Tiger Nut Cakes

As Khemetian children become adults, there are changes in hair style as the single side hairlock is cut off and the child's hair is allowed to grow (or be shaved) as per their preference. And changes to clothing style from the child's uniform look to the more functional adult clothing relating to their profession or status. But before any of this, there is expectation of social growth; are they mature enough for adulthood. This begins the Rite of Passage, the preparing of Tiger Nut Cakes. The Qenbet of the village look to the children of the village to see who is ready for responsibility. who is willing to take on a challange. And on the first of the month, that child is then requested by the elders to make tiger nut cakes.

Tiger Nut Cakes

by Public Domain

Tiger nut cakes are just 3 ingredients: Tiger nuts (tubers), Honey, and Olive oil. While sounding simple, there is a journey associated with the making of them.

Tiger Nuts

Tiger nuts are like a small hard potato. The child is given a basket and sent to the fields to dig up and wash the tubers before placing them in the basket. Once done, they return to the elders, where great mashing tube is waiting. The child then puts them in the tube to be pulverized/ground down. This part is often symbolic as even the bakers have a hard time grinding the tiger nuts and an adult does the work while the child sings a song. This step gives the child the understanding of the work involved in feeding the village.

Honey

Gathering honey is no easy task. Bees are hardly plentiful in the desert. it is at the temples, where the temple beekeepers keep the hives to polinate the grove of Sidr trees. The child must then go to the temple and ask for a jar of honey. This where the child learns of the god associated with the temple and rituals of thanking the god for the honey. In the courtyard the child can see the smoke ritual performed to calm the bees and how the priest extracts the honey from the hive.

Olive oil

Finally the child goes to fetch the olive oil. while the olives have already been gathered and pitted, the child adds them into the oil press to squeeze the oil out of them. This becomes a test of inginuity and patience of the child to fill a jug with olive oil, with only the tools and the olives given. many learn to use a longer lever or adding their weight in order to squeeze out more oil.

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Once all the ingredients are gathered, the child is helped in mixing the ingredients together and shown how to shape the triangle treats. depending on the village traditions, the tiger nut cakes are either baked or fried. As one final test, the child is to present the cakes to the Qenbet. This teaches them how to do a presentation, be proud of their accomplishments, and show respect to the village elders. Success in all four tests makes the child mature enough to leave their childhood and move on to adulthood.