Sundays in Ghana are not only a day of rest, its when most Ghanaians go to church and worship the creator. Life after church is however “officially” pronounced Fufu day because most people prepare the delicacy with their favorite chevon or mutton flavored soup.
Many households, would have the familiar “tompatompa” sound that is the sound that the pistil makes on the mortar. It’s almost like a drum beat. Everything is Ghana is rhythm and beats.
A mortar is a wooden carved utensil of a sort where boiled cassava and plantain is pounded to form a well blended solid. Boiled cassava is mostly carbohydrate, while the plantain offers iron. The blend makes it balanced.
Let me tell you about the fufu preparation process by first making inference to who pounds and who stirs.
Since the pounding requires a lot of energy, males mostly pound while the females stir. You see, the whole fufu making process is an opportunity for the family to come together. It is either pounded by husband and stirred by wife or brother, cousin, father and stirred by daughter or sister or other family members.
Ghanaians believe in the external family system and some families still practice the kind of communal living. With those that practice it, it’s a time for the family to sit and talk about latest gossips, and deliberate about family challenges.
From observations, I have noticed that the fufu making process begins an hour or two before sunset, beginning from 3pm in most homes. Depending on how big the family is, it can take from 30 minutes to an hour to prepare it.
Although hectic, it’s worth the while. After the process is done, the best part is when it’s served. The delicacy is served in earthen ware bowl with soup around it and all sorts of meat and fish in the middle. The solid is cut with a scissor like hand posture and swallowed with the soup to taste.
One of the secrets to Ghanaians living more close niched and in harmony is because of communal eating which fosters a unique type of bond. It’s believed that its only people that are at peace with each other that eat together.
