Commons:Wiki Loves Africa 2017/photo essay/The buka
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The buka by user:Adakanma
There is actually not yet any article about w:en:buka (Nigeria) on Wikipedia... discover what a buka is below...
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A home without food is not a home, and I dare say a community in Nigeria without a buka does not exist. These little functioning alcoves provide a service undeniable to all and sundry. Following these hardworking women behind the scenes made me appreciate this work more.
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The women get ready for the day, preparing food items from the market for customers from every walk of life - students, unemployed, blue and white collars alike.
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Bukas are known to specialise in locally made dishes and soups, a variety of drinks served cold and occasionally, noodles, which customers prefer to eat in the morning.
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Here, a woman turns what is popularly called eba, into a smooth consistency. These and other varieties of swallow - pounded yam, fufu, amala etc, are used to eat native soups like okra, egusi, black and white soups.
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The plantains have been fried, the eba has been made, food dished out in heat preserving coolers, and plates and cutleries kept in place as customers begin to trickle in.
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The customers make their orders, many of them familiar with the women who run this business.
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Older women are called Iya, followed by the name of their first child. In other parts of Nigeria, they may be called Mama, all of them signifying some sort of relation to motherhood, as the duty of feeding, especially what is called "home food", is still mostly seen as an activity for a woman, hence why this particular business is dominated by them.
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Not everyone likes to eat at the mostly tight and crowded space, so some request for "take aways" which mimics the way the more classy and expensive fast food joints deliver food not eaten at the restaurant. Others, yet still, bring their own plates and flasks to cut the cost of buying a new plate.
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Food is served and the atmosphere takes a cool ambiance with distant chatter as electric fans overwork themselves to disperse the heat.
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The women go about their day attending to their customers, sometimes resting, eating or helping out colleagues while waiting for the next customer.
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Dishes are continuously washed to prevent any hold up and as the day comes to a close, the women clean, lock up and prepare for the next working day.