By Anna Valmero
INQUIRER.net

Why is duman an expensive rice delicacy?

One pati equivalent to 1.8 kilogram of the very young grain of duman sells for P2,500 or $40. To know about the process of duman making and the state of this industry, we trooped to Sta. Rita, Pampanga.

Pampanga provincial tourism officer Ian Mejia said the existence of the duman-making tradition dates back to pre-Hispanic Kapampangan society.

He said Friar Diego Bernardo has mentioned duman in “Vocabulario de Lengua Pampanga” published in 1700.

Pampanga towns such as Sitio Dalan Betiswere were believed to have been making duman, according to Pampanga provincial documents. But it is only the town of Sta. Rita that has preserved the tradition until today.

I met Victor Galang. He comes from a family that is known to be among the first duman makers in Sta. Rita, according to Mejia.

“Matagal na naming ikinabubuhay ang paggawa ng duman. Minana ko pa ang paraan ng paggawa nito mula sa lolo ko sa tuhod [Duman has been our family business and primary livelihood since the time of my great grandparents,” he said.

According to Galang, they use the traditional process of duman-making despite the availability of modern rice harvesting equipment.

Workers harvest the young grains of the "lacatan malutu" rice variety. The green color of duman comes from being harvested before maturity. The grains for making duman are harvested during the cold months of the year because the grain needs to retain the right amount of moisture for it to be made into duman.

The harvested grains are processed in a shaded area called "pandulmahan." Workers then separate the young grain from the mature ones through "paspas"—they strike a bundle of rice stalks to the ground to let mature grains fall while the grains left are made into duman. The mature lacatan grains are gathered and divided between the workers at the end of the day.

The young grains are eventually threshed in a hand-cranked "quisquisan" to separate the grains from the stem, which are then collected for carabao fodder. It is said that paspas and quisquisan are innovations in the process of duman making. Traditionally, workers pick the grains one by one by sight and feel, according to records of the province.

The grains are then gathered and cleaned, winnowed and sifted to separate the empty husks (or sepu) from the kernels. The grains are washed and rinsed until the water is clear. It is then soaked for an hour or two in water, said Galang.

Meanwhile, the wood stove called “lungo” is pre-heated together with the thick clay pot where the lacatan grains are roasted for half an hour per batch. The grains are then cooled gradually and then spread on ground mats to cool further, Galang said as he showed us the different stages of the duman production.

After the grains have cooled, they are pounded in mortar, sifted and winnowed for a total of five hours. After the final pounding, the grained are polished and the whole grains are sorted from the broken. Only the whole grains are sold as duman.

Mejia said the revival of the duman industry was largely due to the Duman Festival started three years ago.

The duman produced in Sta. Rita reaches the tables of Southeast Asia. Bulk orders are made by balikbayans hailing from Pampanga because they miss the delicacy they grew up with.

“Isang buong araw ng trabaho ang kailangan para makagawa ng duman. Ang kinikita namin halos sakto lang sa puhunan dahil sa haba ng proseso at dami ng tauhan pero ipagpapatuloy namin ang paggawa nito dito sa Sta. Rita [It takes one whole day to make duman. We just break even due to the long process and number of workers required to make duman. But we will continue to make duman here in Sta. Rita], Mejia said.