Today is

By: Ikedi Ani-okoye.

Calabash introduction

The calabash (not to be confused with the calabaza) is a vine grown for its fruit, which can either be harvested young and used as a vegetables or harvested mature, dried, and used as a bottle, utensil, or pipe. For this reason, one of the calabash subspecies is known as the bottle gourd. The fresh fruit has a light green smooth skin and a white flesh.

The calabash was one of the first cultivated plants in the world, grown not for food but as a container. It was named for the calabash tree, a different type of plant.

Chinese Calabash

The calabash, or bottlegourd (hulu in Chinese), is an ancient and pervasive symbol in the Chinese tradition. Zhuangzi recounts the story of a man who could float across a river in a giant calabash. In Daoist iconography the bottlegourd (often seen hanging from his gnarled staff) is the immortal's receptacle for the elixir of long life. Its double-helix shape (reflected in the double-syllable rhyme of hulu) was probably an early representation of Hundun.

Hawiah Calabash

Hawaiians created the most beautiful bowls in Polynesia. Early in their history, they began crafting elegant wooden containers inspired by the rounded forms of the gourd and coconut. All of these were used as containers and came to be known collectively as "calabashes." This book is the first to trace the complete story of the Hawaiian calabash. Ardently collected, displayed, and treasured, the Hawaiian wooden calabash came to embody, for many, their pride in and love for the very spirit of Hawaii. The latter part of the book completes the story with the history of calabashes made of gourd, coconut, and fiber.

CONCLUSION

The calabash or gourd (as it's commonly known in the United States) is a functional creation of nature with a wide variety of uses and traditions in cultures around the world. A fruit of varied shape and size, it commonly grows on a vine not unlike the squash, but there are also varieties that grow on bushes and trees. In so-called "third world" countries the calabash was historically used as a container for water, and still is an essential utensil in many parts of the world. In rural areas of the U.S., they are often used as birdhouses.