Food and its place in culture

Food is a necessity. That we eat is biological, what we eat, how we eat, where we eat, and when we eat is determined by our culture and the environment within which it developed.1

In the many homes of South Africa food and its preparation have a cultural symbolic meaning. The consumption of rice is still reserved in many households for Sundays or very special occasions. The wealthier households would consume rice more frequently than the households with lower disposable income. The importance or status of an event like a funeral or wedding is reflected in the food prepared. The serving of rice and chicken with a variety of vegetables tells of the level of prestige associated with the event. Beetroot, carrots, cabbage, lettuce, pumpkin form some of the most popular vegetables consumed.

The preparation of African traditional foods such as morogo, masonja, ting ya mabele, mogodu, phuthu, samp, beans is still very common in rural homes. The shape of the porridge or pap or bohobe in Sotho, is in many black African cultures an indicator of one’s cultural group. Porridge takes the shape of flying saucers piled one on top of the other, round tennis ball shaped, an unstructured heap on a plate, depending on the region and the culture of the people found in that region.

Gravy or seshabo in Sotho, means different things to different cultures. Meat in various forms and gravy comprise the food items that are commonly served with porridge, phuthu, samp, ting, dumpling, rice or bread during a meal. But vegetables such as cabbage and spinach can be served with porridge only, without conventional gravy. The Basotho would also refer to the above vegetables as seshabo.      

Tomato sauce, usually mixed with mayonnaise is a preferred addition to the food. In some instances each or the combination of the two are used as substitute for gravy.

Food as a symbol of sharing, family and friendship

It is seen as being disrespectful to decline food when offered. It is accepted to request something else in the place of food. You could ask for water or any other drink, as long as you have accepted something else. In the IsiSwati and IsiZulu cultures, it said to be, ukuphakamisa nathi, to raise food with us, more specifically to share with us.

Strangers looking for direction to far-flung places are known to have been offered food by people that they never met before, accommodated and assisted in continuing with the journey to their chosen destination. The elder members of households in some villages in Limpopo speak of incidents or practices in the past where, depending on the physic and body structure of the males traveling long distances to other places, part of their accommodation and being provided with food, in some cases included the pairing of the male stranger with young women of the homestead. The view was said to be that tribes or communities were constantly looking for strong men to father children who would preferably be boys and would grow to be the defenders of the tribe in battles. I found this to be too much to believe. But, a number of elderly men either confirmed the existence of such practices in the past or justified the reason such incidents took place.

The discarding or wasting of food is frowned upon in many households. There is a belief that food and water are gifts from God or gods or ancestors and therefore have to be treated with respect and not wasted. Some people do believe that God or gods or ancestors have the power to remove or take away food from people that waste food. Children are encouraged to finish their food and in some cases are rewarded by being offered goodies such custard, jelly or ice cream. Left-over food is usually preserved to be consumed the next day or turned into provision for lunch for those going to school or work the following day.

The Albany television commercial with three youngsters walking into a bakery to purchase long rolls and then cycling to a nearby park to sit, open their lunch boxes and enjoy their favourite sandwiches is interesting to look at the message it portrays, given the sensitivities around the belief in the respect and the need not to waste food. The fact that the boys are later seen playing cricket and using the rolls as wickets raises concern in some homes. Whilst the intention and the message of the commercial is that Albany bread is the best and tasty for making sandwiches, parents raise concern and children are often warned against such conduct. The reality is that the playfulness and the humour in the commercial are not well understood by all. Children are brought up in most black African homes with the message that food is scarce and cannot be used to play with.      

Time and the serving of food

Fast food outlets such as Wimpy, Nandos, Steers, KFC, McDonalds and other corner cafes that serve food play a pivotal role in forming part of the food consumption habits of households. Food is bought from these outlets to take to work to eat when it is convenient to do so, purchase and consume during ‘lunch’, or simply to serve at home during supper/dinner.

The concept of time and when people consume their food in black African cultures is not entirely in line with the definition and understanding of time as found in Western cultures. It appears that people that work in the various companies and institutions select to consume their food during the time called ‘lunch-time’, which could stretch between 13:00 to 14:30, because this is the time allocated for lunch. The observation during the brandpilgrimage points to lunch being an activity people engage in when they have the time to purchase and consume their food. This could be at any time between 10:00 to 16:00. In the evenings, in most black African households supper/dinner is served when the key members of the household have gathered or are at home. It is also common to have food being kept warm in the pots or oven or cold in the fridge for a member of the household that is known to be scheduled to arrive later at night.

Western advertisers tend to use clocks in their international advertising to symbolise efficiency, which is not recognised as such in cultures where people have a different sense of time. Time is a core system of cultural, social, and personal life. Each culture has its own unique time frame.2 Whilst some cultures might emphasise the importance of having breakfast, lunch dinner or supper, many other observe only two mealtimes in the day. 

Except when people purchase food and seat to enjoy their food, it is not immediately obvious to establish when the customers that buy and take away their foods will consume the purchased food. They might sit at a nearby park and eat their food, eat in the taxi/train/bus on their way home or take the food home to enjoy with the other members of the household. The KFC Streetwise range seemed popular with most customers.

The ritual of eating is in many households preceded by the washing of hands. However, most eateries do not have washing basins for customers to wash their hands before enjoying their meals, except the basins provided in the toilets.       

Food and pricing

The pricing of food varies drastically from region to region or community to community. The township outlets that sell food have prices ranging between R 6.00 to R25.00 for a plate of food. The plate of food could be comprised of rice or pap or dumpling or ting, with chicken or mutton or beef and a variety of vegetables.

Roasted and boiled maize or mealies sell at street corners and taxi ranks and train stations for between R 2.00 and R 5.00 per corn on the cob. The people, mostly ladies run ongoing business at the above venues. These are businesses that relocate to home at night and return in early hours of the morning to serve and feed the multitudes of workers and school children.

Food outlets that are commonly known as Chisa-nyama (loosely translated as Braai the meat) are frequented by doctors, teachers, taxi drivers, office workers, construction workers, the police and the common criminals. For example, Joe’s Butchery in Alexandra Township has become a popular braaing place. Braai meat with, pap, Chakalaka or Achaar are the food items sold. In the township of Langa on Washington Street, in the Western Cape, Tiger’s Place is popular for its braai meat and is visited by locals and tourists. In Gugulethu, in the Western Cape, Mzoli’s Place has a dedicated group of people that travel from the suburban areas of Cape Town to come and enjoy the braai meat and pap.  

A number of these Chisa-nyama outlets operate from pavements, parking areas of shopping centres, at taxi and bus ranks. The food vendors arrive as early as 4am in the morning and stay at the taxi or bus rank into the evening or until food is finished.

Wimpy, Steers, Spurs and Mimos, amongst others, are perceived to be expensive. African communities in the surrounding townships believe that such outlets use price as a barrier to entry for African customers that live in the less affluent communities.

KFC, Nandos, Chicken Licken, Mc Donalds and the many chicken franchises are seen to be constantly thriving to find combination of meals at affordable prices. Chicken Licken and KFC have come up with affordable popular ranges such as the Taxi and Streetwise respectively.

Types of foods and cultural groups

The preparation of food is one form of human activity that makes people take find it comfortable to learn from other cultures about the different types of food that can be prepared and enjoyed by families. As people travel form one place to the other, they often ask to be served the traditional food of the places they are visiting. This means that the opportunity to learn about the types of foods prepared and enjoyed by other cultures is enhanced. As a result, it is possible that many people return to their homes, make attempts at preparing the type of food enjoyed during the travels and there age chances that ‘new’ recipes are unearthed as people end up with something that is not quite like what was intended, but nevertheless also tastes great. The observations in the various homes of the cultural groups found in South Africa reveal that the basic ingredients of food are in the main the same. The differences appear in how the food is prepared and the how these ingredients are mixed or cooked separately. The texture of the food would also provide areas of difference. For example, some cultural groups would prepare pap and serve it when it is slightly softer than the other cultural groups that might prefer to serve pap that is a bit harder, which some would call stiff pap. Maize seems to be the staple food amongst most black African people.  

The Swati people prepare a thick porridge, sishwala, which they would serve with vegetable or meat or both. The Sotho people would prepare bohobe ba ting, mealie meal that is fermented and made to taste sour. The Swati call this sour porridge, incwancwa. The Swati also prepare what is called emasi emabele, sour milk that is served in a mixture with sorghum. The Sotho would have mabele a ting, fermented sorghum. The Sotho people prepare a delicacy by simply boiling mealies (maize) in water, poone e phehilweng.  The Swati call this boiled maize, tinkhobe. Uphuthu, a thick but powdery or crumbly maize meal made out of boiling water, served with sour milk or stew or vegetables is prepared by the isiZulu speaking people. Umxhaxha is a delicious dish prepared by the Xhosa. This is a combinations or mixture of mealies and pumpkin. It is interesting to observe amongst the Xhosa people that the food prepared by using pumpkin can change name, depending on how the pumpkin is prepared and cooked. For example, pumpkin leaves, at times including pumpkin, cooked and combined with mealie-meal is called imifino, and when the leaves are cooked with pumpkin only they, are called ilaxa. Umphokoqo is made from mealie-meal into porridge and when mixed with sour milk the combination is called umvubo.         

Amagwinya, vetkoek in Afrikaans, is food that is believed by many to originate from the Zulu people. However, it is a kind of food that is available in most black African communities. Amadumbe, a sweet potato-like product, is another food product that is commonly found in the homes of most isiZulu speaking people.

African beer and its place in culture

Traditional beer, utshwala, in isiZulu, made out of maize and sorghum is a product that appears to be filling more the role of it being part of food than that of being an alcoholic beverage. It is prepared in big black pots or drums. It is a product that is not only consumed by people who are alcohol consumers. Even people that do not take alcohol would consume the product during traditional ceremonies and celebrations. For many black African communities, there is no traditional ceremony without traditional beer. Many link the product with some connection or relationship with the ancestors. The froth or foam that sits on top of the beer is usually allowed to overflow or is sprinkled on the ground as a way of sharing with the spirits or ancestors, ukunikela kwabaphansi, to offer to the ancestors, in isiZulu. A spoon called isikhetho is often used to scoop the foam from the top of the beer. Men would call for more of the traditional beer after having had their food, but it is a product that is also consumed before the meals have been served.    

This is a product that is mainly prepared or made by women, but in some communities, specific women are known to be the experts or master brewers, and as a result the services of these women would be sought by households looking to brew for an important traditional ceremony.

The role of men and women in the preparation of food

The phrase, The woman’s place is in the kitchen, appears to be influenced by culture and the practices people have had as children. It is very clear in most homes that the responsibility to prepare food and feed the family rests with the women folk. Men seem to pride themselves on the fact that they wake up in the morning, go to work to earn money to feed their families. But things seem not to be that rigidly structured anymore, since women have also been able to rise in the morning, go to work and earn a living to feed their families. This creates a challenge in the homes that have very strong patriarchal ways of going about the chores of the house or home. In a number of African communities, even where women plough the fields and milk the cows, they are still expected to cook for their husbands and children.

Food, etiquette and cultural influences

It is unchallengeable to suggest that every household has rules and the cultural norms that govern how food is prepared, served and where it is consumed. There are households that are totally against household members sitting on the bed and having their foods, unless the people served in bed are extremely ill and unable to move and eat from designated places. However, in some Western communities the idea of eating in bed has been described as being romantic and highly appreciated by the spouse that is served food or breakfast in bed. Partners that arrive late from going out the previous night are known to opt to make food and serve the aggrieved or angry partner food as they lay in bed. This is known to quickly mend the negatively affected relationship.

It is also evident that the norms and rules around how food is served have become part of what communities and households have defined as respect and a good way of life, and communities and households take these very seriously. In some villages of Limpopo women walk on their knees as they take water around for the men, including the male children, to wash their hands before the meals are served. The heads of the women taking the water bowl around for the men to wash their hands are expected to be lowered until the heads the women are lower than the heads of the men sitting ready to have their meals. The women are expected to show respect when they serve the food to the men. There are also set eating arrangements and these arrangements are determined or established on the basis social hierarchy, gender, status in the household or community and age. Sitting arrangements are often predetermined, at times with men sitting on the right and women on the left of the door of the house or hut. The food will be served in particular way, based on the principles outlined above. For example, the men would be served first, with the senior men first and other men with less status served after. There are no mothers’ babies or favourites in these situations; the boys are served first on the basis of age, but before the girls, also on the basis of age.        

Whilst some cultures emphasises the importance of receiving or accepting food with the right hand, other cultures expect that food be received using both hands. Children who omit to remember the correct ways of accepting food and at times having to say, ngiyabonga or enkosi, thank you, have been reprimanded or punished.  

The times are changing for the role men play in homes

Whilst the role of the man being the head of the family and therefore having not to stand in front of the stove and prepare food is still entrenched in many rural communities, there seems to a very small movement in the other direction in homes in the urban areas or where the couples are more westernised, educated and are willing to share the heat behind the stove. In discussion with a number of men that enjoy helping with the cooking, it also emerges that it is a fact they are not willing to make public. This means that for these types of men, it is fine as long as the neighbours and the community are not aware of it. Men would avoid being a topic for discussion in the shebeens, taverns and other places where men gather. The stigma that is attached to such behaviour is not that easy to deal with, more so in communities that are very rigid about their cultural practices. 

Slaughtering the beast

This is an area where most black African men find themselves to be most needed and effective. There is no doubt that to control a big bull and eventually slaughter it and prepare it for cooking are tasks that naturally demand some strength and perhaps a gender type that is not fazed by seeing blood oozing from a deep wound created by the knife during the killing of the animal. The men have the responsibility to skin the animal, break and chop the bones and remove the intestines. The women are then left with the risk to cut the meat into the correct size portions, clean the meat and place the meat into pots for cooking. The handling of the meat and food in general, is fundamental to the cultural and traditional practices of the people of South African. In the rural areas of kwaZulu, in homesteads that have kraals or byres, meat from a slaughtered beast in the kraal is not supposed to be transferred from the kraal over the fence or walls of the kraal. It is expected that the meat will be moved through the entrance of the kraal and transferred to the house or place where it will be cooked. Moving the meat over the fence is regarded as disrespectful and could bring evil and misgivings to the family, and at times render whatever rituals conducted ineffective.        

There are special portions of the meat, like the liver and the steak that are usually preserved for men. The men have the privilege of tasting this meat even long before it is cooked. They cut large portions of the meat to braai or grill immediately after a job well completed. There seems to be an effort in choosing the best meat for the men for braaing. This is also an area where seniority plays a great part. It is the environment where the elderly respected men are provided with the opportunity to select the best meat. Even in a situation where the men that might have played the greater role of slaughtering the beast are younger; they would still ensure that the elder senior men are served first. It is another sign of recognition of seniority within the men. Respect for the elderly becomes a central determining factor and not strength. In some black African communities, the men welcome the task of cooking the meat. At funerals, wedding and other traditional ceremonies in such communities, the men would sit throughout the night, ensuring that the meat is properly cooked, there is enough wood to keep the fire burning and that the meat will be ready in the morning or day when it is required to feed the family or the people attending the celebration, wedding or party. It can be said that it appears that young boys and not young girls are permitted to share the braaied meat with the men. Caring fathers and grandfathers would break this rule and call the beloved daughters and granddaughters to share this meat, obviously to the dismay of the other men in the vicinity. There are special parts or sections of the beast or ox that are only for the consumption of women. For example, amongst the Xhosa people, injeke and amathumbu are supposed to be eaten by women only. Injeke are parts that are found next to the intestines and amathumbu are intestines. Both men and women can eat Umhlubulo and umhlehlo. There is also meat that is preserved for the elderly, such as igxalaba and inguba.      

It is very seldom in black African communities for women to join men in enjoying the braaied meat after the skinning of the beast, unless if they are provided with their own portions to braai on an open flame, grill in the oven or the microwave on their own. It can be said that perhaps the women prefer cooked meat that is properly served.

Food and religion

There is a common understanding within most black African communities that the availability of food and water are made possible by some forces beyond humans. The blood that fills the ground during slaughtering any animal is often said to be a sign of thanking or acknowledging these gifts from God and the ancestors.

Muslims, in terms of Islamic Law are expected to eat food that is provided in the name of God and such food has to be prepared under very strict and well-defined dietary conditions and requirements. Such food is called Halal (meaning acceptable or lawful). The Muslims, like in some black African religions such as the ZCC, are prohibited from eating pork.                  

 Notes

1. Extract from a website on Foods of the world

2. Marieke de Mooij (1998): Global Marketing and Advertising: Understanding Cultural Paradoxes