sa-mA-naK

Sa-mA-naK is what I talked about in this blog – it is a thick, almost caramel-like substance that is made from mixing the liquid derived from sprouted wheat germ with flour for long long periods of time.  To say it is very labor intensive is an understatement…they stirred the stuff for 12 hours. Like, did not stop stirring for 12 hours...crazy.  Here is how it all went down…

At about 11 on Thursday morning, I heard a knock on the front door.  Angel khAla was there asking me why I hadn’t made my way over to the office yet. It was the big day of the women’s celebration of Sa-mA-naK (saw-ma-nack).  Seeing as they were talking about it being all night long and a gigantic slumber party, I had no idea it would be starting that early. 

I got little t and I ready and headed over.  Imagine my surprise when I felt way over dressed upon arriving…usually these women are dressed to the nines and I feel like a dork in my feeble attempt to fit in. This day however, the women were dressed more casually and my dress was way out of place.  Thankfully we live next door, so I told them I would be right back and ran back home to throw my jeans and long shirt and sweater back on.

The women had arrived at 7 that morning and set to work mixing the sprouted wheat germ with water. Days earlier they had bought a bunch of wheat seed, cleaned it and put it in a large canvas feed sack. They kept it in a warm place and each day they gave it some water until it sprouted.  On Thursday morning they mixed the wheat germ with water again to kind of rinse it.  The liquid that was derived from this process was used to make the sa-mA-naK. They would swish the wheat around in a huge basin of water and then grab handfuls of the wheat out and squeeze as much water out of it as they could.  When they had done this numerous times and were satisfied with the liquid, they began to prepare the cauldron. 

Cauldron is the only word that I can think of to describe the place where they did the cooking.  Out of the yard of the office, they had dug a giant hole…like 3 to 4 feet deep and 3 feet in diameter. This is where they had the fire.  On top of this, they set a huge pot that looked like a witch’s cauldron and blocked the sides in with wood to seal it.  Out the side of the hole, they had an outlet for stoking the fire. 

Once the wheat water was ready, they got the fire going and then added the water and flour to the cauldron and started to stir.  In the beginning it was a light brown color and very thin. They started cooking it at 1 in the afternoon. 

Little t was soon banished from the process because he thought taking a dip in the buckets of wheat water would be a good idea.  He also tried throwing fistfuls of dirt in as well and that didn’t go over either.  We left to play with the kids of the ladies that were working.  Little t shared his toys and was shy, but had fun hanging out for a while. 

Later in the afternoon, the sa-mA-naK started to get thicker and darker in color.  There was always at least one person stirring it with long handled paddle made specifically for this.  Some of the women’s husbands came and the whole place had a festive feel to it.  The women handed over stirring rights to the men while they got supper going…

Though the men came to help (and a few slept there because you never leave your women alone) this was mainly a women’s thing.  That night, the dinner was specifically for the women and we had a great time.  The women made meatballs, roast meat floating in oil, chickpeas, pasta filled with spinach and covered in yoghurt sauce, salad, etc.  It was a feed…a very oily feed, but a feed.  We ate and ate and ate. At the end, one of the women said a prayer of thanks for the food and of blessing for the new year. 

And then we danced…

That is just what you do when you get together with a group of women. Someone always has a small radio in her purse, or they pull up a station on their cell phones and the clapping begins.  In settings like this, they are quick to hop up and dance.  Most of them aren’t amazing dancers, but we smile and laugh and clap.

Meanwhile, the kids were dropping like flies.  Most of them ate themselves silly and then literally rolled over on the cushions and fell asleep.  Older ones covered the younger ones with blankets. One little girl fell asleep sitting up with an apple halfway to her mouth…craziness. 

The dancing continued and we were all drug out onto the floor.  Some of the women like to bust some pretty hilarious moves, others are more conservative in their styles.  Some would stay up and shake it for the whole song, others would last about 10 seconds before they were done.  All in all, it was a good time.

The evening got late and we went out to see how the sa-mA-naK was coming along.  Water must be added 7 times and then boiled down to a thick consistency once again before it is finished.  We sat outside near the fire with the stars overhead and talked and laughed.  The women started telling tales of sa-mA-naK parties when they were young. They told the meanings behind the ritual –that is brings wealth and blessing to those who make it and those households it is given to.  They told about it being a positive start to the new year.  They sang songs they had learned in school about it. There wasn’t much talk given to the fertility ritual part of it…for which I was grateful. A few jokes were thrown my way, but it could have been worse.  Give then fact that I am the only one who is ‘young’ enough to be pregnant and they think we have waited too long to have another baby anyway, I was expecting much worse.

All the while, two women took turns stirring the cauldron of bubbling liquid with the paddles.  A younger girl was in charge of stoking the fire. We all sat around for quite a while, talking and laughing and stirring. I left after a while to head to bed.  I found out later that they stayed up until 2 am stirring the cauldron and preparing the sa-mA-naK before they fell asleep

It was a beautiful night to be out and just really really fun to be involved in something they do. 

Sometimes life with local women feels contrived…they come into ‘our’ world when they come to work at the office.  We see them at weddings and other special occasions and the dynamics are different. 

I find that I most enjoy the mundane, everyday interactions with women because that is when they really come out.  Their guard comes down a little bit. You see small glimpses into their lives that aren’t normally available.  The well put-together and covered-up presentations give way to the people they truly are – covered in sticky goo, stinky from smoke, exhausted from a hard days work, but happy for the most part to be amongst friends. 

It was a good day.