FOOD 247 



cluster of fibrous drupes, the tops of which are sliced off as soon 

 as gathered. Thus treated, it can be preserved for some weeks. 



When preparing it for eating, these divisions are separated 

 from the central core and placed in a pot over a layer of bam- 

 boos or a grating,* below which there is a little water ; above 

 them are laid yams, or whatever may be suitably cooked by 

 that process, and the whole is then covered with leaves and 

 steamed for some hours.f 



The pulpy matter that it contains is then scraped out with 

 a shell while the drupe is held on a heavy slab of wood, and 

 then the bristly fibres with which the nutritious portion is inter- 

 mixed are extracted from the latter by drawing threads of a 

 sort of bass through the pasty mass resulting. Thus is obtained 

 a smooth dough, of a yellowish colour and somewhat sweet 

 taste, that has been likened in flavour to apple-marmalade. A 

 portion of this {kow-en), with some grated coconut, and some- 

 times a piece of chicken or pork, constitutes the usual meal. 



This food is often made up into leaf-covered bundles, in 

 which state it acquires a distinctive, though not unpleasant, 

 odour, and can be kept a long time. 



The fibrous drupe, after treatment as above, is commonly 

 used as a foot-brush I at many of the islands, for which purpose 

 it is kept near the top of the hut-ladder for those entering the hut. 



The principal beverages are the water of the green unripe 

 coconut, and toddy, made by fermenting the sap of the coco palm, 

 which is regularly bled at the crown into bamboo receptacles. 

 The toddy is largely manufactured, and as it is no more intoxi- 

 cating than strong ale, much has to be consumed before drunken- 

 ness results. Ordinary water is scarcely ever taken, and its use 

 is almost entirely restricted to cooking. 



* Vide item 2 of plate facing p. 94. 



t In some of the islands a pot-cover is made by sewing together a special 

 kind of leaf with long slips of rattan, until a pad quite an inch in thickness is 

 obtained. 



X In many islands of the Pacific Ocean— Marshalls, Gilbert and Kingsmills, 

 the Carolines, Union, and EUice, and in New Guinea— the pandanus fruit is 

 used as a food, especially in times of scarcity, but in general the kernel only is 

 eaten, and the inner end of the drupes gnawed off". 



