Cultural Appropriation

When I went back to Cameroon last year for the Christmas holidays I noticed a lot of women wearing sarees and churidars. My immediate reaction (in my head of course) was “hmm na so Indian dem di cam take over pays, anyhow ie fine. Na wa own diversity be this”. Then one day I came across a group of women, still in Cameroon, gossiping about some Indian guy and “that their mop dem way di so so smell like garlic”. This really pissed me off and got me seriously thinking about cultural appropriation. So some of us Cameroonians think it is fashionable to wear sarees while stereotyping Indians for having bad breath.


I noticed that there are many examples in the west of white stars adopting certain aspects of black culture as cool and fashionable while failing to speak out on critical issues of white on black racism. Or everyday Britons wanting to go eat some authentic Caribbean food while making sure that the restaurant in question is not in a “shady” neighbourhood. Obviously there's nothing wrong with a white person wanting to enjoy proper jerk chicken or having their hair done in cornrows. But what does it say about that person if they don't want to go to or be seen in a neighbourhood which has predominantly black people in it; or if they go ahead and call black women “nappy headed hoes”?


Let's go ahead and consider these two examples: One, a teenage girl born to a Native American chief is kidnapped and forced to marry an Englishman. She is then taken to England and used as an icon to encourage the oppression of Native Americans by the English. Two, another teenage girl born to German Jews. Went into hiding with her family due to Hitler's oppression of Jews and wrote a diary that eventually became one of the most widely read books of our time.


Now these two young women have had deeply traumatic lives. However Walt Disney has warped and romanticised the story of pocahontas into a money making fairytale with a happy ending. Can we imagine what would happen if the same was done with Anne Frank's story, maybe depicting her as some Jewish girl who eloped and lived happily ever after with a Nazi officer?


Question is, where do we draw the line between cultural appreciation and appropriation? When does it become offensive for someone to adopt aspects of a culture that isn't theirs?

Dish of the day: Ekwang

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Ingredients: about 20 fingers of grated cocoyam (taro) wrapped in coco leaf, palm oil, scotch bonnet or ghost pepper, smoked fish (moru), diced beef, salt, maggi cube, half onion, crayfish (optional)
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Tip: Buy pre-wrapped / frozen ekwang to speed things up in the kitchen
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1 - Boil meat with onion, pepper, salt and maggi cube until tender
2 - Line the ekwang around the sides of the pot and leave a space in the middle
3 - Pour the palm oil into the middle of the pot and allow it to heat up
4 - Once the oil starts to separate, pour about half a litre of boiling water in to the oil
5 - Add the fish, cover the pot and allow to simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes
6 - Now add the meat stock and stir gently to avoid scattering the ekwang

7 - At this point add pepper,salt or maggi if required

8 - Allow to simmer on medium heat for 10 more minutes

9 - At this point the soup should start to thicken, add meat and crayfish

10 - Cook on medium heat for another 10 minutes before serving

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Dish of the day: Funky Pasta Omelette

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Ingredients: eggs, sardine, onions, boiled pasta, grated cheddar, green pepper, bell pepper, salt, maggi cube.
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Tip: Try replacing the sardines with tuna fish or use ghost pepper instead of bell peppers  to make the omelette more spicy.
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1 - Chop the vegetables, sprinkle with some maggi and keep in a separate bowl
2 - Beat the eggs, pasta and cheese in another bowl.
3 - Mash the sardines and add to the egg mixture, sprinkle salt to taste
4 - Stir fry the vegetables in a pan of hot oil for 2 -- 3 minutes
5 - Add the egg mixture and fry like a regular omelette

These ingredients yield two portions. Serve with some garlic bread or fried plantains
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Dish of the day: Minced Beef Bolognese

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Ingredients: onions, tomatoes, minced beef, ghost pepper, spring onions, oregano, basil, mushrooms, pasta sauce, maggi cube, salt to taste

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Tip: only wash the mushrooms right before they're about to enter the pot so that they don't become soggy 

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1 – Chop the mushrooms and keep in a separate bowl

2 – Stir fry your minced beef in a pan for 2 – 3 minutes and cover in a separate bowl

3 – Chop the tomatoes, pepper, spring onions and keep in a separate bowl

4 – Chop the onions and stir fry in hot oil until they start browning

5 – Add the chopped vegetables to the pot and sprinkle some salt, maggi, oregano and basil

6 – Cook on low heat until veggies are soft and brown, now add the mushrooms to the pot

7 – After about 3 minutes, pour in the pasta sauce and allow to simmer on medium heat

8 – Stir regularly for about 5 minutes before adding the minced beef

9 – Cover on low heat for 5 more minutes

Serve on pasta with grated cheese and some garlic bread

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Peanut Butter Cookies

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Ingredients: 125g butter, 100g dark muscovado sugar, 50g caster sugar, 1 egg, 1tsp vanilla, 1tsp nutmeg, 1tsp cinnamon, 250g self-raising flour, 3Tbsp peanut butter

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Tip: try replacing peanut butter with 200g white chocolate chips
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1 - Preheat oven to 180 Centigrades
2 - Cream butter, egg, sugars and vanilla
3 - Sift in flour, nutmeg and cinnamon
4 - Fold in peanut butter and cover with cling film
5 - Allow mixture to set in the fridge for 10 mins
6 - Roll out mixture and cut into desired shapes
7 - Bake for 10-15 mins and allow to cool

These ingredients yield about 18 large cookies
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Dish of the day: Fried Rice & Jerk Chicken

Chicken - chicken thighs and drum sticks, maggi cubes, scotch bonnet peppers, coriander, thyme, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, garlic, spring onions

Rice - basmati rice, peas, carrots, sweet corn, coconut milk, chicken stock, onions, maggi cubes, scotch bonnet peppers.

Steps - coming soon

Dish of the day: Eru

Eru: Eru leaves, spinach, palm oil, crayfish, scotch bonnet peppers, maggi cubes, oxtail, snails, beef tripe, beef hide

Dish of the day: Spaghetti and Chicken

Chicken stew: chopped tomatoes, blended ginger garlic and spring onions, maggi cubes, onion, celery, scotch bonnet pepper, rosemary, thyme, ground white pepper. 

Dish of the day: Beans

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Ingredients: 600g pre-boiled beans, 6 medium tomatoes, 3 heaped tbsp crayfish, 12 beef meatballs, 6 garlic cloves, ghost peppers, onions, salt, maggi, thumb-sized root ginger

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Tip: fried fish can be used instead of meatballs.

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1 - Blend ginger, garlic, 1 ghost pepper and half onion

2 - Combine the mixture with half a cup of water and add salt and maggi to taste

3 - Add to the meatballs and cook in a sauce pan for 10 mins

4 - Separate meatballs from the stock and fry them in shallow oil until brown

5 - Stir fry the onions and tomatoes in a pot for about 10 mins or until the tomatoes start to dry out

6 - Add the meat stock to the pot, cook for a further 10 mins

7 - At this point another ghost pepper or more maggi can be added as required

8 - Put in the beans and meatballs and stir occasionally until the consistency begins to thicken

9 - Stir in the crayfish and cover for about 5 mins

10 - 300ml of hot vegetable oil can be added at the end if desired

This serves 5-6 people. Can be eaten with plantains, rice, yam or puff-puff

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A Letter From A Mother In Ekona To Her Son In The US

Dear Bate,

LETRA FROM EKUNA

Thank you for the money you juss send. We be glad witham plenty. All man be get e share. Ya sister Scola don finally move da belle wey some taximan give e, so that yi massa go fit take yi back for marret.

Ya Aunty Martha use e own go bail e pikin Ndifor save e from going to ngata.. Yi and yi girlfriend don go Douala yi di do Sauveteur, e woman di work for night for downtown Akwa.

Ya brother Mbella say e want use e own make kwalli for go or na Swaviet Union or na Russia or na Jamanee o. If any small ting remain, yi go make marret for yi girl pikin Bih wey yi be 7months pregnant, make yi no bring disgrace for family.

Ya ora big brother Ndifor don enta Kondengi juss yessaday. Dem lie for yi head say, yi be tiff for place wey e be di do washnight. We be give yi share for warder make them no give yi morning time reveille with beating. Mbamba Eposi say Ndifor don begin Gay, so I glad say at leasse e dey happy for prison.

Tomorrow, I go take your 13yr old Small brother Essomba wey you never ever meetup am go put yi for Bostal instutute. Some policeman call yi say juvenale dalinquasi, because e catch yi and e boy pikin di do bad ting with themselves. Ha boy pikin fit do bad ting with yeself wey girl no dey dey? Anyway, I don use yi own money buy blanket, even though some chef patron for dey say I get for buy yi extra vaxsceline.

Ya Pa take yi own finally go marret, bring da yi old Akwara for house wey yi hide yi for Baboutti kwata, di cause me problems all these years. People say di woman don catch dat bad sick, I say yi sweet! If yi die sep sep yi go leave me and ya papa alone.

As for me, I no get me any problems. But I be give all ma share for some boy wey dem say yi be money doubler. I glad plenty because yi sabi teach bible. Yi sef don do plenty miracles for kwata. Any woman wey yi go for yi house yi pray for yi, wan time so belle don enter. Na so woman dem di glad for glad because dier massa dem no go drive them for house say dem no fit born. Hmmm, dat boy say e wan marret me. I lek me yi ya! E di make ma heart cold small. Yi only fault na say e di smoke banga and drink plenty. I say and so?

I say eh, Bate? Na witch ting wey some kongossa reach we here say you don see Whatman woman wey yi wan marret you? Abeg, no bring disgrace for dis family oh! You dong forget say you leave ya fiancee Nancy for here withi belle? Yi finally born lass year twins.

Well, ashia for cold ma pikin. Hmmn, you don learn big book oh! So now you don get High degree for Stress and Mental Psychosis. I glad plenty say you get plenty cargo. Bills, mortgage, insurance, overdraft and debts. You be rich man oh!! We no greedy for ask say make you send we some. I hear say money for dat sai na only for tree sep dem dey grow. Ya own fine ma pikin.

Since you no lack you noting, we go send you prayer ya?

Ya Mammie
Mammy paulina

Source: http://prgoretti.wordpress.com
Comment: Couldn't help reposting this, too funny

Dish of the day: Okra Soup

Comment: oxtail, ginger, garlic, scotch bonnet pepper, salt, maggi crevette, onions, egusi, tomatoes, onions, okra, crayfish, vegetable oil, palm oil

Dish of the day: Njangsang Pork

Stew: pork ribs, maggi cubes, scotch bonnet pepper, garlic, cumin, coriander, allspice, tomato, onion, njangsang

Drink (Foléré / Bissap): Dried Roselle calyces, Sugar, Water, Pineapple, Mint Leaves

Kirikou en prison

Source: http://www.unmbompret.com/kirikou-naime-pas-le-ngata/

Maalhox & Napster

Poisson braisé (Roasted Fish)

Source: Je wanda magazine

Ndolé, plantains, miondo

Source: ammafricaworld

Kiwi and watermelon sucette

Source: http://t-tropicals.tumblr.com/

Fake beggars

Source: nouchi.com

Djombé Cameroon

Source: http://fishstickmonkey.tumblr.com

Ankara

Source: http://cameroonianpikin.tumblr.com