The Sunday News
Cultural Heritage, Phathisa Nyathi
WE have stated before that in an African traditional set up women were associated with attainment of the all-important idea of continuity more than the men folk. This was true even beyond the most basic biological function of sexual reproduction.
The products of sexual reproduction, the babies were not guaranteed continuity in the absence of certain conditions being met. One of these critically important conditions was food provision. Once again, we see women playing the greater role.
At the natural biological level women provided food to the foetus during pregnancy. Food and oxygen were provided through exchanges taking place within the placenta. After birth, she continued her role of providing food to her born baby. This time she suckled the baby till it was weaned, the period depending on cultural considerations. What is important to note here is that a woman’s source of food was Mother Earth. Even after weaning, the baby then directly depends on Mother Earth for all her food needs. Even here we see women playing the leading role.
What we need to appreciate here is the complementarity between nature and culture. Those who lead within the natural sphere equally lead within the cultural sphere. This idea comes out clearly when the issue of food provision is considered. In both instances women take the leading role. While this may be pretty obvious, what is of interest to us is how food helps us to get a clearer understanding of the workings of the community through the numerous cultural expressions. Symbolism plays an important role in bringing out that very important message concerning the worldview of the community.
Heterogeneity of Ndebele society should be appreciated. Whereas we said the Nguni used the grinding stone more than the pestle and mortar, those communities that used the pestle and mortar soon became an integral part of Ndebele society. Let us not create a false impression that the Nguni did not use a pestle and mortar. They did, and called the pair ugqulo, as given to us by King Ntshosho of Amangwe during his recent visit to Amagugu International Heritage Centre (AIHC). At the level of worldviews there was a fair amount of homogeneity or commonality as shall be seen shortly.
Regardless of whether grinding stones or pestle and mortar were used, it was women who performed the task. The grinding or pounding processes were accompanied by music, whose songs underlined critical community ideas. Like pounding and grinding, the songs were accompanied by rhythm. Of course we do know that rhythm is a characteristic of movement. Here is another instance when culture expressed cosmic reality. The stars, planets and moons are in constant motion, a motion whose major attribute is rhythm. Periodicity, seasonality and predictability are inherent in rhythmic movement. This is a natural cosmic trait, a trait that is replicated in African culture.
The area where kitchen huts are located is the female section of the homestead, a consciously gendered space in accordance with African cosmology. There is underlying sexual reproduction in the work that women do when they process grain. Let us begin with the more obvious pestle and mortar. The pestle, by virtue of its cylindrical shape, symbolises the phallic object, a man’s penis. The schooled and the familiar will immediately see what the rhythmic movement of the pestle symbolises. On the other hand, the mortar with its deep component is clearly the female aspect. The two complement each other in the picture that portrays the sexual act, the act that lies at the root of continuity of the human species and indeed, other species.
It was interesting to note that this idea virtually pervades the entire spectrum of indigenous communities, be they in North America or South America. Africa shares a lot in common with these communities and there is a lot of scope for collaborative work in order to highlight and share a common heritage and, in particular, a common cosmology. A visiting American professor did point out that according to the cosmology of the first nations; the sky (top) is male while the earth (bottom) is female. That is precisely an African rendition, especially when rain dances are being interpreted. Readers may do well to remember our interpretation of the mayile dance of the Bakalanga people.
The grinding stones equally carry the same symbolic meaning. The smaller stone, imbokodo (on top), after long use, makes a hollow depression in the bigger stone ilitshe lokucholela (below). The upper and lower stones, during use, symbolise the sexual act. Here there is, as in the case above, symbolic replication of cosmic reality. This is done through rhythmic movement which is characterised by predictability and seasonality. While food on its own fulfils the idea of sustainability, this is further symbolically impressed upon or reinforced by the sexual nuances endemic to the processing movements as alluded to above.
An Afro-centric mind should be able to see a chain of common symbols which reinforce each other. It all starts with Mother Earth, the woman who is source of food. However, her food is produced only when she has been fertilised by a man above through his symbolic ejaculation, read rain. It is important to identify the duality which lies behind fertility. The products of fertility are the food that woman feeds on in order to feed her own children- growing and developing in the womb and those she has given birth to.
At the next level we see the woman, a miniature of Mother Earth providing food for her own children. However, she is, like Mother Earth, barren till fertilised, in this instance by a man. The natural story ends here and culture takes over the narrative. The grinding and pounding processes described above take the symbolic story further. The common thread that runs through all of these processes is the idea of fertility or continuity that ensures the human race is perpetuated or made eternal and endless.
The kitchen huts, as female sites within the homestead, are where females consume their food. But before we get to that, we need to continue with the story of continuity that we started above. The utensils that are used in food preparation are clay pots which are placed on three hearth stones placed within a centrally located hearth. Here the idea of fertility is expressed through circularity. A circle is the ordering design for the entire universe or cosmos. It is interesting to see once again reinforce symbolism of the idea of fertility. Remember the pot was made from clay, a component of Mother Earth. As we saw in an earlier installation, the term for moulding a clay pot is the same as that for the process of making children. The two processes have similar taboos and cultural manifestations.
Thus the story starts with Mother Earth (female), includes woman (female) who is holding and using a circular clay pot (symbolising woman). Clearly, femininity is the common thread that runs through the entire process of food preparation.
Need we point out that water is perceived as life? The food that is being prepared has imbued within it the idea of continuity or fertility and sustainability. Water, being symbolic of life, is an integral part of food. The process goes on to include the hearth where the story of reinforced symbolism is continued.
