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Egusi Soup
Egusi, also spelled egushi ( Yoruba: Ẹ̀gúṣí), are the protein-rich seeds of certain cucurbitaceous plants ( squash, melon, gourd), which, after being dried and ground, are used as a major ingredient in West African cuisine. Egusi is a Yoruba word, and the popular method of cooking it is deeply rooted in Yoruba culinary traditions. Egusi melon seeds are large and white in appearance; sometimes they look brownish or off-white in color but the main egusi color is primarily white. Scholars disagree whether the word is used more properly for the seeds of the colocynth, those of a particular large-seeded variety of the watermelon, or generically for those of ''any'' cucurbitaceous plant. Egusi seeds are in a class of their own and should never be mistaken for pumpkin or watermelon seeds. In particular the name "egusi" may refer to either or both plants (or more generically to other cucurbits) in their capacity as seed crops, or to a soup made from these seeds and popula ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
EGUSI
Egusi, also spelled egushi ( Yoruba: Ẹ̀gúṣí), are the protein-rich seeds of certain cucurbitaceous plants ( squash, melon, gourd), which, after being dried and ground, are used as a major ingredient in West African cuisine. Egusi is a Yoruba word, and the popular method of cooking it is deeply rooted in Yoruba culinary traditions. Egusi melon seeds are large and white in appearance; sometimes they look brownish or off-white in color but the main egusi color is primarily white. Scholars disagree whether the word is used more properly for the seeds of the colocynth, those of a particular large-seeded variety of the watermelon, or generically for those of ''any'' cucurbitaceous plant. Egusi seeds are in a class of their own and should never be mistaken for pumpkin or watermelon seeds. In particular the name "egusi" may refer to either or both plants (or more generically to other cucurbits) in their capacity as seed crops, or to a soup made from these seeds and popular ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Côte D'Ivoire
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is the port city of Abidjan. It borders Guinea to the northwest, Liberia to the west, Mali to the northwest, Burkina Faso to the northeast, Ghana to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean's Gulf of Guinea to the south. With 31.5 million inhabitants in 2024, Ivory Coast is the third-most populous country in West Africa. Its official language is French, and indigenous languages are also widely used, including Bété, Baoulé, Dyula, Dan, Anyin, and Cebaara Senufo. In total, there are around 78 languages spoken in Ivory Coast. The country has a religiously diverse population, including numerous followers of Islam, Christianity, and traditional faiths often entailing animism. Before its colonisation, Ivory Coast was ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Efik Language
Efik (''Usem Efịk'') is the indigenous language of the Efik people, who are situated in the present-day Cross River State and Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria, as well as in the north-west of Cameroon. The Efik language is mutually intelligible with other lower Cross River languages such as Ibibio, Anaang, Oro and Ekid but the degree of intelligibility in the case of Oro and Ekid is unidirectional; in other words, speakers of these languages speak and understand Efik (and Ibibio) but not vice versa. The Efik vocabulary has been enriched and influenced by external contact with the British, Portuguese and other surrounding communities such as Balondo, Oron, Efut, Okoyong, Efiat and Ekoi (Qua). Classification The Efik Language has undergone several linguistic classifications since the 19th century. The first attempt at classifying the Efik language was by Dr. William Balfour Baikie in 1854. Baikie, p. 420 Dr Baikie had stated, "All the coast dialects from One to Old Ka ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ibibio Language
Ibibio is the native language of the Ibibio people of Nigeria, belonging to the Ibibio-Efik dialect cluster of the Cross River languages. The name ''Ibibio'' is sometimes used for the entire dialect cluster. In pre- colonial times, it was written with Nsibidi ideograms, similar to Igbo, Efik, Anaang, and Ejagham. Ibibio has also had influences on Afro-American diasporic languages such as AAVE words like buckra which come from the Ibibio word mbakara and in the Afro-Cuban tradition of abakua. Geographic distribution The Ibibio people are found in the South-South region of Nigeria in Akwa Ibom State, Cross River State, and Eastern Abia State (Arochukwu and Ukwa East LGAs). Ibibio communities in Opobo Nkoro and Oyigbo LGA's of Rivers State are largely unknown. Some Ibibios are also found in other neighboring countries (western Cameroon, Bioko — central Guinea, and Ghana). Phonology Consonants * are bilabial, whereas is labiodental. ** has two allophones, which occ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edo Language
Edo (; English: , West African English: Help:IPA, /ˈedo/), also known as Bini, is the language spoken by the Edo people in Edo State, Nigeria. It was the primary language of the Benin Empire and its predecessor, Igodomigodo for thousands of years. It is the majority language spoken in Edo State, particularly in Benin City, and the surrounding local governments and senatorial districts in the Southern parts of the State. Distribution Most of the Edo language-speakers live in the Southern parts of Edo State, Nigeria. The current state: Edo State derives its name from the Edo speaking people of the state. A smaller number of Edo speakers are also found in Delta State and Ondo State and in other parts of Nigeria. Edo is an Edoid language. These languages are also spoken in Rivers State and Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Phonology Vowels There are seven vowels, , all of which may be long or nasal, and three tones. Consonants Edo has a rather average consonant inventory for an Ed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Igbo Language
Igbo ( , ; Standard Igbo: ''Ásụ̀sụ́ Ìgbò'' ) is the principal native language cluster of the Igbo people, an ethnicity in the Southeastern part of Nigeria. Igbo languages are spoken by a total of 31 million people. The number of Igboid languages depends on how one classifies a language versus a dialect, so there could be around 35 different Igbo languages. The core Igbo cluster, or Igbo proper, is generally thought to be one language but there is limited mutual intelligibility between the different groupings (north, west, south and east). A standard literary language termed 'Igbo izugbe' (meaning "general igbo") was generically developed and later adopted around 1972, with its core foundation based on the Orlu, Imo, Orlu (Isu people, Isu dialects), Anambra (Awka dialects) and Umuahia (Ohuhu dialects), omitting the nasal vowel, nasalization and aspiration (phonetics), aspiration of those varieties. History The first book to publish Igbo terms was ''History of the Mis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ga Language
Ga is a Kwa language spoken in Ghana, in and around the capital Accra, by the Ga people. There are also some speakers in Togo, Benin and western Nigeria. It has a phonemic distinction between three vowel lengths. Classification Ga is a Kwa language, part of the Niger–Congo family. It is very closely related to Adangme, and together they form the Ga–Dangme branch within Kwa. Ga is the predominant language of the Ga people, an ethnic group of Ghana. Ethnic Ga family names (surnames) include Owoo, Lartey, Nortey, Aryee, Lamptey, Tetteh, Ankrah, Tetteyfio, Laryea, Ayitey, Okine, Bortey, Quarshie, Quaye, Quaynor, Ashong, Kotei, Clottey, Nai, Sowah, Odoi, Maale, Ako, Adjetey, Annang, Yemoh,and Abbey. Geographic distribution Ga is spoken in south-eastern Ghana, in and around the capital Accra. It has relatively little dialectal variation. Although English is the official language of Ghana, Ga is one of 16 languages in which the ''Bureau of Ghana Languages'' publishes ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cameroonian Pidgin English
Cameroonian Pidgin English, or Cameroonian Creole (, from West Coast), is a language variety of Cameroon. It is also known as Kamtok (from 'Cameroon-talk'). It is primarily spoken in the Northwest Region (Cameroon), North West and Southwest Region (Cameroon), South West English speaking regions. Cameroonian Pidgin English is an English-based creole language. Approximately 5% of Cameroonians are native speakers of the language, while an estimated 50% of the population speak it in some form. The terms "Cameroonian Pidgin", "Cameroonian Pidgin English", "Cameroonian Creole", and "Kamtok" are synonyms for what Cameroonians call Cameroon Pidgin English. Several speakers of Cameroonian pidgin refer to Standard English as "Grammar", and recognize the difference between the two. It is a variety of West African English Pidgins spoken along the coast from Ghana to Cameroon. It is a vehicular language that has been in active use in the country for over 200 years. It came into being in the Sl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Krio Language
The Sierra Leonean Creole or Krio is an English-based creole language that is the lingua franca and de facto national language spoken throughout the West African nation of Sierra Leone. Krio is spoken by 96 percent of the country's population, and it unites the different ethnic groups in the country, especially in their trade and social interaction with each other. Krio is the primary language of communication among Sierra Leoneans at home and abroad, and has also heavily influenced Sierra Leonean English. The language is native to the Sierra Leone Creole people, or Krios, a community of about 104,311 descendants of freed slaves from the West Indies, Canada, United States and the British Empire, and is spoken as a second language by millions of other Sierra Leoneans belonging to the country's indigenous tribes. English is Sierra Leone's official language, and Krio, despite its common use throughout the country, has no official status. Overview The Krio language is an offshoot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hausa Language
Hausa (; / ; Hausa Ajami, Ajami: ) is a Chadic language spoken primarily by the Hausa people in the northern parts of Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Benin and Togo, and the southern parts of Niger, and Chad, with significant minorities in Ivory Coast. A small number of speakers also exist in Sudan. Hausa is a member of the Afroasiatic language family and is the most widely spoken language within the Chadic branch of that family. Despite originating from a non-tonal language family, Hausa utilizes differences in pitch to distinguish words and grammar. ''Ethnologue'' estimated that it was spoken as a first language by some 58 million people and as a second language by another 36 million, bringing the total number of Hausa speakers to an estimated 94 million. In Nigeria, the Hausa film industry is known as Kannywood. Classification Hausa belongs to the West Chadic languages subgroup of the Chadic languages group, which in turn is part of the Afroasiatic languages, Afro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Citrullus Lanatus
The watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Cucurbitaceae, that has a large, edible fruit. It is a scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, and is widely cultivated worldwide, with more than 1,000 varieties. Watermelons are grown in favorable climates from tropical to temperate regions worldwide for its large edible fruit, which is a berry with a hard rind and no internal divisions, and is botanically called a ''pepo''. The sweet, juicy flesh is usually deep red to pink, with many black seeds, although seedless varieties exist. The fruit can be eaten raw or pickled, and the rind is edible after cooking. It may also be consumed as a juice or an ingredient in mixed beverages. Kordofan melons from Sudan are the closest relatives and may be progenitors of modern, cultivated watermelons. Wild watermelon seeds were found in Uan Muhuggiag, a prehistoric site in Libya that dates to approximately 3500 BC. In 2022, a study was releas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melothria Sphaerocarpa
''Melothria sphaerocarpa'' is a species of melon native from southern Mexico and the Dominican Republic through Central America to tropical South America. It has been introduced to western tropical Africa, where has been known under the synonym ''Cucumeropsis mannii'', and is grown for food and as a source of oil, more often for the seed oil than for the fruit. Its common names include ''egusi'' in Yoruba, egwusi'' in Igbo and ''agushi'' in Hausa. Vernacular names for this crop include ''egusi-itoo''. In English it is known as Mann's cucumeropsis and white-seed melon.[ Egunjobi, J.K. & Adebisi, A.A. (2004). "''Cucumeropsis mannii'' Naudin". Grubben, G.J.H. & Denton, O.A. (Ed). PROTA 2: Vegetables/Légumes. CD-Rom. PROTA, Wageningen, Netherlands Description ''Melothria sphaerocarpa'' produces climbing vines up to 4 meters long which are covered in stiff hairs. The heart-shaped or roughly palmate leaves are up to 12 centimeters long and 14 wide. It bears small yellow male a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
