What is Baka?
Baka is the naturally fermented juice of the sugar cane and has been consumed in Seychelles since the beginning of settlement and is one of the national drinks of the Seychellois.
Possible origin of the name Baka
The name baka may have derived from the Hindi word ‘bakhal’ or ‘bakhar’ meaning a drug used as a ferment or fermenting agent. To make Bakhar equal quantities of ten plants and roots are ground together and sun-dried for an hour; the mixture is then dried in shade for few days, after which small tablets are prepared.
Some Historical Trivia
Sugar cane was introduced to the islands as early as 1773 and Mr Brayer du Barré in a letter to Mr de Maurepas in January 1775 informed him how his sugar cane plantation which was 3 years old was thriving. Mr Malavois wrote in 1787 that ‘ les habitants y sont dans l’usage de boire du vin de canne à sucre’ showing that the settlers had started drinking baka as early as 1787.
From cotton to sugar cane
Up until the late 1820s, the Seychelles grew cotton commercially and it was a very viable export. Unfortunately, the expansion of cotton production in the United States made cotton farming on the islands uneconomical . Consequently, some of the wealthiest landowners, anticipating the abolition of slavery by the British, began to emigrate. They took their slaves with them, and consequently, between 1830 and 1840, the population of the Seychelles fell from 8500 to 4360 people. Those planters who remained switched to sugarcane production.
From Sugar to coconuts
Initially, the sugar cane was primarily to supplement the supply of sugar from infrequent visits from ships, and by 1831 sugar was the islands main export. Small quantities of baka was also produced. However, as the delivery of sugar to the islands became more frequent, and without slaves, the labour-intensive sugar industry could not be sustained. The former slaves were not prepared to continue heavy labour for low wages and plantations switched to the less labour intensive farming of coconuts. The sugar cane that was being planted was used almost solely to producing baka. This created many social problems that forced the authorities to start to impose controls on the production and sale of the beverage. The Government consequently passed numerous laws to try and control its sale and consumption and they were unfortunately unsuccessful. I will cover this topic in a separate post soon.
Harvesting the sugar cane
The cane is harvested about 12 to 18 months after planting. This is when the sugar concentration reaches its highest level. If the cane is harvested earlier, it will not have the sugar content to ferment properly. Since sugar is concentrated at the stem lower sections, the cane is cut at ground level to maximise the amount of the sugar that can be obtained.
The stem top and leaves are immediately removed. All sugar cane was and is still harvested manually. They are tied in small bunches and taken to the mill, moulin kan, where the juice is extracted
The traditional Mill
The traditional moulin kan was a long, big and heavy roller made out of a casuarinas tree trunk. The trunk was cleaned up and all bark removed and smoothened a much as possible. It was lifted and placed on two benches, one at each end. Vertical handles were inserted along the roller to facilitate the rolling back and forth of the heavy roller. One of the benches, usually the one on the right hand side of the roller, had grooves carved along its surface close to its sides to collect the juices and allow it to flow properly into a receptacle placed on the ground at the end of the table. The receptacle could be a bucket, or a small drum on top of which a cloth was placed to filter as much impurirites from the juice as possible.
The milling
The cane was cut about ½ metre long. The cut had to be diagonal to facilitate the crushing. It was placed on the table and the roller rolled back and forth over it to break up the hard nodes of the cane and flatten the stems and consequently extracting the juice.
This was hard work and there would usually be a minimum of 2 persons involved in the process; one close to the bench to insert the cane under the roller and pull the roller forward and one person at the other end to help in pushing the roller back. The cut cane stems were inserted and turned a few times so that maximum juice was extracted.
The dried cane residue, bagasse, was fed to the cows or allowed to compost and used in the plantation.
The juice was then sieved and bottled in a danmzann ( as shown in the photo below). The danmzann is a glass container with a large body, a flat bottom and a small neck, enclosed in wickerwork with handles. The wickerwork acted like a protection when the bottle was transported. The danmzann is a word that is derived from the French word ‘dame-Jeanne’. The danmzann was placed in a warm secure area and the sugarcane juice allowed to ferment naturally over a few days, turning into baka, which is a potent beverage containing 8 to 9 percent alcohol by volume. No yeast was added, and the fermentation was caused by the natural yeast located on the bark of the cane.
As time progressed, some landowners acquired mechanical crushers. Some were hand-driven, and others were diesel engine powered.
Extracting the sugar cane juice is made so easy now with the advent of so may different types of electrically powered cane grinder or crusher.
My experience with Baka
I grew up with aunty Margot who had a property in the village of Grand’ Anse on Praslin Island. We used to produce and sell baka and we were given, every now and then, a small mug of day old baka as a reward for assisting in preparing the beverage. In most cases we were never content with only a small mug . We ,consequently, devised ways to steal some more. The most popular and convenient way was for us to suck the stored baka through a kalimen (Fr. Calumet). Kalimen is like an enlarged version of a straw made out of the stem of the pawpaw leaf or kalimen papay.
The pawpaw leaf stem is hollow. All we did was to cut the leaf off and trim the bottom off and drain the sap and that oozed out of it. We had a supersize straw that we would quickly insert into the baka container and suck to our heart’s content. We did this as quickly as possible in order to avoid being caught. The kalimen would last for quite a few days and it was kept hidden to be used the next day.
Sometimes ,we would end up with blistered lips. This was not because we drank the baka but because the sap that oozed out of the pawpaw straw would burn our delicate lips. The sap contains an enzyme called papain, used as a meat tenderiser. Blistered lips meant big trouble as it was a giveaway that you have stolen the baka.! Ideally, we should have allowed the sap to flow out completely when the stem was cut. But because things had to be done in a hurry, this step was most of the time ignored.
The Selling of Baka
Baka was in the early days sold in Kafoul which is a recipient made out of the coconut husks and sold in lakanbiz derived from the French word ‘la cambuse’. It is a place, which could be either an open-air location or a shed located on the property the owner who has a licence to sell the drink.
Lakanbiz
‘La cambuse’ in French can mean two things. In slang, it could be a shabby cabaret or ‘mauvaise cabaret’.
It can also incorrectly mean the galley of a ship of the traditional navy where part of the provisions is stored. It is sometimes called a food box in a ship. This is notably where the stewards distribute uncooked food (water, wine, bread, etc.) to the crew on a daily basis. It is a dark space and often poorly ventilated.
Cambuse comes from the Dutch ‘kombuis’ which means “ship’s kitchen, boiler room”, a word itself derived from the German ‘kabüse’, ‘kambüse’ which means a wooden cabin located on the upper deck of the ship, serving as a kitchen and a resting place.
List of current and past Lakanbiz
Baka is still currently available from specially licenced premises. I have attempted to list below the current and past lakanbiz. This list is not complete but gives an indication the popularity of the beverage over the years. Very interesting names!
Anba karanbo, Anba limon, Anba semen, Anmas u fanm, Baka Christa, Bakdad, Bar bout, Bar figir, Bat lapens, Ben down, Blou Baka Bar, Dan bakteri, Dan bent down, Dan ble, Dan blou, Dan bomb, Dan gele, Dan grenwir, Dan joumbwe, Dan lanmin, Dan leo Kap Bonm Zan, Dan Loulou, Dan manglou, Dan nanm, Dan patat, Dan pis ps, Dan popot , Dan zonblon, Dan zonn, Delo beni, Den ble, Enba limon, Gran lebra, Gro rob, Kaka kannar, Kot sobo, Kas nerf, Kaser, Klib dilo bigay, Klib kann,
Kosovo, Kot Bido, Kot bleu, Kot blou, Kot Brian dan Kanada, Kot chap, Kot Dawe, Kot demon griye, Kot deval, Kot Faur, Kot Idris, Kot Inosan, Kot Jeffrey, Kot Jesy, Kot Kaser, Kot Malbar, Kot mantoun, Kot Ner, Kot Onezime, Kot Pa Joe, Kot Tanba, Kot Teo, Kot Ti Dada, Kot Ti Fred, Kot Ti Tom, Kot Tifanm, Kot Titin, Kot Zisten, Kot Tibo, Lalimyer rouge, Lanmor pran mwan, Lapo lezar, Not kas nerv, Pa Joe, Ponm kannel, Pous bigay, Ti Eric, Ti Hoareau, Ton Berks…
What is next?
This is the first of two posts on baka. The second post will be dedicated to baka and the law and discuss how difficult it has been to control the manufacture and sale of baka from the early years of settlement up until now.
Any suggestions or comments about this post?
We look forward to any comments or suggestions that you may have to make this post more comprehensive
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