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Ivory Coast’s beloved staple, attiéké – created from fermented cassava flour – has formally been added to Unesco’s record of intangible cultural heritage.
Attiéké, pronounced atchekay, is a type of couscous created from floor cassava roots. It is so well-loved that many individuals have it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Nicknamed “Ivorian couscous”, it’s usually eaten with grilled fish. It originated from the coastal areas of Ivory Coast centuries in the past, however is now in style throughout West Africa.
Ivory Coast’s Unesco delegate, Ramata Ly-Bakayoko, advised the nineteenth session on safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in Paraguay, that attiéké was “deeply rooted in the daily lives of its communities”.
Japanese sake, an alcoholic beverage created from grains, was additionally added to the record this yr.
In Ivory Coast, attiéké is usually served at ceremonies corresponding to weddings, baptisms, funerals, and neighborhood conferences.
But it’s greater than only a meal, it’s some individuals’s livelihood and a pathway to monetary autonomy for a lot of girls.
Attiéké is historically made by girls and ladies. The course of can take just a few days as there are lots of steps rooted in custom, and the abilities it takes to make attiéké have additionally been added to the Unesco heritage record.
The cassava root is peeled, grated and combined with a beforehand fermented cassava.
The pulp is then pressed to take away the starch and later processed manually and dried after which steamed.
It is then taken to native markets, the place it is usually offered in plastic luggage every containing a single ball of attiéké.
But on the coronary heart of it, attiéké, is a cultural connection from one technology to a different.
The recipes, processes, and strategies are handed down from mom to daughter and the dish “is a pillar of their identity and that of the whole of Ivory Coast”, mentioned Ms Ly-Bakayoko.
The Unesco record highlights intangible cultural heritage which might be in danger, emphasising the necessity to shield and protect conventional practices. The inclusion of attiéké highlights its significance to humanity as a collective, Unesco says.
The scrumptious and tangy staple has additionally brought on controversy on the continent.
In 2019, there was outrage in Ivory Coast when Florence Bassono, founding father of Faso Attiéké from neighbouring Burkina Faso, gained an award on the Abidjan International Agriculture Show.
Many Ivorians had been angered by a foreigner profitable with their nationwide dish.
Earlier this yr, the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization registered a collective trademark to forestall cassava produced in different nations being offered below the identify attiéké – in the identical means that champagne needs to be produced within the space of France with that identify.
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