File:The natives of British Central Africa (1906) (14802769113).jpg

Note the small earthen pot with the ndiwo. Maize porridge (nsima).
Identifier: nativesofbritish00wern (find matches)
Title: The natives of British Central Africa
Year: 1906 (1900s)
Authors: Werner, Alice, 1859-1935
Subjects: Ethnology
Publisher: London : A. Constable and Company, ltd.
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive

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oarse porridge in timeof scarcity), pounded over again, sifting out the coarserparticles after each pounding, till at last it is fine andwhite like flour. Millet is usually, when brought infrom the garden, spread out on mats to dry in the sun,and then beaten with thin sticks to separate it fromthe husk. It is pounded with a little water, the bransifted out, the meal washed and partly dried, andfinally ground fine between two stones. Porridge is made by stirring the maize or milletflour (usually the former) into boiling water, and isready in a few minutes, once the water has beenbrought to the boil, which, with a large jar and asmall fire, is apt to be a work of time. The pot issupported over the fire on three stones. Maize por-ridge (nsima) is, if well made of good flour, about thecolour of a suet dumpling; if inferior, it is more orless greyish. It is very stodgy, trying to a Europeandigestion, and exceedingly sticky to the touch.Natives will eat surprising quantities of it; but they
Text Appearing After Image:
w Tu face p. IS7 NATIVE LIFE 137 feel it a privation to be obliged to take it without salt,or some kind of relish (ndiwo). This may be beans,or ground-nuts, or green vegetables of some sort,such as the leaves of the manioc ; or, more rarely, afowl, or a bit of goats flesh. Whatever it is, it isput on to boil in a small pot beside the large one,after the latter has been on for some time. Occasion-ally roasted rats, such as the boys bring in from thefields, are eaten as ndiwo, or winged white ants—agreat delicacy—or dried locusts. Some tribes considerdried (and very high) fish a choice kind of ndiwo—others will not touch fish in any shape. In the spring and early summer, when the old maizeis finished and the new is not yet ripe, pumpkins,gourds, and cucumbers of various kinds are a greatstand-by, and are eaten boiled. Sweet potatoes aremost frequently roasted in the ashes, and manioc-rootis eaten either boiled or raw. In the planting and weeding seasons, people set outfor the gard

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