Bikita farmers (the source of Steenbok’s millet seed) visit Xolisile’s pearl millet field during the Ihula ceremony to advise how to harvest millet so it continues shooting more heads and how to protect the heads from being eaten by birds
During 2023, EarthLore successfully celebrated the Year of the Millets, declared by the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) with many activities, celebrations and ceremonies focused on millet and its diverse properties and uses. Millet, particularly Finger millet, is considered a sacred seed and communities along the millet belt in Africa use it to perform many rituals.
This is the story of Steenbok, a small rural farming community in eastern Mpumalanga, South Africa, that recently joined the EarthLore family, and has been motivated to revive millet after recognising the need to perform certain neglected rituals to restore harmony and balance with the spiritual realm and with nature. For Steenbok, 2024 is the year when several rituals will be revived, starting with the Ihula or marula ceremony in March.
This initiative has been largely driven by Xolisile Themba, who was born and raised in Steenbok, and became a traditional healer at the young age of 13. More recently, after attending several EarthLore Seed and Food Fairs and agroecology trainings, she revived her seeds and farming practices. She accurately understands that being a traditional farmer is also the work of a healer. By making organic compost that builds healthy soils and harvesting rainwater and caring for water resources close to the village while planting traditional seeds, endangered indigenous trees and medicinal herbs, farmers in Steenbok are promoting biodiversity and helping to heal Mother Earth.
This is part 1 of Xolisile’s story:
When I was growing up, most of the people in Steenbok were farmers and cultivated different crops for their main staple food and relish. When my mother cooked, she would usually use groundnuts (peanuts) as a replacement for cooking oil. She would also add pounded nuts to the dishes for extra flavour and texture. I have always enjoyed the taste of these dishes and the fact that I still enjoy them today is a testament to how traditional foods are able to stand the test of time.
However, things have changed. I have seen firsthand the effects of climate change on our community. There have been drastic shifts in weather patterns, resulting in unpredictable seasons, long droughts, floods, and a decrease in crop yields. This has led to food insecurity and poverty in the area. By abandoning our traditional customs, we have neglected our responsibility to care for the environment and it has come back to haunt us.
With all these things on my mind, I was excited when I was invited to be a part of EarthLore’s Seed and Food Fairs in September and October 2023, first in Bikita, Zimbabwe, and followed by Mazwimba, in Venda, Limpopo. During these fairs, I was able to remember and learn more about the importance of preserving our traditional practices to protect our environment. There were opportunities to meet other traditional healers and spirit mediums from different parts of the world and to learn from their knowledge and experience, as well as to exchange ideas on how to promote and preserve traditional practices. I came back to Steenbok inspired to continue my work, both as a traditional healer and as a farmer.
I wanted to go to Zimbabwe to see the traditional farming systems and seed varieties that the Bikita farmers have revived. I had been told how their farming systems help to protect the environment, promote food security, and sustain the livelihoods of local communities. What caught and held my attention, however, was the rich diversity of seed that has been revived in the last few years since 2016 and the different varieties that are reappearing. I am fascinated by the adaptation of seeds over centuries to the local climate and environment and how this makes them robust, resilient and reliable.
I was particularly interested in the millet seed on display and all the varieties: Mgcobane (Pearl millet), Mashalane (Finger millet), Svoboda (barnyard millet). My attention kept being drawn to the small grains of Finger millet. When I saw these seeds, I found myself thinking about how to revive Finger millet in Steenbok, where very few people remember it or have heard of it.
My interest in bringing back Finger millet is that traditional healers use it as medicine and for rituals, and as food for treating many ailments like blood sugar, high blood pressure, heart problems and obesity. In Steenbok many people have become aware that we need to take steps to restore our traditional practices and rituals and ceremonies to ensure a healthy future for our community. So, I was very excited when I thought about propagating and multiplying finger millet and the benefits it could bring as medicine, food, and for rituals, while also protecting the environment and sustaining the livelihoods of local communities.
In Steenbok, people are familiar with Pearl millet, and they enjoyed eating it, though we have not been planting it as a crop for many years. This was until Samson Nkhata, EarthLore’s agroecology trainer, visited Steenbok last year, in 2023, and demonstrated how to plant Pearl millet.
Finger millet, like Pearl millet, is a seed that requires much less water than hybrid maize, our current staple, and can grow in poor shallow soils. My plan to revive Finger millet involved returning to Steenbok from Bikita with a good supply of millet seeds and to use our community dialogues to spread knowledge and seeds, particularly about Finger millet, to farmers, traditional leaders and healers, and the youth. Several farmers decided to plant millet in December 2023, including me. Despite lack of rain, my Pearl millet crop is doing well, and will be ready to be harvested soon. To celebrate the harvest, Steenbok is planning to hold the Ihula ceremony on 16 March. The last time the practice was performed was 1997. We are all very excited that this is happening. The EarthLore programme team will be there to celebrate with us. It will be a momentous occasion, marking the start of the revival of important ceremonies and rituals that were almost forgotten in Steenbok.
Xolisile’s story of the Ihula ceremony will feature in Part 2.
