4.2 General features of African hospitality
4.2.6 Sharing of food
Another major feature in African hospitality is the sharing of food. As John Ambe says, all at any time and anywhere shares food when it is available. An uninvited guest in a neighbour's house is "warmly welcomed to drink and eat with that person. No one takes unexpected visits at meal time amiss. The feeling of togetherness among the people surpasses all forms of formal invitations" (Amble 1993: 14).
Ambe's observation rightly suggests that unexpected visitors are always catered for in the meal preparations in African cultural context. Italso, rightly, implies that extra food is cooked to cater for unforeseen guests and their needs. Italso, rightly, implies that at local feasts, say rural homes, there is always room for one more as no one is excluded. This is the true picture of the traditional Africa, and as an African, brought up within the Agikuyu cultural traditions; I can affirm Ambe's accurate observation.
John Mutiso-Mbinda observes that the participation in the meals strengthens the fellowship among the members of the community, and is therefore seen as a positive step to share food together among people who are not necessarily from the same family or clan. As he says,
Every visitor to a home is always invited to share a meal with the family.
Not to be invited to do so is a sign of enmity; not to accept the invitation is
86This information is a result of the interview with Gatimu Kaburu when I was preparing to publish my book on African hospitality" before 2001.
an insult or an act of hostility. Even if the visitor has previously eaten, he or she musttryto participate in the meal (Mutiso-Mbinda, 1984:2).
Mutiso-Mbinda's observation agrees with Mbiti's (1976:23) when he says that,
Hospitality and tender care are shown to visitors, strangers and guests. In the eyes of African people, 'The visitor heals the sick' (African proverb).
This means that when a visitor comes to someone's home, family quarrels stop, the sick cheer up, peace is restored and the home is restored to new strength. Visitors are therefore, social healers - they are family doctors in a sense.
Mbiti's view can be qualified, in line with Mutiso-Mbinda's in that, the arrival of the guest meant a big meal of welcome. Among the Luhya of Kenya, a guest's visit will mean killing a chicken, whose meat is highly valued; while among the Kikuyu a highly valued guest would cause either a goat or a chicken to be slaughtered the moment or before the guest arrives.87 This automatically means that all the local members of the family will enjoy the special meal with plenty of good food and drinks. In other words, everyone will eat meat, which they would not have on an ordinary day. It now, becomes a special time of happiness for the children and a break from some of the ordinary family chores (See Healey and Sybertz 1996: 173). In turn, the guest will be expected, though not compulsory, to bring gifts for the hosts and the family members. The gifts may include, meat, bananas, millets, sorghum and other types of food, which symbolises the building of good relationships. Sometimes, the visitor may bring seeds or medicine or anything that can help the life of the family, hence, the Kamba proverb that says, "A visitor is the only one who has ripe tobacco" (Healey and Sybertz 1996: 174). This is reminiscent of the Angel's prophecy to Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, when the angel implied that a guest would come who will save his people from their sins,
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).
Interviews with Mzee Chrispus Oduori PhD candidate 25th August 2003
In other words, the expected guest will bring the gifts of healing, reconciliation (2corinthians 5: 17), forgiveness and empowerment (John 1: 12); hence the need to take the arrival of guests with seriousness.
Among the Waembu community, eating together or sharing of meal is taken to be very important such that it is believed to reconcile enemies after the meal. As a result, it contains or controls anti-social behaviours like rape and general corruption in the community.88 Among the Wameru, eating together is said to create, in some cases, permanent friendship. In the ancient times, this could happen during ceremonies such as weddings and other forms of get-together forums. As a result, people could do social events like trade together and clan wars would decrease. Similarly, a person could be adopted as a full member ofKikuyu community from another tribe or clan, after a goat was slaughtered and eaten together.89
The importance of eating together, as a major feature in African hospitality is seen clearly when Kenyan theologian-anthropologist, John Mutiso-Mbinda (1984:2) emphasizes the important symbolism of the meal,
A meal is perhaps the most basic and most ancient symbol of friendship, love and unity. Food and drinktaken in common are obvious signs that life is shared. In our (African) context, it is unusual for people to eat alone.
Only a witch or wizard would do that. A meal is always a communal affair.
The family normally eats together. Eating together is a sign of being accepted to share life and equality.
Thus sharing of food is of paramount importance in analysing the major features of African Hospitality. The Sukuma people for instance, have over two hundred proverbs on food, meals and eating (Healey and Sybertz 1996:254). During the time of farming and eating, the proverb that says that, "The sorghum in the stomach gives us the strength to farm" is constantly repeated (Healey and Sybertz 1996:254), thereby affirming the importance of food in African hospitality.
On the theme of the necessity of work, the Sukuma people say, "let's look for food which is produced by the rain". Concerning a guest who arrives after the meal is over; the following
88These are the results of my findings when I was preparing for my book onAfrican hospitality before 200 I.
proverb is said as a way of apologising, "when you arrived the chief had already gone". This proverb is based on the following story,
A long time ago when the chief met people at a meeting or at work, they would stand up and greet him. But if the Chief met them while they were eating, there was a taboo against standing up and greeting the Chief. If they wanted to greet him, he would forbid them and tell them: 'I don't take care of your life. Ugali (pap) takes care of your life.Italso takes care of my life.
I am not your chief. Food or ugali (pap) is your chief. It is not good to glorify the Chief more than food' (Healey and Sybertz 1996: 255).
The reference to food as "Chief' shows the value with which the Sukuma and Africans at large value the sharing of meals. It also agrees with Oromo proverb that says, ''Not even the lord would interrupt a person at supper" (Healey and Sybertz 1996:256). In both the Sukuma and the Oromo proverb, the importance of sharing meals as a major feature in African hospitality is underscored. It also underscores the sacredness of eating a meal together. The reaction of the Sukuma Chief is also commendable. That is, when the people wanted to glorify him, he politely rejected this version of "emperor worship". He did not say "as your Chief, I am your guardian, therefore stand even if you are eating for without me you would not be having the harmony that you are enjoying.,,90 He humbled himself as a servant leader who is implied in Jesus ministry (Mark 10:44) by implying that even his juniors have their own dignity. Itwas like he was saying,
" even the food you are taking is important as we must eat in order to sustain our health and the community in general". This gives us an example of good African leadership.
On the importance of meals, Mutiso-Mbinda (1984:2) adds,
Occasionally there are times when the daily rhythm of the families in a community is interrupted for the celebration of birth, marriage, initiations and thanksgiving rites. These celebrations call for a feast. At such a feast the symbolism of a meal is much more elaborate and therefore it is a meal on a much larger scale.
90The question of "emperor worship" is not new to Africa especially after the political independence in 1960s.
Some of the political leaders abused our concept of Hospitality by demanding to be "worshipped". Those who failed the test were killed, detained, or imprisoned. In this study, we have mentioned about the dictatorship of the likes of President Idi Amin of Uganda who killed thousands of people who failed to "toe the line." Mobutu Seseko of the Democratic Republic of Congo is another and the list is long.
Mutiso-Mbinda's views reflect the real situation in African Christian hospitality as we experience today. That is, some elements of African cultural hospitality are incorporated in African Christianity thereby confirming our original hypothesis that Christ's hospitality is compatible with African hospitality.
Interestingly, the famous novelist Chinua Achebe (1958:26), in Things Fall Apart, describes the celebration of the New Year Festival in Nigeria as follows:
All cooking-pots, calabashes and wooden bowls were thoroughly washed, especially the wooden mortar in which yam was pounded. Yam foo-foo and vegetable soup was the chief food in the celebration. So much of it was cooked that, no matter how heavily the family ate or how many friends and relatives they invited from neighbouring villages, there was always a huge quantity of food left over at the end of the day.
This confirmation by Achebe of sharing food as an important feature in African hospitality shows the symbolic importance of food in Africa such that writers from all disciplines, that is, theology, English literature, dieticians and others, cannot afford to ignore it, particularly where there is a mention of African culture.
The importance of eating together is seen in African proverbs and riddles, as the following findings will show. The Ganda for instance have a saying that, "Relationship is in the eating together". This agrees with the Swahili proverb that says, "eating promotes relationships", while Akamba proverb says, "Food eaten together is sweet" (Mutugi 2001 :24). The Luhya people say that, "Friendship is in the stomach" while the Shona, says that, "relationship (kinship) is a gap that is filled by eating". (Healey and Sybertz 1996:257). Further, the Sukuma people have a riddle, which goes as follows,
I have a riddle
Letitcome. Respondents tell the narrator
At the sound ofthe alarm nobody is afraid to go?
.... (Answer) Food (Mutugi, 2001:24).
These proverbs and riddles further shows the importance of food and meals in African culture.
Similarly in the Holy Eucharist, that Christ instituted and commanded us to continue doing so in his memory (Luke 22: 14-19), we all join as African Christians, as the members of the African Church to partake the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. In so doing, we are brought together as a community of believers. In any case, Africans will never eat alone, nor will they eat in front of another person without sharing what they have. The food is always divided (in a similar manner to the Eucharist) and shared with all those present.91 This also agrees with Isaiah's (58:7) admonition when he says, "share your bread with the hungry."
Thus food sharing is an important feature and symbol of unity in African culture and it is for that reason that in celebrating the rites of passage, such as birth, initiation, marriage or funeral, a feast of celebration and unity is always included. At this stage however, it is important to note that the Anglican Church of Kenya is discouraging feasting during funerals or during the times of bereavements. On the whole, this section shows that the African Church of the 21stcentury ought to revise her liturgies so as to accommodate some (if not all) people who are locked out of the Lord's table as we seek to match with the African value of sharing together; and more importantly to make the liturgy match with Christ's all inclusive style in sharing meals, where he even ate with tax collectors (Luke 5:27, Luke 19), prostitutes (Luke 7:36-50) and the so-called out casts, as a way of inviting them to the kingdom of God.