Dining in Senegal - 27 July 2012

Even though I’ve spent a lot of time in various parts of Africa, I am still struck repeatedly by its sheer diversity and enormity. Not only is the continent composed of around 50 diverse nation-states, each one of these is in turn made up of several, if not dozens or even hundreds, of distinct cultures and languages. Being a native speaker of English and reasonably conversant in French indeed allows me to converse with most urban Africans. But one cannot go far in Africa before encountering either trade languages like East Africa’s Swahili, Cental Africa’s Lingala or Sango, or Senegal’s Wolof. Beyond that are the hundreds – probably thousands – of local languages, including those spoken by tens if not hundreds of thousands of people. As I was told today, to go from Dakar on the Senegalese coast to Thiès, about an hour inland, is to go from a predominantly Wolof culture to a predominantly Serer culture with different attitudes about religion and various other practices. 

Senegalese beef and vegetables over cous cous, served with a crunchy, spicy, garlicky topping

This diversity is perhaps best seen in the continent’s food. Senegalese food as served in Thiès is generally placed on large, communal plates covered in rice or cous cous cooked together with vegetables and spices, with meat in the center. Spoons or hands are used to take bits from the common plate, often sharing a piece of chicken or lamb with your neighbor out of respect. Several dishes have been served with some kind of semi-spicy accompanying stew, often onions cooked long and slow with vinegar. When this sauce is served with chicken and rice, it is known as chicken yassa.

My dinner last night was definitely not typical Senegalese and was emblematic of the kinds of mixed up culture that I encounter in my work. The administrative director of the seminary here is from the Congo-Brazzaville (the former French colony, across the Congo River from the Democratic Republic of the Congo-Kinshasa, a former Belgian colony). He is married to a German missionary. While visiting the seminary campus this morning, along with its sizable agricultural project, everyone was excited to find some wild greens growing on a hill after the recent rain. These greens formed the base of the lamb stew that was the centerpiece of our distinctly Congolese dinner, seasoned with a generous scoop of peanut butter. The rich stew was served over boiled potatoes and a manioc-based fermented foo foo (the staple of much of west and central African cooking). The meal was served with CocaCola and finished with a deep, rich German chocolate cake. What a joy to spend time with such fascinating people, talking about church, society, theology, and many, many other subjects. I am blessed. 

Congolese beef stew with greens with Congolese fermented foo foo