The
Coconut Palm
It
is only in relatively recent times that this tree has
dominated Tahitian scenery, since people only began
planting it systematically about a century ago. Before this, there were more breadfruit-trees
than coconut palms in populated areas.
Today,
gracefully curved over the white sand, it reminds us
of holidays. But
for the Polynesians it was an all-purpose tree which
they planted throughout the islands.
Every
part of the haari, from the highest palm-frond to the farthest root
was used either treated, or in its natural state, for
daily living.
The
developing nut and the heart of the young sprouts are
the edible parts of the coconut palm. The heart, which is very tender, can be eaten
as a salad, and the nut supplies water and the famous
coconut milk. The
latter is obtained after squeezing the grated pulp.
The palm-fronds, once woven, make mats,
roofing-tiles, hats, sun-shades and baskets. The
ni’au, or secondary ribs, are used for making skewers and
brooms. The
husk covering the nut, whose fiber can be plaited or
twisted into rope, was used by early Polynesians for
binding all manner of things together. Even today, this husk provides a very fine
vegetable ochre used for all kinds of decoration.
The trunk is still used occasionally as a
building material and the bark and roots become
ingredients of traditional medicine. Finally, the dried flesh produces oil once it
has been squeezed. This product is important in the fabrication of
monoi, perfumes and some soaps. It takes twenty coconuts to produce three
liters of oil.
The
uru was, without doubt, the most typical fruit of the
pre-European Polynesian diet.
