7Berkeh: Autumn in Gerash and the southern region is the season of harvesting dates from the palm plantation gardens. The dates are welcomed with the fall, but survive during the year and the locals store and eat it permanently. Dates are the inseparable eating icons of the south as well as Gerash; to say that it is an eating-style, which has its own specific rites and procedures from planting to harvesting. Here we have a short look at some information, which are locally extracted, regarding the procedure of harvesting and diverse types of dates.
Date Harvesting: An Indigenous Profession in Gerash
Harvesting dates start from the dawn of September (Shahrivar in Gerash) and lasts until almost the middle of October. The local people start with harvesting the raw dates; called “Kharak” in the local accent, which are generally yellow or red colors and they end with sorting different types of dates according to their humidity, quality and size. It can be said that, harvesting dates in Gerash is still a local traditional profession due to the fact that all the procedures of it are done by hands and physical work. This work is an old and heritage profession in the south and in the city of Gerash, which has passed down from past generations to the present and still is the main agricultural product which is even exported to other cities. During the recent years, most of the local people prefer to pick the clusters of dates in the palm gardens and clean and sort them there; however, in the past years, people stayed for days and even weeks to do the hard work in palm groves.
Picking the clusters of dates is a man’s task. Men who climb the palm tree to pick the clusters use a rope called “Parvan”. “Parvan” is a thick rope woven from palm leaves. Palm tree farmers use it to climb the tree and also to support themselves while staying at the top of the palm. An interesting point about date harvesting is that women play a significant role in cleaning and sorting this product. It can be said that these are elderly and middle-aged women who have maintained the cycle of bringing dates to the consumer.
According to the Agriculture Administration in Gerash, the area of irrigated and rainfed palm groves in Gerash is close to 1000 hectares, of which 900 hectares are productive and fruit-bearing and, approximately 7, 000 tons of dates will be harvested from the palm groves of Gerash in 2025.
Different Types of Dates in a Single Cluster
Besides various types of dates with different names such as Shahani, Kasb, Khasoui, Zahedi, etc; as called in the local accent, a date cluster itself contains different types of dates which shows that how much of a hard work its cleaning and sorting is! A detail-oriented, time-consuming and a group work, which nearly all the members of a family are engaged with.
The first product that can be used throughout the year is called “dates”, which are almost dried and consumed in various forms, including being stored with the addition of date syrup in a bucket or a vat. It can also be washed with water in a basket and when the extra water is gone, it is poured in a plastic bag, sunbathing for a couple of days and then consumed.
As said in the local accent, “Nam” is a softer date, which is softer and more tender than regular dates for it contains much more humidity. Eating it with tahini is a popular and nutritious dessert in Gerash and the southern cities throughout the cold seasons. Rutab is another category that is separated and is used for making southern Ranginak (a sweet made with dates, with roux poured on them and flavored with cinnamon powder over it) or stored in the freezer for later consumption. Among these types, “Keshti” is a type of high-quality date that is dried without dry skin and can also be eaten without adding date syrup. These are the types of seeds that are separated after cutting the date cluster.
Share of Livestock and Date Syrup
Depending on the time of cutting the clusters, the owner can receive more softer or drier dates; the later the harvest time, the drier the dates.
Other types of low-quality dates are used as the food of livestock. There is also a type of low-quality dates called “Bezekh” which are used to make the date syrup called “Dishab” or “Doushab” in the southern regions of Fars and Bandar-Abbas Provinces. The syrup has various usages; for making halva; mixing with tahini as a nutritious food for mountaineers in breakfast and mixing it with the high-quality dry dates that can be stored for even a year.
Here are some captivating photos captured by Nazanin Shaban for 7Berkeh News Agency.
