The True Meaning of Peanuts

Village Food, Anti-Lice Cermonies, and Real Gratitude.

My nerves jangled as I approached the large hut.

A mother in the village had prepared lunch for us. Maybe I'd make a mistake, like insult my hosts accidentally, or get sick later from eating something I should have passed up. I ducked under the cloth in the front doorway and was plunged from the bright sunshine into a room lit by a candle. A small table, quite low to the ground, was set for two. Two small wooden chairs, decorated with carved scenes of lions and giraffe, sat squat on either end.

"These chairs look hand-carved," I said to H--. "Did you make them?"

He grinned. "Yes, I spent many days making them for our guests today. Otherwise you would have had to sit on buckets. I did not know whether you liked giraffes or lions, so I made both."

"I like them both. Thank you."

After thanking him, I realized it was a drop in the gratitude bucket. It was the first time I had met H--, but he had already been carving my chair for a month.

Veggie Delight

Mama served lunch. I rejoiced as the platters were laid down: greens, eggs, tomatoes, squash, potatoes. I recognized everything. There was no meat. The grave thoughts of salmonella that had plagued me for the day swiftly departed. I was introduced to nsima, a Malawian starch staple made from corn flour and water that resembles white play-doh. Nsima is a tasteless filler, meant to accompany meat and vegetable dishes. Proper etiquette dictates that you eat with your hands, balling up a small amount of nsima and using it to scoop up the other dishes served. I ate with delight, comfortable with anything vegetarian. I even remembered to leave a small amount of food on my plate at the end of the meal, which I was told is a polite way for a guest to show that she is satisfied and has been treated well.

Of Lice and Little Sisters

The climax of the visit was the post-lunch dance. A group of boys had planned a dance routine in our honor. Nine boys dressed completely in banana leaves and performed a choreographed number around a tenth drummer who positioned himself in the center of their circle. The lyrics were translated to me as giving thanks for the rain, but not for the lice that came with the rain. At that point, the boys mimed picking pretend lice out of his clothes and giving them to the dancer on his right.

A much younger girl spontaneously joined the ceremony, despite the boys' protests, after hearing the drums start. She would not take no for an answer. Everything they did, she mimicked perfectly - and with a huge smile on her face. Mama and several aunts laughed hysterically as the girl wiggled her way around the circle of dancers. The boys themselves were less amused and tried their best to ignore her.

The True Meaning of Peanuts

When it was time to leave, a funny thing happened. Each member of the household suddenly produced something to give us. I'm not talking about normal party favors. My friend and I received enough food to feed us for a week: a dozen tomatoes, bowls of peanuts, bags of onions, and lots of greens. H--'s family probably earned ten dollars a month, and they were feeding us. I began to protest. "Don't," my friend hissed. "Just take it." I knew better than to disobey, but I was mostly speechless on the drive home. I managed to ask why this incredibly hard working but very poor family felt they had to give me food.

"Because they don't want you to think they don't have enough."

"But do they have enough?"

"No."