SC - Okra

[Mordonna22@aol.com]

> Off the top of my head, I believe okra is of African origin. It is now
> common across North Africa and the Middle East, but I don't know how
> common it is, or was, in Spain. Dried okra is, I think, a common Middle
> Eastern staple (I can buy it strung on threads in the local Lebanese
> grocery), and it seems like this would be a good way to ship it to
> places where it is inconvenient to grow it, if it was something people
> wanted.
>   
> Adamantius
> Østgardr, East
> 
Root comments that African slaves introduced okra to the New World from
Africa and the plant was brought to Europe from there.  It is tied to an
African religious sect, Candomble, which was transferred to Brazil.  The
name appears to be derived from "nkruman" or "nkrumun," the name for okra in
the Twi language of Africa's Gold Coast, primarily Ghana.

As an interesting point:

"The Horizon Cookbook reproduced an ancient Egyptian painting which was
alleged to depict slaves harvesting okra from trellises, but if the fruits
shown were supposed to be okra, the Egyptians were very inaccurate painters.
I have yet to come across any convincing evidence that okra was known to any
literate society before our era, a point in favor of an African rather than
an Asian origin, for Asia became literate before Africa did."

Bear
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