Opinion: To the point - Food with feathers on

I am working in South Africa for two months, while seeing my grandchildren. South Africa is full of contradictions - great wealth alongside great poverty, sophisticated modern living alongside deeply entrenched rural traditions. My grandchildren cross these divides.

My grandson told me with pride this story about the slaughter of his first chicken: 'You have to slaughter an animal because it is part of being a man. You dig a hole, and cut the chicken over the hole and the blood soaks into the earth for the ancestors. One of my grannies held the feet and the wings, and I grabbed the head and cut it off with a knife. You have to do it very fast so the chicken isn't harmed too much. Some of the girls dance and the oldest man says a prayer in Southu, like "Give us forgiveness for killing this chicken". We put the chicken in a bowl of hot water to pluck it, then cut a hole in stomach and pull out the innards. My granny squeezes the bad stuff out of the stomach, and washes it carefully, then stuffs it with her secret recipe. It tastes very good. We put the chicken in a pot and cook it. I get the biggest slice. It tastes better when people slaughter their own animals because the meat is fresh. When I get older I will slaughter a goat or a cow.'