Traditional Namibian Foods

This afternoon Meme Kristofina, from the school board, came to the school to bring me lunch. She brought oshifima (traditional porridge made from mahangu) and evander (dried spinach mixed with oil made from marula nuts). I’ve seen Mpinge, the meme of my homestead, digging the meat out of the shells to make this oil. It takes so much labor to shell the nuts that I can’t imagine the effort to get enough to then pound into oil. I’m not sure how much I really like oshifima, but I think that it’s because there is always so much grit from the sand. Without sandy bites, it tastes much better! And it doesn’t hurt that oshifima is typically eaten by dipping it into a bowl of sauce and oil. In this respect it’s similar to tofu, not a lot of taste in and of itself, but it acquires the taste of what you cook or eat it with.

When Meme Kristofina arrived, she was carrying the traditional meal in a large clay pot accompanied by a large woven plate, both wrapped into a bundle being balanced on top of her head. The oshifima was still warm and I shared it with my colleagues at school.

Random funny stuff: A Herero guy that Kavari knows goes by the name Neil Armstrong. Some funny bar names – Hot Box and Thailand Bar.