Professional Documents
Culture Documents
This fable explains how rice saved the Vai people who traveled from Mali to Liberia and how kolo, their word for rice, came to be
ice has often received credit for health-giving properties. Boiled rice, which is easily digested by people recovering from illness, is sometimes eaten to treat stomach problems. People with food allergies can usually enjoy rice. This story, from the Vai people of Liberia, probably dates back to the 17th century and attests to rices healing properties. The Vai tribe was traveling along the West African coast. Its people had left the dry plains of their Mali homeland many moons before. Then, they reached a great ocean and turned south. Again, they walked for many moons and were nearing
the region now called Liberia. To their right, the great Atlantic Ocean stretched blue and gray beyond the horizon. To their left, the dark tangled jungle formed a thick green barrier. Their long trek had not been easy. It had been difficult for the whole tribe, but especially for the older members who had struggled to keep going. However, they had been lucky. Food and water had been plentiful, and no one had been seriously ill. Any sickness or pain had been brief and easily cured. Khamah, the tribes chief, strong and hearty in his younger days, was aging. Though less able physically, he was kind and his wisdom was
Rice Today July-September 2013
34
35