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Rare events like bamboo flowering in the tropical forest are a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle. In the summer of 2023, bamboo flowered in the Edamalayar valley in the central Western Ghats of Kerala. The Muthuva people in one of the ancestral villages went out of their way to go harvest the grains and used a traditional wooden pounder to dehusk. Sharing of the produce with the wildlife is deftly woven into collection practices as ceremonial offerings to the tiger and the elephant, before they take any for themselves.
Bamboo is an iconic symbol of the Muthuvar landscape, both ecologically and culturally. It provides material for building homes, fences, and tools. Different kinds of bamboo have served different purposes. One of them, called puhaari moongil, was used exclusively for making the puhaari, or the golden comb, which was part of the bridal trousseau. Another Bambusa species is still preferred to make the main pillars of their traditional mud and bamboo homes. Then there is the reed bamboo (Ochlandra travancorica) which is used to weave baskets, winnows, and Kannadi paaya mats.
Read more: https://thelocavore.in/2023/07/07/when-bamboo-rice-carpets-the-forest-floor/
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