of it to mix with malt made from other grain sucli as maize. (See Zea mays for 

 preparation of the malt and of beer). 



6. Gindongwa (C), (Kasungu), 



Maize bran is well pounded with water and the resulting milky liquid is boiled 

 with some ground finger millet to make a thin gruel which is a refreshing drink. 



7. Phala la sawa, Groundnut Gruel. (Usedby theaTumbukaandaKonde). 

 The grain is ground and mixed with a little more than its own volume of pounded 



groundnuts. Water is boiled in a pot and the mixture poured in and boiled until 

 thoroughly soft. It makes a very popular sweet drink. 



There is a considerable exchange trade in finger millet for maize and other 

 foods throughout the country. 



Successive cropping of the same piece of ground with finger millet eventually leads 

 to its abandonment through the increase of the wild Eleusine indica. It is a crop that 

 will produce under the most adverse circumstance but it needs a fertile soil and a heavy 

 rainy season to see it at its best when it is a heavy yielder. It is extremely drought 

 resistant and it also has the advantage of not germinating in the ear if there is an un- 

 usually heavy rainy season as do the short term sorghums. In Nyasaland it is almost 

 always planted as a late crop in February, this may be due to the fact that it is so 

 drought resistant that it can be planted after the main hoemg of the maize crops is 

 completed. 



Ref. 13; 17; 23; 27. 



196. Emilia coccinea (Sims) Sweet (Comp.). 



Cinguwo (N) (See Sonchus oleraceus with same native name). 



An herbaceous plant up to 3 ft., lower surfaces of leaves often purple, showy 

 flowers in compact heads deep yellow or orange. Abundant in old cultivated ground 

 with Bhynchelytrum repens and Bidens schimperi. 



The leaves are very occasionally eaten as a side-dish. They have an unpleasant 

 flavour and are disliked. 



197. Ensete livingstonianum (Kirk) E.E. Cheesman (Musac), Wild Banana. 

 Cizuzu (C). 



A wild banana, the leaf stalk is red in colour, the fruits are about 4 ins. long 

 containing a large number of black seeds. Widely distributed in Nyasaland, usually 

 confined to the edges of evergreen forest, in gulleys and on steep forested hillsides 

 where it receives protection from grass fires. 



The fibre from the outside of the leaf stalk makes a strong string but is not used 

 locally. The leaf stalk is slit into strips and makes good binding material for building 

 purposes. A number were planted at Mwera Hill for fibre trials but the results 

 appear to have been disappointing. 



Ref. 27. 



198. Entada phaseoloides (L.) Merr. (Mimos.) Sea Bean, Mackay Bean. 

 Mpagaga (N), mhulumu (G), kanteresi (Nk, name for seed only). 



An immense liane with very stout stem and enormous 3-4 ft. long, segmented 

 woody pods, containing 14-20 seeds. The dark brown shiny seeds are often to be 

 seen on river banks or on the lake-shore having been washed down by rivers. The 

 seeds are very large (2-3 ins. in diameter). Found in the hills of the Karonga and 

 Nkata Bay Districts. 



The stems are used for rope-making and for mats. The seeds are used for 

 smoothing the surfaces of clay pots. 



Ref. 15; 25; 26; 27. 



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