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SOMALI

The land of the Somalis consists of arid plains and plateaus, barren rugged mountains, and two main rivers under a harsh, hot and dry climate. The Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Aden, Ethiopia, and Kenya bound this area – the Horn of Africa. Archeological evidence indicates that the Somali people have occupied this region since before 100 C.E.

But the Somalis have not been alone. The present-day state is said to be “largely a creation of European colonialism,” tempting others largely for its strategic and trade route importance. In the early centuries the region was ruled by Omanis, Zanzibaris, Yemenis, and Ottoman Turks before being regionally colonized by the British in the northwest, the Italians in the south, the Ethiopians in the west, and the Kenyans in the southwest. The segmented colonial control existed until Somali independence in 1960.

Civil war, the breakdown of health care services, drought, widespread malnutrition and famine, and the plight of refugees have plagued the Somalis since independence. After the fall of the regime of Mohammad Siad Barre in 1991, anarchy and civil war have added to the harsh realities of Somali daily life.

Officially Islamic and predominantly Sunni Muslim, the Somalis’ ethnic groups consist of four pastoral nomadic clans: Dir, Daarood, Isaaq, and Hawiye and two agricultural or “cultivators” clans: Digil and Rahanwayn who dwell between the Shabeelle and Jubba Rivers. English and Italian are spoken by less than 10 percent of the population; the rest speak Somali in one of several dialects: Common Somali, Central Somali, and Coastal Somali.

While 95 percent of the population are Somalis, their hierarchical clans nonetheless segment them. Membership in these clans shape social status, individual obligations, and rights, while Islam permeates every aspect of daily life.

Traditionally Islamic, Somalis are polygamous and often marry four wives to produce as many children as possible. Population provides a workforce and fighting strength as well as political clout. The harsh lifestyle and the harsher climate take lives as well. Women are mostly involved with the care of the sheep and goats while the men concern them-selves with the camels. The quality and quantity of camels confers prestige and wealth on the owners. Despite the importance of women’s chastity, few are veiled and it is said that Somali women do not shrink from either assuming responsibility or expressing their opinions.

The Somalis’ daily life and all festivities and saints’ days emerge from and revolve around their religion of Islam. The wadads, the religious leaders, dispense – for a fee – blessings, advice, and magic potions and mediate in criminal proceedings and feuds. They also provide all religious services from birth to death. Pilgrimages, belief in the special powers of saints, charms, and amulets are all deeply interwoven in Somali daily life.

Frequently, the Somali pragmatism emerges from the religious mysticism and unabashedly accepts modern medicine, while at the same time promulgating traditions for ensuring the virginity of their women. Somalis recognized mosquitoes as the carriers of malaria before this was discovered by western science.

As with many nomadic peoples, the cultural literacy of Somalis is to be found in their oral tradition of reciting stories and poems, and in their encyclopedic knowledge of sayings and history. As might be suspected, Somalis enjoy talking!

Somali foods are based on dairy products, sheep, goats, and grains such as rice, sorghum, barley, and maize. Some vegetables such as varieties of squashes, sweet potatoes, and varieties of beans round out the meals. Groundnuts and sesame seeds, bananas and sugarcane find a place as well, when available.

A cautious suspicion greets strangers and newcomers, even amongst their own people. But Somali hospitality is legendary with the finest they have to offer being proudly proffered to a guest. Differences in temperament are evident between the nomads and the cultivators with the latter being less aggressive and less suspicious than the former. However, the entire nation of Somalis unite in the celebration of Ramadan, as do Muslims the world over.

THE HORN OF AFRICA

The Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Indian Ocean wash the eastern tip of Africa known as the Horn of Africa. In this region lies the legendary ancient lands of Ethiopia and Somalia.

THE ETHIOPIANS

Ethiopia’s very name conjures exotic visions of the Queen of Sheba, a legendary heritage of kings, and mythical tales of gold and hidden riches. Once called Abysinnia, this arid land of mountains and plateaus boasts the beautiful Lake Tana that flows into the mighty Nile River coursing through Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. Ethiopia’s name also conjures the aroma of some of the finest coffee in the world, one of her principal exports. Though impoverished and strife-torn today, Ethiopia’s history speaks eloquently of hustling trade and prosperity beginning at least 4,000 years ago.

Arabs, Egyptians, British, Portuguese, and Italians each in turn entertained hopes of ruling the land. Today, these elements of Ethiopia’s history are evident in her cultural and religious diversity. As well, Ethiopia’s distinctive form of Christianity is impregnated with elements of Judaism, Islam, and paganism, setting it apart from eastern Orthodoxy or western Catholicism.

In the plateaus and mountains, primitive beehive-shaped whets (huts) still exist in villages, while modern white skyscrapers pierce sunny skies in the large cities like Addis Ababa. Perhaps the huts are symbolic of the Ethiopian cultivation and love for honey. Guest are frequently welcomed with sweet dripping pieces of honeycomb and a bowl of curds and whey – literally the biblical milk and honey. While some Ethiopians have adopted western dress and some customs, their ties to ancient traditions remain, especially in their religion.

A meal begins with ritual handwashing. Water is poured from an ornate jug over the fingers of the right hand, which are wiped on a clean towel. Only those fingers are used for eating. Breads are held in the right hand too, to wrap, scoop, or dip into foods and sauces.

For the main meal of the day, a dome covers a small round table or a large metal tray. When lifted, a large “cloth” appears mounded with portions of stewed foods. The cloth is actually a very large thin pancake, an Ethiopian bread called injera. Often several other kinds of breads will appear as well as a variety of stews and combinations of meat and vegetables called wots and alechas. Diners enjoy the meal by tearing off hits of injera and scooping up foods. Frequently a partner or the host will combine a morsel of food and pop it into someone else’s mouth. As can be imagined, mealtime is hospitable and lively when everyone is bent over the same “table.”

Tej, the golden honey wine poured from traditional long-neck jugs, accompanies the meal while coffee with honey served in small cups concludes it. Dinner is over when the food and injera are all eaten. Later in the evening tiny spicy breads called dabo kolo, served with butter and honey, may be nibbled with fresh or dried fruits.

The large Ethiopian flat bread called injera obviates the need for tablecloths, cutlery, or serviettes. The two main types of meat and vegetable stews are wots – always spicy hot with chilies, and alechas, another type of stew sometimes quite mild. The most important sauce accompanying these dishes is berbere, and others include mittmita and waaz. The predominantly agrarian economy produces mil-let, barley, and sorghum. Tef is the millet-like grain used especially to prepare the sourdough for injera. Offal, especially tripe, is enjoyed in many dishes; beef, lamb, goat, and chicken are used by those who can afford them. For many, a diet of grains, potatoes, plantains, and legumes with some milk and cheese suffices.

WEST AFRICAN

Long in touch with Europeans, and the most heavily populated area in Africa, West Africa includes Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Dahomey, Nigeria, Burkinafaso, and Cameroon.

West African foods should not he a mystery to Americans, for it is from here that the slaves brought to North America the tastes and cooking methods that are now so deeply entrenched as to be considered part of American regional cookery.

Georgian and South Carolina rice was transformed into delectable casseroles after the blacks served it with black-eyed peas (called Hoppin’ John), plantains, yams, or peanuts. Coarse leafy greens, long considered cattle food, came to the Southern table glistening with bacon fat, spicy with onions and garlic and tender from slow cooking. Southern gumbo dishes are derived from okro or gombo – West African names for okra. In fact, grilled meats and fish and varieties of vegetables and beans introduced by the black cooks extended the Southern American diet incredibly. And quite possibly, the black cook’s penchant for washing hands may also have influenced cleanliness in American kitchens.

As in most of Africa, three-quarters of West Africa’s population is rural. Staples of the farmer’s diet include milk and curds and whey, varieties of wild cultivated green vegetables, dried peas, yams, corn, pumpkin, and several types of squash. Yams, corn, cassava, and groundnuts are indispensable in the West African diet. Cassava is used mainly for its flour – which when slightly fermented is called gari – and its leaves are used as a vegetable. Groundnuts are used in soups and stews and flavorful sauces. Eggplants, okra, garlic, onions, and tomatoes are important in many dishes too.

To the more sophisticated West African, fufu (made from yams or plantains) is still a staple but is prepared in more imaginative forms: fried cakes, dumpling-like balls, thin-fried chips, croquettes and fritters. To add variety, some of these are served sweetened and lightly spiced.

The rest of the diet is liberally laced with a wide variety of fish and seafood and there are many chick-en dishes flavored with groundnuts. Beef and mutton are scarce; chickens require careful cooking to tenderize. Eggs are used liberally and are an important part of many dishes. Both urban and rural dwellers use fruits in season as their means permit: bananas, plantain, papayas, mangoes, pineapples, coconuts, limes and lemons, melons, oranges and the great variety of local tropical specialties.

This is an area where the new middle class is developing unusual and sophisticated dishes, combining indigenous fruits and vegetables in new ways.

SOUTH AFRICA

While the West African nations combine the most sophisticated of European, New World, and their own indigenous food influences, and the area of East Africa is principally influenced by British, Indian and Islamic food traditions, South Africa is dominated by the influence of the Dutch. As early as 1651, Dutch settlers at the Cape created a colony with the sole purpose of supplying fresh food and other necessities to Dutch ships. “The richest, most complex and civilized contribution to the art of cooking in Africa evolved here.”

The Dutch Free Burghers and their Muslim slaves from the East Indies, French refugees, Germans, other Europeans, and British all added their influence in customs, foods, and culture. The “Cape Colored” include those of mixed black and European back-ground, strongly identifying with the Dutch, the French, and with Christianity. In some of the following typical foods and dishes can be seen the marriage of food customs that have created what is now typically South African fare.

The Cape Malay’s (Indian) favorite dishes include:

Atjar: exotic pickles and preserves prepared from tropical fruits and vegetables which may be packed with brine, syrups or oils and seasoned with varying subtle or hot combinations of East Indian spices.

Bobotie: a soft moist mixture of ground lamb, softened bread, seasoned with a blend of curry spices, lemon juice, shredded apple and chopped almonds is baked slowly with an egg and milk custard top-ping. Of Malay descent this classic South African dish is everyone’s delight.

Bredie: a specialty and often festive meat or fish stew redolent with onions and colorful with chunks of vegetables such as pumpkin, cauliflower, beans, etc. Takes its specific name from the predominating vegetable, e.g. pumpkin bredie.

Koesister: crunchy crullers fried to golden perfection and served with a tangy lemon and cinnamon syrup.

Sambal: refreshing salads prepared from grated fresh vegetables splashed with vinegar or lemon juice and zesty with chilies and cayenne pepper.

Slaais: related to Sambals and may combine unusual (for westerners) combinations such as layered dates and sliced onions sprinkled with vinegar; chicory and orange slices; fennel tomatoes and mushrooms, or the more familiar finely shredded carrots with raisins. All salads are usually well seasoned and could never be described as bland.

Sosaties (from the Malaysian sate): marinated meats, skewered and grilled; snack or main dish.

South African Cape Malay meals may include one of the traditional dishes above as well as salads, pickles, chutneys, and condiments (such as blatjang: nuts, garlic, sweet preserved fruits and spices), served with rice and rounded off with sweet bakery and candies. Dates are widely used and a combination of sugar-sweetened dates and sliced onions is a frequent side dish. The ubiquitous tameletje, basically a candy of caramelized sugar, is made in many versions too.

South African wines and brandies are known worldwide, as are their fish and shellfish (periwinkles, mussels, crayfish or rock lobster), fowl and pork dishes. Grape-stuffed chickens or roast suckling pigs take precedence and are eaten on Sundays or special occasions by South Afrikaners of European origin. The moderate climate produces vegetables so plentiful, varied, and popular that often half a dozen vegetable dishes or salads accompany the main meal. A plethora of both tropical and temperate fruits may be eaten fresh, preserved into jams and marmalades, dried, or used in desserts and bakery. Cookies of infinite variety (soetkoekie) and many types of buns (mosbolletje), as well as pies and tarts (terts), and doughnuts and crullers (vetkoekies) head the list of favorites that are nibbled for snacks or eaten at break-fast time with hot cocoa, tea, or coffee. And as with Dutch families the world over, bread on the table is an important element of every meal.

The native Bantu’s staple diet includes milk from cattle, millet porridge, millet beer, and mealie. So popular is mealie, a porridge made from cornmeal but served in many forms, such as puddings, fried patties, etc., that many a South Afrikaner’s meal is not considered complete without at least a side dish of mealie; with cream and honey it may be breakfast.

Braaivleis is the traditional South African out-door meal of grilled skewered meats (usually lamb, huge rolled links of homemade beef and pork sausage) to be grilled, and many vegetable and salad side dishes with the traditional dish of mealie.