Abatud | The Indigenous Food for Survival, the Manobo Style

Working inside the forest is not an easy job as what many think it is. My job is actually co-enjoyed by those who are fond of environmental protection and conservation.

San Miguel, Surigao del Sur is feared by many due to the belief that the forest is home to many of the leftist in the northeastern side of Mindanao. Challenging to say, this was the venue of my previous project.


A Job You'd Surely 'Love'?

My job is to assess the environmental condition of the area and to do this, I have to be in the actual site. It was a strategy on my part to keep my work easy and safe by hiring the locals (IPs) as my assistants, and in this case I decided to have at least 8 Manobos on my side to direct and give me insights and history of the area and be my personal protection from the "unknown".

Looking for something

The jump-off of the actual site is actually 15 km starting from Brgy. Magroyong along the national road.  There were no paved roads, so walking through a muddy trail was the only way to reach my target place.

And from there I have to scout part by part the 5000 hectares of a secondary forest.  Fortunately, I had some stints of mountain climbing prior to the acceptance of my luck in Mindanao.

Though most of the time we have an ample supply of food and water but there were some cases that we got short with our supplies and got stranded in an unknown location due to heavy rains. With the unexpected circumstances, we usually rely on any available forest food that can be found inside the jungle.

My local research assistants from a manobo tribe

I'm actually used of eating some of  exotic food coming from various types of plants and animals, but there was this particular unlikely dish that had become so unforgettable to me.

Due to the long stay doing the survey, most of the time we got short out of food supply, and we have no choice but to use our instinct looking for something edible in the forest. My favorite jungle food was the “pechay na ligaw” but unfortunately it wasn’t around during that time.

Survival of the Fittest!

I saw one of the Manobos busy removing fibers from a decaying palm tree. Until he announced a happy discovery and showed me a handful of COCOONS!

Cocoon recovered from a decaying palm tree

One by one he opened the cocoons and this wiggling yellow pupa appeared. He said we would be able to survive the day by eating this creepy creature they locally called abatud or batud. WHATTTTT!???? Hearing those words shocked me and can’t believe that I shall be consuming something that I haven’t heard of before and mind you … I will eat them RAW and ALIVE!

Left with no other options, I washed it with water and faced the bottom part inside my mouth and I started to juice out the yellow creamy squirting content and swallow it immediately without touching my taste buds. I said YUCK at first. But since I was hungry, I took another and at this time, my tongue can’t help avoid the substance and  surprisingly the taste wasn't so bad at all. It tastes like milk people! So I got hooked and looked for more  until our hunger was satisfied to survive the night.

And I confess!

Eating ABATUD for the very first time was a learning experience to survive the jungle.  Though the organism was not properly identified, it was assumed to be a pupa of a moth or of a horned beetle. This experience can’t be topped by anything I have tried before.

Until now, my heart is still longing to do it again. One thing for sure, if ever I get lost in the forest and got short with food supply again, I already have a favorite item on the menu of things we can find inside the forest. I just hope that this experience of mine can still be enjoyed by the youth of the next generation  especially the indigenous people of Surigao del Sur. Chow!


What's Next?
The Untold Story of Bibang ( Varanus cumingi)
Fish Cage & Sandbar:Resort in the Middle of the Sea
Finding your way in Surigao del Sur

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