“Nani
mbuzi?”
“Nani
ng’ombe?”
“Nani
kuku?”
You’ll
regularly hear a server yelling out in a local eatery in Kenya; a whacky way
trying to identify who ordered goat meat, who ordered beef and who ordered
chicken respectively.
Domesticated goats
Goats are ubiquitous all over East Africa in the urban
and rural areas alike. In the urban areas they are considered a menace. They roam about interfering in the human and
vehicular traffic alike. They mingle with the humans in the market places
scavenging for something to eat: a discarded cabbage; a fallen carrot stick,
you get the idea…. They
are like their human counterparts- survivors. Their owners let them loose in
the morning to go forage for themselves and later at sun set find their way
home. The demand for goat meat is so
high that everyone tries to get a piece of the pie by raising goats whatever
way possible to make extra cash. The
problem is some of the people trying to raise goats in the urban areas have no
idea how to do it. Firstly, they are
violating town bylaws by raising animals in the town or city without proper
shelters and provisions. Second, there isn’t enough pasture in the city for the
goats to graze on and thirdly; nobody seems to care for them. They just roam
around foraging for themselves. But, when the holidays are approaching,
suddenly the owners want to sell them at a much higher price to anyone who’s willing
to pay.
My early encounter with goats was very early on when I
was a child being raised by my grandparents; I remember when we go to the Boma
- the fenced compound where we lived and where there were pens for the
animals to spend the night - and there were lots of goats, sheep and cows
coming back to the village every evening after a whole day out grazing. I
remember when someone was pointing out to me to a huge cloud of dust from a
distance and he would say that those were my grandfather’s goats
coming home. I remember not seeing
anything but a huge cloud of dust, but I also remember hearing the goats’ bleating
and their bleating, with the cows mooing became louder as they came closer to
the Manyatta – the maasai boma. I hail
from the Maasai community of Kenya. The Maasai are pastoralists. They still
move around with their animals searching for pasture albeit with shrinking land
now available for pasture and tightening government policies. Besides, the lands that the Maasai occupy now
are harsh arid and semi-arid lands that are not good for agriculture. I
remember when I was young boy old enough to take the animals out to graze, I
would head out with other older boys for a whole day and I remember enjoying
the day out in the wild grazing the animals and learning things from the older
boys on how to take care of the animals. That’s when you start noticing
the difference in goats, sheep and cows. Not just on their sizes, but on how
they graze and their behaviour towards each other and to humans. The male ‘billy goats’ are bigger.
They stand out- with bigger horns and a tuff of beards under their chin.
(That’s where
the men’s goatee name comes from.) The other notable thing about billy goats is
their unique musky odour and how they constantly get into head-butting fights
with other goats. The baby goats are cutest things ever. They have these tiny
faces, very friendly and they are always running around and jump on anything.
 |
| Goats grazing in an organic farm |
Goats are very hardy animals and they are easy to
raise if cared for well. They like grazing on shrubs as well as grass. I
remember wondering how they were able to pick up the leaves from a thorny
Acacia shrub and other shrubs while avoiding all the thorns. Because they feed
on different herbs, shrubs and grass they don’t seem to get sick easily
like sheep and cows that just feed on grass. This also gives their meat a
unique flavour and texture that people seem to like a lot. Goats raised in the
urban areas don’t have
this unique flavour and that’s why
people living in the cities would rather drive few hours out of the city to the
Manyattas out in
the country in Maasai land to enjoy true authentic goat meat. Goat milk is also
a delicacy. Even though the goats raised by the Maasai are mostly for meat,
they produce milk, albeit in small amounts.
The goat meat – chevon: A
delicacy!
Goats are very important to the Maasai and any other
communities that raise animals. Every part of the goat is used and the meat can
be prepared in so many ways that seems to leave the people wanting more. The
hide is usually stretched out on a frame to air-dry it. Once dried, it can be
sold to the tannery to be turned into beautiful items. Different parts of the
goat can be prepared differently. The ribs and the thighs are usually roasted
over fire slowly. This is popularly known as nyama-choma or
roasted meat, which can be eaten with any other dish. Most people prefer to eat
the nyama-choma with ugali or sima – the
popular corn meal. Others prefer it with sliced tomatoes, coriander onions and
salt. You can eat it whichever way you
prefer and I can guarantee you that you will still enjoy it and you will be
wanting more in a few days. The tripe once cleaned can be boiled then sautéed. The
uncooked meat can be preserved by salting, made into strips and hanged to dry
or can be smoked. Bones are boiled to make a stock also popularly known as Supu in
Swahili. One can choose the drink Supu whichever way they like. Some prefer to add salt and
some people prefer it just the way it is with nothing added. The Maasai usually
boil some medicinal roots and bucks separately and mix the stock with the
medicinal concoction and drink it that way. I remember how bitter it was and
how my grandfather would encourage me to keep drinking until I was usually
drenched in sweat.
 |
| Cooked chevon |
Goats
have been a great source of food security and sovereignty to many east African
communities for millennia. They provide a source of protein, milk, hide and
income. Their hardiness makes them even more suitable to the hot and dry
climate and long droughts that east Africa sometimes go through. This ensures
that families that usually depend on other activities like farming and rearing
of other animals like cattle have something to rely on when all others fail.
For
the Maasai and the east African communities living abroad the thought of the texture
and flavours of goat meat at home brings about memories of good times with
family and friends. So, every time we gather we get goat meat and prepare it
like we do back home – roasting over fire- aka nyamachoma. The only problem is that the meat of goats raised on
grains has a different texture and flavour than those raise on grass and herbs.
But the sharing of the goat meat with few drinks and catching up with friends
on the on goings in the home country overcomes the flavour and texture issues.
The mention of goat meat to me means traditions, sharing and good times with
family and friends. It brings about the smells of the Manyatta which I associate with my growing up and taking goats out
to graze. I look back to my goat raising days with
nostalgia.
