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By Nur Ashikin Louis
KUCHING, June 20: Do you know that the Melanau tribe of Sarawak has secret ‘liquid gold’ to add flavour to food?
On the days where there is only hot plain rice on the plate, all it takes is several drops of this liquid gold and a pinch of salt to bring out a unique taste to the food. This liquid gold is Sekiu oil which naturally tastes bitter.
In the past, most Melanau households would have this golden oil kept in the kitchen as food flavouring. The most common way to consume Sekiu oil was by combining one teaspoon of the oil with three spoons of sago pearls and a pinch of salt or mix it in with porridge and salted fish.
Kampung Jemoreng Penghulu Mehsalleh@Che Jeni Shahdan, said the consumption of Sekiu oil has long existed and he had inherited knowledge of Sekiu oil extraction methods from his ancestors.
The 70-year-old explained that Sekiu oil is extracted from the Sekiu fruit (Madhuca motleyana from the Sapotacae family) which grows wild deep in the forest. However, it must be noted that Sekiu trees are very rare and one of the best places to find them is Kampung Jemoreng in Matu District, Mukah. Even then, you might not be able to find any Sekiu fruit because the fruiting season happens only once every three to four years.
Extracting Sekiu oil
According to Che Jeni, the Melanau community traditionally collect Sekiu fruits floating on the surface of the water and the collected seeds are dried under the sun for three days at least eight hours per day. The seeds are shaken to check if they are fully dry. After the drying process, the locals would remove the kernel from the seed shell before pounding the kernels into fine powder.
The powder is then cooked traditionally using a method called ‘pais’ where the powder is wrapped with ‘lalang tebu’ (Saccharum) leaves inside ‘sungkai’ (Peronema canescens Jack) leaves or banana leaves. The whole package is then wrapped again inside a type of tree bark called ‘kayu is’ and a sharpened bamboo stick is used to poke through each end of ‘kayu is’ to hold the wrapping together. The completed wrap is then placed over low-heat fire for around an hour.
“The ‘lalang tebu’ leaves however, are not part of the food as it is wrapped together with the powder to serve as an indicator during the process. The person overseeing the process would pull and check on the condition of the ‘lalang tebu’ from time to time to determine whether there is presence of the oil,” he told DayakDaily in an exclusive interview on May 27.
Next, the cooked kernel powder would be put inside a ‘kepisen’—a special bag with a clean cloth inside it to act as a filter. The ‘kepisen’ is then placed in the ‘ales’ which is a contraption to squeeze or extract the oil from the kernel powder.
The extracted oil is then ready for consumption and can last for two to three years if stored at room temperature.
Beliefs versus benefits of Sekiu oil
Initially, the Melanau were unaware of the health benefits of Sekiu oil as it was treated simply as a food flavouring since the olden days.
Nevertheless, Che Jeni said there was a belief that Melanau women during pregnancy should eat Sekiu oil mixed with rice or other food to prevent their newborn from contracting ‘bayi kuning’ or neonatal jaundice disease.
“This seems to be true because some people have tried this tip and it works. Most newborns usually experience neonatal jaundice but if you practise consuming Sekiu oil during pregnancy, your newborn would not become ‘yellowish’ (jaundice). This has become a tradition among the Melanau,” he said.
On the other hand, based on the information collected from Sarawak Biodiversity Centre (SBC), the Sekiu oil owes its bitter almond flavour to an organic compound called benzaldehyde which consists of a benzene ring with a formyl substituent.
The Sekiu oil also has vitamin E—an antioxidant that protects the fat in body tissues from oxidation with 15 per cent of Nutrient Reference Value (NRV).
Apart from that, it contains oleic acid which lowers risk of cardiovascular diseases and helps in weight management as well as linoleic acid which is beneficial for cardiovascular health, brain function, immunity and skin health.
Preservation of Sekiu oil among Melanau community
Che Jeni further disclosed that the Melanau community still practise the traditional way of extracting Sekiu oil. When harvest season comes, the Melanau would gather round for ‘gotong-royong’ (communal work) to carry out the extraction process together.
Additionally, he believed that the younger generation has no problem in continuing the tradition as Sekiu oil is very valuable today.
“Sometimes, they (youths) are interested in Sekiu oil because of its health benefits and they can even afford a motorcycle from the profit of selling the oil,” he added.
Today, a millileter (ml) of Sekiu oil is worth about RM1. Thus, a small bottle of 25ml would cost about RM25 while a standard bottle of 500ml would cost RM500, living up to its reputation as the Melanau’s liquid gold.
Moving forward, Che Jeni said Kampung Jemoreng villagers have the intention to attempt growing Sekiu trees. If successful, they hope to venture into commercialising the product.
Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS)
On May 27, 2023, SBC signed a Benefit Sharing Agreement (BSA) with various Melanau communities to develop a sekiu oil project. The Melanau communities involved were participants of SBC’s Traditional Knowledge Documentation Programme from Kampung Jemoreng Ulu and Kampung Jemoreng Hilir in Matu and Kampung Penibong in Pulau Bruit, Daro. The signing ceremony was witnessed by Sarawak Minister of Education, Innovation and Talent Development Datuk Roland Sagah Wee Inn.
The proposed terms of monetary benefits would cover the payment of raw material and royalties while the non-monetary benefits would include intellectual property rights, acknowledgment of contribution in publications and/or products, strengthening capacities for technology transfer, capacity building and making contributions to local economy.
Che Jeni further elaborated that the cooperation with SBC would help promote the commercialisation of Sekiu oil in terms of packaging and providing a platform to sell the product.
He also expressed high hopes for Melanau communities to be able to start the cultivation of Sekiu trees as a stable source of income in the future.
“We (Kampung Jemoreng villagers) also have the plan to set up a cooperative for the local community. Thus, when we have the profits from the Sekiu oil project with SBC, we hope to use the money to materialise this plan,” he emphasised.
— DayakDaily
