WETlands
a publication of Sungei Buloh Nature Park
Vol 7 No 3
Dec 2000

Traditional uses
of mangroves

Reflections of a Rhizophora Seedling

Pink-necked
Green Pigeon

BotanicalReveries
about the common names of plants

Cymbly Great
rediscovery of
an extinct Cymbidium
at the Park

Rediscovered Palm at the Park: Nibong

Deborah Yeo shares her volunteer experience

The value of trees by Julian

Nick's encounter with Smooth Otters at the Park

About the signboards
at the Park

Up & Coming Boardwalks
and Tower Hide		   Go back in time and find out about the traditional uses of mangroves
with Linda Goh Senior Education Officer

Traditional Uses
of Mangroves:
A view from the human dimension

At the crack of dawn, the children from the mangrove village hurried along with a "marketing" list from their mothers. They were to collect a basket full of Sonneratia leaves and fruits that would be prepared as their vegetable dish for the day. Rhizophora leaves were also needed to cook with the fish to acidify the meat.
As they went about harvesting from the surrounding mangrove forest, they jumped with delight when they chanced upon a fruiting Nypa Palm (Nypa fruticans). They knew for certain that would be the reward for the night. The Nypa fruit was a much-appreciated dessert in the daily meals of these mangrove dwellers. The children having accomplished their task for the day ran home with their prize, eager to present it to their mothers.

Nypa Palm fruit

Some women were sitting by the catwalks busy weaving the roofing for a new stilt house. The men had gathered many Nypa Palm fronds, which the women thread into shingle panels with a split rattan strip. This roof would be able to last them for 3 to 5 years.


Avicennia sp.
 Some of the younger men were carving furniture out of Lumnitzeria wood known for its durability. The older folks kept occupied by making toys for the younger ones with Exoecaria wood while keeping watch over them as they frolicked in the river.

As the diminishing light beckoned the family home, they brought out their small lanterns powered by the oil extracted from the Xylocarpus fruit. Dinner was cooked over a fire out of Avicennia wood.
The elders sat with the family imparting the many secrets of the mangrove, explaining the great healing powers of the mangrove forest. From applying scraped skin of Bruguiera seedling to stop bleeding to applying the extracts from the Avicennia bark to treat skin parasites to taking tea brewed from the Acanthus leaves to relieve pain. Much knowledge was passed on from generation to generation.

Bruguiera sp.
Such were the dependence of traditional mangrove settlement on the surroundings to provide for their daily needs, from food, construction wood, fuel wood to medicine... the sacred and intimate relationship of man with the mangroves.

The benefits of the mangrove are boundless. Though the traditional dependence of mangroves may no longer he relevant to a modern Singapore, it is still essential for us to continue protecting our mangroves and natural resources. With the push towards life sciences, the life-saving gene pool, which the mangroves potentially hold, could be unveiled and put to good use.
   
© Sungei Buloh Nature Park