Pounding Fufu

This is how it’s done. But first let me give you some background. It’s nearly 100 degrees, you have this huge pestle which is as tall as an average woman and made out of teak so it weighs a ton. With this delicate instrument you proceed to pound the life out of the cooked sliced pieces of igname. Within seconds sweat is pouring out of every pore. This is really hard work. It takes a while to get the fufu to the right consistency, so it’s often done by two people.

The team method of fufu pounding takes coordination. While one person has her pestle on the upswing, the other one pounds down. They thought I was a great sport for even trying to do this. As soon as the pictures were snapped, the teenagers took over and had the fufu pounded into shape in short order.