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For other uses, see Carabao (disambiguation).

Carabao
A water buffalo in the Philippines
DistributionPhilippines, Borneo, Sulawesi, Guam
TypeSwamp
Usedraft animal, transport, milk, hide, meat
Traits
Height
  • Male:
    127–137 cm
  • Female:
    124–129 cm
Coatlight grey to slate-grey

Carabaos (Template:Lang-fil) are a distinct population of swamp-type water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis kerebau) from the Philippines.[1] They descended from domesticated swamp buffalo populations from Taiwan that were introduced to the Philippines in the Neolithic via the Austronesian expansion. They were also further introduced to Sulawesi and Borneo of eastern Indonesia and Malaysia.[2][3][4]

Carabaos are the traditional draft animals in the Philippines for paddy field rice cultivation and are commonly raised by smallholder farmers. The carabao is widely considered to be the national animal of the Philippines and symbolizes hard work.[3][5]

Carabaos were introduced to Guam from the Philippines in the 17th century. They have also acquired great cultural significance to the Chamorro people and are considered the unofficial national animal of Guam.[6]

The term is also sometimes used for the kerbau in Malaysia, which is the the official animal of the state of Negeri Sembilan.[7] However, water buffaloes from Peninsular Malaysia and western Indonesia (Java and Sumatra) descend from different populations that were introduced through a later separate route from Mainland Southeast Asia rather than through Taiwan.[2]

Names and etymology

A carabao in the Banaue Rice Terraces

The English term "carabao" is borrowed from the Spanish word carabao, which is derived from Eastern Visayan (likely Waray) karabàw.[8][9] Cognates include Cebuano kábaw, Tagalog kalabáw, Kavalan qabaw, Minangkabau kabau, Malay/Indonesian kerbau, Javanese kebo, and Indonesian Dutch karbouw. The female is called (in Spanish) a caraballa.[10] These Austronesian terms appear to be loanwords from the Austroasiatic languages and likely derives from a secondary pre-colonial introduction of water buffaloes into Island Southeast Asia via western Indonesia.[11][12]

However, it is also clear that Austronesians already had ancient terms for the carabao, reconstructed as Proto-Austronesian *qaNuaŋ. Cognates include Papora loan, Thao qnuwan, Siraya luang, Rukai nwange, Ilocano nuang, Tagalog anwang or anowang, Kankanaey nuang, Isneg nuang, Itawis nwang, Bontoc nuwang, Ifugao nuwang, and Aklanon anwang. Cognates survive into Sulawesi, but the terms there apply to the related anoa. Similarly, Hanunó'o anwang also refers to the tamaraw of Mindoro, rather than the carabao. These terms spread southwards from Taiwan, indicating that domesticated carabaos were carried partially into the Philippines during the Austronesian expansion, but didn't move further south into the rest of Island Southeast Asia until the second introduction from Mainland Southeast Asia. The reason for this is unknown.[11][9][13]

Other native names for carabaos include damulag in Tagalog, Bikol, and Kapampangan; dueg in Pangasinan; and pagad in Ivatan.[14] The resemblance of the word "carabao" to caribou is coincidental, and they do not share a common etymology — an example of a false cognate.

History

The oldest evidence of water buffalo discovered in the Philippines is multiple fragmentary skeletal remains recovered from the upper layers of the Neolithic Nagsabaran site, part of the Lal-lo and Gattaran Shell Middens (~2200 BCE to 400 CE) of northern Luzon. Most of the remains consisted of skull fragments, almost all of which have cut marks indicating they were butchered. The remains are associated with red slipped pottery, spindle whorls, stone adzes, and jade bracelets; which have strong affinities to similar artifacts from Neolithic Austronesian archeological sites in Taiwan. Based on the radiocarbon date of the layer in which the oldest fragments were found, water buffalo were first introduced to the Philippines by at least 500 BCE.[4][15]

Genetic studies have shown that the closest related populations to carabaos are the swamp buffalo populations of Taiwan, which in turn descended from swamp buffaloes from the Neolithic rice-farming cultures of the Yangtze Delta. This indicates that carabaos were carried along by the Austronesian migrations into the Philippines from Taiwan, and then further onward to Borneo and Sulawesi. Carabaos are genetically distinct from the swamp buffaloes of Peninsular Malaysia and western Indonesia (Java and Sumatra), which shows closer affinities to swamp buffaloes from Mainland Southeast Asia, indicating that they originated from a different introduction pathway.[2][3][4]

Description

Philippine carabao
A carabao wallowing at a mudhole in the Philippines

Carabaos have the low, wide, and heavy build of draft animals. They vary in color from light grey to slate grey. The horns are sickle-shaped or curve backward toward the neck. Chevrons are common. Albinoids are present in the proportion of about 3% of the buffalo population. Mature male carabaos weigh 420–500 kg (930–1,100 lb), and females 400–425 kg (882–937 lb). Height at withers of the male ranges from 127 to 137 cm (50 to 54 in), and of the female from 124 to 129 cm (49 to 51 in).[10]

Carabaos prefer to wallow in a mudhole that they make with the horns. Their objective is to acquire a thick coating of mud. They thrive on many aquatic plants and in time of flood will graze submerged, raising their heads above the water and carrying quantities of edible plants. They eat reeds, the giant reed, bulrush, sedges, the common water hyacinth, and rushes. Green fodders are used widely for intensive milk production and for fattening. Many fodder crops are conserved as hay, chaffed, or pulped. Trials in the Philippines showed that the carabao, on poor-quality roughage, had a better feed conversion rate than cattle.[10]

Husbandry

In 1993, the Philippine Carabao Center was established to conserve, propagate, and promote the carabao as a source of draft animal power, meat, milk, and hide to benefit the rural farmers through carabao genetic improvement, technology development and dissemination, and establishment of carabao-based enterprises, thus ensuring higher income and better nutrition. The National Water Buffalo Gene Pool in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, is a facility for continuous selection, testing, and propagation of superior breeds of dairy buffalo.[16]

Draft animals

A carabao sled (kangga) in the Philippines (c. 1899)
A carabao cart (careton) in the Philippines (c. 1910)

Carabaos are the mainly used as draft animals for paddy field rice cultivation. In 2020, there were an estimated 2.91 million Philippine carabaos, the vast majority of which (99.7%) are raised for this purpose by smallholder farmers.[3][17] The advent of modern machinery like tractors are slowly displacing carabaos.[18][19]

The traditional equipment used with the carabao is a plow or harrow attached to the animal by a yoke. In modern times, carabaos are also used to plow fields for crops that grow on dry land, like corn, sugarcane, or upland rice.[19][20] Another older method of preparing fields with the carabao is known as payatak, which is still practiced by some farmers in Northern Samar. In payatak, the soil of the rice paddy is first softened with rainwater or diverted watershed, then the farmer guides a group of carabaos in trampling the planting area until it is soggy enough to receive the rice seedlings. This time-consuming task produces lower yields and lower income when compared with the advancement in irrigated fields.[21]

Before modern equipment, carabaos were also formerly used to thresh rice by trampling them while going around a post, separating the grains from the stalks. They were also used to power stone mills used for crushing sugarcane in pre-modern sugar production.[19]

Carabaos were also widely used for transporting goods in the past, usually via a sled (kangga) or a two-wheeled cart (careton, also spelled kareton or {lang|fil|kariton}}). The kangga is typically used for rocky or muddy terrain, and has the advantage of being capable of traveling over rice paddy dikes without destroying them. The careton, on the other hand, is typically reserved for traveling on roads. The careton come in various designs and can be covered in a roof of woven split bamboo (sawali) or thatched nipa palm leaves (pawid).[22]

Carabaos chosen as draft animals are typically docile and can be trained with simple commands. They are treated as a family pet and are regularly taken to bodies of water to bathe when not working.[23][24]

One of the many reasons for the failure of the attempted Japanese pacification of the Philippines during their 1941–1945 occupation was their indifference to the basics of the Philippine economy. The carabaos provided the necessary labor that allowed Philippine farmers to grow rice and other staples. Japanese army patrols would not only confiscate the rice, but would also slaughter the carabaos for meat, thereby preventing the farmers from growing enough rice to feed the large population. Before World War II, an estimated three million carabaos inhabited the Philippines. By the end of the war, an estimated nearly 70% of them had been lost.[25]

Dairy products

Kesong puti, a traditional Filipino soft cheese made from carabao milk

Carabao milk is richer and creamier in texture than cow or goat milk, due to its much higher fat and protein content. It has similar mineral content as cow milk, except it has twice as much phosphorus. It is characteristically bluish-white in color.[26]

Carabao milk is used widely in traditional Filipino cuisine due to its easier availability prior to modern importation and the development of canned milk. However it never became widely commercialized and is still remains a cottage industry. They are home-pasteurized via a double boiler.[26]

The most common use of carabao milk is for the production of kesong puti, a traditional soft cheese. It is also used for sweets including pastillas de leche, tibok-tibok, leche flan, and a traditional ice cream flavor for sorbetes known as helado de mantecado. Carabao milk can also eaten for breakfast or merienda poured over rice with various other ingredients.[26]

Meat

See also: Buffalo meat

The butchering of carabaos is strictly-regulated under Philippine law in an effort to conserve the population. Only carabaos that are seven years or older (if male) or eleven years or older (if female) can be slaughtered after the acquisition of necessary permits. In all other instances, the killing of carabaos is illegal. However, this law is often violated due to poor enforcement.[26][27]

Carabao meat is known as "carabeef". It is popular in some regions and can be used in dishes in place of beef, like in tapa, as well as in commercial processed meat like corned beef and longganisa.[26][27][28] Carabao skin can also be cooked as chicharon.[28]

Other products

Carabao hide was once used extensively to create a variety of products, including the armor of precolonial Philippine warriors. The horns are also carved and used to make the pommels of Philippine swords and bladed tools like bolos.[29] Carabao hide is still used for leather production with an estimated total market value of $10 million, as of 2002.[19]

In culture

Carabao racing at the fiesta of Aliaga, Nueva Ecija

Despite the popular notion that the carabao has been declared the national animal of the Philippines,[30] the National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines has stated that this has no basis in Philippine law.[31]

In the late 1980s, the carabao puppet character Kardong Kalabaw became popular as a symbol of the Philippine people's hard work and sense of industry.[32]

The Military Order of the Carabao, a social club started in 1900 by American enlisted men fighting in the Philippine-American War, believes that the water buffalo symbolizes the "camaraderie that grows among members of the armed forces who face the dangers and privations of extensive military service far from home."[33]

Carabao racing

Carabao racing is a widely popular sport among farmers and carabao enthusiasts in the Philippines. In central, southern Luzon and South Cotabato some fiestas are highlighted with carabaos racing up towards the finish line. Training and conditioning of the race carabao to its full extent is a serious job. Farmers and their trustworthy carabaos gather together to race in a 500 metres (1,600 ft) dirt road. Spectators fill up this unique spectacle, some betting on their best carabaos, others watch for the thrill. The carabaos, geared with their carts on their back, race together with their farmer to win prizes. The race is divided into two classes, one for amateur or first-time carabao racers and the other is for the veteran carabao racers. A race carabao can be bought for ₱35,000 to ₱60,000, with the price increasing with the number of races that it wins. Proven race winners can command a price as high as ₱200,000.

In Guam

Carabaos were introduced to Guam by Spanish missionaries in the 17th century from domestic stock in the Philippines to be used as beasts of burden. A feral herd on the US Naval Magazine in central Guam was classified as protected game, but the population has been declining since 1982, most likely due to illegal hunting.[34]

Carabaos were used for farming and for pulling carts. They were fairly common on Guam before the 20th century, with a population numbering in the thousands. Today, they are rare in most parts of the island except in the US Naval Magazine near the village of Santa Rita, which is fenced on all sides. The carabao population of Naval Magazine has grown to several hundred, to the point that they have become a pest and caused environmental damage, and polluted the water supply in the Fena Reservoir. In 2003, the Navy began a program of extermination to control the carabao population of Naval Magazine, a move that was protested by many Chamorro people.[citation needed]

The carabao is considered a symbol of Guam. In the early 1960s, carabao races were a popular sport in the island, especially during fiestas. Today, carabaos are a part of the popular culture. They are often brought to carnivals or other festivities, and are used as a popular ride for children. Carabao meat is sometimes eaten as a delicacy.[35]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Carabao.
Wikispecies has information related to Bubalus bubalis.

References

  1. ^ FAO 2013. Philippine Carabao/Philippines In: Domestic Animal Diversity Information System. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
  2. ^ a b c Lau, C. H.; Drinkwater, R. D.; Yusoff, K.; Tan, S. G.; Hetzel, D. J. S.; Barker, J. S. F. (August 1998). "Genetic diversity of Asian water buffalo ( Bubalus bubalis ): mitochondrial DNA D‐loop and cytochrome b sequence variation". Animal Genetics. 29 (4): 253–264. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2052.1998.00309.x.
  3. ^ a b c d Villamor, Lilian P.; Nomura, Koh; Amano, Takashi; Takahashi, Yukimizu (2021). "Genetic Divergence and Phylogenetic Relationship of Philippine Carabao (Bubalus bubalis) and Other Swamp Buffalo Populations in Neighboring Countries Revealed by the Mitochondrial DNA D-loop Region". Journal of Agriculture Science Tokyo. 66 (3): 65–74.
  4. ^ a b c Amano, Noel; Piper, Philip J.; Hung, Hsiao-chun; Bellwood, Peter (2013). "Introduced Domestic Animals in the Neolithic and Metal Age of the Philippines: Evidence From Nagsabaran, Northern Luzon". The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology. 8 (3): 317–335. doi:10.1080/15564894.2013.781084. hdl:1885/22954. S2CID 131368496.
  5. ^ Hsu, Chia Chi (February 28, 2022). "The Philippines: Carabao". Southeast Asia Globe. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  6. ^ Minahan, James B. (December 23, 2009). The Complete Guide to National Symbols and Emblems [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-313-34497-8.
  7. ^ "..:: Majlis Perbandaran Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, MALAYSIA ::" (in Malay). Archived from the original on March 13, 2008. Retrieved March 9, 2008.
  8. ^ Roberts, E. A. (2014). A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Spanish Language with Families of Words based on Indo-European Roots. Vol. I (A–G). XLibris LLC. p. 311. ISBN 9781493191109.
  9. ^ a b William Henry Scott (1990). "Sixteenth-century Visayan Food and Farming". Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society. 18 (4): 291–311. JSTOR 29792029.
  10. ^ a b c Cockrill, W. R., ed. (1977). The Water Buffalo (PDF). Animal Production and Health Series. Vol. 4. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 978-9251001080. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 16, 2013. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  11. ^ a b Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen. "*qaNuaŋ". Austronesian Comparative Dictionary. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  12. ^ "Kabaw". Binisaya – Cebuano Dictionary and Thesaurus. Bin. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  13. ^ Zorc, R. David Paul (1982). Core Etymological Dictionary of Filipino (PDF). Vol. fasc. 3. Darwin Community College, PNC-La Salle-Ateneo Consortium, Linguistic Society of the Philippines, Surian ng Wikang Pambansa.
  14. ^ Estrada-Villegas, Valente (1952). Carabao Husbandry. Manila: D.P. Perez. p. 24.
  15. ^ Mijares, Armand Salvador B. (2006). "The early Austronesian migration to Luzon: perspectives from the Peñablanca Cave Sites". Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association Bulletin. 26: 72–78. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.403.7868.
  16. ^ Philippine Carabao Center (2011). Annual Report[permanent dead link‍]. Department of Agriculture.
  17. ^ Special Release: Carabao Situation Report, April to June 2020 (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority, Republic of the Philippines.
  18. ^ "Milking Profits from the Carabao". Business Diary. May 3, 2019. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  19. ^ a b c d Roque, Anselmo (October 28, 2018). "Appreciating the carabao". Punto!. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  20. ^ "Daro and Yugo". The Philippines Today. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  21. ^ Philippine Daily Inquirer, 8-18-2007. Archived October 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ Zabilka, Gladys (1963). Customs and Culture of the Philippines. C. E. Tuttle Company. p. 37. ISBN 9780804801348.
  23. ^ Forbes-Lindsay, C. H. (1906). The Philippines Under Spanish and American Rules. J. C. Winston Company. p. 442.
  24. ^ Hannaford, Ebenezer (1899). History and Description of Our Philippine Wonderland. Crowell & Kirkpatrick Company. p. 163.
  25. ^ Schmidt, L. S. (1982). American Involvement in the Filipino Resistance on Mindanao During the Japanese Occupation, 1942–1945. M.S. Thesis. U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.
  26. ^ a b c d e Fernandez, Doreen G. (2000). "Carabao Milk in Philippine Life". In Walker, Harlan (ed.). Milk: Beyond the Dairy. Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery 1999. Oxford Symposium. pp. 126–136. ISBN 9781903018064.
  27. ^ a b Cardiñoza, Gabriel (February 11, 2024). "Pangasinan's carabeef business flourishes". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  28. ^ a b "The prospects of carabao industry". SunStar. October 20, 2013.
  29. ^ Bulletin – United States National Museum. Smithsonian Institution Press. 1917. p. 107.
  30. ^ Aquino, Dante M.; Persoon, Gerald A. (2013). "Tradition and Change: Beer Consumption in Northeast Luzon, Philippines". In Schiefenhovel, Wulf; Macbeth, Helen (eds.). Liquid Bread: Beer and Brewing in Cross-Cultural Perspective. Volume 7 of Anthropology of Food & Nutrition. Berghahn Books. p. 197. ISBN 9781782380344.
  31. ^ Pangilinan, Leon Jr. (October 3, 2014). "In Focus: 9 Facts You May Not Know About Philippine National Symbols". National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Archived from the original on November 26, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  32. ^ Alfie Vera Mella, May Natutunan Ka Ba kay Kiko Matsing?, The Filipino Journal, archived from the original on February 11, 2009, retrieved December 18, 2007
  33. ^ Hsu, Chia Chi (February 28, 2022). "The Philippines: Carabao". Southeast Asia Globe. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  34. ^ Conry, P. J. (1988). "Management of feral and exotic game species on Guam" Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Transactions of the Western Section of the Wildlife Society 24: 26–30.
  35. ^ Cunningham, Lawrence J.; Beaty, Janice J. (2001). Guam: A Natural History. Bess Press. ISBN 978-1-57306-067-7.
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