BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – TRADITION is the handing down of customs, beliefs, legends, statements and information, among other things, from generation to generation, especially by word of mouth or practice. But whilst many Caribbean nationals of African ancestry have had their culture influenced by the British, French, Spanish and especially the Americans, many of their African brothers and sisters in that part of the world are still holding true to their traditional cultural practices.
As an adult Kittitian or Nevisian female, how would you react to a situation where you have to give your spouse the best of every dish that you laboriously prepare without his physical assistance and be satisfied with the remnants?
No need to answer. Think about it as I enlighten you about a situation that occurred last week in Zimbabwe, where a woman was taken before a village court for not giving her husband the breast and legs of a chicken meal she had prepared.
News coming out of South Africa states that a Zimbabwean man, 40-year-old Jabulani Ncube, was furious that his wife, 24-year-old Nomusa Sibanda, had slaughtered a cockerel for their dinner but kept the breast and leg portions for herself.
A Zimbabwean newspaper stated that, according to local traditions, the tastiest parts of a chicken, including the breast, back and legs, should be reserved for the man of the house.
However, on that particular evening, his wife only served him a gizzard, wings and one leg, and on the following day she served him with “sitshala and dried green vegetables”.
Ncube did not appreciate what his wife offered him, so he enquired of the remaining portions of the cockerel and was told that she ate them.
Her response infuriated him and he physically abused his wife and also accused her of being “uncultured and disrespectful”, the Sunday News reported.
According to the Bulawayo 24 News, “The frightened wife bolted out and spent the night at a neighbouring homestead. The following morning, Ncube went and reported the matter to Head-man Maphetshwana, where she was found “guilty” and fined a chicken.
The media house also reported that the wife’s grandmother, known as Gogo MaDawu, was also summoned before the village court where she was charged with dereliction of duty arising from her failure to teach her granddaughter “how to treat her husband and dish out meals”.
MaDawu was found guilty and also fined a cockerel, which was slaughtered for the village committee to eat.
In an interview after the village court hearing, the Bulawayo 24 News added, the man’s wife showed no remorse. She said, “For how long shall I slaughter chickens and not taste the back portion?”
The husband, on the other hand, hinted that he would divorce her if she should ever repeat the act.
Now that you have been informed about another nation’s or tribe's traditional practice regarding meals, what would have been your reaction?
