TITLE: Fermented drinks and exotic food in Huila province Angola
DATE: 2019-04-15
AUTHOR: John L. Godlee
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During my work creating vegetation survey plots in areas of land in
Bicuar National Park that have been altered by human activities, we
came across a group of people that were distilling an alcoholic
spirit called Canhome. Specifically, Canhome de Maboke. It is made
from the fermented fruit of Strychnos cocculoides (Maboke in the
Nyaneka language) a common tree in the park from the Loganiaceae
family. The tree produces large round green speckled fruits which
have a hard shell and hold an orange coloured sweet pulp with the
seeds. The fruits make a satisfying crunch when stomped underfoot.

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First, the fruits are crushed to release the pulp, in this case
using a hollowed out log and a mashing club. The pulp is then put
into oil drums to ferment for about a week in the sun. After that a
hot fire of sticks is lit next the oil drums to heat fermented pulp.
At the top of the oil drum a pipe is attached, using packed clay to
seal the join between the drum and the pulp. The pipe then runs
slighty downslope through another hollowed out log which is filled
with water. The fire evaporates the alcohol from the fermented pulp
and the vapour goes through the pipe which is cooled by the water in
the hollowed out log. At the end of the pipe bottles collect the
Canhome which can be drunk immediately if desired. The northern
Angolan equivalent of Canhome is called Marrufu but at this stage
I’m not completely sure what it is made from.

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Another drink that can be made is called Macau. Macau is made from
the leaves of the Massambala plant, which is a type of cereal grass
that is very commonly cultivated in the area around the National
Park. The leaves are juiced and fermented with sugar and extra water
for only a couple of days to make this drink. Most often it is
fermented in, and drunk from, a plastic water bottle.

Kisangwa is a wine made from Sorghum. I think it can be both
alcoholic and non-alcoholic depending on preference. Last year in
Lubango at a night of music and performance they had a big jerry can
of kisangwa that was passed around during the show.

One day, I noticed the cook at the ranger station returning from the
nearby woodland. When I asked what she had been doing it was
explained to me that they had been eating parts of a termite mound
they had found nearby. Apparently it is reasonably common for
pregnant women to eat termite mound material when pregnant in order
to provide extra nutrients. I’m not sure if they eat it raw or if it
is used as an ingredient in cooking though.

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ulumei is the rhizomatous root of a plant which can be chewed like
chewing gum then swallowed. It’s an aphrodisiac that gives the man
“strength”. It’s also apparently quite tasty and people just chew it
because it tastes nice and feels nice in the mouth. It’s a creeping
herbaceous plant with big ovate leaves, serrated increasingly
towards the apex of the leaf, with fleshy round petioles attaching
the leaves to the creeping stem. The root itself is quite red/orange
when cut open and kind of resembles a sweet potato only thinner.

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