In Ethiopia food is a big part of culture.
Anytime you go to someones house for the first time you will
get feed. Often times way more than you want.
On holidays this is especially true. Everyone wants to celebrate
with you which means you are going to get fed about a thousand times. The
famous double lunch.
There is a word in Amharic “ inebla” that you use to invite
someone to eat with you. This isn’t just used on holidays or at peoples home
but often while you are out and about.
If you are on a bus and are eating something it would be considered
very rude to not offer those sitting around you part of what you are eating.
My personal favorite example is when you are walking around
the market or out in a rural area and a merchant or farmer has a pocket full of
kolo ( the only real snack food in ethioipa that is made up of roasted barley,
chickpeas, and peanuts). If you greet the merchant or farmer you are going to
get offered kolo. And who doesn’t want to take a handful of kolo mixed with
dirt and pocket lint? I’m sure as heck not going to say no to free food. Even
if that food is mixed with a little dirt.
This is one of my favorite parts of the culture here. It
really shows how giving the people of Ethiopia are. They may not be rich in
birr but if they have a handful of kolo you are sure to have a handful of kolo.
