Food & Farming Your ultimate guide to the dining experience of Nigeria

Natural Resources Yam Kola Nuts Palm trees Maize Melons Beans Fish

Main Staple Yam, a huge tuber that grows up to 2.5 meters and weighs up to 70kg Known to last up to 6 months after harvesting it Also known as “Adamwanga” to Nigerians

Farming Yams Requires rigorous cultivation First the land must be cleared out and burned and left for 6 weeks Then the yams that are purposely kept for planting are sliced These are planted and then replanted after about 3 months

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Our Asian Yam Counterpart: Naigamo, also known as Ma in Korea, is the Asian yam Commonly used in oriental cuisines such as Japanese noodles

Iwaji Festival AKA the New Yam Festival Celebrates the harvesting of brand new yam Celebrations and festivals revere the prospects of a bountiful year Old yams are thrown out (if there are still left) Dishes of vegetable soup and pottage would complement the yam

Video There would so much food made that even when entire families gathered, there would still be a surplus of food

Kola Nut The nuts from the Kola fruit The book expresses breaking them as an action of respect Nuts are chewed for the narcotic effects they give to the consumer Kola nuts can evoke happiness and a heightened sense

Wine tapped from the sap of a palm tree A wine tapper would use a long belt and climb up to tap a gourd PALM WINE The tree sap would ferment on the tree Palm wine in the book is commonly drank as a communal beverage

Oil extracted from palm seeds and the kernels Oil is normally red but when heated it is clear Oil can be used for cooking, fuel, lubricant and many useful functions PALM OIL

Quote “Yam, the king of crops, was a very exacting king. For three or four moons it demanded hard work and constant attention from cock-crow till the chickens went back to roost. The young tendrils were protected earth-heat with rings of sisal leaves. As the rains became heavier the women planted maize, melons and beans between the yam mounds. The yams were then stakes, first with little sticks and later with tall and big tree branches. The women weeded the farm three times at definite periods in the life of the yams, neither early not late.”

Quote “The feast of the New Yam was held every year before the harvest began, to honor the earth goddess and the ancestral spirits of the clan. New yams could not be eaten until some had first been offered to these powers. Men and women, young and old, looked forward to the New Yam Festival because eit began the season of plenty – the new year.”

Question In Things Fall Apart, it can be seen that there are huge celebrations with food and for food. How is this similar to our culture? How is it different?

Question Yam is the staple crop in the book and in current Nigerian societies. It is valued for being so well stored and filling to its consumers hence it is celebrated. Would it make sense that we should celebrate the harvesting of rice? Of wheat? Why don’t we celebrate such an event?

Question Food is used as a tool and medium for developing relationships between people very often throughout the course of the first part of the book. Do we use food as a tool to bond our society? Give examples.

Bibliography "Afrika - Fotografie - Woodcuts - Houtsneden, etsen en droge naald - Door Wouter Ten Broek." Welkom bij ACW Woodcuts - Woodcuts - Houtsneden, etsen en droge naald - Door Wouter Ten Broek. 28 Apr "BBC - Birmingham - People - Celebrating our cultural heritage." BBC - Homepage. 28 Apr < "Global Literacy Project: Faces of Nigeria." Global Literacy Project, Inc.. 28 Apr < "Morning Glory & Yam." CloveGarden. 28 Apr "Nigeria Politique Tracer, Politique Tracer de Nigeria." La Carte Mondiale, la Carte du Monde. 28 Apr < "Seed Words." Youth Source - Youth & Heritage Learning Source. 28 Apr daria369. "Do You Need a High Blood Pressure to Change Your Diet?." Squidoo : Welcome to Squidoo. 28 Apr