Our Mother's Pepper in the Yard

Pepper, this is a stick of pepper that our mother, Cut Zubaidah bint Juhan, planted in her yard. She likes to plant any trees, especially plants. She is a girl who loves plants. She is now around 80 years old. I don't know the exact number. The record when he was born in our area is not as good as it is now.

It was a time of war and it seemed we were under the rule of the Japanese Empire. At that time, the Japanese Emperor's Army had expelled all Dutch troops and the government in Aceh, when our mother was still small. So, de facto and de jure, Aceh at that time seemed to be part of the Japanese Empire.

The pepper that our mother grew, there were several stems. At first there was one trunk, then when the trunk grew, she took one branch and planted it in two other places. Now there is a big pepper tree there. Two more smaller. There are three bushes.

The buttresses of the pepper trees are about 1.5 meters high, so they can be picked. If the height is more than 1.5 meters, the supporting tree will be cut at the higher part, so that the height remains the same.

To cook goulash with side dishes, vegetables, at home we don't need to buy pepper. There's pepper in the pepper tree in our yard. Pepper grains can be used as white pepper and can be used as black pepper.

The method of making black lagoon is by drying the pistils of pepper, after being picked they are immediately dried, the black part is the skin. While the way to make white pepper is ripe jalapeno seeds, by boiling, then peeling the skin, then drying it in the sun. Acehnese black pepper.

Sri Lankans, call the name of black pepper as "Aceh's pepper".

Always Growing Pepper

Our mother, always planted pepper, as far as I can remember. Because of her I know pepper trees, so, pepper is a common plant in our yard. In the past, it was difficult for me to distinguish between a pepper tree and a betel tree.

I thought at the time that the two trees were the same. Indeed, the shape of pepper and betel leaves are similar, the color is similar, the tree also has the same rope shape, the same branches, the same shape of the fruit stalk. It was also confusing, and they were equally spicy.

But lately I can tell the difference, namely the betel leaf is bigger and slightly yellowish. Meanwhile, pepper leaves are smaller and only green. Pepper fruit is also a green round shape that turns red when ripe.

Aceh Typical Pepper Cuisine "Pepper Kuwah"

Even though pepper is an important spice in several types of cuisine, in Aceh there is one dish called "pepper kuwah".

"Pepper Kuwah" is a vegetable that is boiled in water, pepper is put inside with the addition of certain concoctions, the taste of pepper is really spicy. Usually the vegetables cooked in "pave sauce" are water gourd. Also some other similar vegetables.

In addition, in Aceh the people use half-boiled egg shells. Before eating, people usually add a little salt and a little pepper to the cooked egg but it is a bit runny.

Sovereignty with Pepper

Pepper, is a small spicy grain, once made Aceh victorious. It's in a reliable record, according to @vannour, @keudeip once told me that,

Once upon a time the first Sultan of Aceh Darussalam, Sultan Ali Mughayatsyah, was the only person who was able to reclaim land after being occupied by the Portuguese, once making a splash in the European market.

At that time, he bought up all the pepper in the countries in Sumatra, he forbade the farmers, do not sell pepper to the Portuguese. Later, he brought peppers directly to European markets, flooding Europe with pepper.

So, at that time the European pepper market collapsed. The pepper that was in stock with the Portuguese did not sell well, because it was more expensive. Meanwhile, having the sultan of Aceh is cheaper and better. I also don't know if it was the world's first speculator, or if it existed before.

Pepper in Aceh Now

Now, the pepper on the Aceh market comes from outside Aceh. There are one or two people growing pepper, but not enough. We in Aceh, have long lost interest in the agricultural business.

People farm just to be able to live, or odd jobs. Only a few people make agriculture or plantations their main business adequate. This is indeed a bit strange, for the equator.

The lack of interest from large investors in agricultural businesses means that the main agricultural facilities are not made by the government. As we know, big investors will be more easily heard by policy makers. Meanwhile, if the person who said it was a small farmer, it would be considered a passing wind.

Apart from abandoned pepper, plants that existed hundreds of years ago in Aceh that still survive are coconut, areca nut, rubber, nutmeg, patchouli. Meanwhile mace and pepper, lose their charm.

There were some people in Aceh who started to think about growing pepper again, but after a few years nobody planted it, except for one or two small plots.
We Cannot Fulfill Big Player Orders

About two years ago, a senior friend of ours from Turkey asked us in Aceh, could Aceh provide large quantities of pepper to be exported, as a world commodity. Our colleagues in Aceh also asked the traders of agricultural products. There isn't any.

He also looked for data on government websites, he got the data. Then, he directly contacted our government official in charge of the farm.
The official said, no garden, no pepper.

"That's a false note. We can't send that much pepper, not even that much, not even half, not even half, not even a tenth, not even a tenth, not even one percent of what he asked for... Here the pepper what we use is pepper from gardens outside Aceh.” That's it, that's it.

We in Aceh have lost the allure of pepper that once lifted our economy and empire.

Everything can change, everything will change, except for the taste of the pepper itself, it will still be spicy. Except the price of the pepper itself is still worth it.

Thank You

February 3, 2023

Regards
Thayeb Loh Angen

All Photo Captions: Pepper trees in our mother's yard, Zubaidah Binti Juhan's house which she planted, in Paloh Dayah, Mukim Paloh Timu, Lhokseumawe, Aceh, Sumatra, Saturday, February 2, 2023. Photo by Jamaluddin-Lodin. With Nikon D7000 Camera, Nikon AF Nikkor 70-300mm Lens.