Tubuq

Tubuq is the generic term for plants in the ginger family (Zingiberaceae).

Apart from the common ginger (liyeh), there is a variety of wild gingers (genus zingiber) known to the Kelabits, used in their cooking or for other medicinal purposes.

The young shoots of Tubuq Berek Siaq (red pig ginger) for instance is eaten as a vegetable and the flower is used as medicine for dogs. But it was unknown to the scientific community until 1998 when Dr. Hanne Christensen together with Dr. Ida Theilade, a botanist specialising in gingers, described it scientifically and published it in the Edinburgh Journal of Botany. They named it the Zingiber Kelabitianum in honour of the Kelabit people. ⁽¹⁾ See external image

Wild Ginger Varieties Known to the Kelabits

• 
  Busak Luduh, Tubuq Terebak
  Photo by Richard Howard
• 
  Tubuq ?
  Photo by Richard Howard
• 
  Tubuq ?
  Photo by Richard Howard
• 
  Tubuq ?
  Photo by Richard Howard
• 
  Busak Tubuq Tesiluk (?)
  Photo by Wayne Kalang
• 
  Tubuq (?)
  Photo by Wayne Kalang
• 
  Tubuq Berek Siaq
  (Zingiber Kelabitianum)
  Photo by ?
  See external image
• 
  Tubuq Berek Bataq
  (Zingiber Pseudopungens)
  Photo by ?
• 
  Tubuq Buen
  Photo by ?
• 
  Tubuq Kering Ebpaq
  (Amomum Anomalum)
  Photo by ?
• 
  Tubuq Kering Buduk
  (Amomum Dimorphum)
  Photo by ?
• 
  Tubuq Inib
  (Etlingera Nasuta)
  See external image
• 
  Tubuq Tanaq
  (Etlingera Punicea))
  Photo by Jenkaleh
  See external image
• 
  Tubuq Abang
  (Zingiber Longipedunculatum)
  See external image
• 
  Tubuq Abang Budaq
  (Zingiber Martinii)
  See external image
• 
  Tubuq Berek Bataq
  (Zingiber Pseudopungens)
  See external image

References

1. Ethnobotany of the Iban & Kelabit by Hanne Christensen