Ode to Nshima

Ode to Nshima (Gina's Post):

Oh nshima yamakamba how you stick in my stomach like a bomba. 
I don't even bite because you are like bubble gum.
And if I don't eat you it's insulting to the mum.
In Zambia I've definitely had my fill . . .
Let's just hope someday it doesn't kill . . . me.

That's right, folks.  Scott and I had our last nshima meal yesterday, and I can't say I'm gonna miss it too much.  When I told the villagers we didn't eat cassava nshima at ALL in America, all I got was shocked expressions, and at least 20 people recommended I bring the smelly white cassava flour home to show how people really eat over here (I heard secondhand that it's been intercepted at customs because it's a white powder, so I didn't even try).  Well, yes, they eat sleep and breathe the stuff, but most westerners can't handle more than a small handful before getting a very heavy feeling in the gut if they're lucky, and excruciating stomach pain if they're not.  It DOES have the benefit of making one full, which is a plus in a culture that just a few generations ago was just hunting and gathering their food.  So, Zambians in general are ecstatic about eating nshima, which has been replaced by maize in most parts.  Unfortunately, cassava nshima is still the staple food in our area, and because it's such an integral part of daily life, I decided to give a step-by-step in the its life--from transplant to a meal.  There is a Lunda word for each and every step, and most of the words relate ONLY to cassava nshima, no other food . . . which is telling to the importance of this crazy food in everyday life.  It's eaten 2-3 times per day with various relishes such as greens, beans or dried fish:


1) kudima niyahanga- making mounds

Cassava is probably so popular here because it doesn't require seeds; just take a cutting, plant it diagonally, and viola, you have a staple food (after a few more steps).

2) kuketehula mu yinkunku- cutting off stem to transplant
 3) kutumba- planting stems in mounds

These young plants have at least a year to go before the root can be harvested for food.

 4) kusela- weeding (cassava root takes 1-2 years to mature)
5) kwanda sombe- pulling leaves off after 3 months to boil and eat

The tender leaves are ready to harvest and eat much earlier than the root.

 6) kwimba niykamba- pulling out the root
7) kuzambika- soaking 4-6 days, depending on the climate, until it is soft and fermented

In our area, they soak in hand-dug ponds/puddles in the flood plain.

In Malawi, they soak in clay pots filled with lake water.  Note the bubbles on the left indicate fermentation.

 8) kuzambula- removing from soaking water
9) kusohola- pounding with a large stick to remove the peels
10) kufumisha mafu- removing the peels
11) kwanyika- drying in the sun for 1-4 days (over fire in rainy season)

The white bowl in the front is dried cassava, while the leaves on the upper right are cassava leaves ready to be boiled and eaten as a relish for the nshima.

 12) kutchwa- pounding

This young lady uses a mortar carved from a tree trunk and pestle to crush the dried fermented cassava into a fine powder.

 13) kusefwa- sifting

Once it is sifted, it is finer than cake flour, but much more dense.

 14) kuhonda- cooking in boiling water to make a thick porridge

This is a relatively small pot meant for 2-4 people.  Sometimes families will cook enough for 20 or more people at a time!

 15) kuketula na makasa- taking a handful to form a lump
16) kukama- rolling into hand like silly putty
17) kupanga masa- making balls
18) kabwimbwa- making a little bowl with one's fingers

The center is like a spoon and can pick up juice from the vegetables or meat.

 19) kutanta- dipping the nshima bowl into sauce

The relish is eaten from a communal bowl.

 20) kuminya- swallowing!

The purplish colored mounds are made from pure cassava meal, while the whiter ones are a mix of maize and cassave meal.  One bowl will feed 6-10 people seated together.  This was cooked by some lovely village ladies for our going away party.

Normally the men and women eat separately.