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.

Native Medicine Symposium

I had the honor of attending the Inetnon Amot Natibu/Ammwelil Safeyal Faluwasch also known as the Native Medicine Symposium held at the Man'amko Center on August 9, 2008. I've always wanted to learn more about traditional healing methods of the Chamorros and Carolinians. I was glad that this event was put together for free by passionate people who understand the value of passing traditional knowledge on to the current generation (even if they are not local) so that the healing arts do not disappear in time.

The student volunteers at the registration table who are hopefully going to retain this part of their culture.

Some medicinal plants brought as examples courtesy of the CNMI Forestry Division.

Cousins, Laurina Flores Boyer and Manny Flores Borja. Laurina is a Registered Nurse and Señot Borja is the ANA Project Director who helped put the symposium together.

Piper guahamense or Wild piper is often added to medicinal mixtures. It is aromatic and fleshy. It's funny because my sister, brother and I used to make play medicine with this same piper many years ago in the Philippines when we were kids. The Chamorros call this Papulun aniti or the "pepper leaf of the supernatural spirit." Some may argue with me and say that aniti means the devil but I believe this to be a word change that the Catholic clergy made many years ago.

A sample of Lulujut (Maytenus thompsonii) an important ingredient in many local medicines. The young leaves have an attractive pink tinge.

Some samples of seeds, stems, roots and leaves that are used as local medicine.

At first, there was a panel discussion with Chief Lino Olopai, Señora Manglona, Señot Donald Flores, si Señot Kapileo yan Senadot Maria T. Pangelinan.
Si Señot Rafael Rangamar, Dr. Daniel C. Lamar, yan si Señora Manglona. It was an interesting panel especially since it included Dr. Lamar, a Western educated and licensed physician who before going into medical school studied herbology. He was emotional at one point talking about plants being alive and part of our spiritual world and how it was his mother that introduced him to herbal medicine. National treasures: Our traditional healers; suruhanus yan suruhanas of Saipan, Tinian and Rota.

Dr. Lamar brought some Centella asiatica which he said is used for the promotion of healthy skin, anti-wrinkle, for enhancing mental acuity and staving off memory deterioration as well as improving blood flow by strengthening blood vessels and controlling varicose veins.

This is a relative of the sunflower and daisy that Dr. Lamar brought along from his house. The leaves are velvety and had a pleasant odor when crushed. Known as Sambong (Blumea balsamifera) in the Philippines and it is a antiurolithiasis (against kidney and gallbladderstones) and a diuretic used to aid the treatment of kidney disorders. The Sambong leaves can also be used to treat colds and mild hypertension.

Si Señora Liz Rechebei, Uncles Ben Borja and Donald Flores sharing plant lore and a merriment.

My good friend and father figure, Refaluwasch chief and traditional navigator, si Señot Lino Olopai. Laurina Boyer is smiling beautifully at the back.

Si Señot Rafael Rangamar, Lino's cousin and a Refaluwasch (Carolinian) medicine man. He spoke in his native tongue and he kept laughing as he recounted stories of midwifery and pointed at a few family members (like his wife and daughter) in the audience who were delivered traditionally. I enjoyed his jolly demeanor.

Si Señora Manglona, a suruhana from Rota explaining the use and efficacy of Åmot Sågue’ .

Åmot Sågue’ or medicine for post surgical pain presentation board.

This is the presentation board for Åmot Tabatdiyo or medicine for headaches and nosebleeds.

This is the presentation board for Åmot Makpong Patgon or medicine for children with urinary problems. Our Rotanese suruhana said that this mixture can even get rid of the strong ammonia-like smell of the urine.

My very first local medicinal brew and the programme. The brew is a concoction for general good health and for cleansing the insides. It tasted like warm Oolong tea.

Hey, there's Ellen's mom, Jeanne (third from the left). She was selling some of her artworks at the fair.

The captive audience listening about planting and conservation.

A presentation by Señora Calvo on Åmot Mahulat and showing some of the ingredients .

Here's Señora Toves preparing medicine for congestion. She said that the traditional herbs worked better than over the counter expectorants and decongestants.

The table was shaking too much so the pounding had to be moved to the floor. She used a stone mortar and a pestle made from an Ifit (Intsia bijuga) stump. Ifit is the State Tree of Guahan and is a very dense local hardwood. Dr. Lamar was the brave volunteer that took a few drops of the concoction up the nostrils.

It looks like a few people had to hold him down in this picture but they were actually just helping him from slipping off the chair since he needed to almost lie down for the mixture to go down his nasopharynx cavity.

Of course, Dr. Lamar had to get a phone call from the hospital in the middle of the whole demonstration.

The crowd laughed all the way through the demonstration. Doc said that it did not sting as much as he thought it would and that it felt good. They gave a few small bags of the decongestant mix and it smelled so strong that I almost felt dizzy from the aroma.

Too bad my camera didn't get a good after picture of Dr. Lamar. As you can see he was doing all right after the experience.

This is the presentation board for Åmot Mahulat or medicine for sore mouth/tongue/throat.

Si Señot Kapileo reminded us that there is a lot of secrecy when it comes to traditional healing since in the past, enemies could render medicines useless, ineffective or can even manipulate them to be harmful. This is one of the reasons why healers prefer not to plant herbs near their houses and just keep the knowledge of where to find the necessary plants in the jungles. A book of traditional medicine was passed on to him from Chuuk and he says that his successor has to not only be able to read Chuukese but also be able to prove their worth as a useful member of the community.

Our traditional healers from Tinian. The speaker here, "Dr. Gurak" told us that he heals with energy/spirituality and not herbs.

Si Señot Joe "Dr. Gurak" Cruz. He told the men he had real good medicine for us specifically and to speak to him in private after the presentations if we wanted to learn more.

Many thanks to the organizers and presenters for sharing your knowledge with me. I will continue to promote the natural heritage of the Commonwealth in order to uphold the local traditions and knowledge.

Ti napu.

The Beachcomber