Atop the Palm: The Mhishipman and the Sacred Art of Wine Tapping.
By Monday Jacob DAKULAK and Katlong Dape.
High above the ground—where the wind hums through palm fronds and shadows stretch across the Plateau skyline—the Mhishipman climbs. A tapping knife glints in the sun, a red vessel sways gently at his side, and a rope cinches him to the trunk like a lifeline of tradition. Here, in the trembling crown of the oil palm, he becomes more than a worker. He becomes a guardian of memory, a silhouette of resilience, and a living echo of ancestral skill.
In Mhishipland (Chip, Pankshin LGA – Plateau State), palm wine tapping is not merely a trade—it is a cultural covenant. Though first introduced through Igbo settlers decades ago, the sacred craft has since been embraced, adapted, and elevated by the Mhiship people. It is now an emblem of identity and pride.
Palm wine here is more than a drink—it is communion.
It flows through life’s milestones: from naming ceremonies to weddings and harvest feasts.
It welcomes guests, blesses unions, and sanctifies community decisions.
Each climb is not just a harvest—it is a rite, a prayer, a renewal. It reconnects the tapper with the land, the past, and the spiritual rhythm of his people.
Courage: He defies gravity with nothing but rope and resolve.
Craft: He draws without destroying, respecting the tree’s cycle.
Culture: He preserves a tradition through his daily climb, one tap at a time.
In this solitary, sacred ascent, the Mhishipman teaches us something modernity often forgets: that true wisdom rises slowly—through calloused hands, rooted knowledge, and reverent labor.
One tree at a time, one tap at a time, he tells a story—not just of wine, but of wisdom.
