Pangasi, also known as pangase or gasi, are various traditional Filipino

rice wine Rice wine is an alcoholic beverage fermentation, fermented from rice, traditionally consumed in East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia, where rice is a quintessential staple crop. Rice wine is made by the fermentation of rice starch, during wh ...

s from the

Visayas Islands The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands ( Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; Filipino: ''Kabisayaan'' ), are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the arch ...

and

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

. They also may be made from other native cereals like

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae. Millets are important crops in the Semi-arid climate, ...

and Job's tears. Pangasi and other native Filipino alcoholic beverages made from cereal grains have collectively been referred to by the Spanish as ''pitarrillos''. Aside from being consumed recreationally, pangasi figured prominently in the rituals of the '' babaylan'' shamans in various Filipino ethnic groups. Pangasi was mentioned by early Spanish explorers as being common in the

Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Bisayan languages, Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; Filipino language, Filipino: ''Kabisayaan'' ), are one of the three Island groups of the Philippines, principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, a ...

, although it has largely disappeared throughout most of its range in modern times. It survives in some areas of Visayas and Mindanao. On Panay Island in the

Western Visayas Western Visayas (; ; ) is an Regions of the Philippines, administrative region in the Philippines, numerically designated as Region VI. The region comprises the islands of Panay and Guimaras Island, Guimaras. It consists of five Provinces of the ...

, pangasi is traditionally fermented with various leaves as well as

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

juice among the

Suludnon people The Suludnon, also known as the Panay-Bukidnon, Pan-ayanon, or Tumandok, are a Visayan group of people who reside in the Capiz- Antique-Iloilo mountainous area of Panay in the Visayan islands of the Philippines. They are one of the two only mo ...

. It is very similar to the pangasi (also called agkud) of the

Lumad peoples The Lumad are a group of Austronesian indigenous peoples in the southern Philippines. It is a Cebuano term meaning "native" or "indigenous". The term is short for Katawhang Lumad (Literally: "indigenous people"), the autonym officially ado ...

. In the Zamboanga Peninsula, pangasi (more commonly spelled as "pangase") refers to three different kinds of wines among the Subanen people of the Zamboanga Peninsula. Traditional pangase is made either from rice or Job's tears (''adlay'') fermented with a starter culture ('' tapay'') and typically spiced with ginger (in modern times, hot peppers are also used). It is fermented inside jars known as ''bandi'' or ''tibod'' for two weeks to three years. However, modern pangase are increasingly being made with

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

tubers, which were introduced by the Spanish to the Philippines.

References

{{Filipino cuisine Rice wine Fermented drinks Philippine alcoholic drinks

See also

References