Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Abstract
In 1997 a survey was conducted among the Kanembu who harvest Arthrospira (Spirulina) from Lake Kossorom in
the Prefecture of Lac (Chad). Information on the amount of Arthrospira harvested and the preparation and use of
dihé was obtained by interviewing the women who daily gather around the lake for the harvesting.Dihé is obtained
by filtering and sun drying the algal biomass on the sandy shores of the lake. The semi-dried dihé is then cut into
small squares and taken to the villages, where the drying is completed on mats in the sun. Dihé is mainly used to
prepare la souce, a kind of fish or meat and vegetable broth. Part of the harvest is sold to local consumers or to
wholesalers, who trade the product in the markets of Massakori, Massaquet and N’Djamena and also across the
border of the country. The local trading value of the dihé annually harvested from Lake Kossorom (about 40 t)
amounts to more than US $100,000, which represents an important contribution to the economy of the area.
Arthrospira (formerly Spirulina, Tomaselli et al., investigation revealed that these greenish cakes, called
1996) has a history of human consumption in Mex- dihé, were a common component of the diet of the
ico and in Africa (Ciferri, 1983). About 1300 AD Kanembu populations of Chad and Niger, and that
the Aztecs harvested Arthrospira from Lake Texcoco they were almost entirely composed of Arthrospira, a
and used it to make a sort of dry cake called tecuit- blue-green alga blooming naturally in the saline-soda
latl (Farrar, 1966). Very likely the use of Arthrospira lakes of the region (Leonard, 1966; Leonard & Com-
as food in Chad dates back to the same period, or père, 1967; Compère, 1967). In 1976, Delpeuch and
even earlier, to the Kanem Empire (ninth century AD) his collaborators of ORSTOM (Office de la Recherche
(Bjørkelo, 1976). Thus, two populations discovered Scientifique et Technique Outre-mer, Paris, France)
indepently the food properties of Arthrospira in spite carried out a study on the nutritional and economic im-
of the differences and the distance. portance of dihé for the populations of the Prefectures
Human consumption of Arthrospira in Chad was of Kanem and Lac in Chad (Delpeuch et al., 1976).
reported for the first time in 1940 by Dangeard in the The consumption of Spirulina by the Kanembu was
little known Journal of the Linnean Society of Bor- mentioned also by Delisle et al. (1991) in a survey of
deaux, but at that time it failed to capture the attention household food consumption and nutritional adequacy
it deserved because of the war. In 1966 the botanist Le- in wadi zones of Chad.
onard, member of the 1964–65 Belgian Trans-Saharan In January 1997, one of us (GA) visited Lake
Expedition, reported finding a greenish, edible sub- Kossorom and the nearby village of Tafah in the Pre-
stance being sold as dry cakes in the market of Fort- fecture of Lac, where Arthrospira is still harvested
Lamy (today N’Djamena, the capital of Chad). His and consumed by the Kanembu. Information on the
494
Figure 2. a, b: Lake Kossorom with occasional acacia trees standing out around the shore, and dense thickets of reeds, papyrus, and cattail
floating into the water; c-f: harvesting of the algal bloom from Lake Kossorom.
is transferred into a bowl, and left to settle for 5–10 La souce can be served with corn, millet, or sorghum
minutes to allow sedimentation of any residual sand meal.
(Figure 4b). In the meantime onions are sautéed in Kanembu women store the dried dihé until there is
seed oil until golden, and the broth is then strained enough to warrant a trip to the closest market, keep-
very carefully once more onto the onions, to prevent ing a small amount for the necessities of the family.
any residual sand from passing into the casserole. Salt, They go to the market once every two or three weeks,
chili peppers, bouillon cubes, and gombo (Hibiscus and sell dihé directly to local consumers or to whole-
esculentus) are added (Figures 4c, 4d), and la souce is salers at a price that ranges between 1500 and 2000
then simmered and occasionally stirred until cooked. CFA francs (about US $ 2.4–3.2) per korò (equiva-
lent to about 1–1.5 kg). Wholesalers trade dihé in the
496
Figure 3. Drying of the alga and preparation of dihé on the shore of Lake Kossorom.
markets of Massakori, Massaquet, and N’Djamena at aside some of the money to buy goats, which then
very much higher prices. From these markets, dihé can represent their own capital, to be sold when financial
also be taken across the borders of Chad to Nigeria, difficulties arise or kept to provide the family with
Cameroon and other countries. milk and butter, which in turn may be further import-
The money Kanembu women make by selling dihé ant sources of income. Therefore, dihé turns out to be a
permits them a certain degree of independence, since source of money not only for the women, but also for
it is theirs to use for personal needs such as clothes, the whole family. In families where men are absent,
cosmetics and jewellery, but it can also be used to or are too old to till the land or go fishing or herd-
provide staples for the family when the head of the ing, dihé may represent the only means of subsistence.
household is unable to supply these. Many women set However, since Kanembu men tend to play down the
497
Farrar WV (1966) Tecuitlatl: a glimpse of Aztec food technology. algue bleue de grande valeur alimentaire par sa richesse en
Nature 211: 341–342. proteines. Bull. Jard. Bot. nat. Belg. 37: 3–23.
Leonard J (1966) The 1964–65 Belgian Trans-Saharan expedition. Tomaselli L, Palandri MR, Tredici MR (1996) On the correct use of
Nature 209: 126–128. the Spirulina designation. Algological Studies. 83: 539–548.
Leonard J, Compère P (1967) Spirulina platensis (Gom.) Geitl.,