Ninth International Conference on Food Studies

Abstract

Zambia is a landlocked country in the middle of Africa, on a high plateau with a predominantly tropical climate. As many as fifty-six Zambian species of highly threatened Chikanda orchids (various on the Red Data List) including the genera Disa, Satyrium, Habenaria and Brachycorythis, are harvested from Zambia and increasingly as illegal cross-border imports from Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi and Angola, to make Chikanda. This “African polony” is a meat-like cake that was originally considered a food that low status people consumed, and it was originally only accepted as a gift from a very poor widow when presented to the chief. Historically prepared and eaten by the Bemba people from the Northern and Muchinga provinces, it is today much sought after all across Zambia (but also in neighbouring countries, where it is also known as kinaki, chinaka or kikanda), with important nostalgic meaning. Its production is a huge concern for environmentalists and conservationists because of the depletion of Chikanda tubers (one of the core ingredients) through unregulated harvesting and rapid urbanisation. Eaten as a day-time snack, it is also used in some households as a relish to accompany nshima (a thick ground corn porridge). A step by step narrative explains the manufacturing of this bread on Shoebill Island in the Bangweulu Wetlands in the Luapula province.