I am working in South Africa for two months, while seeing my grandchildren. South Africa is full of contradictions - great wealth alongside great poverty, sophisticated modern living alongside deeply entrenched rural traditions. My grandchildren cross these divides.
My grandson told me with pride this story about the slaughter of his first chicken: 'You have to slaughter an animal because it is part of being a man. You dig a hole, and cut the chicken over the hole and the blood soaks into the earth for the ancestors. One of my grannies held the feet and the wings, and I grabbed the head and cut it off with a knife. You have to do it very fast so the chicken isn't harmed too much. Some of the girls dance and the oldest man says a prayer in Southu, like "Give us forgiveness for killing this chicken". We put the chicken in a bowl of hot water to pluck it, then cut a hole in stomach and pull out the innards. My granny squeezes the bad stuff out of the stomach, and washes it carefully, then stuffs it with her secret recipe. It tastes very good. We put the chicken in a pot and cook it. I get the biggest slice. It tastes better when people slaughter their own animals because the meat is fresh. When I get older I will slaughter a goat or a cow.'
When these rural traditions are imported into the city they can cause problems. The ritual slaughtering of animals raises issue about hygiene, and unnecessary cruelty to animals.
Yet most children do not know where food comes from, or what has to be done to it before it gets eaten. Cartoon animals and fluffy toys are the norm. People sentimentalise pets and pay a lot of money to feed them. We do not have a realistic view of the relationship between animals and humans.
African families also rely on slaughterhouses and supermarkets. But ritual ceremonies may be practical rather than primitive, a recognition of what is involved in human dependence on animal life.
- Helen Penn is professor of early childhood studies at the University of East London.
