Turep’akam
[Preserved food made from heartleaf lily bulb]
Cardiocrinum cordatum at the right size for harvesting
Digging up Cardiocrinum cordatum (wild lily) plants Meiji Shoki Ainu Fuzoku Emaki (“Picture Scroll of Ainu Customs in the Early Meiji Period”) by Hokuyo Nishikawa Hakodate City Central Library Collection
Harvested Cardiocrinum cordatum
Hardened starch
turep’akam
Starch from the first batch
Starch from the second batch
A preserved food made from heartleaf lily fibers. The starch from the heartleaf lily bulb was used. The finest first batch of the starch was used to treat stomach aches. The second batch, with fibers inside, was mixed in with porridge. In addition, starch mixed with water was poured into a knotweed tube, put inside the ash of the hearth, and eaten. Turep’akam is the disc-shaped preserved food made from the fibers which were left over from this process. It was diced into small pieces, soaked in water, and was put in soups.
A preserved food made from heartleaf lily fibers. The starch from the heartleaf lily bulb was used. The finest first batch of the starch was used to treat stomach aches. The second batch, with fibers inside, was mixed in with porridge. In addition, starch mixed with water was poured into a knotweed tube, put inside the ash of the hearth, and eaten.
Turep’akam is the disc-shaped preserved food made from the fibers which were left over from this process. It was diced into small pieces, soaked in water, and was put in soups.
Making heartleaf lily balls