Cuisine and human connections lead rhythmic Africa Day ululations

News24

25-05-2025

25 May is Africa Day and instrumentalist Pops Mohamed says music is in the DNA of Africans globally
Celebrated author Zukiswa Wanner says body language connects Africans beyond vocabulary
According to chef Twain Mafoko, climate and colonisation both impact the African diet
Half a decade after a gathering that took place in the 1950s to highlight how 'gatvol' Africans were with colonisation, what we know today as the African Union was formed.' To this effect, nations of the world gather annually on 25 May to commemorate Africa day and the threads that weave the 'scatterlings of Africa' together. A few experts shared their professional opinions to unpack some of these common denominators.
HUMAN CONNECTION BEYOND WORDS
It has been said that African people were able to understand each other across cultures and tribes, and language barriers were never a hindrance. Internationally acclaimed author Zukiswa Wanner explains that while some words are shared across multiple languages, African communication was never rooted solely in vocabulary.
The role of body language in the continent has always been critical, with practices such as not looking elders in the eye out of respect, being one of the countless similarities that are observed cross culturally. Respect also means taking off your hat in the presence of family elders and this practice too has never been unique to any one ethnic group.
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Ugandan people bend when they greet but the Yoruba tribe in West Africa takes it a step further by even laying down to show respect; something that South Africans would recognise as being entrenched in the Venda culture.
Most of the customs that African people undertake to show respect usually have more to do with age than gender as is evident in how a mother, sister and grandmother wouldn't be addressed in the same manner.
We also don't have cousins, we have brothers and sisters…which is also across the board. My mother's brother and my father's brother would both be called uncle in English but in African culture they are addressed differently because calling them uncle doesn't nearly depict the dynamics of the relationship.
Zukiswa Wanner
Through her travels Wanner has observed this practice in various parts of the continent and as an African writer, she often has observed literature accommodating other ethnicities who navigate communication and relationships differently.
A cousin sister/brother for example doesn't exist in the African sense or even European for that matter but the word surfaced as a tool to describe how someone whose parents are your parents' siblings is more than just a cousin.
'Africans don't say I ate a lot. They sate I ate and ate and ate…or I walked and walked and walked…we repeat things to highlight having done them for long time periods,' she adds.
She explains the absence of the he and she pronouns in spoken language as the African way of recognising human beings as humans whose humanity is revered more than their biological makeup.
The practice of addressing elders in the plural or third term can also be observed across various cultures and languages in an African context, cementing the interconnectedness of people in this continent.
MUSICAL CONNECTION THROUGH JOY AND SADNESS
Revered jazz veteran and South African Music Awards (SAMA) Lifetime Achievement Awardee Pops Mohamed says regardless of geographic location or emotion, African people lead all their gatherings with song and dance. Africans who were enslaved in other parts of the world are connected to their origins in the same way as convening musically appears to also be in their DNA.
Mohamed also traces the origins of the Brazilian berimbau back to South Africa, saying it was originally played by Zulu women and made its way across the world through slave trade.
An instrument that he says is enjoyed across the continent is the Zimbabwean imbira, which goes by the name kalimba or karimba in other countries.
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He talks about the West African kora which he says is a harp older than the one popularly used by orchestras. The instrument is common in Mali, Burkina Faso and some parts of Nigeria, and has found its way across the globe including Mohamed's own collection.
'The Khoi San instrument which is called a mouth bow original, its original name is !xuma. There are different versions of that because its also played by Xhosa women and they attach a calabash to it. The Xhosa people call it uhadi and in Eswatini they call it isitolotolo.'
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While Western contemporary music dominates South African radio stations, Mohamed says traditional music takes precedence in countries such as Senegal, Mali, Gambia and others.
He concludes:
But younger people in South Africa are starting to recognise traditional music and instruments. They are even studying it at university. I've done a few workshops where I've seen more and more the interest is growing in younger generations, even in the urban areas because they are starting to remember their roots.
Pops Mohamed
EVERY AFRICAN GATHERING ENDS IN A FEAST
Gaborone born financial manager turned kitchen whizz chef Twain Mafoko who captains the African, European and African culinary infusion at Felice in Midrand says climate greatly informs the types of foods that are consumed by Africans.
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Maize, sorghum, beans, lentils and other types of grains that prevalent on Southern African plates, while ochre and eggplants are more common as one travels further up the continent. Sweet potato however is consumed throughout Africa, as is casava.
Mafoko explains that plantain is also popular in a lot of parts of the continent despite not being able to thrive in the climate down south.
In chef school we were taught about the impact of colonisation on the African diet. In South Africa for example you'll see that a lot of the common foods such as curries are not necessarily African. Most South African households eat curries at least once a week. They are natively from India but because of colonisation they still influence how we eat today.
Twain Mafoko
'Technology and science have made things convenient, for example in restaurants we can get avocados all year round wherever you are in the world. So, people are able to consume whatever they want at any point.'
From a business perspective, Mafoko emphasises the importance of curating a menu that resonates with people.
A stew in South Africa and one in Europe would be similar by name only because the available ingredients in these areas differ.
Mafoko further highlights the importance of adaptability adding that while people being in Rome would necessitate eating like the Romans, from time to time African people will seek out restaurants and markets that cater to familiar tastes from back home.