Story by Yasmin Isa, Summer 2020
Baobab Tree also known as Kuka in Hausa is a traditional plant in the northern part of Nigeria. It is mostly used in cooking food such as Tuwo and Dan’ wake. Tuwo is a rice and stew combination where the rice is beaten to a pulp and Dan’ wake is a dumpling type entree usually eaten with pepper. Baobab fruit is edible, and baobab leaves are used in foods because of their nutrients, possible health benefits, and are known as natural preservatives. The fruit is a good source of vitamin C, potassium, carbohydrates, and phosphorus. It is found inside hard pods that hang upside down from the tree. When fully grown the shell of the fruit takes the shape of an ovoid. This hard shell covered in hair protects the fruit.
The reason why this plant resonates with me very much is because it reminds me of home. The smell of it takes me back to family dinners at my cousins’ house. It is one of the few things that we have in our house that I feel really transforms our house to a Huasa house due to the aroma. When I was about 9 to 10 years old I was playing with my sister in our backyard. We were pretending the ground was lava and we were only allowed to walk on the curbside. I slipped and fell on my arm. I did not feel anything at the time but I was constantly rubbing my arm. I did not tell my parents as I did not think it was a big deal. However, my dad noticed and took me to the hospital where they put a cast on my arm. It turned out I fractured a bone. After a few weeks I had it removed but my arm did not feel quite right. I was still massaging it from time to time and had some difficulty holding heavy objects with that arm. There was also a huge bump running down my arm from my palm to my elbow. My dad was convinced something was not right.
My dad took me to a local herbalist doctor in his hometown. It was the first time I met the doctor but I found out we had history with him. When my dad broke his arm this doctor was the one that treated him. The doctor started rubbing a green paste on my arm which I later found out was kuka mixed in with other herbs. He then made me a traditional cast constructed from wood and rope. The doctor told my dad and I to rub the paste on my arm after every three days and after two weeks I should take off the cast. Two weeks came and I took off my cast and was astonished to find that my arm had healed. The bump that sat on my arm before was gone and I could finally write in cursive again. There are many plants out there with amazing powers but kuka found a special place in my heart