The patriot. [volume] (Indiana, Pa.) 1914-1955, 1914-09-19
DINING IN LIBERIA,
Dumboy, Their National Dish, Is
a GaStronomiC Wonder.
TO CHEW 1T MEANS LnCKjAWW,.
The Sticky, Cement-Iike Mess Has to
Be BoIted In Lumps, Washed Down
With Soup-When Allowed to Stand
and Harden 1t Is Used For Bullets.

Be BoIted In Lumps, Washed Down
With Soup-When Allowed to Stand
and Harden 1t Is Used For Bullets.
Dumboy. the national dish of Lii
IBERIA, is one of the worlds CASTRO
nOmic wonders If allowed to stand
long after being prepared for the table
it becomes very hard. broken pieces of
1t being a favorite kind of shot for use
in the long muzzle loading guns of the
natives. A casing of dumboy is also
used to stiffen the leather sheaths OF
the native swords and knives, accord
ing to G. n. Collins in q cOmmunica-
ton to the National Geographic society
at Washington.
ITO attempt the description of some
novel food is like attempting to de-
scribe a landscape" writes Mr.. Col
Inns.
1.-The constituent parts may be de-
scribed and the manner in which they
are combined, but it requires some
thing more than accurate description
to reproduce the sensation of the origi-
nal. The principal ingredient of dunn
boy is cassava, or 'cassada,' as it is
called in Liberia. The edible roots of
this plant are the source Of tap1oca
and some forms of sago.
''To prepare the roots for dumboy
they are peeled, boiled and all fbers
from the center removed The cooked
roots are then placed in large wood
en- mortar and beaten with heavy
pestle This beating requires consid
erable skill and experience. In the
hands Of a novice the result is lumpy
and inedible.
1.-The beating requires about three
quarters of an hour and is hard work.
As the beaten mass becomes homo
geneous the pestle produces a loud
crack each time /; is dfa"'n from TN
mortar. These : * ';,n
heard lon. sranc,
est ard
the &.
"Whc .S7I.
stage the T..
injury to l;ih
beating is carried p,!.i =
must be rapidly colup.p,vd =
dumboy eaten at once, The natives 81.
it is actually dangerous to eat dunn
boy that has stood for more than
few minutes after it is beaten.
"As soon as the beating is finished
the dumboy is taken from the mortar
and placed in the shallow wooden
bowls. The native method is to place
the entire quantity in one large bowl,
from which all the partakers eat. If
divided the customary portion for each
person is a piece about the size Of an
ordinary loaf Of bread.
"a soup which has been prepared
while the dumboy was being beaten is
now poured into each bowl. There Is
great variety in the soup, which i'm
There is always a stock of some form
of meat. This may be either chicken.
deer, fish, monkey or even canned
beef. To this are added as many vege-
tables as can be obtained.
LAS soon as the soup is added the
dumboy is ready to be eaten, and,
while the ingredients are somewhat
bizarre. the method Of eating strikes
the traveller as even more startling.
The mass of dumboy, which can best
be described as a sticky dough, will
adhere instantly to anything dry, but
is readily cut with a wooden spoon If
the spoon Is kept moist with soup.
"An incredibly large piece is cut Off
with the moistened spoon, taken up
with a quantity of soup and swallowed
whole. No one thinks of chewing 1t,
and it is customary to caution the nov
ice by tales of the frightful operation
necessary to separate the jaws once
the teeth are buried in the sticky mass
GAS might be expected, few Euro
peans like dumboy on first acQuain-
tance, and with some the initial dis
second or third attempt is made.
however, and the dish has been prop
erly prepared, the habit is usually
formed, and before long every night
spent in the bush without a meal Of
dum5oy is counted privation. Among
the white residents of Liberia fond
ness for the dish amounts almost to a
cult. It is regarded as a sort Of guar
anty that ones tenderfoot days are
over"