Courage Proverb From Southern Africa

Courage Proverb From Southern Africa
With Love From Your Ancestors

Do not find fault with what you do not understand.

Rare Wild Vegetables African Orchids

Rare Wild Vegetables African Orchids

Rare wild vegetables, African Orchid roots or tubers are called Kinaka in Tanzania and Chikanda in Zambia are used as wild vegetables and run the risk of local extinction due to overharvesting.

Chikanda was a rare wild vegetable and traditional orchid food recipe of the Bemba people of Zambia. The Bemba people did not pose a threat to ground orchid plant however, outsiders harvesting the rare wild vegetables of orchid roots has become big business causing big problems. Orchid roots are brown or white tubers of orchids which are the size of small potatoes found underground.

Rare Wild Vegetables African Orchids
 
Orchid roots or tubers photo

The Nyika Plateau of eastern Zambia and northern Malawi and the Kitulo Plateau on the southern highlands of Tanzania are progressively becoming more threatened by over-exploitation of terrestrial or ground orchids. Orchid roots are very popular and sold in markets fresh, dried, as snacks or ready-made Chikanda dish.

Orchid roots or tubers, Kinaka in Tanzania or Chikanda in Zambia, are used as wild vegetables and may run the risk of local extinction due to overharvesting. Chikanda or African Polony (boloney) is not a meat dish but a vegetarian loaf made of boiled orchid roots, groundnuts and spices.

Terrestrial or ground orchid roots used for chikanda are orchids that grow in the ground opposed the tree growing variety. They grow wild in subtropical and tropical areas of Africa. Orchid roots are brown or white tubers of orchids which are the size of small potatoes found underground.

Ground Orchid by jjunyent
Chikanda is a traditional rural Zambian dish however in recent years the demand for orchid roots in portions of neighboring countries Tanzania, Malawi, Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola has made harvesting orchid roots big business.

Orchid roots are very popular and sold in markets fresh, dried, as snacks or ready-made Chikanda dish. As a result terrestrial orchid populations are becoming depleted rapidly. Chikanda was formerly a traditional Bemba’s of Zambia dish and did not pose a threat to ground orchid populations.

The Nyika Plateau of eastern Zambia and northern Malawi is world renowned for its abundant orchid plants. Tanzania’s Serengeti of Flowers or Kitulo Plateau on the southern highlands of Tanzania is also well-known for its plentiful fields of orchids. The regions are progressively becoming more threatened by cultivation and over-exploitation of ground orchids.

Many orchids are unique to the Nyika Plateau and Kitulo Plateau and are found no place else in the world. The consumer driven environmentally unsustainable trade in ground orchid tubers threatens to wipe-out wild species of orchids. Extinctions are nothing new for Africa and the world, but orchid species are now dying out at an alarming rate.
Chic African Culture and The African Gourmet=

This Week’s Best Posts and Pages

Using Amen and Ashe or Ase

Image
Usage of Amen and Ashe or Ase Ashe to Amen learn about the custom of using the words Ashe and Amen historically. Where did the word Amen and Ashe come from why is it said and what does it mean? In Judaism, 3,500 years old and Christian religions 2,000 years old, Amen, means may it be so. In the African Yoruba language among the Yoruba people whose culture is as old as time, Ashe or Ase means may it be so. Ase or Ashe means power, commandment, and authority, the ability to make whatever one says happen from the spiritual to the physical realm. In the Yoruba language, Ashe is omnipresent spiritual energy. Followers of Judaism and Christian religions use the word Amen. It is the word utilized to end prayers as an affirmation for the requests to be provided by God. Yoruba is as old as time, Ashe refers to the life force within all living things, the spark that animates life. It is used as a term used in the same manner as Amen at the end of appeals and prayers as an affirmati
Learn More

South African Beef Curry Recipe

Image
Perfect South African Apricot Beef Curry Recipe South African beef curry recipe is a South African food recipe to share around the world while learning about South Africa rainbow nation food history and favorite recipes of Black African, Colored mixed race ancestry, White, and Indian. South African Beef Curry Recipe When it comes to quick and satisfying slow cooker crockpot meals South African Apricot Beef Curry recipe is at the top of the African food dinner recipe list. Use your slow cooker for this simple South African Apricot Beef Curry recipe, it is full of apricot jam, spices and tender beef to serve with rice and grilled bread. How to Make Perfect South African Apricot Beef Curry Recipe Explore and Understand Africa Through Her Food and Culture By Chic African Culture African food recipe South Africa food is one of the most diverse on the African continent. South African apricot beef curry is an easy delicious slow cooker dinner recipe to make on a weeknight. South Afr
Learn More

African Proverbs for Men About the Wrong Woman in Their Life

Image
Wisdom and warnings against the wrong woman in your life quotes explain to us that sometimes it is hard to know if you are being taken for granted in a marriage and sometimes it is very obvious. African Proverbs for Men About the Wrong Woman in Their Life. Wisdom and warnings against the wrong woman in your life African proverbs and sayings with love from your ancestors. Good palm wine and a pretty wife are two sweet poisons to a man . Even the best of women have still a devil's rib in her. Under a glove, the ugliest hand is hidden. Where there is much learning, there is much fun too . A relative's slap hurts more than a stranger's. Choose a wife to please yourself, not others. Smoke and a scolding woman drive one out of the house . There is some peace from a barking dog, but never from a foolish woman. When you love a woman beyond measure afterward, it brings hatred. See the mother, and then marry the daughter. There is n
Learn More

What's Your Dagara Cosmology Sign

Image
Dagara Cosmology. In the Burkina Faso Dagara Cosmology tradition, there are two terms both pointing to the same Earth, Tingan and Tenbalu; Tingan is male, and Tenbalu is female. What is Your Dagara Cosmology Sign Explore and Understand Africa Through Her Food and Culture Dagara Cosmology The Burkina Faso Dagara Cosmology tradition is similar in thought to string theory where it is the theory of everything. Every particle in the universe contains a vibrating string which leads to other dimensions, nothing dies; instead, Tingan and Tenbalu are continually reshaping into other forms of matter. Dagara Elder Malidoma Patrice Somé explains in Dagara Cosmology, the masculine and the feminine have little to do with biology.  The masculine is Tingan similar to fire with an endless propensity to consume. The feminine is Tenbalu because of its nurturing and caring instinct.  Earth is therefore a man and a woman with an endless capacity to generate and regenerate, to
Learn More

African culture express, encourage, and communicate energy

African culture express, encourage, and communicate energy

Support African History and Culture

Chic African Culture and The African Gourmet are dedicated to discovering, collecting and sharing African history and heritage celebrating 14 years of service in 2021. Share and support in the pride of being part of an important cultural and educational resource.


Being African in America I have grown up learning about different ethnic cultures. My father and mother are historians of African culture and history and their influence expanded my activities to several best-selling cookbooks, magazine columns, self-branded products, and a popular African culture and food blog.

Chic African Culture

Be better than average and support African history and culture.