Star Trek has been called one of the most prophetic science fiction ‘universes’ ever conceived. But who would have thought the focus of today’s post would be a throw-away line from Star Trek that became a legend?
Filipino Tamilok.
It was almost a throw-away line. But it sticks in your mind like peanut butter does to the roof of your mouth…
Not at all like oysters
In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode A Matter of Honor, Klingon Lieutenant Klang scoffs at a visiting Commander Riker observing that, “Gagh is always best when served live.”
For the uninitiated… ‘Gagh’ (pronounced ‘Gagch’) is a Klingon delicacy that looks just like a handful of nice, juicy, fresh-dug earthworms. You could hardly come up with a less-inviting ‘dish’ no matter how inventive your imagination. And that’s what we shall address today, in this space.
When confronted with Gagh, many commenters in the social media threads rush to observe that (some) humans eat oysters live. And a little research will reveal that there are other (mainly Asian) dishes that incorporate the word ‘live’ in their names. Though closer inspection reveals, Asian chefs obviously conflate the concepts of ‘live’ and ‘raw’ in such cases. Nevertheless…
Enter, the Tamilok…
There’s one real Oceania delicacy which I firmly believe some Star Trek writer must have known about when coming up with the Gagh concept.
It’s commonly known as the Shipworm. But locals on the island of Palawan, in the Philippines, call it Tamilok. This large (by my standards, anyway) worm, and is harvested live by hauling submerged, decaying mangrove logs out of the salty marshes, splitting them open and pulling – hard. That’s be-cause the Tamilok has what veteran ‘hunters’ call a strong mouth it uses to burrow into said logs and hang on. Nevertheless, devotées insist that Tamilok is best eaten live. Like oysters. Or, Gagh.
And, no… It appears Tamilok do NOT burrow into your intestines and take up parasitic residence, such as tape worms do.
A tourist attraction
In some places on the island, ‘adventurous’ tourists can take the ‘Tamilok Challenge’, an try live ones. Tamilok can also be cooked (as can oysters), of course. They are commonly prepared with coconut vinegar and chili for kinilaw – a Filipino dish similar to ceviche – or deep-fried.
The experts weigh in
Of greater interest may be the emerging awareness that a bacterium extracted from Tamilok gills can produce an antimicrobial compound which could potentially lead to new antibiotics. Maybe even ones that could work against infections that are currently considered antibiotic-resistant.
Dr. Gisela Concepcion of the University of the Philippines (UP) Marine Science Institute and her team are racing ahead in that direction with great optimism.
My take
This is not the first time a Star Trek writer has stuck into a script something they knew about (and thought millions of others didin’t). And it became a modern legend.
Back in TOS (The Original Series) a lot of fans commented on the names some of the more exotic characters were given. One great example was ‘Uhuru’, the name of the original Enterprize’s com-munications officer. Years later, it was discovered by an intrepid fan that ‘Uhuru’ is Swahili for ‘Freedom’.
Same with the vaunted ‘Vulcan salute’, the hand gesture that always accompanies the Vulcan equivalent of ‘Aloha’ – ‘Live long and prosper’. (See photo, top of page.) It’s actually an ancient Orthodox Hebrew sign representing the Hebrew letter Shin, which stands for El Shaddai, meaning ‘Almighty (God)’, and Shalom.
In addition… Some ST:TNG fans will remember a nondescript Klingon character named ‘Tomalak’. I submit that’s just too close to ‘Tamilok’ to be a coincidence.
And ‘Gagh’? I’ll venture it is directly derived from the involuntary reaction most folks experience when they first encounter either Tamilok or ‘Gagh’…
Star Trek fans who did not previously possess the foregoing ‘vital information’ may now consider themselves ‘up-to-date’.
~ Maggie J.