“Where is this country” is the first question from the Virtual Nomad community. The tiny Comoros is a fairly unknown island nation off the coast of Mozambique, between Madagascar and mainland Africa – and one of the 54 African countries. It constitutes three major islands (Grande Comore, Mohéli and Anjouan – the local names of these islands are Ngazidja, Mwali and Nzwani), and several smaller islands. Close by is the island of Mayotte, an overseas department of France, disputed by Comoros – the two referendums in 1974 and 2009 have kept Mayotte as part of France. Comoros itself became independent from France in 1975.
But first, as always. Food.
The Islands Party: Comoros
Sometimes the Virtual Nomad stops combine countries, just out of convenience, and this is the case with Comoros. We decide to organise an Islands Afternoon Party to celebrate both Comoros and the Cook Islands, which are quite different in other aspects, but are both island states of several islands. That is a good enough reason for us to host a garden party for these two! On a wonderful, slightly overcasted early autumn afternoon we invite Virtual Nomads to a garden party, and in the end, over twenty nomads show up. Most of the attendees have been to at least one or two food stops before, but we also have two newbies in the group, one brought by my lovely friend AR (her first stop was Colombia). AR’s friend is actually my work colleague which was a nice surprise. And the other newbie is my son A’s (11) young friend. In the end, we have 22 people at the garden party.
As for the Comoros menu, that is my responsibility. I have set my sights on four different Comorian dishes but in the end, as I cannot find breadfruit in Sydney to prepare Inafliton Lemai (a popular snack in Comoros made of breadfruit, salt and coconut oil) so I end up preparing only three. The national food of Comoros is Langouste à la Vanille (Vanilla Lobster) but not only is that expensive to prepare and hard to find, I also do not trust that my ability would result in a good result. Therefore I go for Mshakiki, a dish of skewered and grilled meat marinated with spices. I prepare the marinade (lemon, salt, black pepper, cumin, turmeric, chilli, garlic, onion, ginger, coriander, and a little bit of kiwi) the night before, and then prepare the dish in the oven for several hours. Traditionally it is prepared on a charcoal grill, but I trust my oven to do at least a decent job. Mshakiki is a common dish during Ramadan and is said to blend several culinary traditions – African,Arabic, Indian and French. It is also typical in Yemen and some Eastern African countries. It is a well received dish. I do not eat meat myself but the strong blend of spices gives the dish a very pleasant aroma. It does not look exactly as it should (as I am not a masterchef) but the taste is what matters and by the end of the afternoon, the dish has disappeared.
Mshakiki is often served with flatbread, or yeasted leavened bread with sesame seeds, called Mkatra Foutra. It is an easy dish to make and I get A (11) to help me in the preparation. What makes it different from a ‘normal’ flatbread is that it is prepared with coconut milk. It is a very easy recipe with eggs, yeast, flour (both wholemeal and all purpose flour) and warm water. I did prepare a gluten free-option as well which was not a complete success but edible enough.
My third Comoros dish is called Soupe Faux Pois (meaning a fake pea soup) – a refreshing pea soup. Not everyone in our Virtual Nomad party is a fan of peas and some give it a pass. But in the end it is quite a light, refreshing soup – but yes, with a lot of peas. The base is coconut milk again, and besides peas it has onion, tomatoes, and spices (cumin, coriander, cayenne, garlic). It has been called the national soup of Comoros and is often served as a starter to more substantial meals. Like many features of the Comorian cuisine, it is a fusion of African, French and Arab influences. It is served cold, so it works well on a warm autumn afternoon.
Islands in the sea
As mentioned before, Comoros is made of three major islands and some smaller islands. The name of the country, Comoros, comes from an Arabic word al-qamar, meaning the moon. The first settlers were likely the Bantu people, who were then joined by Persian and Arab traders. The islands became important ports of trade, which also meant the spread of Islam around the 10th century. The islands were also visited frequently by the Portuguese and then by the 19th century, France had also taken interest. First, they claimed Mayotte (that still is an overseas department of France) and then, in 1886, the rest of the islands. Comoros (sans Mayotte) gained independence in 1975 but turbulent times followed, with coups, political instability and several presidents, some worse than others. The current president Azali Assoumani has been in power since 2016 but the country’s elections have been accused of being rigged and fraudulent. Comoros does not score well in terms of transparency, and corruption is rampant. Comoros is a fairly poor country with most of the population finding their livelihood in agriculture.
One book from Comoros
As for books from Comoros, I decide to read only one book, as the offer is not very broad and apart from one or two books, also not very accessible.
Ali Zamir (born in 1987) is an author from the island of Anjouan, the second largest island of the Comoros, who studies French literature and lived in France for a while. Ali’s debut, A Girl Called Eel (2016) won several awards, including the Prix Senghor in 2016. Since 2014, he has been the Director of Culture and Cooperative Activities in Anjouan.
“He didn’t realise that although you can overpower the body and keep it immobilised and lifeless, you can’t pin down the souls, it won’t be forced to the ground with broken wings.”
This is an unusual book – it is basically one sentence for 300 pages (divided in five parts), a stream of consciousness of a drowning 17-year old girl Eel (Anguille) who remembers her life in one prolonged sentence (or a breath). She seems to talk to her own mind as she rambles, as teenagers sometimes do, from one theme to another, sometimes sounding very mature and sometimes very young. She has a twin called Rattler, a father called All-Knowing and a lover called Veracious. She lives in the city of Mutsumudu, on Anjouan and she describes what her life was like. It offers a fascinating glimpse of life in the Comoros, but the themes are universal – hope and betrayal. The pace of the narrative sometimes tumbles which I understand is meant to seem like her distorted thinking when approaching death. It is a story in which winners are few, losers are many but also the survivors are surprising.
Absences, residences and the grand marriage
Not surprisingly, there are not many films made in Comoros. The first feature film was a 2000 comedy film Yéyamba Wandzé Mdrou Ndo? by Arsin Soiby. It is not available on any viewing platform so unfortunately we are not able to watch it for this stop. Fortunately we can watch a short film made in Comoros, and a super interesting documentary about a fundamentally important cultural tradition for the Comoran society, the Grand Marriage.
La Résidence Ylang Ylang (2008) is a short fiction shot on 35mm and written and directed by Hachimiya Ahamada who was born in France to Comorian parents. She has directed a few documentaries about the Comoros – especially about immigration, from both angles; those that leave and those that stay. La Résidence Ylang Ylang runs only for 20 minutes but deals with the theme of immigration in a deeply touching way. A villager Djibril takes care of his brother’s house – the brother left the country over twenty years ago and seems to not be coming back. The islanders like Djibril live in huts made of straw or metal while the village is filled with empty houses (of permanent structures) built by those that have left the country. When Djibril’s hut burns down, he is faced with the decision of whether or not to move to his brother’s empty house. Hachimiya’s most recent film Ivresse d’une Oasis (2011) “explores the relationship between the inhabitants of the Comoros and the Comorian Diaspora that return to the homeland”.
Le gran marriage (2013) is a documentary by Faisal Al Otaibi (produced by Al-Jazeera) that explores the importance of the traditional Grand Marriage in the Comoran culture. The Grand Marriage is a Comoran tradition that has been passed from generation to generation. The basic idea is that the Grand Marriage takes place some three to twenty years after the first wedding (the “small wedding”). In general the couple saves for years to have the celebration that in general takes about a week, and it is very important to obtain social status, and some traditional
costumes are allowed for men only after they have celebrated the Grand Marriage – they gain new social status as full adult members of the society. The preparations for the grand wedding might take up ten years. It is an important social rite and an important part of a person’s social standing, and the respect they have from the people and community of Comoros.
In the documentary, a former government minister Yehia Mohamed Elias married his first wife twenty years ago and they have seven children. He also married another, younger, woman two years ago – and he wants to celebrate le Gran Marriage with both. This is the first time that anyone has celebrated Le Gran Marriage with two wives – some men do have several wives but then celebrate the Grand Marriage only with one of them. In Yehia’s case, the first wife approves, and says she loves her husband even more after he married the other young wife. But at 23 minutes of the documentary she says ”I have done my best to make him happy. This did not stop him from taking a second wife”, and then she assures that she approves of this and that she thinks he even waited too long for taking another wife.
The preparation is important and when it comes to the wife/wives, a beauty process is a must and can take up to six months. It is called Mesenzal, and it takes place at night in order to make the bride “as beautiful as the moon”.
It is a super interesting and easily digestible (50 minutes) documentary that truly shows the importance of this tradition and ritual in Comoran society. It is eye opening and informative, but also shows well the Comoran natural and human landscape, and that is even more interesting than the tradition itself.
This was an interesting stop about a country that we knew so little about.
Thank you L for proofreading
Next stop: The Democratic Republic of the Congo