The University of Pretoria (UP) recently hosted a public lecture by Dr Stephen Wooten, a cultural anthropologist from the University of Oregon in the US. Dr Wooten shared insights from more than 30 years of research on food, identity and gender, placing particular focus on the role of women in the domestic sphere across rural African communities.

In many underdeveloped regions in Africa, women are valued primarily within the domestic space. However, their contributions beyond the household are often overlooked, and opportunities for empowerment – through education or enterprise – remain limited. Dr Wooten’s work seeks to highlight and celebrate the central, yet underappreciated, role that women play through cooking, craftsmanship and cultural continuity.

The art of cooking and food

Due to social and cultural norms, women’s efforts within their communities are often overlooked, he says.

“Often when we overlook something, we end up missing the power of it,” Dr Stephen said.

By focusing his research on women and cooking culture in Mali, Dr Wooten aims to bring recognition to their invisible labour in homes and communities.

“By putting some attention on it, studying and talking about it, we bring it into our consciousness,” he said. “This is a contribution that women have been bringing into society, so why not celebrate it?”

The artistry of cooking, Dr Wooten explained, goes beyond putting ingredients together to make a hearty meal. These women are also skilled in making the pottery and tools that make their culinary work more efficient and meaningful. Apart from cooking being acknowledged as an art, Dr Stephen also sees it as science.

“There is something they call ‘tobilifenw’; this refers to the tools and cooking kits that the women use to cook with. It is basically the material dimensions of cooking culture.”

Key ingredients in traditional meals include millet, sorghum, corn, rice, cowpeas, okra and peanuts. Additional elements are often foraged or locally produced, such as green leaves, shea butter and locust bean. Cooking methods are equally unique.

“They basically use three-rock stoves,” Dr Wooten said. “There are also clay and iron pots. Additional tools for eating include enamel and plastic bowls, gourds and calabashes.”

He identified three primary objectives in his research: to explore the cooking culture in Africa, redress its neglect, and challenge common misunderstandings. He hopes this will lead to a deeper appreciation of the significance of cooks and cooking in the under-engaged rural African context.

“When I was growing up, eating with my hands in our home was something my parents did not approve of. However, in communities such as these, it is a norm – a cultural one at that.”

Hierarchy in cooking culture

In the communities Dr Wooten studies, every woman eventually assumes cooking duties as a rite of passage. Cooking is scheduled in turns, with each woman responsible for preparing meals for a household of more than 30 people when it is her designated day. However, certain groups – such as elderly women and those who are pregnant – are typically exempt from this routine.

“This routine is referred to as dumini and loosely translates to ‘making the daily round’ – the daily activity of one woman cooking for a household of 30-plus people when it is her turn.”

Eating customs reflect deeply rooted social structures. Men, women and children eat separately, and men are not permitted near cooking areas; they do not cook at all.

“This is because cooking is defined as ‘women’s things’,” Dr Stephen said. “What is most fascinating is how their diet contains little to no meat.”

The cultural meaning behind cooking

Beyond the preparation of food, cooking serves as a powerful vehicle for cultural identity. According to Dr Wooten, women’s labour at the hearth reproduces gender roles while also shaping community identity.

“They also create a space: the hearth is a gendered space. This is known as gwabugu; a unique place that has power and significance.”

Women, therefore, are more than nurturers – they are cultural architects, transmitting values, customs and social cohesion through their daily work.

“Their daily food work promotes key cultural values known as badenya. This directly translates to ‘unity’. Secondly, it promotes jatigiya ­­­– ‘hospitality’.”

Unity is demonstrated through communal eating practices, where food is shared from a single plate, reinforcing bonds and mutual respect. Hospitality is embedded in the care taken to prepare and present meals. According to Dr Wooten, such is the depth of this tradition that visitors passing by a home during a meal are often invited to join.

The culture of cooking, he argues, not only gives women purpose but also reinforces their importance in society.

“Not only do these women make food, but they also provide sustenance,” he noted.

For Dr Wooten, these women are foundational to societal stability and cultural expression.

“This is because women in the savanna are the original makers of meals, culture, group life, ideology and collective identity.”

Dr Wooten’s in-depth analysis of the everyday creativity of rural cooks offers insight into an often-overlooked sphere. His work reframes cooking as both an intellectual and cultural practice that is deserving of scholarly and public attention.

“I hope my study helps people to appreciate the women of Mali and all the efforts that they put in within their communities. In my work, I see and experience, but most of all, I use theory to make meaning out of all of this.”