"YES, WE ATE KARABAO"

 

Some older people hesitate to admit that karabao was eaten before the war.

Perhaps some think it is embarrassing to admit that, seeing the karabao as a beast of burden, or buried in mud when not working.

A man born in 1928 told me that, yes, some people did eat karabao now and then before the war.

For some, karabao meat was tough to chew on. But, if a karabao just happened to die (from disease being an exception), why waste the meat and let it rot?

Secondly, depending on the family, there may have been a huge surplus of karabao in the herd. More than needed for farming. So, some were butchered.

In fact, even in the 1950s, stray karabao (and cattle) were sometimes rounded up by the government and slaughtered, with the meat being sold at public auction.

KARABAO MEAT FOR SALE

1959

In the 1920s, a man in Inalåhan was told by his father-in-law to slaughter a young heifer for the feast of San José. The young man convinced his father-in-law to exchange the heifer for some karabao meat already butchered, and the karabao meat was used to feed the father-in-law's fiesta guests.

Another man told me years ago that, during the Japanese Occupation, he would sell karabao meat to the Japanese and sample some himself.

If a family had a sizeable herd of karabao, they might even slaughter a young calf because its meat was more tender.

Even into the 1970s, some karabao owners slaughtered karabao in order to sell the meat. One rancher in Inalåhan had to laugh when he saw kelaguen karabao at a fiesta, because chances were the karabao had been stolen from his large herd. But he let it go.

Then there's the hide of the karabao that can be used once it is butchered. Karabao hide is impermeable to water.

Karabao milk was prized as being more flavorful and creamy than cow's milk. Of course that meant the female karabao was kept alive for that reason.

In all my years I've never come across karabao served at any party on Guam, unless it was karabao but nobody said anything. But, especially before the war, it was not uncommon for people to eat kåtnen karabao.