The First Seventy Years: Chapter 49 - Mealie-Meal
Eric Biddulph tells of family life in Africa.
During the dry season of 1971 around June we were invited by Goodwin to visit his family village some thirty kilometres south of Blantyre. We were introduced to his mother and father who lived in a well constructed house with a corrugated steel roof and solid walls. His father had been employed on a nearby tobacco farm. Now retired, a concept experienced by very few Malawians, he was also in receipt of a pension, an even rarer privilege. He was, by local standards, 'well off.
Goodwin's sister also lived in the village with her husband and children. His brother was also a resident with his wife and children. This small community was a good example of the extended family tradition to be found throughout Africa and indeed, most of the majority world.
The staple food of the family was mealie-meal or corn-on-the-cob as we call it supplemented with vegetables. As infant mortality was around 40% then as now, it was imperative that sufficient survivors reached adulthood to provide support for the parents. Bringing down the number of deaths before the fifth birthday is the primary method of achieving a lower birthrate. Until a drastic improvement in the mortality rate of children is attained they will continue to be viewed as an Insurance policy.
