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Country of origin:
Kenya

History:
ETO is a traditional food given to virgin girls on the day of their first period. When girls reach puberty among the Krobo people in the Eastern part of East Africa they are kept in a separate house from all other community members. While they are in the house for two weeks they are taught how to cook, manage a home, and keep their health, by the Old Lady of the community.

They are well-fed for the two week period, and their skin is specially treated with the liquid from palm kernel nuts which soften and smooths it.

On the day of the festival the old women of the community prepare mashed yam with palm oil and boiled eggs for the virgins to eat. The eggs are not to be chewed but to be swallowed. The egg symbolises their fertility. Swallowing an egg is a sign of placing your children in your womb.

There is an initiation rite at the village stream. The Krobos believe in the goddess of the stream. The goddess exposes any girl who is not a virgin but posing as one. If a girl is exposed by the goddess she is banished from the village. After the initiation rites the girls are outdoored. They dance traditionally through the town square. This is done to expose them to the men of the town, to tell them that they are of age and ready to marry.

Any girl who gets pregnant before the rite is performed for her is banished from the community. The rites are very important to the Krobo people, as they bring honour and respect to the girl and her family.

In the olden days when these rites were compulsory teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases were not in existence. Girls kept themselves “clean” until marriage and even after.

Ingredients:
Boiled yam
Palm oil
Salt
Eggs

Directions:
Boil sliced yam for about five to ten minutes. Leave to cool and then mash it. Add salt to taste, and then add the palm oil. Add boiled eggs and serve.

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