Túng-gang is the sap of the báhi palm. The method of extraction is identical with that of the sugar-palm wine. It is neither as pleasant nor as strong as the previously described drink, but it is not by any manner of means unwholesome. It is employed as a beverage only when no other is obtainable. I have been reliably informed that sometimes the tree is cut down as a preliminary to the extraction of the sap. Incisions are made in the trunk for the purpose of permitting the flow of the sap.
SUGARCANE BREW
In-tus is a beverage made out of the juice of the sugarcane. It is the most common and the most popular drink, so much so that it is deemed worthy of being presented to the spirits on sacrificial and other occasions.
Extraction of the juice.--The sugarcane is first peeled and then crushed, stalk by stalk, or piece by piece, under the li-gi-san. This is a very primitive mill, consisting of a round, smooth, heavy log usually of palma brava7 or of the fishtail palm, set horizontally about 1 meter above the ground on two crude frames. It is provided with a vertical handle, by means of which it can be rolled from side to side over a fiat piece of wood. The cane is introduced gradually between this latter piece and the log, which is kept in constant motion. As soon as the whole or a part of a piece of cane has been crushed, it is doubled up into a mass about 30 centimeters long and is again crushed. By this method about 20 liters of juice are obtained in a day.
7An-a-hau (Livistona sp.).
Boiling.--The iron cooking pan described in a previous chapter is preferred for preparing the drink, unless an empty kerosene can has been secured. In the absence of both, the ordinary pot answers the purpose. In the center of the cooking utensil is placed a small cylinder made of slats of bamboo to serve for gaging the amount of evaporation. The boiling vessel is filled with small slices of the root of a gingerlike plant8 and sugarcane juice is added to fill the interstices.
8Lan-kwas (Cordeline terminalis Willd.).