Omakunde
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White seeds
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leaf shape
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Seedlings
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White seeds:
olumumya
(Oshikwanyama)
olunya
(Oshindonga) |
Red seeds:
omakwanyama,
elumekunde (Oshikwanyama)
gOshindonga,
ongoli, oshikundende (Oshindonga) |
DESCRIPTION
The traditional
Omakunde in northern Namibia is an annual vine. The leaf consists of three
leaflets on a rather long petiole. Omakunde pods are usually green and
10-15 cm long but some traditional varieties produce very long and slightly
reddish pods.
USE
Omafo omakunde
is not used as freshly cooked but made into evanda first and then mixed
with eliwa (cooking melon):
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Fresh cooking
melons (Eliwa) are cleaned and placed in the sun for a few days to dry.
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The day you decide
to make evanda, you should pick fresh omafo omakunde (cowpea leaves) and
cook them well.
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Cook the dried
cooking-melon separately.
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Mix the cowpea
leaves with the cooked cooking-melon.
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Make the evanda
by forming the mixture into balls, flatten the balls into evanda and dry
them on the roof. This is usually called evanda iihwiki
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POTENTIAL FOR
CULTIVATION
Cowpeas are already
cultivated on most farms in northern Namibia. They are often grown between
plants of the main crop, pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), or they get
a separate plot inside the field.
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