TH750082E Food, Culture & Society: The Zulu Tribe Culinary Practices

This essay explores the culinary practices of the Zulu tribe in South Africa, focusing on the significance of their staple food, maize, and the preparation of the traditional dish, phutu. It examines the historical, climatic, and agricultural factors that have influenced the development of their cuisine, highlighting the connection between food habits, cultural traditions, and societal values. The essay also discusses various side dishes and the communal eating practices of the Zulu people, emphasizing the role of food in their cultural identity. This document is available on Desklib, a platform offering a wide range of academic resources for students.

Running head: THE ZULU TRIBE AND THEIR CULINARY PRACTICES
The food and diet of a specific cultural group and the cooking of a typical dish
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Introduction
The aim of the paper is to analyze the issue of the food habit and their cultural practices
associate with food. The paper will be highlighting the cultural group of South Africa and their
food habits in particular. Hence this paper has taken up the Zulu cultural group of South Africa
to explore the food habits and their cultural connotations. Zulus consume food mostly made of
maize due to the availability of maize in the region. However, this paper is an attempt to analyze
the interconnection between the food habits of the people with their culture. This also highlights
the preparation of one of the dishes of the Zulu people. This is divided into multiple parts and
each of the parts deal with separate issues of their food and tradition.
The Zulu people, historical context
Of the sub-Saharan Bantu people, the Zulu tribe is the most famous. The Zulu people
fought for their rights with the other clans for their land rights. It is in the beginning of the 18th
century that these people raised their voice for the protection of their rights (Lombo 2017). The
fights between the clans resulted into the victory of the clan with Shaka as the head of the clan.
These tribal warriors prove to be the brave soldiers and it is this power which has established
themselves as one of the most prominent tribes of South Africa. These groups belonging to the
Bantu ethnicity are largely concentrated in the province of KwaZulu- Natal. Some of them are
established in the provinces of Tanzania, Zambia and Mozambique (Masuku et al. 2017).
Climatic, agricultural factors for this type of food habit
It has been found that the staple diet of the Zulu people is maize and over 40% of their
food items are made of maize. It is also found that the Zulus are lovers of meat however due to

the unavailability of meat and the agricultural habits of the people have led to them consume
maize in almost all their food (Masuku et al. 2017). There is another issue with the agricultural
habit of the people that has led them to develop this kind of food habit. It is to be noted that the
region where the Zulu people lay are low in rainfall and it is due to the dependence of the low
summer rainfall, they tend to depend on foods that are less water consuming. These dry plants
due to the agricultural and ecological factors are solely responsible for their reduced
consumption of meat and higher consumption of green vegetable and dry plants. Their main
cultural and traditional dish is known as the “phutu” (Naik et al. 2018). This is a mixture of
maize eaten with sour milk. Moreover the climatic condition is such in the provinces they reside;
there is larger availability of certain type of foods. Hence it is imperative to note that the food
habit of the people is determined by the climatic conditions. It is also found that the Zulu people
who have predominantly been the warrior class suffered n extreme conditions and this is one of
the reasons for the development of their typical food habit.
Significant factors that have influenced the development of their culinary culture, domestic
food practices and cuisine
One of the primary factors for their development of the “phutu” dish is due to the
excessive and cheap availability of maize in the region they reside. Another factor responsible
for the development of this cuisine is the expensive meat and the financial conditions of the Zulu
working as constraints for their food habit (Zulu-culture.co.za, 2019). There is a historical
context attached to their food habit and there are specific domestic practices for the development
of a particular food habit. For example, they have an extensive way of processing their food and
there are roles attached to people for the preparation of this food (Naik et al. 2018). Irrespective
of being vegetarian for most part of their diet, they consume meat occasionally and there is

process of separation of meat according to the age and gender of people. In the preparation of
the meat dishes men are give higher priority than women in families and part of the meat like
liver, heart are received by men. Hence it could be argued that division of food and their
consumption is also based on the societal hierarchy and social beliefs. The food habits of the
people are very much part of their tradition and history. Moreover, it is not to ignore that these
culinary practices of the Zulus are shaped by their societal values and the role of the men and the
women in many ways is result of the same.
Some of the prepared food dishes typically eaten by this cultural group
Phutu: one of the unique tends of the Zulu people and their food habit is the communal
eating. One special occasion and daily consumption, people form groups and consume their
special dish, Phutu. Porridge is the regularly served food for the people and it is consumed with
side dishes like milk-based “iphalishi elimuncu” and idijza (Naik et al. 2018). One of the
porridge made of corn is known as the Phutu. It is also served with vegetables and other
dumplings to make it tasty.
Side dishes of the Zulu people
 There are number of dishes that are served with the phutu dish. One of the main
side dishes they have is sweet potato and fries of onion, spinach and other seeds.
From their food habit it could be derived that they have a taste for fried foods and
it is accompanies with almost all types of dishes.
 Amazi: this is one of the side dishes they consume and it is made of milk. Amazi
is prepared by pouring the milk into a basket and it is left for long hours for
transforming it into curdle. One of t he unique thing about the preparation of the

food is that the basket in which it is made is never washed since it is their believe
that this old container ads a distinct taste to the new dish everytime they are
making (Zulu-culture.co.za, 2019).
 Zulu meat dish: it is one of the common parts of the Zulu cuisine as they are the
lovers of meats. However there is a unique way of cooking the meat. Meats in
most of the dishes are roasted and served with vegetables (Zulu-culture.co.za,
2019). Livestock is seen as one of the source of wealth and the livestock in most
of the cases are used for the consumption of meat.
The “phutu” dish:
The chosen dish for the preparation is “Phutu”. The detailed recipe will be elaborated
here to assist the preparation of the dish. The phutu dish is made by processing the steaming
maize and it is cooked in low heat to get a crumbed texture (Lombo 2017). This require 1 cup of
maize meal, 2 cups of water with a pinch of salt. These are the main ingredients of the dish
which if properly cooked gives a different taste. Firstly it is important to heat the maize at allow
or medium heat unless bubbles appear on the surface of the water. The pot used for cooking the
food is to be kept open for a short span of time so that it doesn’t get choked. Once it has
completed boiling it is should be stirred well the with a fork or a spoon. It is to be heated for a
long period and in low heart once this process is completed, the Phutu is ready t o be served.
However in many families it is served with butter and other side dishes to make it even tastier.

Conclusion
This article analyzed the issue of the interrelationship of food and society. It is the
intermingling of culture, tradition and food habit. This paper highlighted the food habit of the
Bantu tribe of Sub-Saharan Africa, the Zulu. One of the primary dishes made out of maize is
phutu and it is found that their preparation of food has some link to their historical context. It is
important to note that the impact of culture is larger in type of food that is consumed for the
everyday life. In case of the Zulu tribe it is important to note that their food habit is largely
shaped by the agricultural practices. Traditions, history has an important tool to play in shaping
the appetite of the people. Food is not an exclusive part of the human existence rather it is the
intrinsic part of the culture and tradition of the people. Same with the Zulu people, the traditional
cuisine of the Zulu people are traditionally passed from one generation to another a it is the same
lineage they are caring. Hence this paper tried to highlight the issue the relationship of food and
culture of the Bantu tribe of South Africa. This also highlighted the issue of preparation of a
typical tribal dish which constitutes one of the significant parts of their tradition.

References
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Zulu cosmology perspective.
Masuku, M., Selepe, M. and Ngcobo, N., 2017. Status of Household Food Security in Rural
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Naik, D. and Kasturiba, B., 2018. Food habits of nomadic tribes. The Pharma Innovation, 7(5,
Part I), p.627.
Nation, Z. (2019). Zulu history - The history of the Zulu Nation. [online] Zulu.org.za. Available
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