Information:
 In
Gambia it is extracted from the "palm palm"
tree, by palm wine tappers, most often Bainunka men
who climb the trunk using a strap made from rope or
leaves called a kajandak. They tap the tree just below
the flower-stalk of the male inflorescence and attach
a gourd there for a while. The juice is fast fermenting
and contains glucose and sucrose.
After tapping the palm tree, stick a bottle in, and
wait eight hours or so for the container to fill with
wine. The alcoholic drink comes from the tree fully
fermented, with a yeasty taste that can range form very
sweet to fairly sour. The sweetest comes from a tree
tapped for the very first time—men often call it the
drink of females due to its low alcohol content and
sugary tang. It is locally known as 'Sengga' and the
Jolas have a dance which represents Cassa-tappers in
their daaka, brewery production.
Stronger liquor is had by trees that have been tapped
many times. You can buy palm wine at a local tapping
ground called "Nature", which can be found
near the golf course in Fajara — for best luck, ask
a Gambian friend for directions.
Don't buy bottle-loads, because it gets stronger and
sourer with time, spoiling totally within a few days.
Refrigerate it if possible. If you are drinking at the
beach, kept it fresh by burying the bottle in the sand. |
