By Johnny Coomansingh
When Dr Francisco Slinger (The Mighty Sparrow) sang his calypso The Congo Man in 1975, I was of the view that he said in his lyrics: “Ah never eat ah wild meat yet.” Later on, I realized that the words were actually, “…ah never eat ah white meat yet.” Whether or not wild meat is white, red, black or blue, there seems to be a hunger, an insatiable appetite among many individuals for wild meat in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T), in and out of season. If you cannot go hunting for wild game then your craving for this ‘special’ meat could cost hundreds of dollars. Wild meat in T&T is not cheap!
In terms of its biodiversity, T&T, the last vestige of the Andean mountain chain is home to 100 species of mammals, 486 species of birds, 85 reptiles, and eleven species of freshwater fish. Historically, it is well-known that the Arawaks, the indigenous people, hunted wild animals with dumb dogs called alcos. They consumed fish and captured certain animals including turtles, agoutis, birds and iguanas. As a carry-over from the habits of yesteryear, some residents of T&T involve themselves in the hunting of wild game.
As far as I can remember, my experience with hunting activity was at a place about three-quarters of a mile inside Kowlessur Road, Sangre Chiquito. My godmother owned a cocoa estate with a mixed cultivation of coffee, bananas, ground provisions, citrus and some exotic fruits. A pomerac or Malay Apple tree was situated down the hill behind the clapboard country house where we slept. During its fruiting season we would almost surely find an opossum (Didelphis marsupialis) or manicou or two having a feast on the ripened fruit. A selection from my book Cocoa Woman gives a peek into what I experienced on some nights when the hunt was on for manicou:
“Catching a couple manicou was always an exciting moment. Amidst the grapefruit trees that surrounded the house, the large ripe grapefruit reflected the moonlight like bulbs on a Christmas tree. The moonlight facilitated the collection of dry grapefruit tree firewood to start a fire in the chulha (traditional East Indian fireplace or cooking place). The noise of the night in chopping the firewood and lighting up the chulha generated a sense of friendship and togetherness among neighbours. The midnight smell of singeing a manicou and the commotion, the lighting of the flambeau (open-flame light made with a wick immersed in a bottle of kerosene) chopping up the carcass, seasoning and partially cooking the beasts after the hunt was yet another aspect of the sense of place defined by such activities at my godmother’s country house.”
My godmother was an expert in the way she prepared an cooked all the beasts that were hunted including manicou, agouti and deer. Without a recipe book, she prepared some very special seasonings for wild game; her cooking was unsurpassed. I recall clearly that she washed the meat with lime juice and used a variety of herbs including garlic, onions, peppercorns, chive, small leaf thyme, podina or Cuban oregano (Mentha spicata), chadon beni or culantro (Eryngium foetidum), and slices of fresh, hot Scotch Bonnet pepper pods. With all the ingredients formed into a heap, she would pisay (grind, crush) the mass of the herbal stuff with a lorha (hard, smooth oval stone) on a sil (large, hard, flat and heavy rock with a recess to accommodate the lorha).
The meat was then mixed in with the watery ground-up seasonings and a little salt. This was left to marinate for about one or two hours. Immediately after ‘soaking,’ the mass of meat was bounjayed (toss up the meat in hot seasoned oil) in a large pot and left to cook. Without a supply of electricity in the ‘country,’ we had to make do the best we could. We did not have the luxury of a refrigerator so the meat had to be at least precooked; meat was expensive to come by.
Two or three precooked manicous could be then stewed with coconut milk and served for the entire week along with rice and dhal. The meat would be re-heated every day to prevent spoilage. The estate provided staples such as breadfruit, dasheen, eddoes, cassava, cush-cush, tannia, white and yellow yams, green bananas and plantains. These provisions were boiled and eaten as well with the meat. A favourite of mine was tom-tom (green plantains pounded into a bolus) over which the meat stew was poured. Once in season, steamed breadfruit also formed part of the fare.
At the opening of the hunting season, Quero, my godmother’s husband, Dohfeh, her ‘compere,’ and Boon, her nephew, readied themselves for weekend hunting trips. The four or five Beagle hound dogs were always rearing to go! Agouti (Dasyprota leporina), Red Brocket deer (Americana mazama trinitatis), and the Lowland paca or lappe (Cuniculus paca) were the animals they hunted. It seemed that the agouti was the easiest to catch, so agouti was always on the wild meat menu. Deer and lappe were more difficult to catch. I would wager that a Red Brocket deer is more difficult to capture in Trinidad when compared to deer in the United States. The hunt for these beasts would continue for the entire season until the last day of February.
That was one story. The iguana (Iguana iguana), to several folk is another delicacy. When I was a child, the young men in the village relentlessly hunted iguana. Curried iguana and dumplings were always on the menu whenever they caught an iguana. Iguanas, sometimes referred to as the “Chicken of the Trees,” (pollo de los árboles), is a delicacy to some people in Trinidad and Tobago, parts of the Caribbean, Florida, Mexico and South America. Some people also consume the eggs of the reptile. It is believed that iguana meat, which they say tastes like chicken, possesses medicinal properties.
Although iguana is part of the culinary tradition in some areas of Trinidad and Tobago, it is not a widely consumed food source in Trinidad. Nevertheless, our next-door neighbour had this longing, a literal thirst for iguana meat and many times she would pay top dollar for a good mature iguana. When the hunting season opens, passersby could see young men selling live iguanas on the Eastern Main Road in the Dame Marie Hill area in Guaico, Sangre Grande. In terms of national hunting regulations, the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries has a ban on hunting and possessing iguanas during specific months (January-March), with a fine of $10,000 for violations. Hunting is also prohibited within the city of Port of Spain.
The hunting season opens on October 01 and the love for wild meat goes into high gear around Christmastime. Trinis love to have a stock of their favourite meats “for the Christmas,” as they would say, and I’ve heard it said that the armadillo is the most desired of all the meats.
Armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus), particularly the nine-banded armadillo are consumed in T&T as part of wild meat traditions; a part of Trinidadian cultural heritage. Known locally as tattoos, they are hunted for their meat, which is white and highly prized. Even though the price per pound of locally caught tattoo could be as much as TT$85, some Trinis would search high and low to get that particular meat. Although there are concerns about the potential spread of diseases like leprosy, as armadillos can be reservoirs for Mycobacterium leprae, the animal is consumed regardless.
Competing with the tattoo for taste is the Collared Peccary (Pecari tajacu), wild hog or quenk. Incidentally, this ‘wild hog’ is not a member of the pig family. A good friend of mine who is incidentally a good cook, said that if properly cooked, there is not a better-tasting wild meat in Trinidad than quenk. Quenk meat is expensive and can fetch up to TT$85 per pound.
Along with the manicou, lappe, tattoo, quenk, deer and iguana there are other animals that hunters seek to capture for meat. It would seem that some Trinis will eat anything that moves in the forest. It all depends on time, place, circumstances, and of course, taste. These animals include, the Spectacled Caiman (Caiman crocodilus), the Tegu Lizard or ‘matte’ (Tupinambis teguixin), the Southern Tamandua or Lesser Anteater (Tamandua tetradactyla), which Trinis mistakenly label as the Matapal. Even the Silky anteater (Cyclopes didactylus) or ‘Poor-Me-One’ does not escape. The Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), presently an invasive species is also hunted.
Foreboding and heinous as it may sound, the continued poaching of animals during the closed hunting season occurs. It’s all well and good if hunters would obey the rules and regulations but some people are just too greedy, hostile and uncontrollable. Addiction to the wild meats could be one of the problems but the acquisition of money seems to be the prime objective. There is a market for wild meat and obviously, there’s demand and supply.
Inhabiting the Caroni Swamp is one of our national birds known as the Scarlet Ibis (Eudocimus ruber). Even today, this bird is still seriously under threat because of poaching. Someone said to me “…be careful little ears what you hear,” but the story goes that even government ministers were involved in the poaching of these birds. In another scenario, the Piping Guan or Pawi (Pipile pipile), a large turkey-like bird, endemic to Trinidad, is now endangered due to overhunting. Sightings of this bird are kept secret for fear that they might be shot.
In conclusion, certain things must be observed concerning wild meat consumption in T&T. The research suggests that the public should think twice before hunting and consuming manicou, given the potential food safety issues. Despite its popularity as a wild meat delicacy, it is advised that manicou should not be consumed because of their diet, which includes grubs, bugs, roaches, crickets, rats, maggots, worms, and carcasses.
Lappe consumption is a significant part of Trinidadian cuisine and culture. This wild meat, is a popular food source. While enjoyed by many, its heavy consumption raises concerns about sustainability, conservation, and animal welfare.
Deer meat is a significant source of protein for many Trinis. Its meat (venison) is a staple in many rural diets. Hunters in Trinidad, particularly during the open hunting season, harvest deer for their meat, antlers, and hides. The University of the West Indies noted that over 3,000 deer were harvested in Trinidad in 2010-2011. In terms of sustainable harvesting of deer, the high demand for deer meat has raised concerns about the need for better management strategies.
It must be taken into consideration though that wild meat presents unique challenges due to inadequate post-mortem inspection and potential for rapid spoilage. Mention was also made regarding the use of lead in ammunition which can be toxic to people, especially children. So once again, happy hunting with a ‘pinch of salt.’
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