Most of us at some point in our lives have eaten the
strangest of things; from bush-meat (considered as rodents by Westerners) to
monkey meat, Alligator meat …. I tell you, the list is endless.
Truthfully, I have decided never to judge people by the
strange things they eat. I have eaten things people may find disgusting and gross
but are rare delicacies from my neck of the woods.
Pork for instance is really cherished by the Chinese yet
respectfully, due to their religious beliefs, Muslims do not go near pork meat.
Snakes I hear taste like chicken. Still looking for that
courage to try it out. I pray I find it someday
There are certain tribes in Nigeria where a combination of
dog meat and unripe plantain is considered a match made in heaven. At some
point in my life, I thought eating dog meat was really gross. Incidentally,
when I told my dog (meat) loving Calabar friends about my love for edible
worms, I noticed they were just as grossed out as I was when I learnt about
their love for dog meat.
At that point, it dawned on me that we all have some strange
animal/creature we love which is considered alien to other tribes. I know in
the North, they love fried grass hoppers and in some Western communities, they don’t
joke with fried termites and Ijebu garri.
Growing up, I ate monkey meat, octopus, squids and tortoises
(thank God I’m still breathing); they all tasted really nice. I’m done eating
strange stuff as I do not think I am that brave to add anything new to my
existing list.
In conclusion, I guess we all have one or two strange
animals/creatures we have eaten in the past (or still eat) and at the end of
the day, it all boils down to respect and tolerance for other people’s tradition
and religious beliefs when it comes to food.
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