"Anza-Hosa" I said under my breath as I rifled through our Ethiopia pictures in preparation for sharing with partners last August. Knowing the group at my brother's house would enjoy this story, I right-clicked on this particular picture and pressed "set as wallpaper." Later that evening, when asked about it, I told what little I knew about the scene.
We had been invited to a Gmz wedding celebration, or rather a bride send off (it was a home village's send off for a girl going to be married to a man from a different clan/village). As usual, despite having no connection to the family, we were given seats of honor right next to the bride – who was quite easy to identify since she had covered her body in red dirt. Very attractive indeed!
Not only were we assigned to sit in an awkward place of honor, but they also granted us front row seats to the show, that is, the preparation of the large bull slaughtered for this special occasion.
There it was: the meat, the white meat (ie. fat), and all the edible innards being meticulously dissected and laid out on the mat of its own hide. Several village dogs prowled the area staying just out of reach of the stick-wielding kids. They looked jealously on the swarms of flies who were already getting the first tastes, and were no doubt leaving behind a bit of seasoning.
I watched the dissection carefully, trying to identify each of the parts that I knew: saaŋkama (liver), k'obitsama (heart), fateema (lung), çiilama (intestines)…impressing not only myself, but also the few Gumuz near me. In the midst of the activity, I zeroed in on the person emptying the intestines, "Anza-hosa (cow poop)," I said, which of course, incited the laughter of my little audience. But then as I watched, something occurred to me: they were emptying the "anza-hosa" into a saucepan! The pan of poop was then given to a woman who casually mixed it with some chopped-up hot peppers, and then carried it over to the people gathered under the temporary shelters.
I knew that the Gmz people ate almost every part of the animals they slaughtered, but this? Fighting back a sour expression on my face, I watched as people dipped their pieces of meat into this extra special marinade. Clearly, it was time for us to go, I didn't want our gracious host to wave that pan under my nose!
That is all I knew of the special marinade, and the people gathered at my brother's house that night agreed that we had made the right decision in our quick departure. Little did I know that the night's story-telling would have long-term effects. Because for whatever reason, that "anza-hosa" photo has yet to be replaced as my desktop background – eleven months running!
When we returned to Ethiopia and I first worked with the team of Gmz translators, they saw my background and immediately recognized it, saying, "Lakaanziya manamaas! (Lakaanziya is yummy!)" We got into a mock argument with me insisting that it was cow poop and them saying that it is rather a sour sauce found at a certain point in the small intestine – a point they say occurs before it turns into true poop. I wasn't buying it, and wrinkled my nose in disgust every morning when we opened my computer to begin work. "Its yummy!" they would say, "You should try it, one day you will try it with us!" Oh my, what did I get myself into.
And so, after almost six months of being told how much I will enjoy it, the day finally came. And it couldn't have been more appropriate, a feast on feces to celebrate July 1st with our great neighbors to the north (that is, Canada Day, of course!). We wanted our summer intern, Matthew, to feel "at home" back in Canada, so we gathered a bunch of the project workers (translators, their wives, and some review committee members) and killed a goat in celebration.
When preparing the insides, Work'u made a point of showing me the particular section of the intestines in which the lakaanziya is found. Slicing it open, he tasted the brown liquid with his finger.
Likely my facial expression directly contradicted the smile that spread across his face, "That's it!" he said. The two to three foot section of intestines was cut off, tied on both ends and set aside for later. Oooo, I could hardly wait!
The rest of the meat was cut up and boiled over the cooking fires that the women had gotten roaring in the little grass house. Micah has learned pretty quickly that if he is standing near the cooks, he will constantly be slipped little goodies along the way. First, came the liver, only seared on the outside so I requested that ours be cooked a bit more. After all, the liver's job is to clean the blood of all its contaminants, why would I put those captured contaminants in my mouth, uncooked? When the fully cooked livers came back, it also came with pieces of the heart, lung, kidneys, and intestines.
Micah dug in straight away, not objecting to the lakaanziya, the special marinade, offered along side. Micah tried it without knowing, nor really caring, what he was eating. Matthew and I were unfortunately very well informed and yet we partook enough to satisfy our delighted hosts, "Its good, isn't it?"
Well, I have to admit, it wasn't necessarily bad once we got past the psychological barrier. There was something sour about it, giving an extra kick to the hot peppers mixed in. Not that I am going to order it at a local restaurant (which is possible if you get there early enough on the morning of a slaughter), but at the same time, I'm proud to say, "Been there, done that," next time a Gmz asks me if I have tried this fine delicacy.
Having cooked everything to perfection, the Canada Day feast began, complete with Canadian toothpick flags, napkins and other decorations spread around the room (decorations I was given by a particular outspoken "proud to be Canadian" friend we are sad to see leaving Ethiopia this month).
Oh Canada, long live your beautiful land of fishing, hunting and cheap prescription drugs. For the most part, we enjoyed our party in your honor. Unfortunately, I can't promise that we will be faithful in celebrating your exciting holiday from now on, I don't know what it is, maybe it just left a bad taste in my mouth.
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