{"id":578,"date":"2022-07-28T23:01:25","date_gmt":"2022-07-28T23:01:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kwabene.com\/?p=578"},"modified":"2022-08-30T14:15:08","modified_gmt":"2022-08-30T14:15:08","slug":"kwabene-in-kitindi-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kwabene.com\/?p=578","title":{"rendered":"01. Rich in Carbs, Rich in History"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Kwabene in Kitindi<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

01. Rich in Carbs, Rich in History<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Rice, sombe, chicken, and plantains are the most frequent foods prepared for us in Kitindi. Because meat is more expensive and our own flock of chickens not extensive enough to kill a bird every day, I anticipate the meat will soon be more of a scarcity\u2014maybe a few times a week. Instead, protein will have to come from the cassava leaves and peanuts mixed into the sombe and from the brown beans often served as a meat substitute. Other foods sometimes make it into the rotation, too. Some beef was purchased and prepared one day instead of the chicken, and, at the end of the week, they slaughtered the goat that was offered as a gift to my father earlier this year. There are also eggs (the real utility of the chickens) and beignets for breakfast; sometimes bugali (some readers may better recognize this as \u201cfufu\u201d), corn (in season), or yams; and often some fruit as a side, including bananas (cooked or raw), apples, oranges, pineapples, mangoes, or papayas. And that\u2019s about it. All in all, it\u2019s a diet that gives you everything you need despite its limited scope and inevitable monotony. It\u2019s also a diet directly reflective of central African history and the richness of its land. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Jan M. Vansina was a renowned scholar of central African history and anthropology. At the urging of two former professors of mine (James A. Robinson and Emily Lynn Osborn), I recently read his 1990 book, <\/span>Paths Through the Rainforest<\/span>. In it, Vansina frames and argues for an overarching central African cultural tradition that was integral to its formation of social and political structures and practices. Though not the most engaging read, the book already has granted me historical context and insight into eastern Congo\u2019s present through something as simple as food and agriculture. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Citing evidence from archeology and glottochronology (essentially the evolutionary record of languages and their vocabularies), Vansina traces migrations of peoples and emergences of tools, institutions, and practices for thousands of years of equatorial African history. Central to this history is the spread of the massive Bantu family of languages, which includes hundreds of languages spoken all over the subcontinent. It is thought that around 3,000 B.C., the original Bantu language (believed to have originated somewhere in Nigeria) split into western and eastern Bantu. Eventually, western Bantu languages continued splitting and would come to take over all of central Africa (Vansina 1990, 49). Today, the two principal languages of Kitindi and its environs are Swahili and Kilega, both Bantu languages. The Lega people and I claim each other, and both my first and last name are Lega names. <\/span><\/span>
<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Vansina could only guess as to why this expansion happened, but his thoughts about the success of the western Bantu takeover of central Africa boil down to cooking and farming practices (Vansina 1990, 49). While the eastern Bantu speakers primarily resided in savannas, western Bantu speakers embarked into central Africa\u2019s rainforests ranging from Cameroon through what is today the DRC\u2014a massive expanse of the continent. Vansina noted that while both branches of Bantu include in their proto vocabularies terms for yam and palm nut cultivation, terms related to cereal crops find themselves in eastern Bantu and terms for root and tree cultivation in western Bantu (Vansina 1990, 49). At the same time, the western Bantu had ceramics which lent themselves to cooking food. This nutritional advantage may have given them an edge over the forest-dwellers they encountered (Vansina 1990, 57). It is also possible that the cultivation of yams, which promoted the proliferation of malaria-laden <\/span>Anopheles <\/span>mosquitoes, gave the non-Bantu forest-dwellers a disadvantage (Vansina 1990, 57).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

For their part, the Bantu cultivated bananas (this term also refers to plantains), which yielded ten times the amount of food as a yam field, are better suited to the forest than yams, are not as finicky in response to weather, help the forest regenerate better, require less labor, and do not promote the growth of mosquito populations (Vansina 1990, 61). Bananas are not native to central Africa but came to Africa at the latest by around 500 A.D. from south Asia (Vansina 1990, 64). Eventually, because of their many advantages, bananas replaced yams as central Africa\u2019s staple and gave farmers advantages over non-Bantu hunter-gatherer communities. These peoples ended up adopting Bantu practices and languages, and, thus, both western Bantu languages and the banana dominated central Africa. In 2022, the <\/span>ndizi<\/span> is on my table daily. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Vansina likened adoption of the banana to an \u201cagricultural revolution,\u201d a term which he used to refer to only one other instance (Vansina 1990, 87). This other example is that of the import of American crops into central Africa. As slaving increased on central Africa\u2019s west coast, it became difficult to grow food in bulk that could feed the thousands of slaves being housed on the coast and shipped across the Atlantic. In order to alleviate this, the Portuguese introduced maize, manioc (cassava), groundnuts, and lima beans which followed the western Bantu expansion in its spread (Vasina 1990, 211). Cassava especially was well-adapted to the forests with leaves that can be made into sombe and roots that can be made into flour for bread (or tapioca) (Vansina 1990, 214). <\/span><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
A plot of my grandparents\u2019 garden, including cassava (left), papayas, and corn (right)<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Because of how well-suited they were to the rainforest and for the survival of their cultivators, bananas and cassava became staples of Congo and remain so in Kitindi to this day. Of course, central African soil is rich in general, and many other things grow well here, too. In addition to an expansive garden of cassava, my <\/span>tatis<\/span> (grandparents) grow papayas, mangoes, oranges, corn, yams, and rows and rows of pineapples on their property. As I carve my own path through the rainforest, I plan to contribute to our household and test what else is possible by planting a small garden of my own and working it over the next several months.<\/span><\/span>
<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Another section of my grandparents\u2019 garden, featuring rows of pineapples<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Vansina, Jan M. <\/span>Paths Through the Rainforest: Toward a History of Political Tradition in Equatorial Africa. <\/span>Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 1990. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After one week in Kitindi, I write about food and its deep ties to Congolese history!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":580,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[22,23,21],"class_list":["post-578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-congo","tag-drc","tag-kitindi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kwabene.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kwabene.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kwabene.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kwabene.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kwabene.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=578"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/kwabene.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":679,"href":"https:\/\/kwabene.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578\/revisions\/679"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kwabene.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kwabene.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kwabene.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kwabene.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}