Page 113 - Through the eyes of an African chef

chapter seven
KHOISAN CULTURE AND COOKING: A BRIEF HISTORY LESSON
IN 2016, DURING THE MZANSI INTERNATIONAL CULINARY FESTIVAL, WE HOSTED A KHOISAN COOK, AUNTIE KOERA STEENKAMP, FROM THE NORTHERN CAPE. SHE CAME WITH HER FRIEND, IZAK KRUIPE, WHO IS AN ARTIST WHO PLAYS A MUSICAL MOUTH BOW. HE ALSO MAKES TRADITIONAL BEAD WORK OF THE KHOISAN CULTURE. WE ENJOYED THE WARM, EXTROVERTED AUNT KOERA’S TRADITIONAL DISHES, MAINLY SPRINGBOK, MAIZE RICE AND MELON. THE THREE DAYS SPENT WITH THEM WERE SO PRECIOUS.
AROUND THE SAME TIME, I STARTED READING THE BOOK “LITTLE SUNS” BY AUTHOR LAUREATE, ZAKES MDA: THE LOVE STORY OF A XHOSA MAN AND HIS KHOISAN MEDICINE WOMAN. IN SOUTH AFRICA, WE ARE CURRENTLY GOING THROUGH A JOURNEY TO REDISCOVER OUR ROOTS. I ALWAYS FOUND MY MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER’S PHYSICAL FEATURES PONDEROUS: FROM HER VERY LIGHT SKIN TONE, EPICANTHIC EYE FOLDS, PROMINENT CHEEKBONES AND FULL LIPS, TO HER SMALL WAIST AND WELL-ENDOWED BEHIND. WHEN SHE LAUGHED, HER EYES CRINKLED AND CLOSED. THESE FEATURES BECAME PARTICULARLY INTERESTING AFTER READING UP ON TATA NELSON MANDELA’S MITOCHONDRIAL DNA DISCOVERIES.
THIS WAS A MYSTERY THAT IMPERATIVELY HAD TO BE SOLVED. I WENT AND DID A MATERNAL DNA TEST. AS I SUSPECTED, MY GRANDMOTHER AND, BY EXTENSION, I, HAD KHOISAN ANCESTRY. THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT MY DNA WAS COMPATIBLE WITH SEVERAL SOUTH AFRICAN MIXED RACES AND THE GRIQUA IN NAMIBIA.
WITH THIS, I WAS AT EASE, WITH MANY OF MY PRESSING QUESTIONS ANSWERED: THE SIMILARITIES IN XHOSA AND TSWANA FOOD AND TRADITIONS TO THOSE OF THE KHOISAN PEOPLE; THE SHARED SKILLS WITH VENDA PEOPLE, FROM MUKOKI (DRIED MEAT, KNOWN ALSO AS BILTONG AND JERKY) TO THE DRYING OF FOOD. THESE AND OTHER MATTERS ONLY CHALLENGE US TO DO OUR BEST TO RETRACE WHAT WE CAN FROM OUR FOOD HISTORY – MOST OF WHICH WAS DESTROYED OR APPROPRIATED.
WORKING TOGETHER, WE CAN STILL ATTAIN THIS, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR CHILDREN AND FUTURE CHEFS TO BRING BACK WHAT DARINA ALLEN OF BALLYMALOE COINED AS “FORGOTTEN SKILLS”.
HERE IS MY TAKE ON A FEW DISHES I SHARED WITH AUNT KOERA, SUCH AS MAIZE RICE, WHICH HAS ALWAYS BEEN A SYMBOL OF POVERTY. NOWADAYS, MANY AFRICAN KIDS DO NOT EVEN WANT TO KNOW ABOUT IT.