You’re not feeling well. All the bacteria, germs and all those naughty, invisible creatures run riot practically hauling over your digestive system. Aha; Gastritis! That’s what it must be. Look, by some commonly held belief, if it is stomach cramps that are troubling you, the problem could only be one, gastritis! Somewhere down the line, we seem to have given gastritis some ‘national’ identity, our own! And injera has been on the receiving end of the blame.
Now that injera has achieved the international status of its own the blame game has all but quieted down. All attempts to make injera look bad to have failed. After all, the most difficult thing is throwing an egg on the face of the winner and trying to turn public opinion around. Injera, I’m honored to inform you, is in the gold medal spot. Well, sort of.
Wonders never end, do they? We have been using teff for thousands of years and what happens? Some guy flies all the way from the heart of Europe, scoops some teff grain, returns home and what does he do, He applies for teff patent! If thinks the lot of us back here is that stupid he’ll not be having the last laugh! The last time I heard, the case was in the courts.
Another ‘culprit’ sharing the blame for gastritis is red pepper. Ethiopian cuisine without red pepper is like a hamburger without the ham. In case it helps, the red pepper is also given some aphrodisiac reputation. (Now, I’m talking!) Maybe, just maybe, we aren’t a hundred million-plus for no reason!
Do you think you have gastritis? No need to worry, and no need for those expensive medical tests. Pour of water in a coffee cup, add some ground chili, mix it and… voila! Yes, that’s what you do, drink it! There you have the time-proven ‘drug’ to carpet-bomb every unwanted intruder deep inside your anatomy.
A few years back a friend whose wife wasn’t feeling well did just that; gave her a cupful of chili mixed in the water! Well, for the next fortnight the lady simply disappears creating one hell of a b buzz in the village. Her hubby tried to play things down with, “She is too busy.” It wasn’t even a nice try. The talk making the rounds was that she made the trip to the gates of hell and turned back at five minutes to midnight. No medicine is without its side effects.
I don’t know how accurate the numbers are, but it is said more than 80% of the population uses traditional medicine. And with the cost of dislodging even the flimsiest of parasites making huge dents in household budgets many are joining the ‘traditional medicine’ crowd.
Of course, some wouldn’t touch ‘traditional medicine’ no matter how hard you try to convince them to come to their senses. And there are those whose medical advice leaves you wondering, “Would a good uppercut to his damned chin get me locked up?” You are not feeling well. All the bacteria, germs and all those things are running riot turning your inner anatomy into one of those Hong Kong streets. You tell this guy you were not feeling well. He doesn’t even ask what exactly your feelings were before throwing his ‘prescription’ your way;
“You have to cut on your meat consumptions.”
“Sorry, what was that!”
“I was saying cut on your consumption and go for the vegetables.”
“Now, how I the world can I cut back on something that isn’t there in the first place!
“Oh, that’s how smart you are. It’s because I don’t eat enough meat that I’m sick, you weirdo!”
Being sick is expensive. From the doctor’s office to the pharmacy shelves it is really expensive.
You tell some guy the cramps and the aches were getting the best of you.
“Did you go to the doctor?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“You mean you’re doing nothing about it!”
“Well, there is this plant in my neighbor’s backyard and…”
“What! You mean you’re using traditional medicine. What’s wrong with you?”
Hey, take it easy: no need to be steam engine-driven in the age of the electric trains.
“No; what should be asked is what is wrong with YOU!”
It is a pity but one thing about the hyphenated us is that we try to dismiss everything indigenous! They find it easy to run down traditional practices that have endured thousands of years. I’m not comfortable with people who try to dismiss traditional medicine with a single sweep of the hand.
Feeling the cramps; somebody brings that red chili mix! And a reminder, in case I’m not around for a couple of weeks after my encounter with good old chili-mix it will be because I’m too busy.
The Ethiopian Herald Friday 24 January 2020
