Advertisement

By Chetanne Chinelo 

Our call for the 2022 Christmas edition of Nkanu Today column was at Obeagu, Awkunanaw, in Enugu South Local Government Area of Enugu State.

Advertisement

Pacesetter’s guest was a palm wine tapper, Chinwendu Eze, a young man whom we guess is in his mid or late thirties. We captured the entire process of Ịkụnkwụ (palm wine tapping) from palm trees. He had a little explanation to make.

“I tap my palm trees thrice a day; mornings, afternoons and evenings.

“To get palm wine from the tree, you cut the palm frond (igu) in a certain way to reveal the mmumu and leave it for 24 hours before positioning a gallon that will hold the palm wine. The first set of the fresh palm wine that drops into the gallon turns out so sweet but after two days, the rest of the palm wine will not be as sweet as the first set, it will be normal. Usually the fresh, sweet ones are diluted with normal palm wines to control the sweetness, or sometimes I leave it to ferment.

Advertisement

“The mmumu dies after a while. The harmattan period reduces the flow of the palm wine. During the heat period, the palm wine flows heavily.

“Some trees have up to 3 to 4 mmumu. While one dies off, the others grow back. The mmumu needs to be cut down early enough, if it stays unnoticed by a tapper for a while, it will be unable to produce palm wine, then we’ll have to wait till it grows back. It has a lifecycle of about two weeks if the palm tree is at its best condition. When it dies after two weeks, it begins to grow back. If it doesn’t, then we look for other palm trees to tap from”.

Palm wine tapper’s contact: 07018017444

Disclaimer

Contents provided and/or opinions expressed here do not reflect the opinions of The Pacesetter Frontier Magazine or any employee thereof.

Advertisement

Support The Pacesetter Frontier Magazine

It takes a lot to get credible, true and reliable stories.

As a privately owned media outfit, we believe in setting the pace and leaving strides in time.

If you like what we do, you can donate a token to us here. Your support will ensure that the right news is put out there at all times, reaching an unlimited number of persons at no cost to them.

Donate!