African Food and Art

This blog explores the wisdom of African proverbs, the depth of folklore, the beauty of art, the stories of history, and the flavors of timeless African food recipes.

Too Tall and Too Fat for Love

African Elephant Love Folklore Story

Too tall and too fat for love African tall tale folklore story explores the evils and pleasures of two tall fat people in Southern African have with dating and love.

African Elephant Love Folklore Story

In Southern Africa among the Zulu clans, there is told the story of a man named Silwa who grew up so tall and fat he was banned from the village because he ate up all the crops from the fields and the clan was starving because of his gluttony.

Silwa cried and wandered into the wilderness alone for many months until one day he met Mthwakazi, a beautiful woman who was also banished from her clan because no man wanted to marry her because she was too tall and too fat.

Silwa began speaking to Mthwakazi so kindly and affectionately she agreed to stay with him and together they forged for food in the forest and fell in love. Mthwakazi gave birth to four sons, all very tall and strong, who became the ancestors of the mighty Zulu Ndlovu clan.

Did you know?

Ndlovu is a Zulu clan name, meaning elephant. Ndlovu is the most popular surname among African tribes and does not signify a single clan group.


African Elephant Fact or Fiction

Elephants drink water through their trunks like a straw

Although they do use their trunks to drink, the water will not go all the way up. Instead, they will suck the water part way up the trunk and pour it into their mouths. Elephants drink water through their trunks like a straw is fiction.


Elephants can pick up sounds through their feet

African elephants have an excellent hearing; furthermore, African elephants can detect reverberations in the ground with sensory cells in their feet. An elephant will hear these vibrations when they travel to its front feet, up to its legs and shoulder bones and to its middle ear. The elephant will be able to tell where the sound is coming from by comparing the timing of the signals. Elephants can hear with their feet is fact.


Elephants love to eat peanuts

Elephants certainly do not eat peanuts in the wild, and they are not a typical diet for captive animals either. Elephants are the world’s biggest land animals and have to spend 16 to 18 hours a day eating. Elephants love to eat peanuts is fiction.

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Week’s Best African Culture Posts

What is the difference between ugali and fufu

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How to make the popular African recipes Ugali and Fufu and what is the difference.  Ugali is a starch dish in Kenya and Tanzania made of fine cornmeal cooked in boiling water into a soft dough. Fufu is a thick, dough-like West African food made by boiling then pounding a starchy vegetable such as yam, plantain, or cassava or a mixture of starchy vegetables. The main difference between fufu and ugali is fufu is boiled first then pounded while ugali is simply boiled. Ugali recipe. Easy Ugali Recipe Prep time 5 minutes Cook time 30 minutes Total time 30 minutes Ingredients 4 cups finely ground cornmeal 8 cups water Directions Heat water to boiling in a saucepan. Slowly pour cornmeal into boiling water stirring continuously. Add more cornmeal if necessary until it is thick as soft bread dough. Serve immediately with vegetables, stew, or any dish you would use a spoon with to soak up the sauce, ugali is purposely bland tasting on its own. What is the difference between ugali ...
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Camel Caravans Created the Internet

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Thanks to camel caravans facilitating trade and cultural exchange across Northern Africa, they laid the foundation for global connectivity, which eventually evolved into the internet driven world we know today.  Raising camels When business partners in Northern Africa started using camels, it changed how goods were traded. Before the domestication of camels, it was hard to cross much less carry things across the hot, dry desert. Camels could travel long distances without needing much water, so they made it easier to move valuable items like gold, salt, and cloth from one end of the African deserts to the other. Camel caravans helped people get things they could not find in their own neighborhoods and allowed them to trade to more people. Camels were kind of like how the internet and technology connect us today. Why were camels chosen for caravans across Africa?  Camels were less prone to diseases common in tropical regions, increasing their longevity and utility. Horses and do...
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Boxing Day South African Cookies

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Boxing Day South African Cookies Recipe and History of Boxing Day Listen to the Boxing Day South African Cookie Recipe and the History of Boxing Day. Boxing Day is observed as a public holiday in many Southern African countries. Boxing Day historically held deep significance as a rare day of recognition and appreciation for hard work.   While Christmas Day was often spent serving the households of wealthier families, Boxing Day provided an opportunity to receive small tokens of gratitude, known as Christmas boxes.  In households that observed Boxing Day traditions, servants were often granted a lighter workload or even a day off to visit family or enjoy the holiday. Today, Boxing Day is associated with relaxation and shopping.   Thumbprint Cookies with South African Sweet Chutney Ingredients 1 cup unsalted room-temperature butter 1 cup granulated sugar 2 large chicken egg yolks 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon salt ½ cup South African sweet c...
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Disaster That Shook Mayotte to Its Core

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Category 4 hurricane, 136 MPH Cyclone Chido destroyed the French Island of Mayotte. The island of Mayotte is a tiny, 144 square mile  French territory in the Indian Ocean reeling from a direct hit from Cyclone Chido, the strongest storm to hit the island in 90 years. Entire neighborhoods have disappeared, along with entire families. Mayotte is rhe poorest overseas territory of France, many accusations point to the debate that it is a forgotten holding place for undocumented refugees. Half the residence live in makeshift houses out of discarded pieces of wood cardboard, and anything else residents can get their hands on. With winds exceeding 136 mph, equivalent to a category four hurricane, on Sunday December 15, 2024, Cyclone Chido caused major destruction causing upwards of 1,000 deaths leaving 80% of the population homeless.  Nearly 84% of residents were already living under the poverty level before Cyclone Chido hit the small island. The infrastructure was very weak on the ...
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