West side influence

The name of this blog 'Back to Africa' is
based on my returning to another country
on the continent. First I spent almost 3 years
in Senegal West Africa, then arrived here
in Namibia two years ago.
This blog entry will be mostly describing the
kola nut that we had available in West Africa.
The reason is that a few months ago, another
volunteer I met took a trip to Mali to visit a
friend. I asked him if he could bring back a few
kola nuts and as you can see in the picture
above, he did.
It sure brought a trip down memory lane and
I added some stats on the kola nut ...

Kola nuts, are native to West Africa. In the 1800s,
a pharmacist in Georgia took extracts of kola, sugar
and coca and mixed them with carbonated water.
His accountant tasted it and called it "Coca Cola."
Today, Coca-Cola still uses kola in its original recipe.
The original Coca-Cola contained coca leaf extracts
(a source of cocaine prohibited in soft drinks in the
U.S. after 1904.)

Kola nuts form an integrated part of the social life; the
nuts are valued for its stimulating, aphrodisiac and
healing qualities.

The nut's aroma is sweet and rose-like. The first taste
is bitter, but sweetens upon chewing. The nut can be
boiled to extract the cola. Cola nut is a breath sweetener
and contains three times (kola has 2–3.5% caffeine)
the caffeine of coffee.

The use of the kola nut, appears to have ancient origins.
It is chewed in many West African cultures, individually
or in a social setting, to restore vitality and ease hunger
pangs. Kola nuts are an important part of the traditional
spiritual practice of culture and religion in West Africa.
Kola nuts are used as a religious object and sacred
offering during prayers, ancestor veneration, and
significant life events, such as naming ceremonies,
weddings, and funerals.

In Senegal the kola nut was definitely used in social
events like meeting a village chief, a gift for someone's
future in-laws at holiday times, baptisms and just
about everything else.

One other custom was for someone who traveled or
spent time away from the village, they had to bring
some presents back to the family. Of course the village
tried to take advantage of it and everyone asked for a
gift.

So, what I used to do was buy a kilo of kola nuts and
a bag of candy for the kids and for about $7 USD
I was able to take care of the whole village of 300
people with as far as gifts were concerned. Also,
they were pretty happy with the kolas as the ones
that were daily users of the kola, didn't have to
deal with a caffeine withdrawal that usually resulted
with them having splitting headaches.

So having these kola nuts here in Namibia was a
fun thing. Didn't need to drink any coffee and like
mentioned above, a small trip down memory lane
went along with the goods.

No one here has ever seen any so I was able to
do a bit of cultural exchange as well.

But got to say after getting a little caffeine buzz
that it'd be nice to have some of these kolas around.