Shona customs and foods
Mamvura, C.B.
Central African Journal of Medicine 28(8): 191
1982
ISSN/ISBN: 0008-9176 PMID: 7172234 Document Number: 185813
Among the Shona people of Zimbabwe, infection may be spread owing to the custom of the family in sharing the food from the same plate, and to the practice of defaecating in the bush and contaminating wild fruit that may be eaten by man or by domestic chickens. Cooked food was stored overnight to be eaten cold by children, a practice that probably caused more gastroenteritis and illhealth than any other single cause. The staple food is sadza, made from grain and eaten with a relish of cooked meat or vegetables, alone or with peanut butter . Wild animals were no longer available as a source of protein; fresh-water fish, once popular, are not eaten because the young people now go to school instead of fishing; insects are now seldom eaten because of the time required in which to catch them. Snakes, snails, crabs, dogs and cats are not eaten. Formerly the sadza was made from millet, sorghum, brown rice or maize; now it is almost all made from maize. Sometimes sadza was replaced with cooked cowpeas or cooked pumpkin, each with peanut butter. Those dishes are now less popular owing to the introduction of western food. Snacks providing a considerable proportion of the intake of protein and energy include sweet potatoes, cooked nuts, cooked groundnuts and popcorn.