{"id":1029,"date":"2014-02-16T14:19:47","date_gmt":"2014-02-16T06:19:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/iraia.net\/blog\/?p=1029"},"modified":"2014-02-16T14:23:12","modified_gmt":"2014-02-16T06:23:12","slug":"the-banana-is-dead-long-live-the-banana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/iraia.net\/blog\/2014\/02\/16\/the-banana-is-dead-long-live-the-banana\/","title":{"rendered":"The banana is dead. Long live the banana!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you ever witnessed the execution of royalty in real life? I have, many times. In fact, I have had the honor of serving as the executioner quite a few times. Last weekend, I made sure to take pictures to show you how we do it in my secret corner of the world.<\/p>\n

The royal victim isn’t a person. It’s one of the two maturing banana fruit bunches that I had selected for a quick harvest, before a possible strong storm came in. I consider the banana as the king of tropical fruits, thus the reference to royalty.<\/p>\n

I should clarify that after a banana “tree” (the trunk is not woody, it’s actually an overgrown soft-plant stalk) bears a single bunch of fruits, it starts to dry up and die. After the maturing bunch is harvested, what a farmer does is to cut down the useless trunk, and thus give way for small adjacent suckers to grow into a new banana “tree.”<\/p>\n

Thus, the axiom “The king is dead, long live the king” applies to banana trees as well.<\/p>\n

Image 1.<\/strong> The executioner sharpens the death weapon — a peasant’s
\nscythe — on a whetstone.<\/p>\n

\"banana<\/a>
Image 1. The executioner sharpens the death weapon -- a peasant's scythe -- on a whetstone.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

Image 2.<\/strong>\u00a0The death scythe is not sharp enough for a human neck, but it will do for a banana neck. Note the mean-looking executioner’s boots.<\/p>\n

\"banana<\/a>
Image 2. The death scythe is not sharp enough for a human neck, but it will do for a banana neck. Note the mean-looking executioner's boots.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Image 3.<\/strong>\u00a0The executioner starts his trek to the execution site. It is a foggy morning. The bamboo shoots sway in a mournful way.<\/p>\n

\"banana<\/a>
Image 3. The executioner starts his trek to the execution site. It is a foggy morning. The bamboo shoots sway in a mournful way.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Image 4.<\/strong>\u00a0The executioner reaches the banana grove. The doomed banana bunch is selected. The fog starts to lift.<\/p>\n

\"banana<\/a>
Image 4. The executioner reaches the banana grove. The doomed banana bunch is selected. The fog starts to lift.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Image 5.<\/strong>\u00a0Allowing himself a touch of poetry, the executioner lets his death scythe — now fixed onto a sturdy wooden pole — caress the doomed banana torso one last time. The metal glint is in sharp contrast with the soft gentle green of mature sheaths and a nearby young shoot.<\/p>\n

\"banana<\/a>
Image 5. Allowing himself a touch of poetry, the executioner lets his death scythe -- now fixed onto a sturdy wooden pole -- caress the doomed banana torso one last time. The metal glint is in sharp contrast with the soft gentle green of mature sheaths and a nearby young shoot.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Image 6.<\/strong>\u00a0The executioner climbs the ladder and positions the death blade firmly on the slightly-yielding banana fruit stalk. The leaves tremble in fearful anticipation. He focuses his aim, raises the blade a meter away… and strikes a single, quick sharp blow.<\/p>\n

\"banana<\/a>
Image 6. The executioner climbs the ladder and positions the death blade firmly on the slightly-yielding banana fruit stalk. The leaves tremble in fearful anticipation. He focuses his aim, raises the blade a meter away... and strikes a single, quick sharp blow.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Image 7.<\/strong>\u00a0It’s all over in a second. The banana bunch falls with a faint whimper to a soft pile of dried banana leaves, placed on the ground to avoid scratching the gentle fruit skin. Note the bloodied scythe. Banana sap bleeds off as a colorless liquid that soon turns sticky and tar-gray.<\/p>\n

\"banana<\/a>
Image 7. It's all over in a second. The banana bunch falls with a faint whimper to a soft pile of dried banana leaves, placed on the ground to avoid scratching the gentle fruit skin. Note the bloodied scythe. Banana sap bleeds off as a colorless liquid that soon turns sticky and tar-gray.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Image 8.<\/strong>\u00a0The executioner proudly displays his trophy, leaning against an ancient mossy stonewall. Note the sticky sap on his hands. Banana executioner brays a terrible triumphant laughter that echoes across the silent foggy slopes.<\/p>\n

\"banana<\/a>
Image 8. The executioner proudly displays his trophy, leaning against an ancient mossy stonewall. Note the sticky sap on his hands. Banana executioner brays a terrible triumphant laughter that echoes across the silent foggy slopes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Image 9.<\/strong>\u00a0The executioner practices his craft with fastidious care and attention to detail. He uses a hand-broom made from mountain reeds to clean off the dirt from each “hand” on the bunch, then gets an exact weight. The scale shows exactly 14 kilos. It’s a good harvest, a clean cut with no mess.<\/p>\n

\"banana<\/a>
Image 9. The executioner practices his craft with fastidious care and attention to detail. He uses a hand-broom made from mountain reeds to clean off the dirt from each "hand" on the bunch, then gets an exact weight. The scale shows exactly 14 kilos. It's a good harvest, a clean cut with no mess.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Image 10.<\/strong>\u00a0The executioner is a bit of an artist. He carries the banana into a small bodega, places it on a cleaning tray, which in turn is placed on a clean quilted rag on the cement floor. The precise surgical butchering begins. He works quickly while there is still enough light.<\/p>\n

\"banana<\/a>
Image 10. The executioner is a bit of an artist. He carries the banana into a small bodega, places it on a cleaning tray, which in turn is placed on a clean quilted rag on the cement floor. The precise surgical butchering begins. He works quickly while there is still enough light.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Image 11.<\/strong>\u00a0One last final view. The butchering is complete. The banana “hands” will be placed in a rice storage bin, and expected to ripen within a week’s time. Dwarf bamboo branches are there only for decoration, to celebrate the completed cycle of life.<\/p>\n

\"banana<\/a>
Image 11. One last final view. The butchering is complete. The banana "hands" will be placed in a rice storage bin, and expected to ripen within a week's time. Dwarf bamboo branches are there only for decoration, to celebrate the completed cycle of life.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

The banana is dead. Long live the banana!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

#Follow @junverzola<\/a>
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