The nipah palm flowers just at the tide level. The flowers are fabulously beautiful. However once they turn to seed they become brown. A whole cluster of the nipah seeds may float away in the ebbing tide to another part of the Sarawak coast. Some of the seeds even germinate while still floating in the sea. This is how the palm propagate. The fruit is seasonal.
The Nipah fruit or nut called attap chee is like a mini coconut. A strong good knife can cut it open and one can find the flesh sweet and tasty. The attap chee has been canned by many Malaysian factories. It is also a common product from Thailand.
During the Japanese Occupation, the Foochows who lived from 16 Company and below, from Binatang to Paloh, would collect attap chee during their spare time. These FREE attap chee did not come during a special season. So it was a kind of lucky draw for these Foochow foragers. While looking for fish, snails they might chance about some attap chee.
The fruits would be taken home and the children would enjoy something sweet for a change.
Alas they had a lot of competition for the scarce item.
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