Why Africans Eat With the Hand. Presented is an interesting Photo shared by Kemi Awoyemi on Instagram “My fellow food lovers here’s, “Longer throat”‘. Longer throat’ is a Nigerian term used in emphasizing greed” stated Kemi.”
Longer throat” is often used to describe the person who is actually eating and unwilling to share and can also refer to the one at the other end craving for some share from the food.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BzMA3umgcpW/
However, the young lady is seen eating Pounded Yam and Egusi soup with her hands, a popular Nigerian food. Hand-to-mouth eating is a time-honored tradition in African culture, and it’s often a reflection of a community’s hospitality and cultural identity which was a norm as dated back to Ancient times before the advent of cutleries. It is also a way to customary share food from each other’s plate.
Notwithstanding, Africans still practice the eating with hand method accross the world, and whether they will opt for the hand-to-mouth method or use cutleries will depend on the the occassion or the particular dish. but some Africans will prefer to save the embarassment of being the odd one out and simply go with the culteries method.
Some Africans living in the western world appear to have forgotten how to eat with their hands no matter the type of dish. While some have not and infact believe, if you want to feel every taste of your meal, use the hand-to-mouth method.
Some non-Africans in the western world have questioned why Africans eat with their hands, although some have been able to learn that it is part of the African eating norm but many still do not understand and are still ignorant about it and believe those that do living in Africa, probably cannot afford the cutleries.
WiseAfri 