The WILDEST Food in Africa’s Emptiest Country!!! (FULL DOCUMENTARY)

is that a cow stomach yeah hold on let me wash my hands yes good ready ready [Applause] welcome to namibia one of the most remarkable countries in africa and the world the culture here is diverse and dynamic with roots that date back thousands of years here this vast landscape stretches out wider than texas but they only have a population of 2.5 million a big chunk of those people live in the country's capital windhoek it means windy corner people from every corner of this country have settled here bringing their culture german here is a local language and their cuisine i like this one it's got some imperfections they're all kind of unique today we're going on an all-out street food mission i've never seen someone really take apart the whole chicken while the guts are still in there trying it all from the delicious i'm having a mouthgasm to the straight up um bizarre you can do it welcome to street food namibia style i'm a little curious what's going on here i look across this parking lot it literally says uh super store right across the street then you guys are set up here i mean what is this would be the open market because there's no roof right and that would be the supermarket with the roof slick the dick that's the name he goes by he's traveled the world even lived in beijing for a while ten years ago he became the country's first stand-up comedian so here you are one of the biggest comedians in the land today sleek will be my sidekick walking me through the complicated street food culture of winter how does it work like the supermarket owners don't care that people are out here not at all they call it competition is good really it makes you work a little harder that's awesome this open market is a supermarket in itself run by several independent vendors and supported by walk-up traffic like me first of all what's your name memory memory yes oh that's a great name i hope i can remember it memory memory memory memory hold on almost memory memory memory memory i do remember following memory to the nearby butcher shop this morning watching her buy fresh cuts of meat and sausage her specialty turning this note into a pile of cash in one day [Laughter] what are your specialties sausage uh dry meat what do you think i should try today maybe the buura voice bora verse and which one is the border water yeah it's inside here yeah buret what's inside this sausage is a mixture of beef and mutton fat nestled inside a hot dog bun is this bread from the supermarket yes oh fantastic she adds some homemade salsa a mix of onion tomato green bell pepper some oil vinegar and barbecue spices and this my next meal is so you made this yes tommy mayo tommy male that sounds awesome thank you very much stunning oh this is really delicious it's no joke i mean it just reminds me of a classic kind of bratwurst but with um delicious toppings the toma mayo is a killer this is fantastic it's how you say it's really nice yes how long have you been here has this always been your spot like for three years i mean just looking it can look kind of random but there's nothing random about this nothing at all if i come up here with my weber grill start cooking hot dogs down there it's going to be a problem right yeah if you cannot just come like thank you steve you can pray because all people are driving their own places in fact this place is supported by the government each of these vendors has a space assigned to them so it's completely legit but it's not without its own challenges azalea has had her spot for four years she can feel the struggle as much as anyone here there's no electricity and no water so each day she must bring her own but on the bright side the meat she's cooking up is conveniently located nearby do you think that cow was alive this morning the old i used to go get it somewhere at the farmer i just think it must be fresh because the butcher doesn't have any ice or refrigeration his cows probably woke up this morning thinking it was going to be a good day oh sorry that's a good meal this area will likely grow and become more developed over time that's what happened here at wernhill flea market years ago vendors served food under this bridge but the conditions were chaotic and unsanitary now the government built permanent stalls where you can witness all kinds of unique local classics there's so much going on here there's some more common foods lots of fried bread pasta macaroni here we saw this earlier at the other market this is the pop yeah every region of the world has their staple carbohydrate here it's pop like a dense porridge made from mahangu or pearl millet boiled with hot water then left to cool until it becomes solid enough to handle by hand on this side some tripe is that a cow stomach yeah that's kind of stomach it can be kind of bitter sometimes sometimes if you have to cook it for a while get that initial bitter flavor out you spice it up and you get a better flavor that's exactly what i'm hoping for i'm hoping for that too usually go with the spoon or hands hands usually hands is better just good i'm gonna try just to pop it first it has almost no flavor the flavor comes from whatever you add to it like tofu or something exactly i think we gotta go for the tripe oh boy a little bit more hungu a little bit of tripe it's intense it's super animally flavored it's like i know this cow better than i ever intended to know this cow you almost gotta work with your teeth to really get it down there it's not like snow regular beef they did a pretty good job addressing the gaminess but it's still there [Music] what's your name yes sunny sony well yeah not like the japanese brand but like uh like the weather and what's your name i know this is my dude uh slick the dick herta in hilma's business was passed down from their mother they offer a crazy amount of food even pop what is the dish that people always come back here for most of the time is pet cakes fat cake yeah nice that was my nickname in middle school i was a sad kid anyways we're here for this but since they're also churning out one of the city's favorites we'll try that too yeast and dough made from corn flour blobbed and dropped in oil then rotated around until they're golden brown oh it goes down every time so it's normal to eat it plain if you want to you can dip it in sauce or if you're eating like some meat maybe put the meat in between like that this is fantastic super crunchy on the outside just incredibly doughy on the inside what time do you get out of here seven oh long day full day yeah all right sounds like i'm trying to pick her up now we're just waiting for the number let's talk about the dish you're making right now what is the name of this dish scrambled eggs scrambled eggs yeah also chicken leg oh you're gonna put chicken liver as well yes in a pot she fries some veggies adds turmeric eggs mixes that then the chicken liver pile on some spices and finish up the cooking side that with another local favorite macaronis i got you a what is this a reboost energy this assumes you are already boosted at one point yes another boost cheers i'm just going to jump into it i'm going to try just some of the egg at first that's dynamite that's very good it's just like a savory scrambled egg and it tastes like there's salsa mixed into it have you had it in this style not specifically in this style i've had it more full boiled egg wrapped with the liver and a little bit of intestine together this is like the metropolitan version yeah i'm gonna get some egg now with the liver i'm done with that what do you think the chicken livery can be kind of dry but about with the egg it's so better it goes down easy on the side here too not mac and cheese it's mac and mac we have a barbecue culture and mac a little bit of mayo on it staple when we having a barbecue we call it a bride [Music] namibia has a long brutal and complicated history for thousands of years traditional ways of life carried on without interruption but in 1884 namibia was colonized by germany which led to conflict and massive bloodshed in 1915 the country was captured by south africa and it wasn't until 1988 that namibia became independent there can be good and bad from these types of bad things that happen of course there's nothing good about a [ __ ] genocide but what good came from colonialism if any infrastructural development then a lot of the systems were set up during colonialism that i could say is good but the way it happened i don't think necessarily that was good with the strong influence the germans have had here do you think there's any parts that of german culture that have just rubbed off into the culture at large i can't say like being on time has necessarily rubbed off we still have applied a lot of african time here okay when someone says i'll be there now they mean in a little bit right give me some time but i'll be there now oh my god what it means actually now will be i'm here [Music] [Music] me bye [Music] we are in the market like it seems like it started randomly and then parts of it became permanent over time well that's exactly what happened they call it tukonjini market which means let's fight for it market it probably has the largest space stretches out from where we are so first part of the cbd what's cbd central business district oh okay i thought you're talking about the weed oil who's coming here everyone really you know someone passing by a student coming from school someone coming to buy some food for lunch so the marketplace is huge here in her restaurant she's offering a long menu of foods i've never even heard of but i'm here for one in particular the walkie-talkie it's the runaway chicken the runaway chick it has muscle on it these are different than other types of chickens well we like to think so because we assume they walk a lot in a field somewhere and that's the only reason we call it marathon walkie talkie this part does the walkie this part does the talking we're eating both and nothing else i've had something similar in madagascar but here she cooks it in her own way i've never seen someone really take apart the whole chicken while the guts are still in there oh it's unrecognizable she's cutting the face right off the back side of the chicken we used to be a male delicacy only why is that patriarchy okay cool the walkie-talkie is cooked in a pot then her special ingredient curry vegetable soup add some tomatoes and cook it a bit more until her culinary instincts tell her it's finished [Music] what's this piece head yeah that's a piece of hair i want to try it out it's a crunchy super good you put in some miscellaneous parts some extra surprises now does she throw away the fingernails we usually get rid of you got to file it or get fake ones [Music] [Applause] we have some of the better chicken feet i had it's soft it's not crazy softness [Music] this is like that middle texture it's like really kind of the heads are almost unrecognizable at this point you can clear the bones away and just go right for the brain [Music] going around the world having lived in asia a number of years i really opened up my mind to trying different unique foods have you ever seen anything like that i have not your face doesn't look happy but in the u.s chicken feet is just not gonna happen it's not a thing they're freaked out by it no no the u.s should have a little bit of everything yeah we don't i think what people in the us are most freaked out about is just weird textures things that are too fatty or jiggly or oily even though a lot of the people in the u.s are kind of fat fatty and jiggly and oily they're missing out this is good they're totally missing out i love it today my man slick has saved the best for last this is single quarters one of the most popular markets in winter i'm seeing a lot of foods i've not seen before first of all what is this one that is a form of dry spinach oh it's just been kind of dried in pancakes yeah this is the thing that catches my eye most these are worms this is the mopani one from the mopaney tree from the pony tree they could be everywhere like i'm talking everywhere you know the method for getting them like this you kill them you just sort of press your thumb down and you go and you dry them out you boil them or you fry them some people prefer to eat them a little bit of soup i prefer them fried i'm gonna eat oh this is a monster one right here you can do it oh i know i can do it it's a lot of stuff that broke off it's a little bit of dirt it's a little crunchy it absorbs the water i could really use a diet coke i forgot my coffee right here is it cheating sliding cheating so we have to share very nice but you know it is still a raw ingredient [Music] this is kapana this is one of namibia's favorite delicacies i can see in the back there's huge cuts of meat like there's like a half a cow on the table back there then as you move up it's been sliced and diced a bit more here he's actually grilling it from here we just order and we start digging in it's gonna create some space for us oh we're gonna eat it right off the grill right off the grill oh that's fantastic it's simple point to what you want and hope they see you all good they chop it down to beautiful bite-sized portions and you toss them back go in do it take a piece dip in some of the spice here oh there's some spice in this cardboard box oh delicious hot and juicy right off the grill the only struggle here is the uh the fumes coming off the grill hold on give me a second i'll be right back oh okay that's way better what's nice is if you take a one piece of meat take a piece of liver and some fat oh you make it like an animal sandwich yes what you do [Music] are you able to take me seriously still as we talk here i'm trying okay good what i really like about this is since it's so hot even a cut of meat that's not the best cut of meat not the juiciest it's still going to taste tremendous because it's coming right off the grill this has become so popular that people come from everywhere they'll eat this even herbie is like sorry can i get in i know you're shooting the show but i don't care fantastic [Applause] today we're leaving namibia's capital of windhoek saying goodbye to modern day conveniences and heading out into the unknown far from any city deep in namibia semi-arid desert you'll find a way of light dating back thousands of years that's still going strong today oh there's a lot of ladies here the light can i put my hand up like this of the himba people today i'm taking on the impossible mission to blend in my aim do what they do and eat what they eat even if that means snacking on a creature i have never seen before you eat it dry we're digging deep getting an up-close look at one of the world's most unique ways of living and eating in a moment he's going to hold this up he's going to look at it and interpret it and that's going to indicate something for the future this is namibia and this is light with the himba people [Applause] [Music] good morning from namibia right now we are in one of the most remote locations anywhere in the world and we've come here to meet the himba people i'm here with uno and she's going to walk me through the entire process uno good morning morning how are you i'm jack i'm jacked up i'm pumped i can see yeah before we go in can you tell me what is the plan for today we are going to take the sheep from the crawl then we'll slowly eat wow and that's going to be the meal today yes is this something they eat often it's only for a time being like when they are getting their first period or when there's waitings and celebrations did you say when they get their first period yeah okay i still haven't gotten mine i'm 35. do you know when it happens from from from 13 to 14. i missed it completely so right now we are entering the village for the first time to meet everybody here can i put my hand up like this say hi nope no i've met the danny people of west papua the maasai people of kenya cultures that have carried on traditions from long ago in every case it's always best to learn some ground rules first what should i do and what should i not do food in order to be a proper polite guest okay he's pretending to kill me okay before you end in the village there's the traditional greetings that you have to greet them yes all right that's pretty easy to remember [Music] okay yeah what do i do you can start with her one by one greet everyone noah no now the himba people are native to namibia with an estimated population of about 50 000. [Music] mostly living in the north and the other side of the kunaine river in southern angola the himba are considered the last nomadic people of namibia nomadic life means moving frequently in order to provide greener pastures to the tribe's most valuable possession their livestock the animals are penned in the middle where they're protected from predators and surrounded by homes made of branches mud and cow dung where we are right now is a village of 30 mostly women kids and two guys mauru peruvi noah am i one of you now what do i do i'll come back okay i think that went pretty well okay yeah what do you think yeah i think so [Music] out here food is always made from scratch so when i heard my host will be preparing a feast i knew there was only one possible food on the menu the himba people are predominantly livestock farmers who breed fat tailed sheep and goats since dollars don't count for much here cattle are the true measure of wealth more cattle means you're more balling it means more wives too this is the first time i've seen a slaughter in this way they actually just suffocate the sheep why do they do it that way because they like it when the blood is too much in the body that's fascinating i've never tried any meat prepared in this way the next step is that it will open it then he will take out the things of inside then he's gonna read it oh okay great let's do it when you say he's going to read it what is he reading for according to their culture he will say that something good that is about to come he will even say that this afternoon you will not live holy [ __ ] it's not telling my future whose future is he telling he still doesn't know could it be about me i hope so i hope not [Music] okay this is the houses where we are right now from where they are coming to here everywhere its is pointing wow so he's saying kind of the sinew and tissue inside the goat is like a map there will be a person that will pass away [Music] but i think it will be a prime minister is everything okay for the black people too though yes so they can tell the future but apparently they can also take it back if they want to everything is well they are full this car accident will even not happen anymore so everything is good wow yeah mostly this ritual is performed in order to urge young women to get married what about the prime minister can we bring him back yeah the prime minister even will bring him back okay good [Music] the meat is chopped into pieces and the whole animal is cooked simply in two pots of boiling water add a little bit of salt and that's it lunch preparation is underway right now we have the sheep going but today it's not just about the sheep because there's some other side dishes including this it looks like a caterpillar right here what is this called where do they find these mopani ah yeah that makes sense so they take it off then they put it in the sun for it to get dry right because this is super just dry and crispy already but they're about to cook it anyways yes do you eat these uh like this do you eat it dry oh how do you say it yummy yes should i try one maybe we should all cheers [Music] how does it taste it tastes like a gluten-free food it's good but something's a little off crunchy no strong taste to it though maybe just a little earthy yeah i kind of like it it's not bad if you can get over the look of it and the idea that you're eating a dehydrated rehydrated fried worm then you'll realize the mopani worm is an excellent source of protein and nutrition it's also a whole new world of textures the himba people normally boil it in hot water then fry it and add salt then it's eaten with their staple carbohydrate porridge and even better than that sitting and snacking next to me is the queen lady of the village i'm feeling pretty lucky right now i'm doing you hungry so this is kind of freshly fried it's still warm worm yeah porridge [Music] that's a good combo that could be a new flavor of doritos chips yeah so the porridge itself it gets super thick and it's almost just like mashed potatoes or something she's like she's like shut up and eat you eat them yes it's actually good it's like fried chicken skin so i want to ask some questions okay i noticed in the village so far several women two guys where are all the guys at [Music] as far as i can see women tend to perform more labor-intensive work than men they carry the water they collect the firewood they also take care of cooking and watching after the children all the while the men are tasked with livestock farming animal slaughtering and making important decisions according to their culture a man can get married with three or four wives three or four wives yeah a woman can have how many husbands and she can have only one husband but then she will be stealing from her husband but no one else must saw whether she's having a boyfriend oh so she can cheat as long as no one knows yes that's fantastic i mean not fantastic if my girlfriend is watching but kind of fantastic can i ask you this when it comes to guys what do you look for in a guy what kind of skills are you looking for what kind of uh ammo what kind of characteristics she wants her husband to give her goats and sheeps and buying for her food and looking after him has children [Music] where is your wife my wife oh i don't have a wife yet i'm still a very young man look at me marry you but i don't have any goats or sheep i'm not a great candidate and i snore no problem cooking is underway but while the meat is simmering and even more porridge is being made these ladies get a taste of sheep that's been grilling on the side this is some of the meat with some gravy some meat juice and then some more porridge here and they're kind of dipping it in there right yes oh sure [Music] oh that was quite good check this out i'm going to go ahead and guess this is ribbed meat because i see some ribs oh look at that this kid loves it look at him is that good okay we'll try it out here we go yo that's fantastic juicy meaty somewhat tender the fat's kind of broken down so i wanted to talk about the way everyone here is dressed it's super unique i could see everyone's got something orange on the skin what is that it's oshidumba it's okra and vada that they mix [Music] okra like the vegetable no okra it's a rock oh it's a rock they will beat it it becomes like powder then they're gonna mix it with homemade butter these people do not bath so how do people get clean here the way that they are playing themselves is the way that they are doing their bad thing so using that okra in budget [Music] never sleep [Music] never [Music] what is the purpose of the oceanumba for becoming red and for applying the hair also wow it looks gorgeous like everybody is so ornate but i heard that they also take a smoke shower yes how does that work uh they will just take the coil of the fire then they will put the perfume on top of it then smoke around their necks under their arms and they will sit on top of the smoke oh so it's kind of like a perfume yes it's a perfume so it's just a way to like smell good yeah can i try it honestly [Music] never sleep [Music] oh it smells good it's got kind of a sweet potpourri fragrance to it oh it's smoking and oh okay you just right under there think the whole idea is like if you're meeting your husband you want to smell good it's smoky but it's like a nice potpourri kind of scent [Music] under each arm and the hair this is remarkable my turn okay the first thing you gotta do is just just get it up in there i think it's working i feel some heat it's kind of burning a little bit there are heavy hair [Music] cool so now we're doing laundry too oh when our man comes home he's going to be like you smell great [Music] she told me to okay laundry's finished smells good put it back on this is an honor and a privilege and you're you're a stunning powerful woman thank you okay i gotta go up i can't breathe [Music] the moment is finally here yeah we're all crowded around the sheep everyone's grabbing a piece this thing's going to be gone in two seconds look at that it's just been boiled the fat's kind of broken down it's nice and sticky and now some hair is here and there but i don't mind that um no it's so simple yeah just some salt meat water and thyme that's it yeah when was the last time they had sheep last year last year this is something pretty amazing everyone's husband over here he cooked it what does everyone think of the taste very good very good yeah are there a lot of himba people kind of protecting and carrying on their traditions in this way like we see here today yeah there are a lot in the northern part of namibia they don't need a lot of money to live this way yeah like what do they need to buy only blankets blanket porridge that's it i want to ask her like if she had unlimited money what would she buy [Music] the first thing that she will do is buy her animals from then the rest she will buy her food is there some food that you don't get to eat enough that you wish you could eat more often no i only want porridge meat and milk finish no other food the himba lifestyle holds a key to our human past a culture shaped by geography climate and necessity everything we saw today this is kind of normal life here yeah it's a normal life they don't move away but they're only staying here and what are people doing here for fun [Music] when you strip away modern excess what do you really need clean water good food strong shelters protective clothing but we also need friendship family a sense of community and purpose all that is here [Applause] [Applause] in the future himba populations will continue to dwindle and the culture as we see it now will one day face this is kind of dessert it's a porridge mixed with this sheep milk the very human urge to move toward what's safe easy convenient and new is too alluring to resist for long oh it's literally like feta cheese at least on this one day in time in history i can say i sat shoulder to shoulder saw and experienced the true life and culture of namibia's himba people for me this experience will live on forever [Music] our best ever namibia food tour continues heading from the home of ahimba tribe to our final destination the village of the herrero people at first look you may notice something distinctly different about the people here a unique style of dress it's really hot out here the dress you're wearing is it hot and a way of life you won't find anywhere else today i'm on a mission to learn more about this quickly fading culture how they live and how they eat as i understand the ladies eat separately from the men yes i'll be getting my hands dirty in order to provide food for the village look at me hey and eating the most unlikeliest of meals it's not the best cook but it's cooked we can eat it i'm fighting off more than i can chew living with the gerero people of namibia [Music] there's a place in namibia where time stood still a place where people are living out the history of their ancestors a place called ombu village this is one of the few remaining villages where you can witness herrera life and this is my guide my name is yes okay my name's sunny sunny yeah that's pretty easy gersolina is herrera a group that's sometimes referred to as ova herrera the herrero are a pastoral society their lives revolve around herding cattle our life is based on the car because we get most of our food from the cow everything from the car we use it we don't leave anything but my life revolves around food so gersolina is showing me what we're having for breakfast this is the fireplace for everyone this is where we get that we enjoy our meals okay this is where you eat too yes this is what we eat too oh man what's your name is that right okay my name's sunny breakfast is underway we've got some mushrooms we call them omayoba like stupid old yes stupid okay these are the stupid mushrooms yes are these idiot beans here [Music] these are bad jokes guys i'm doing my best i'm lacking oxygen you know in my culture we say if the smoke is blowing towards you that means someone is thinking about you wow that's nice yeah so lots of people probably stalkers along with our slow side dishes our breakfast menu also consists of fried spinach and rehydrated biltong a local jerky it doesn't have much of a smell to it sorry i'm acting like a greyhound here they make it with trite also known as cow stomach [Music] well hey everybody it's just us ladies are we going to pray okay the first thing you may notice about herrera women is their outfits they're called ahorikova and were brought here a century ago by german missionaries and colonizers amen it's quite a little breakfast feast we've got here is that the beef that i saw like rehydrated that's quite good after several unsuccessful attempts to overthrow the colonizers the herero revolts were suppressed and more than 75 percent of the population was wiped out with the rest fleeing or put in concentration camps by the german occupiers the surviving herrera people adapted the dress of their oppressors applied their own symbolism and created this a sort of horned hat that represents the cow their most prized possession what else we got here mushrooms i'm gonna try some of these mushrooms oh i love these mushrooms they're so um robust they taste like canned mushrooms like they're salty and juicy these are great and here we got some spinach so i take some bread a little bit of spinach oh that spinach is pretty sandy [Music] traditionally we make it like there's sand in there on purpose yes you know i'm very vulnerable in this situation anything that happens you can just tell me it's tradition and i'm gonna believe you today our journey will culminate with a herrero feast including an exotic local delicacy made just for me the preparation will take all day and we need all hands on deck after breakfast the women will get ready for cooking while the men prepare for the slaughter aside from the cows herrera in this village also breed goats and some of their goats even speak english cute huh unfortunately goat meat is a crucial ingredient for today's surprise dish sorry guys the meat is portioned the organs cleaned and everything is boiled with a handful of salt for a couple hours while the men are busy with their goat business me and gersolina are tasked with obtaining another crucial ingredient milk so right now our guide she's in there milking the cow i need to go in there next and help milk the cow the problem is i don't know how to milk a cow i mean first of all how do you even milk a cow that big it has horns it could try to hit me with its horns i don't think we have insurance to cover this it's super dangerous i only see one utter how do you milk that i've tried milking before it hasn't gone well i think the cows know i'm not confident i'm a bit anxious so they get anxious they see me looking anxious and then they like they suck in their milk is that possible no i can do this i'm gonna go in there i'm gonna be confident i'm gonna lift the cow in the eyes in a way that makes it feel secure then the cow is gonna release the milk let it flow out let's try it huge bowl go in there i'm gonna be confident could i see your cow the cow milking here is done like in the olden days if you ever find yourself face to utter with a cow here are a few pro tips first you must build trust hey look at me look at me a bond perhaps i'm gonna milk you you're about to get milked next secure the animal start by gently tying into legs no no it's okay hey no it's gotta be dry by now the calf sucked out all the milk persistence is key [Music] there we go finally and most easy milk the cow i don't huh how do you get the milk to come out [Music] it's already on your on your nipple so be careful hey that's my nipple [Music] oh [ __ ] holy cow we're doing it the milk's coming out [Music] am i going too slow i got about one shot glass so far [Laughter] no it's my milk [Music] [Music] post game analysis we have a lot of milk here most of this is from you a small fraction is for me and that's my small contribution when gersolina said the cows are used for everything everything from the cow we we use it she meant everything our freshly collected milk can be converted into butter by putting it in a calabash and churning it for about an hour until the fat and milk separate that buttery fat is then converted to ghee also known as clarified butter an item especially popular in india you're killing this thing with the ghee are you trying to kill me no no actually we gave a bowl of gravy this creamy rich mound of buttery goodness wasn't all collected today oh wow this is three weeks of butter yes yi here is made by cooking up all this butter until the water evaporates helping to preserve it while changing the flavor profile [Applause] and is this going to go in any of what we're cooking today yes that's what we use in our food we don't use anything else can i just drink a glass of that later do you want to kill yourself if it tastes yummy it might be worth it apart from butter and ghee they also sour the milk for drinking the fresh milk is always mixed with the milk from the day before so even though you mix in fresh milk there's still a sour taste to it yes right once in a month we cleaned the whole color brush and then you start the process again okay that makes sense how you doing chief this man is the leader of this tribe and this village with such status naturally comes some privileges he would be sipping it first before everyone first he has to taste it so that he makes sure that there's no person or if there was present then it will start affecting him before it gets to the rest of the family is this poisoning a big problem no the poisoning part is just a joke it's just that because he's the head of the family he always has to do something before everyone does it is there anything the ladies get to do first because you milk the cows right yes do you ever squirt it in your mouth like i did no no you don't do that fair enough can we try it out sir could you do a little quick poison test i'm looking at it it looks white it looks poison free if you ask me but i'm not an expert i don't know for sure he's going at it very confidently now it could be a slow acting poison what if it's a poison that takes one or two days he's handing it to me but before i indulge how many fingers am i holding up all right perfect all right all right sounds good some sour milk let's try it out oh wow it's almost like a liquid cottage cheese like there's chunks in it yes this is great i'm gonna tell you i feel fine i think no poison really yeah how many fingers are you saying six then this wasn't already one of the most impressive things about you is that you have this beautiful pink gown and you don't have any stains on it you're milking cows doing heavy labor you're drinking milk no issues don't let the dress fool you the weather here in namibia is extreme and harsh which makes their choice of attire all the more impressive when we came to the village one of the things that obviously stands out most is the way all the women are dressed we talked about it a little bit but the first question i have it's really hot out here the dress you're wearing is it hot it does have the weight but it's not hard we are proud of it so we are comfortable with it we love it but when it's sunny yes in the summer season you will be sweating yeah i think some people would look at the way some of the women are dressed here and say it looks beautiful but it also looks uncomfortable but then you go uh you know a lot of women wear high heels too so i think that's the price for fashion this dress is more than a fashion statement it represents the herrero's ability to adapt during one of the country's most difficult periods you know i saw some pictures on google these guys are looking very damper wearing some kind of formal uniform but all the guys here wear normal clothes they wear that occasionally usually at home they will be in their overalls because they have to look after the kettle oh you're right i see all them they're working over there yes they're planning something yes they're busy with a castration process so wait what they're they're castrating a bull today yes all right i want to see this concentration all right is it uh is it very dangerous no it's not dangerous for them what we're about to witness is a process common across the world in the beef industry the process of turning a bull into a steer by subtracting one key body part castrated bulls grow faster and are less aggressive and in some places folks even eat the recently obtained testicles today this is one of those places [Music] these doodads are thrown straight on the hot cinders until they cook through gentlemen let me tell you we've got something in store for you yeah yeah bring the balls it's balls just as the tiddly bits finish cooking our goat is also finished and both are brought to us wow such an honor this is some unique preparation right here nothing over the top fancy very straightforward is this one mine yeah this the other one is yours fantastic oh it's warm still it's got a little bit of a bark on it let's try it out cheers it tastes like a burned marshmallow kind of that's what i'm trying to think of it's just super fatty it's like pure fat really soft no i was told that there's some health benefits from eating the testicles i mean it's important that only guys eat the testicles right is it on an animal there are certain parts that are eaten by men some that are eaten by ladies i'll start with kidneys kidneys are eaten by ladies and balls are eaten by men there's a belief that the strength of a bull is in its hey i think that was the best way to say it here just as many other parts of africa each part of the animal is given to a certain subset of folks in the village there are parts reserved for men women elders kids even sections just for pregnant ladies also here men and women eat separately luckily the strange outsider who has to tie his brains together with a red bandana is such a non-threat that he can eat wherever he likes even with the ladies ladies i was hanging out with the dudes over there they ate their food in about three seconds i think you may have told me earlier they don't eat the balls turns out they do but the ladies what they get to eat is uh the kidneys lucky for me kidneys tripe and intestines are all organs designated for us ladies served along with bread mushrooms the same build tone we had for breakfast and the herrero signature dish called the smiley the thing i'm really interested in here you call it the smiley the smiley is a popular dish all over namibia but its origins are said to be from the herrero people it's made by scorching the goat's fur to remove any hair then brushing away the charred remains finally it's boiled for a couple hours until the meat is so soft and so retracted that it appears the goat face is smiling at you [Music] it's right there it's in a bowl it's staring at you do you see it looking at you yes it is smiling at me it's smiling at you yeah it's pumped can you peel me off a piece oh it comes right off fantastic look at that oh what it's a full cheek this is the inside of the goat's mouth guys look at this texture and then this is the outside layer so you can actually see there's still a little bit of burnt hair on here that's fantastic do i just eat the hair yes okay just eat there it's already cleaned so you don't need to worry about it all right cool you know it does not have a strong flavor it's just kind of fatty and gelatinous like chewy what's your favorite here among everything the tripe really what do you like about that one it's very soft juicy and yummy you know what rip me off a piece i'll do it oh that's a generous piece you're so generous that is it's so gamey that is its own um juiciness and its own flavor you like just that strong goaty flavor wow okay i'm gonna try it [Music] cool [Laughter] i would hate to compare but i would rather eat 10 more testicles than another bite of this one no offense for me sometimes the stomach can be tricky because it can just be so bitter and intense and animally but i like it i like that you like it i like that you're like this is like the most powerful flavor so you're doing everything in your power to carry forward the tradition of the ova herrera people yes my question is what is the future of the oba people i think the future is very bright because we are now kind of living with a lot of people with different cultures so obviously each and every day you are learning something from other people but i think the importance of keeping the culture in life is much more important because you will get to know who you are what will be lost if this culture is lost if the culture is lost then you would be someone who would be like a lost person as well because you would not know who you are you would not know where you came from you would not know how you came and end up where you are so obviously everything will be lost ladies you are some incredible powerful women it's been my honor my pleasure hanging out with you today and learning more about your culture so i just want to say one more time [Music] namibia has some of the most unique cultures and food you'll find anywhere this place is famous for its vast landscapes and wildlife but i was most drawn in by the people you can do it proud of their culture we are proud of it so we are comfortable with it we love it but equally willing to share it oh you saved me a woman oh calm no guys thank you so much for watching i will see you next time peace all right well that's it for this one [Music] you

Channel: Best Ever Food Review Show

Views: 8,524,277

Keywords: Namibia, african food, tribal food, africa tribes, tribe food, himba, himba food, namibia food, namibia street food, african street food, best ever food review show africa, sonny side, Africa travel, Herero culture, Herero food, Herero tribe, best ever food review show, befrs, Africa, African, African food, Namibian, Namibian food, street food, Namibian street food, what to eat in Namibia, what to eat in africa, Namibia travel, Windhoek, Windhoek street food

Id: bIYjQ47U3I8

Length: 52min 47sec (3167 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 11 2021