and Husking –Ramas ek Plis Koko.
This is the second post in a series of posts that we have covered and intend to cover relating to the coconut and how it has impacted our life as Seychellois. You can read the first post here.
My story
As a young boy, I lived with aunty Margot Lablache, who had quite a large property at Grand’Anse on Praslin Island. One of the major sources of earnings for the property, apart from the tomatoes that she was known for, was from the sale of coconuts. We would pick coconuts daily after school. They were all mature dry coconuts that had fallen off the tree naturally. Unlike most countries, we let nature take its course and let the nuts ripen fully in the tree and then fall to the ground where they are picked. This resulted in a very high quality copra that gave Seychelles a good name in the market place.
We would then count the coconuts and place them in a locked store. Once a month over a weekend we would husk them. They were sold almost immediately. We never husked the coconuts too far in advance because the rats used to damage quite a few of them by eating away at the soft eye to get to the nut inside, thus damaging the nut. We would husk quite a few thousand coconuts over one weekend. It is with this personal background that I share this post.
Some historical Trivia
It was as long ago as 1790, when Louis Jean-Baptiste Philogene de Malavois (1748-1827) was the commandant of the Seychelles, that the commercial importance of coconuts began to be exploited.
Small quantities of oil were made for local consumption. With the abolition of slavery in 1835 and without slaves, the labour intensive sugar industry, which was, until then, the main export from the Seychelles, could not be sustained, for the former slaves were not prepared to continue heavy labour for low wages.
The Switch from Sugar to Coconuts
The plantations owners consequently switched to the less labour-intensive farming of coconuts; these became the islands dominant crop and source of export earnings from the 1840s onwards up until the tourism boom in the early 1970s. As a result of high cost of production and stiff competition from other coconut oil producing countries – mainly from the Asian continent, the production and export of copra took a negative turn culminating in 1994, when Pakistan, which was the last remaining importer of coconut and copra from Seychelles at that time, ceased coconut-related transactions with the country.
Picking the Coconuts
The tools to pick the coconuts
The two main tools that were required to pick the coconuts were a machete or gran kouto and a gunny sack or sak goni.
The machete is a broad blade knife that has a curved end that allowed the picker to pick the coconut without having to bend down. The picking was done by using the back end of the curved tip and hitting into the top end of the coconut, which is the end that has only the fibre. The knife will be stuck in the coconut and it was then lifted and flicked into the gunny sack, the open end of which was held by the left hand and resting in the left shoulder. The machete was and still is an everyday tool and used extensively for tasks such as clearing, chopping, cutting and felling.
A gunny sack is an inexpensive bag, historically made of hessian formed from jute, hemp, or other natural fibers. It was used to contain imported dry food items like sugar, rice, lentils and onions. The name “gunny” originates from a Sanskrit word, goni, which means bag or sack. They were highly reusable and were widely used in the Seychelles to carry loose items and for export of cinnamon and copra. The goni was also popular in the traditional children’s game of sack racing.
What is husking or dehusking?
The husk is the rough exterior shell of the coconut. To get to the ‘nut’ that we all see in shops, the husk must be removed. This process is called husking or dehusking.
The Seychellois traditionally husks a coconut by firmly thrusting it onto the sharpened end of a stout stick or stake, which is firmly planted in the ground and angled slightly forward away from the person who is husking or the ‘husker’. Husking a coconut can be challenging to the uninitiated and also a potentially risky exercise. This is a skill that takes a while to master. It is therefore best if we look at this process step by step.
The location of the nut in the coconut
The ‘nut’ of the coconut is located towards the bottom third of the coconut. The top two thirds are made up of only coconut fibre or coir or labour koko. It is critical to bear this in mind during the husking process because you do not want to crack the ‘nut’ during the process.
The tool required for husking
The tool that is required is a long sturdy stick or stake sharpened at both ends, locally known as pike koko. The top of the stick is sharpened with a flat finish and the bottom with a round finish. The sharpened end helps to plant the stick firmly into the ground. The stake is usually made out of timber that does not snap easily. The preferred timber was the Bwadir (canthium bibracteatum) which literally means ‘hard wood’ (fr. bois dur).
The stake is sometimes also made out of iron rod and even iron pipe, as shown in the photo. The iron stakes were popular on the outlying coral islands because they were hard wearing and because there was a lack of hard wood to replace any damaged ones. They would be made on Mahé and shipped across. If you are lucky you could get your local black-smith or forzron to make a steel cap that fitted on top of the wooden stake thus extending the life of the stake even further. The one in this photo, below, is made of an iron head welded on to a pipe.
The Husking Process
(The steps for a right-handed person)
Securing the stake in the ground.
It is critical that the stake or pike koko is deeply secured in the ground. This because it will bear quite a bit of pressure and should not dislodge from the ground. If it is not secured properly and dislodges, the husker could loose his balance and fall on the the sharp stick, with grave consequences. It is also critical that the stake is not too low so as to avoid bending too low. If the stake is too low, it is easier for the husker to loose his balance when he leans forward to husk and may hurt himself on the stake.
Furthermore, the stake is angled slightly forward away from the husker. Once the stick is in place the husking can start. The work area is usually located where the coconuts are stored. This avoids the transportation of the coconuts from the store and the return of the husked coconuts to the same store.
Pick your coconut.
Firmly hold the coconut horizontally in the palm of your hand with the top or stem end of the nut facing your left. The section in which the ‘nut ‘ is will be closer to your right hand. You will notice that the coconut has at least three lobes. If your left hand is your dominant hand then face the coconut the other way.
How do you stand?
You should have your left foot astride the stake and your right foot slightly behind. This will ensure that you do not loose your balance when you are trying to tear the husk off the ‘nut’. Avoid having both feet behind the stake as this will not give your body the balance it requires!
Start husking
To begin the husking, grasp the coconut firmly with both hands and slam the top end of the coconut onto the sharpened point of the stake between the lobes with the coconut tilted at an angle. Push on the coconut in a forward motion to start prying the lobe off. It should start ripping off and then stop.
It is worth noting that the nut is located at the bottom end of the coconut. You work only on the end away from the nut, because if you slam the end that contains the nut you will break the nut. You want the nut to be intact when the husking is over.
Remove the coconut from the stake, rotate it and slam the other side of the coconut between another lobe and push forward again. After the second attempt the husk should start to split open. If not, repeat the process a third time. The second or third lobe just rips off because the other lobes aren’t holding it on. Then pry the remaining lobes off.
Using one hand, peel the released husk away from the body of the coconut. Repeat the process until all the husk is completely removed. Don’t impale yourself on the stake!
Koko Barb
The koko barb, literally meaning bearded coconut, is a special way to husk a coconut. Some people, in order to preserve their coconuts for long period, would leave some husk on the coconut at the stem end. It is termed ‘nature’s bottle cap’. It protects the eyes from rodents and other insects. It’s easy to knock or cut the “cap” off later since there are no long fibers in this section.
Coconuts I used to avoid husking
Coconuts that I used to avoid husking were koko rouz or king coconut, Koko selan and Koko Nikobar. The reason for this was because they all have minimal husk and a large nut and the possibility of cracking the nut while husking is very high. There is also a coconut called koko lerin– a coconut, the husk of which has an indentation all round the nut. This one always used to frustrate me because the husk always folds over when you are trying to remove it. Lastly the koko resin, because it is a very small coconut.
Other husking methods
For interest sake, I have listed below some other methods that some locals at time use to husk coconuts. They are very risky and are to be avoided at all cost.
Use a pick axe
Some people would use pickaxe stuck in the ground and use the pointy end, some use the chisel end. To use a pick axe means you have to bend very low over it which can result in your easily loosing your balance!!
Using a Hoe
Start by making cuts close to the head of the coconut. As you stab the coconut onto the edge of the hoe gently twist the coconut to open up the cut. Continue doing this about five or six times around the coconut. When the cuts are made you can go around one more time and twist some more to open up the cuts.
Now hold the segments and rip apart to reveal the coconut inside.
Using a Machete
Using the machete will require more skill, but the steps are similar as for the hoe. Be very careful, please. Chop close to the head of the coconut and twist the machete blade to open the cut. Continue making several cuts around the coconut. Remember to twist the machete each time. Rip apart the husk.
Use your teeth.
Not recommended even if you are desperate
The next post
In the next post relating to the coconut, we will discuss how we used to prepare copra from the husked coconut
If you have any suggestions or comments relating to this post , please leave your comments below.
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