March 20 - More on Maize

March 20 More on Maize - The cultural addiction

Maize! I surrender! Corn has become the golf game, shopping, gambling, drinking …what else?...It’s everything that takes people away or consumes then. An escape and an addiction, something you can’t imagine life without. I now see it as a cultural addiction. It has so many functions within the family and community. There is not one person left out of the corn culture – from planting to consumption- there’s a job for everyone. Everyone is brought together in the care of the corn.

It begins with men and women together turning the soil and preparing the beds. In this family it’s the job of the man to plant the seeds and the women to cover it with soil. Then they wait for the rains to come which are expected from Dec – March. During this time the farmers weed and wait for the harvest. This year the rains came as scheduled but abruptly stopped at the end of January and any rain that falls now is of no use. The corn is already dried and what they harvest will only last a month or two…

At present, it’s harvest, a poor harvest, but still a lot of work. The men leave for the gardens when the roosters crow which is usually within a kilometer from the house and return with a sac of corn on their heads. In this house both Coma (29 yr old son) and Spencer take care of this chore. Today Coma made 2 trips alone.

Then the kernels have to be removed from the cob. People gather and passers-by join on the mat to begin manually pushing the kernels off the cobs and onto the mat. This is such a nice activity and there is always good chatter. The conversations yesterday were about a witch hunter who is travelling through the villages and everyone is quite scared. He apparently receives money from the village head who collects about 20 cents per household to rid the village of witches – men or women who have stopped the rains from falling. Apparently this has caused many to spend from dawn to dusk hiding in their gardens. I must say I feel a bit uneasy myself. I asked what the village does with their witches and didn’t get a clear answer, but it was not good.

Once the kernels are removed they need several days in the sun drying on mats before they can are taken to the mill. Everywhere you go you see corn drying on roofs or on mats on the ground.

Some other uses- the cobs and husks are used as pot holders. The cobs are also used as fuel and toilet paper. The wandering herds of goats nibble on the cobs or get a cob thrown at them if they’re getting into the kernels.

I guess all I’m saying is that maize would be a hard habit to break, but given its non drought resilient nature, I think they had better start rethinking their days. Not easy for any of us.

Oh How I hope you're all well and happy!!
xxoo
Nina
ps. i've found a good remedy for eating corn bricks 2ce a day....a banana wine. which is why you're all now getting hugs and kisses. i'm a little tipsy.... :-)