MAIZE GRAIN AS FOOD 



699 



"beers" from his native grains, and it is not surprising, there- CHAP, 

 fore, that he soon learned the art of preparing an alcoholic XIV ' 

 beverage from maize, either alone or as an addition to some 

 other starchy foodstuff. Torday (1) informs us that the 

 national beverage of the Basonge of the Kasai Basin in the 

 Belgian Congo is a kind of beer made from manioc and 

 maize. 



Damaged maize is commonly used in the preparation of 

 kaffir beer, a fermented beverage which is both a food and an 

 intoxicating drink (Fig. 233). Because it is of greater value 



Fig. 233. — Zulu women carrying kaffir beer for a " beer-drink ". 



in the form of " pap " than the other cereals grown by the 

 natives, it is probable that less maize is used for this purpose 

 than mabele or kaffir corn (Sorghum vulgare), um-velli-velli 

 (Pennisetum spicatum), or um-pawha (Eleusinc Coracana). 

 Wallace (l) referring to the native method of storing maize in 

 pits in Cape Colony, observes that a few mielies round the 

 edges of the pit, which become mouldy, " are utilized for making 

 kaffir beer, a beverage having the consistency of thin porridge, 

 of which the natives are fond ". 



The Rev. A. T. Bryant (1) states that, in the native kraals 

 of South Africa, kaffir beer is properly made of mabele alone, 



