Tuba
Tubâ is a Filipino fermented – and lightly alcoholic – beverage obtained from the sap of different species of palm trees such as nipa and coconut palm.
Tubâ has existed in the Philippines since pre-colonial times and is one of the few remaining authentic items of the Filipino culture. For example, it used to be consumed for recreation, as well as play an important role in the animist religious rituals presided by babaylan shamans. Heavy consumption of tubâ and other alcoholic beverages in the Philippines were reported by early Spanish colonizers. Social drinking – known as tagayan in Tagalog and Visayan languages- was and continues to be an important aspect of Filipino social interactions. A peculiar drinking custom of the islands is the sharing of a single drinking container. During tagayan, one person (usually the owner of the beverage) becomes the tangero who fills a cup with a serving of alcohol (a tagay). A person in the group then drinks the cup and passes it back to the tangero for a refill. The tangero fills the cup again and passes it to the next person, and so on. Another practice is to drink from the same container at the same time using drinking straws made from hollow reeds or bamboo. Tagayan was usually accompanied by a shared serving of food known as pulutan. The ritual and terminology of tagayan was recorded in the Vocabulario Tagalog Manuscript (1630) by Fray Miguel Ruiz, and it remains largely unchanged today. Tagayan is also related to the ancient Filipino practice of sandugo (blood compact), as both reinforce camaraderie and social bonds among participants by drinking from the same vessel.
During the Spanish colonial period, tubâ was introduced to Guam, the Marianas, and Mexico via the Manila Galleons. Tubâ was also introduced to the Torres Strait Islands of Australia in the mid-19th century by Filipino immigrant workers in the pearling industry.
Coconut farmers will use the coconuts for making copra (dried coconut) and making coconut wine, known as “tuba” in the Visayas Islands. The process is easy but the most difficult part is climbing the palm. Tuba makers will climb the coconut trees, usually with the most basic of materials: a knife (called a sanggot) and natural agility—and make a cut in the plant’s inflorescence. The climber then ties a container to the tree to collect the sap, which is left overnight to gather. The next day, the sap is collected and fermented to create the famed tuba. In the Visayas Islands, coconut wine is also called tuba; bahal when the wine ferments for more than a couple of months; or bahalina when aged for several years. While in Luzon, it is usually called lambanog. The difference between the two is their mixture and color. The variety that comes from Luzon is made from the pure sap, resulting in an almost colorless or milky white liquid sometimes referred to as “coconut vodka”. While in Leyte, tuba is the product of mixing barok (the reddish bark of the mangrove tree) with the coconut sap, making the tuba red in color. This is sometimes called coconut red wine.
Tuba is still produced in Western Visayas specifically Capiz Province and Kabankalan, Negros Occidental where it is sold locally, as it is popular because it is less expensive than other imported beverages. It is not generally sold widely outside of the areas in which it is produced and is at risk of disappearing due to the lack of people with he skills to climb the coconut trees and changing tastes.
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