The Pilgrim's Pots and Pans

September 18th, 2005

In the run-up towards the launch of Lasang Pinoy, one of the discussions between Filipino food bloggers centred around why Filipino food is not popular in the U.S. In analysing this, we tried to look at Filipino-American history and realised that (proto-)Filipinos have been one of the earliest migrant workers in the US mainland with farmhands in California brought in by the missionaries in the 1600s and “Manilamen” fleeing to the bayous of Louisiana in the 1760s.

In the wake of typhoon Katrina, I can’t help but remember how the Manilamen lived on marshes which may as well be wiped out now. In today’s edition of the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) is the article History of ‘Manilamen’ of New Orleans lost to ‘Katrina’ which touches on food these men from the Philippines brought to their new home.

These Filipino settlers built their houses on stilts above the water and worked as shrimpers, fishermen and trappers and left their mark in the local culture. They taught the Americans how to drink tuba (coconut wine) and dance “the shrimp,” a way of stomping on sun-dried shrimp (hibe) to remove their heads.

In addition to tuba and hibe, the Manilamen, who used vinegar and garlic to make fish last for days, also introduced paksiw to the local cuisine. The dish continued to be served in New Orleans restaurants right up to the time Hurricane Katrina struck.

It seems these men were not just passive shrimpers.

Numerous oral and historical accounts on the Manilamen show they fought alongside the colonials in the American Revolution and participated in the American Civil War.

The article is a bit grim, as it mentions forty (40) years of research done by Marina Espina ending up in water. It’s definitely a waste but I’d rather dwell on the bright side. Attention focused on hurricane victims may also be the venue to galvanise Filipino-American consciousness on how they have a long presence in the U.S. and have also helped in shaping US history.

Read the complete article.

Note: I wrote ‘(proto-)Filipino’ because prior to 1898, “Filipinos” were Spaniards born in the Philippine Islands. Natives were simply “indios”. And so the Manilamen were indios fleeing their Spanish rulers who brought them to another land for still more back-breaking labour.

6 Responses to “New Orleans ‘paksiw’ from Manila”

Kai Says:
September 19th, 2005 at 1:10 pm

That’s a sad tale, Karen. History down the drain, litrerally speaking. I hope she can reconstruct everything. We’re not a resilient race for nothing.

Phisch Says:
September 20th, 2005 at 4:31 am

I’d read earlier that the Manilamen’s community had been washed away in an earlier hurricane, c. 1915 or so. See Clikmomukhamo’s article over here: http://clickmomukhamo.com/blog/archives/2005/08/31/katrina-the-state-of-louisiana-and-the-pinoys/

It’s the nature of living near, or in this case on, water. Yes, the physical part of the community is gone. But the cultural effects they left behind still remain so all is not lost

boo_licious Says:
September 24th, 2005 at 5:57 am

That is so interesting but sad. You’ll be happy to know that Filipino food seem to be making waves here as the local magazine just featured food from a merienda.:cat:

Gia Says:
September 25th, 2005 at 7:34 pm

I have no idea why filipino food is not popular in the US. It’s part of Guam that’s for sure and althought there are some foods/condiments that take getting used to, shrimp paste for example, there are many asian foods that have similar condiments, thai and vietnamese foods, but these are popular. Go figure.

Karen Says:
September 27th, 2005 at 7:02 am

Right Kai. I hope she had digital copies stored in a safe library somewhere.

Yes Phisch, it’s the nature of living in coastal areas. Hopefully the cultural traces would still be there. As mentioned in the article, the settlements have been washed away in previous hurricanes yet the stories endure.

Thanks Boo_licious! That’s wonderful news. What specific food items were featured?

Hi Gina! This has been tackled in one of our discussions. Quite a complex issue actually. But now I realise that it may not be carried by big media outfits (definition of ‘popular’) but a lot of people in a lot of places in the US know and like Filipino food.

By the way, I can only dream of your Italian la dolce vita!