HomeOld_PostsFood security and indigenous knowledge ...reviving African–centred agro–dietary systems

Food security and indigenous knowledge …reviving African–centred agro–dietary systems

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Indigenous people collected a great diversity of wild foods and have hunted game their entire lives and continue to hunt today.  

Many people still catch and eat fish as part of their diet; bucks and hares were among the most common animals sought, though a few hunted small mammals like raccoon and some occasionally travelled to hunt bear and antelope. 

Medicines were also collected in the woods and fields and still are today.

The most commonly cited medicines were mullein (Verbascum thapsus), plantain (Plantago cordata and Plantago major), raspberry (Rubus ideaus) leaf, and blackberry (Rubus fruticosus) leaf. 

Other medicines included slippery elm (Ulmus fulva), wild cherry (Prunus serotina) bark, and elderberry (Sambucus nigra) flowers. 

Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) was probably the most commonly cited medicine everyone called Number Six; because it is good for six different illnesses.

The elder generally knew more about these medicines and had a very extensive knowledge in regard to collecting and preparing herbal remedies.

Medicines were often collected in large amounts and the parts needed, whether the leaves, roots, stems, etc, were dried and stored for later use. 

There were many techniques used in the process, store and prepare all of the medicines.

There were also many techniques used to process, store and prepare all of the foods consumed, whether grown or collected by the people or communities.

For the indigenous Americans, drying the white maize presented a challenge and they devised several methods of storing this high-protein and high moisture-containing crop. 

Many people stored white maize for personal use in burlap bags or older mesh onion bags, or braid the maize whole on the cob, hanging the braids from an eve or inside a shed. These methods are a mix of new and traditional techniques. 

Maize growers reported that hanging the corn is important to keeping it dry and that the bags help keep mice or birds from sneaking off with some of the crop. 

After hand-harvesting, when it’s time to eat the corn, the kernels are removed from the cob (shelled) by hand, because mechanical shellers will crack or grind the corn, especially if the corn is a little soft. 

The shelled corn is then stored in large buckets, free from mice, birds and other pests.

In addition to the white maize and corn, farmers had many techniques for storing, processing and enjoying a variety of other crops as well; having learned how to store foods from their predecessors growing up.

Storing agro-produce in large cellars, provided much of their diet in the winter months.

Drying foods, now as in the past, played a 

large role in storing food.  

In cellars, beans and cabbages, along with braids of maize and corn, were hung from the rafters. 

Root crops like beets, potatoes and carrots might have been stored in sand in a large container. 

Salsa and other tomato-based sauces, squash, corn, dry beans, green beans, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, greens and fruit jams and jellies were some of the most commonly saved foods. 

There were several low-energy methods of storing vegetables, beans, grains and meat in addition to the use of root cellars. 

If a family butchered a beast, it may have been left to hang outside or in an empty corn crib in the winter and meat taken from it with a saw as needed. 

Entire bean plants would be pulled and stacked outside, with the root still attached, in a circular pattern around a small stake or pole. 

The beans were stacked around the pole carefully to make sure they overlapped in such a way that would allow air flow into the pile. 

The entire stacks were then covered with a table cloth or canvas and would be kept outside all winter. 

When beans were needed, a portion of the large stack of bean plants were brought inside to warm up and then would be thrashed in a large container and shelled. 

Food was stored outside in pits as well. 

These low-energy methods do not appear to be in common use today, but provide insight

into the depth and kind of knowledge that is still present within indigenous communities.

Men and women are both involved in processing and storing corn and other foods, but the

role of women seemed to hold special significance.

While many women either split the responsibilities of growing, storing, and cooking food, their primary role was to process, store and to distribute the food. 

The skills of storing food and cooking from scratch are learned over time and are generally passed from woman to woman. 

It is still seen as the role of the matriarch to have at least one special family food that she cooks and hands down to her children.

lndigenous knowledge exemplifies how both knowledge and skills are gained and used throughout the entire food system, including growing, saving seed, storing food in addition to cooking.

Dr. Tony Monda holds a PhD. in Art Theory and Philosophy and a DBA (Doctorate in Business Administration) and Post-Colonial Heritage Studies.   He is a writer, lecturer and a specialist Post-Colonial Scholar, Zimbabwean Socio-Economic analyst and researcher. E-mail: tonym.MONDA@gmail.com

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