Sojourning Seeds

A stranded drifter

How long were you lost at sea

Sea bean on the sand

Sea beans are seeds or fruits that wash into the sea, drift for some time and then get washed ashore. They are also called drift seeds or beans. There are a handful of different kinds that you can find on Saipan that usually wash up on the eastern beaches. I am still trying to figure our if it is sustainable to include see beans for my project. The above picture is that of a kukui nut (Aleurites moluccana) which I originally thought drifted from Hawaii. I've been finding quite a bit of them lately.

SEA HEARTS (OR MONKEY LADDER BEANS)
The sea heart (Entada gigas) is a well known sea bean because of its curious shape, big size, and high polish. The ones I've found are dark brown and have a very hard covering making them appear like wood carved hearts. Sea heart vines are lianas (woody, long-stemmed and rooted on the ground). Parts of the thick vines grow ribbon-like and this prompted the common name, monkey ladder vine. I haven't seen these vines growing on Saipan. It would be interesting to find since they own the record for bearing the largest seed pods (over 5 ft. or 1.5m).
Another monkey ladder vine is the snuff box bean (E. rheedii) since the hard seed covering was used as snuff boxes. In Chamorro it is called, bayogon dankulo (kneecap, big) and the seeds are reddish brown, almost rectangular in shape and are supposedly poisonous. The leaves and stems are used in traditional medicine. Its synonym is E. pursaetha and another common name is the African dream herb since its leaves are dried and smoked there supposedly to induce vivid dreams.

LITTLE MARBLES
I do not have a lot of information about this beautiful marble-like seed. They are also called glass eye vine (Oxyrhynchus volubilis). I usually find them covered in a beige, corky layer that need to be scrapped off to reveal the shiny black to dark brown seeds.

SEA PURSES
The sea purses we mostly see here are Dioclea wilsonii. They somewhat resemble our local bayogo (Mucuna gigantea) but are generally bigger and the hilum (where the seed attached to the seed pod) has a bright yellow border.

Does it look like a tiny purse? See the yellow border of the hilum?
Most sea purses I've found are reddish brown but this one (my favorite amongst) is mottled in color. I still need to clean this one up since it had goose barnacles (Lepas sp.) attached to it (white specks).

BURNEY BEAN
Burney in Old English means "island brook". We know these seeds locally as bayogon dikike (pronounce the y sound as a z) which literally means "knee cap small". Most of the ones I've collected are from the vine. They range in color from light to dark brown or mottled with black like the ones below. These seeds are the basis of the bayogo (bojobo) doll industry, seed leis and are extensively collected in the Mariana Islands. Like bayogon dankulu it is used in traditional medicine. Scientifically it is called Mucuna gigantea and like most of its family members, their seed pods have stinging hairs (trichomes) so you have to be careful collecting them. More on this on another post!
BROWN HAMBURGER BEAN
Hamburger beans (Mucuna sloanei) are a joy to find washed up on the beach. They are smaller in diameter and rounder than sea purses. The surface of the seed is polished but rough and the hilum is thick and dark.
Does this really look like a hamburger?
CANDLENUT
I was first made familiar with the kukui or candlenut (Aleurites molucanna) out of Hawaii's seed leis so I thought these were mainly from Polynesia. I now know that they are native in Asia and they even grow as close to us as Pohnpei. Maybe that's why they are pretty common drift seeds here. They polish quite nicely and I may have enough to put together for an authentic seed lei. Problem is if the seed inside is rotten, it is oily and pretty stinky so I will have to find a way to remedy those two problems. I haven't had much luck locating trees on Guam nor here on Saipan.
That's a nice shine! The seeds really take a good polish. Also, the oil inside the seed really does burn like a candle.

MARY'S or CRUCIFIX BEAN

Finding Mary's bean (Merremia discoidesperma) this past weekend was quite a surprise! This drift bean holds the record of having the longest drift of 15,000 miles (24,000 km). Sure other sea beans can stay buoyant longer potentially drifting father, but where they originally came from is hard to determine. Mary's bean has a limited range growing only in Mexico and Central America though.

Mary's bean has been found as far up north as Norway. If the record distance was set by beans found in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (Bikini and Wotho Atolls) then we may have a record breaker in our hands! Old Man by the Sea, Saipan, CNMI is farther than the RMI!
Because of the cross-like indentation on the "top" side of the bean, it has religious significance to some people. It is named after Mary, the mother of Christ and is also known as the Crucifixion or Crucifix bean. It is supposed to be good luck to carry one and women in labor carry them to ease the pain. Some of these are heirlooms being passed from one generation to the next.This is the record breaker's "bottom" showing the hilum, the scar where it once attached to its fruit.
GRAY NICKARBEANS OR NICKARNUTS

I love the unique look of the Gray nickarbeans (Caelsalpinia bonduc). They look like small gray eggs with parallel fracture lines. Nicker is a Jamaican word that came from the Dutch knickker, a baked clay marble. The Chamorros however locally call them, pakao. They are used in traditional medicine. Incidentally, bonduc came from the Tagalog word for mountain, bundok. Boondocks is also a Western derivative that means backwoods or out of way place.

I finally found some Gray nickarbean vines. They are pretty spiny which led to another common name, wait-a-bit vine. I am going to have to return to the spot see when they flower and bear fruits.
SCREWPINE
These aren't seed but are part of the woody part of the screwpine (Pandanus tectorius) fruit. I've used screwpine leaves for cordage but these specimens are so pretty that it looks easy to craft them into things. These are lightly sanded and once coated with tung oil. My BFF, Laurina, thinks they look kind of spooky because the holes look like the eyes and mouth of the grim reaper. I don't see it but do you?
This one is probably from a different Pandanus species that I've yet to identify. It's probably not from here since we really only have 2 species locally. It is pretty nonetheless!
I have found other interesting drift seeds and sea beans to share later. I finally identified a pretty weird looking black seed that felt and looked like a plastic ball. It turned out to be palm nuts from a species of prickly palm trees (Acrocomia mexicana) that grown in South America and West Indies. I didn't have any picture so I will have to share later.Hope you liked my stories. Check this and this which are other sites that are chock full of information on sea beans and drift seeds.

Ti napu.

The Beachcomber

P.S. I misidentified the Little marbles and you can read about their true identity here.

Mi madre, la mer

We're beachcombers, he said.
What is that?
It's people who walk along the beach looking for things of value that might have washed up.
What kind of things?
Any kind of things. Anything that you might be able to use.
Do you think we'll find anything?
I don't know. We'll take a look.
Take a look, the boy said.
from The Road by Cormac McCarthy

What would I do without the sea? I am sure there is a way to live without but I would prefer to always be close to her. It is actually pretty sad that I haven't had a lot of time to spend in the water these past few months. I miss her enough that I plan to see her today. How lucky are we to live surrounded by the water? Can I afford a lunch hour swim? Why not?

A few days ago, DJ, Hayden Lucas, Laurina and I to Wing Beach. It was a good day.
Here's Hayden pointing at a balati (sea cucmber). He was calling it ga'ga' (animal or insect), one of his first words in Chamorro. I tell him Holothuria leucospilota but I'll save that prank for him when he is a lot older.

I love Wing Beach. This was once an ancient Chamorro village. From time to time, you can still find evidence of their presence here. I think it was part of the village of Luyo which usually described at Paupau Beach.
This is prime hunting grounds. Most of the rocks I use for slingstone replicas are from Wing Beach. She offers a lot of colors and varieties.

Hayden's momma asked me, "Why does he look up like that all the time?" I told her it was probably mostly my fault as I tend to point out birds, clouds, the moon and stars to the boy. I think he was looking at a bird flying overhead.
Do you see the two butterflies?
Or do you see the angel taking flight?

The clouds did not offer a clear view of the sun setting. It did however give us a glorious sun burst.
Hayden has a thing for chucking stuff. He laughs at the sound coral rocks make when they hit the ground.
I am sure that arm will be good for something as he grows up. Too bad his uncle's sport growing up was tennis and volleyball. Oh, I see where that can be developed into a smash or a spike.
Is it time to go already?I hope you get to enjoy the sea soon, my friends.

Ti napu.

The Beachcomber

Spondylus salape’: The classical shape

Disc beads made from the Spondylus or more commonly known as the spiny or thorny oyster, were used as ornaments by the ancient Chamorros of the Mariana Islands. Some archeologists believe that they were also used as money or salape’. Purportedly, the beads were greatly valued and were treated as heirlooms as well . Archeologists tell us that these beads were produced during the archaeological milestones of the Mariana Islands known as the Transitional Pre-Latte (AD 1 to AD 1000), the larger Latte Period (AD 1000 to AD 1521), and even through the Early Historic Period (in between AD 1521 to 1700).

The traditional or classical characteristic of the beads are disc shaped, orange in color, highly polished and without any surface blemish. Their dimensions are generally about 10 to 20 mm in diameter, 1 to 2.5 mm in width, and weighing about .5 to 2.5 grams. Most beads are biconically (two cones) drilled from both the front and the back surface but some are drilled completely through. Most beads have holes drilled in the center of the disc. There is a picture of some bead artifacts found on Tumon Bay, Guam here: http://historicguam.org/Historic%20Preservation%20Plan%20for%20Guam.pdf

Below is a picture of some ancient Spondylus disc beads housed in the CNMI Museum of History and Culture in Garapan, Saipan. The biggest disc bead here is about 51 mm in diameter. Look closely, and you’ll see that this particular bead has two holes to accommodate binding. Can you see the conically shaped drill hole of the top middle bead?



The next two pictures are also from the museum. It's a display collection of different ornamental artifacts collected by former United States Marine lieutenant and archeologist/naturalist Hans Hornbostle in the 1920s. According to the label, the artifacts were returned to Saipan by the Bishop Museum in Honolulu Hawaii in 1999.



After learning a little about the history of these artifacts and seeing how beautiful they are, I was hooked. I decided that I too would like to embark on a creative journey, much like the ancient people of my adoptive island home. So I “cut”, polish and bind my own versions of the Spondylus salape’ to give homage to the past and hopefully inspire others to discover for themselves the beauty of the ancient Chamorro culture.

This is a finished necklace and some bead discs that are ready to be bound. You can see that the Spondylus varies greatly in color which we shall explore on an upcoming post.


Finally, here are three more finished necklaces all in the classical shape of the Spondylus salape’ (the bead on the left is a toggle that closes the loop of a necklace. These are bound by beading cord of 100 % cotton.



Thank you for letting me share once again.

The Beachcomber

Hafa adai, everyone!

Hafa adai! Welcome to my blog and my first post. Being an avid beachcomber and general nature lover, I thought it would be nice to be able to share some of the things I see and discover in the wonderful islands of the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas.

I have lived on Saipan for 5 years now and there are still many things to do, see, experience and learn even though the island is just 20 km (12.5 mi) long and 9 km (5.5 mi) wide. Saipan is all about the things that enjoy so I hope I am able to share with you some interesting anecdotes on my interest in nature, history, health, or really just about anything and everything.

Blogging has become a favorite past time here on Saipan. I will mostly keep my blogging anonymous since I like my privacy very much. Please do the same for me and respect my privacy. I hope that this is something that I will find fun to do and fun for you to share in as well since I feel like there are somethings that I see or do that others may appreciate too.

So, Here we go. I'll try to make this entertaining. Thank you for allowing me to share!

One of my hobbies:

The ancient people of the Mariana Islands had an affinity for the Spondylus, or spiny oyster. The Chamorros made coin like beads with a hole (mainly in the middle) that they bound together and used as ornamentation. Some people believe they were also used for monetary purpose as salape' (money).

After seeing only a few artisans here on Saipan fashioning pendants and other ornaments made out of Spondylus and other natural materials, I decided to give it a try myself. Future posts will showcase the learning process that I go through in developing my new hobby, but ultimately, I hope that this inspires others to reclaim the lost arts of the past and so that knowledge of the ancient Chamorros is appreciated and not forgotten. I invite other artisans to share ideas and techniques within these blogs as well so that interest in the ancient arts grow and continue to be refined.

This is a picture of the first three Spondylus salape' pendants that I cut, polished and bound. Although you cannot see it in this picture, the necklaces are bound by a simple loop and small salape' toggles. I used hemp-like beading cord that are made of cotton. Finishing the first three gave me a lot of satisfaction since it was accomplished all through trial and error. I hope you like them too.