Culturetalk Zimbabwe Video Transcripts

CultureTalk Zimbabwe Video Transcripts: http://langmedia.fivecolleges.edu

Popular Foods in Zimbabwe

English translation:

I: Now we want to talk about food in Zimbabwe.

G: Oh…you mean lumo[1]? [Brings hand to his mouth in eating gesture]

I: Yes… what is the most popular food in the country?

G: In Zimbabwe we eat sadza. If you don’t have sadza on a regular basis it means something is wrong—there is hunger in your home.

I: Ok. What is sadza?

G: Sadza is made from maize (corn) which is found here and worldwide. The corn is ground into a powder to make corn meal. Water is boiled and mixed with the corn meal and left to simmer. More corn meal is added to make it nice and thick so that you can actually squeeze it into a round ball in your hand and eat it. It’s very satisfying. [laughs]

I: Ok. So what can you eat this sadza with?

G: You can eat sadza with many different things—for example meat, milk, different vegetables, beans etc.

I: So you can eat it with whatever?

G: Yes, that’s right.

I: What’s eaten on important days? Sadza again?

G: A day that I’d say is important is Christmas Day. This comes during the holidays. On Christmas Day, people have to have rice and chicken. It is a guarantee that everyone will eat till they’re full if such a meal is provided—everyone will be satisfied. Drinks like ‘mazoe’ and ‘raspberry’ will be the drinks.

I: What exactly is mazoe and raspberry?

G: These are drinks [juices]. These drinks have to be diluted because they are very sweet. It is typical to have such a drink when you’re eating.

I: Ok I see. What are the mealtimes in Zimbabwe? What time do people eat in the morning, afternoon, or evening?

G: It differs from family to family. People eat three times a day – once in the morning, once in the afternoon and once in the evening. In the morning, most have tea and bread. Anything can be put between the bread—some have margarine and jam, some put eggs, beans or minced meat. In the afternoon most have sadza.

I: Ok.

About CultureTalk: CultureTalk is produced by the Five College Center for the Study of World Languages and housed on the LangMedia Website. The project provides students of language and culture with samples of people talking about their lives in the languages they use every day. The participants in CultureTalk interviews and discussions are of many different ages and walks of life. They are free to express themselves as they wish. The ideas and opinions presented here are those of the participants. Inclusion in CultureTalk does not represent endorsement of these ideas or opinions by the Five College Center for the Study of World Languages, Five Colleges, Incorporated, or any of its member institutions: Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

[1] food