Cashews....has anyone ever seen them growing in Australia??
Mozambique used to be the worlds largets producer of cashew nuts, the war took it's toll though, and now Pakistan and India hold the majority of the market share.
Before Mozambique I had never seen cashews growing...and truthfully...had never questioned in what form they grew. Cashews out of a tin are alright, though not a patch on freshly roasted, and salted nuts....and...we are missing out on half the cashew experience...I'll tell you at the bottom:
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This part is no secret...the covering around the nuts has to be heated so the skin can be removed. The skin contains a significant irritant called urushiol, which needs to be cooked off with heat. Handling or eating the green nuts represents a health hazard.
No...the secret is to do with..the fruit. Commonly called a cashew apple it can be eaten, and has a juicy texture with a tang not dissimilar to pineapple. The real, real secret is though....the Mozambicans brew a beer from it. In fact, with the price fluctuating on the cashews with the competition against India, the apple is more important to the locals. The beer is called Canju (Canyoo) and there is a serious traditional festival every year. There custom with it is though....the Canju beer cannot be sold....it must be shared and only given away. It is even in Mozambican legislation....and I am all for that!!!
Amazing.....what they can carry....on their heads...
Mozambican women glide...they have a way of walking, smooth, balanced and elegant.
I think it all stems from their sensible habit of carrying loads balanced on their heads. From a young girl, walking tall, and balancing a coke bottle on her head to some of the heavy and more bizarre loads....one day in Maputo I saw a woman carrying an oven on her head...a gas oven...with a cooktop...just like the one you have in your kitchen, balanced sideways on her head...and...I didn't have a camera. I hope there was someone at home to help her get it off her head.
Perfect poise, a smooth gait, walking tall....and all with a baby wrapped onto your back. Women are certainly the mainstay of Mozambican society.
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I am yet to see a better system for carrying a young baby than how they carry their babies wrapped in a capulana (the ubiquitous piece of colourful cloth used for most anything). You'll never see a pram in Mozambique....I think they do better than us in that regard. We push a child out in front of us...very little contact. The systems they sell in the rip-off baby shops, with belts and buckles, just do not compare, are more expensive and not as useful.
As a footnote...my wife can carry loads so gracefully on her head....will she do it in Australia?..NEVER. It is such a shame, I would love her to carry the shopping to the car...balanced on her head. No doubt someone would complain she has not assimiliated...
Well...this is about the last of my Mozambican photos. Lets go to Timor Leste (East Timor).
There is more of a story here....
Quote:
Originally Posted by
malsgoing130
thanks for the amazing pics and stories BBC, seeing the real Piri Piri chicken and prawns reminds me of the portogues club in Mutare Zimbabwe, best piri piri out side of Mozambique. Spent a fair amount of time at Ponto Du Oro Just as it opened after the war and before the tourists what a beautiful place. Dont you find it truely amazing that the people you see are all smiling and happy when their lives to us seem so hard- we can all learn from this:) sorry about the spelling!!!
Malsgoing,
Yes, nothing quite like the real piri piri, cooked over charcoal, nearly taking the roof off!!!! You'd drive a long way for some.
Tell me more. You sound like there is a story inside you waiting to bust out.
When were you in Zim, or was it called a different place then? What were you doing?
How did you get to Ponto D'Ouro? Down past Maputo, or in through South Africa? Either way there is a good 4WD trip.
Yes, it is amazing how people can be so happy. We have forgotten what they know. Live each day as it is, and learn to laugh. I love to hear my wife back in amongst her family, speaking in Shangaan or Chope, and laughing uproariously....they really have an amazing sense of humour.
