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: Chiv Linna Photos by
: C. Synat. |
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For
generations, farmers have
pulled Chek, commonly
known as "bananas,"
from Cambodian trees,
yet little is known about
the filling fruit. Peeling
away the mystery surrounding
the banana's origin no
easy feat. There is no
recorded history to distinguish
which variety of Chek
Namva is typically Cambodian
or to testify how long
the fruit has been grown.
Still, the crescent-moon
shaped fruit is recognizable
to all the Khmer people
since it is found on trees
across the country, particularly
in rural areas where food
is often scarce.
The banana's appeal is
different for each palate,
but most recognize the
fruit's dietary benefit.
"I like eating Chek
because they have a lot
of vitamins," said
Prum Makara while buying
Chek Namva at O'Russei
Market.
While Chek
Namva adds an interesting
flare to daily meals,
they also are used in
traditional ceremonies
as well. On the day of
a wedding, Cambodians
bring the couple two fruit-bearing
banana trees pulled from
the base of the stem.
The fruit of one plant
in sprayed gold while
the other is painted silver.
When they are dry, the
plants are placed in front
of the wedding pavilion.
"We spray gold
and silver colors on the
banana fruit in order
to bring |
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Retails Stall at The Market. |
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The
banana plants are used
to decorate wedding pavilions
in order to bring wealth
and good luck. | |
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| wealth
and good luck for the
new couple," said
(A Char) Monireth, a priest.
"Our country is an
agriculture country and
Chek is one [product]
that represents agriculture
and wealth. Chek can grow
easily, so the people
think that the new couple's
love and future will grow
like Chek."
Yi
Sockorn, a 60-year-old
priest, added that Chek
are used to ceremoniously
feed the wedding couple
on their celebratory day.
Bananas also are employed
to decorate the Bun Pka
ceremony, which people
hold as a fundraiser to
repair schools or pagodas,
he said. The plants are
prepared to look like
"money-trees"
with money hanging from
the stems like flowers.
Pro Tib- lanterns- also
are constructed from banana
trees and often can be
seen made by people along
the Mekong River.
Throughout the mass genocide
of the Khmer Rouge regime,
Chek served as a lifesaver
for many Cambodians.
"During the Pol Pot
regime my life was saved
because I ate Chek and
Kul Chek [the inside of
the banana tree stem],"
said Professor Sang Sochinda,
a lecturer at the Faculty
of the Pedagogy. "It
was very hard to have
enough rice to eat."
He said that he often
dependent on Chek to sustain
him, since rice and other
food were
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often
limited. While Chek Namva
is most commonly known,
the banana is not alone.
Several varieties grow
in Cambodia, including
Chek Pong Morn, Amboung,
Meas Snoun and Chek Snab
Mok. While distant observers
may see little difference
between the fruits, Chek
Pong Morn are more expensive
since they are flavorful
and smell good. Still,
many people prefer to
grow Chek Namva because,
according to student and
banana-grower Chann Sophon,
"because every part
of it are useful, whereas
the Pong Morn can only
offer its fruit."
The Chek Namva has proved
useful for physical ailments
as well. "I like
Namva fruit because it
has cured my gastric problems
and it also keeps me from
getting a fever, as I
get when I eat too much
Chek Pong Morn,"
said Sdeng Saory, a student.
Even hungry Cambodians
without stomach ailments
delight in the Namva fruit's
versatility. It is often
used to make cakes such
as Ansorm Chek, Chek Chean,
Chek Chhoeng, and Chek
Aing. In rural areas,
the banana serves an important
role in people's health,
offering important nutrients
to babies and the elderly,
often too poor or feeble
to gather nutritious food.
The banana is high in
potassium and other minerals,
which help the young and
old maintain their health.
Many Khmer believe that
babies become more intelligent
and geriatrics maintain
their memory longer |
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| A
supplier delivering bunches
of banana to retail stalls
along street. |
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The
grilled banana is a favourite
snack enjoyed by young
and old alike. | |
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with the help of the potassium.
Ladies boast that Chek
is a good supplement for
skin care. Beauty experts
claim placing slices of
ripe Namva on one's face
for five minutes can refresh
one's skin.
Khmers
let nothing go to waste,
so the leaves of Namva
are also used for packing
items or to play games
like trump. Banana tree
trunks may be tied together
to make water rafts and
are used as a nutritious
feed for pig farming.
Even Tror Yong Chek [banana
flowers] are used in the
provinces, where they
are found in meals, along
with the soft, junior
banana [green fruit].
Selling bananas has proved
less fruitful than some
would imagine, however.
Korng Hong, a banana retailer
at Psar Kondal market,
said she did not need
much capital to begin
her business, but she
receives little in return.
"I only get a small
profit - just enough just
to get by," she said.
Korng Hong buys her banana
stock from Kompong Cham
province, where it is
shipped from once every
two or three days. A stock
costs her 500 riel, which
Korng Hong in turn sells
for approximately 550
to 600 reil, |
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said. "It is difficult
to make high profits in
such a business because
[bananas] don't last for
very long. We cannot afford
to raise the price since
we must quickly sell them
before they get too ripe
and spoil," she lamented.
Every two or three day
at about 6 o'clock, onlookers
can spy two or three lorry
loads of banana stopping
near the Kandal market.
The fruit is loaded into
cyclos to be delivered
to vendors around the
Kandal and Doemkor markets.
Yim Ploen, who helps
to deliver the fruit,
said everyone with their
own land in his hometown
grows Chek because it
is so easy to cultivate.
He said it is very simple.
"At first, we place
a young banana plant about
two months old into a
hole which is dug about
a half meter wide. Then
we put natural fertilizer
in the hole and water
it. We can get banana
fruit within two years
without taking care of
it," he boasted.
Yim Ploen said the trees
must be cut down and |
replanted
after five or six years
because the plants can
no longer produce good
fruit. Yim Ploen said
one hundred square meter
of trees would yield about
five hundreds stocks of
banana fruit every two
weeks.
While Chek
is an ordinary and insignificant
fruit in other parts of
the world, here in Cambodia
it is a lifesaver. This
seemingly timeless plant
may have a lost history,
but its invaluable fruit,
leaves, and stem have
defined its place in the
country's future. |
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Suite
B8, Regency Square, InterContinental
Hotel, 294 Mao Tse Toung
Boulevard,
Phnom Penh,
Kingdom of Cambodia.
Tel: (855) 23 213 133
Fax: (855) 23 213 033
E-mail:
editor@leisurecambodia.com
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