Doing dental mission work with the Lango tribe in the Lira District of Uganda, oft times had me in a tribal village more than a hundred miles from the nearest restaurant at mealtime. The villagers were gracious and usually invited me to share their meal.
This made me an honored guest in a mud hut with a thatched roof. One who was served first and placed at a cultural disadvantage at times. My first moment of indecision came when a lady approached with a pitcher and bowl. The tribe is mostly Christian which made me think of a foot washing ceremony. The saving revelation of the situation was a bar of soap in the basin. We all washed our hands in the basin using water poured from the pitcher and allowed them to air dry, before the server circulated with bowls of food and served our plates with meat and vegetables. The meat was goat, chicken, or liver, cooked in its natural juices and gravy.
Being able to imitate what others do is a saving social grace. There were no eating utensils. The first three fingers are used to cup the food which is supported by the thumb for transport to the mouth. The potatoes, yams, and cassava were good for sopping up the gravy that remained. The food was truly finger licking good and necessitated another hand washing at the meal’s end. No cheese or aperitif was offered at the meals conclusion, just a serving of fried white ants which would have been even better with more cilantro and garlic.
Some of the cuisine, I didn’t ask what was, but it was all good. A greens casserole rivaled any I’ve eaten elsewhere.
Fast food?—We stopped along the red clay road, bordered with Savannah grass as far as the eye could see, and bartered for roasted corn and cassava, and some of the sweetest bananas known to man.
tomvancel