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Origin of chayote

SAGADA, Mountain Province (Nov. 23) — Masferre – a name popularly identified with photography. Works captured in portraits the indigenous peoples in the Cordillera hinterland. But Masferre, who first set foot in the region during the Spanish colonial period, had great contribution to agriculture.

Chayote, or locally known as sayote (scientific name: Sechium edule) was introduced in Sagada sometime in 1922 by Spanish soldier-turned farmer Jaime P. Masferre, the father of the legendary photo-artist Eduardo L. Masferre. The older Masferre introduced fruits and vegetables of Spanish origin.

The older Masferre brought the first chayote from Mexico when he and his son Eduardo came back to the Philippines. They were on their way home after Eduardo lived in Spain for his early school, according to the June-July, 1995 issue of the Sagada Postboy, the publication of the Saint Mary’s School, an American-established school in this municipality.

In another article written by Bartholomeo Dao-as, Eduardo’s maternal cousin, the father and son returned home from Spain to Sagada in 1922. That was after the older brother of Eduardo died and after he (Eduardo) finished his elementary education in Spain.

Propagation

The Postboy traced that when the “first chayote were then propagated in Sagada, it eventually spread through out the Cordillera as perhaps the most sustainable vegetable in the region.” The Postboy article was written by then Sagada Mayor Thomas Killip in remembering the photo-artist Eduardo but which also contained information about the agricultural contribution of the older Masferre.

The town’s older residents recounted that Jaime established in Batalao, Sagada a 32-hectare farm, which was later reduced to 21 due to land claimants, says Jake Masferre Reyes, Jaime’s great grandson by Eduardo. The older Masferre had in his farm chayote and other foreign fruits and vegetables. However, with a cultural system where seeds and products were communal, he shared the propagated chayote and other plants with the Sagada residents. “The chayote has climbed its way into the most barren and rocky terrains,” stated the Sagada Postboy.

Chayote survived in the Cordillera where the climate is similar with Mexico. In an article written by R. Lira Saade, the National Herbarium of Mexico, chayote has been cultivated in Mexico since the pre-Columbian times. The plant’s common names of native origin, like the Mexican Nahuatl’s chayote or chayotli, are concentrated mainly in Mexico and Central America. She added that the specie was “undoubtedly domesticated within the cultural area of Mesoamerica, and specifically in the region lying between south Mexico and Guatemala.”

Saade added that chayote is grown in the area preferably between 800 and 1800 m altitude. In Oaxaca, Bolivia and Chihuahua, Mexico, it is cultivated above 2000 m.

With the similarities in climate and altitude, chayote survived well in the Cordillera. The altitude explains also why the chayote failed to survive in areas with lower altitude like the Cagayan and Ilocos regions.

Chayote then gained its tag as the “hanging green gold” due to its economic and sustainable contribution. The Postboy claimed that the chayote is high-yielding while it requires only low input. It is also environment friendly as it is non-polluting.

Ready food, medicine

In Sagada and in the Cordillera, chayote provided ready foods from its uggot (tops) and fruits. Uggot can be prepared easily like the fruits which can be chopped and added to the etag (Igorot ham), whether with or without chicken, and can satisfy a person’s day.

Surplus chayote is also utilized as alternative animal feeds. In fact, Dao-as claimed Eduardo Masferre utilized chayote to feed his hogs, poultry and rabbit in Batalao and recycled, on the other hand, the wastes of these animals as fertilizers for his chayote and other plants.

The chayote root is not much utilized for food by the Cordillerans, unlike Mexico’s indigenous Mayans who also eat the starchy roots – like the fruits and tops – and added it to beans. Chayote was also the staple food of the indigenous Aztecs in Mexico. Presently, chayote can be prepared and eaten raw as salad. It may also be stuffed and baked and may be prepared mashed, fried, or boiled. It can be used as soup or creamed, too.

Unknown to many, however, chayote is also a medicinal plant. Its leaves can be made into tea. It can dissolve kidney stones. On the other hand, it is also used to treat hypertension and arteriosclerosis, according to an article on chayote history and lore in the internet.

Fruits, vegetables

In his Batalao farms, Jaime Masferre raised and propagated coffee and fruits which they brought home from Spain. The world-famous coffee Arabica was propagated and shared with the Sagadans. The coffee became popularly known as Fidelisan coffee, stated the Postboy. The Sagada produced coffee was to supply the city markets with quality coffee in the 1950s and 60s when residents adopted it for production.

He, too, raised foreign fruits including persimmons, Valencia oranges, Spanish lemons, and vegetables from the Ferry Morse, added the Dao-as article.

Married to Mercedes Cunyap Langkew of Sagada, and blessed with eight children, Jaime P. Masferre will always be remembered – while the chayote exists. # Arthur L. Allad-iw for NORDIS

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