I enjoy researching unique things about life in Tonga, and the other day, I came across an article about seafood, limu in Tongan. Known as one of the oldest foods on the earth, and touted as a superfood, limu is becoming more popular. I purchased some through Amazon to add to shakes; I am trying to see the benefits. A little seaweed goes a long way. Not the best taste event with lots of fruit added! But I read that I should try different brands and different varieties.
Limu vai in Tonga. Photograph by Ashley Knudsen.
Archaeological remains in inland Chile show evidence of a diet of seaweed over 13,000 years ago, and China is an example of the benefits of seaweed for centuries. The Pacific Islands have long known the health-boosting diet of limu. Captain James Cook and his men were treated with limu by the local Tongans which helped them recover from the long voyage and lack of a good diet on the sea.
It has been said that during the Second World War, the Maori Battalion lived on chewing nori, which is also called karengo. It is easy to dry and loaded with many nutrients. When harvested and dried, limu can be taken on long journeys and added to any dish for flavor.
Ancient Vikings and Celts used seaweed as part of their diet, too, but modern Western menus generally do not use limu or take the opportunity to try it. Called for in liver cleansing shakes, or as a superfood, most Westerners still shy away from it. The closest thing to trying limu is sushi.
Harvesting limu is generally the woman’s job in Tongan culture, along with gathering shellfish. According to a study by Melinda Ostraff, there are 175 varieties of limu in Tonga, but these are the favorites: fuofua, kaka, palalafa, toke, louniu.
Woman gleaning from tidal area in Vava’u. Photograph by Brian Wilcox.
The gathering that takes place during low tide is called fangota which “consists of reaching, groping and/or searching with one’s hands or feet” (Ostraff). Each woman carries a knife and basket to collect limu or shellfish. Fangota is also a highly social activity where women like to enjoy one another’s company, and if done later in the evening, sometimes men, women, and children join in the gathering.
Ostraff also points out that while limu is very nutritious, limu is no longer consumed as much as before in Tonga. Tongans “refer to limu as the “poor man’s meat,” because usually, only the poorer sector relies on it as an important part of their family’s diet” (par. 20). One specific type of limu, tanga’u is now being commercially harvested in Tonga and sent to Japan (Ostraff).
Limu can be used to tenderize and soften meat and beans and has an umami flavor. An excellent source of a lower sodium option than other spices. Put a strip or leaf in a pot of beans to help make the beans easier to digest when eaten.
The great thing is that approximately, two-thirds of the population In Tonga, as well as throughout the Pacific, continue to support themselves and their families’ needs from the land and sea.
Source and Photographs:
Ostraff, Melinda. Limu: Edible Seaweed in Tonga, An Ethnobotanical Study. Volume 26, Issue 2
https://doi.org/10.2993/0278-0771_2006_26_208_lesita_2.0.co_2