HERE AND THERE: Body Sushi or money miss road
It was Archbishop Desmond Tutu who was credited in
1994 with coining that evocative expression Rainbow Nation, a phrase
that captured the hope and optimism of multiracial unity, but also
suggested the eclectic mix that makes up South Africa.
Here you have the most liberal constitution in the
world that recognises the right to homosexual unions resting cheek by
jowl as all the seven colours do, with the practice of virgin testing.
No surprise then that a rainbow nation should
produce a rainbow of issues including this latest on the subject of
sushi, a Japanese culinary delicacy and the serving of it. To be exact
sushi is prepared from a base of vinegared rice pressed and rolled
between fine thin sheets of seaweed with toppings or inserts of various
other ingredients consisting of fish, seafood and vegetables. Sashimi
is the term for sliced raw fish often included in sushi.
Japanese cuisine is regarded as an art form in
some quarters and a distinguishing feature of Japanese aesthetics for
outsiders is the complete marriage of form and substance, to wit: the
presentation of the food is just as paramount a consideration as the
taste. In other words, the reason for being of this cuisine might just
be considered the complete antithesis of man must whack, especially for
those whose lifestyles have soared way above the primary consideration
of just filling the gut.
Let me put it another way: gari, tuwo or pounded
yam have a clear purpose, sushi appears to be something you eat to
enjoy which of course would be why you would find sushi served on the
body of a naked woman, Nyotaimori to you, meaning female body
presentation or adorned body of a woman; or on a naked man Nantaimori.
This practice of using naked women as food
platters is described as rare, obscure even, and according to Wikipeda
has been outlawed in China for public health reasons. One can well
imagine a typical Nigerian reaction, what new form of poisoning is she
trying on me now?
Last October South African Kenny Kunene,
businessman and club owner had a big bash for his fortieth birthday.
The party was held at his club in tony Sandton and featured models
lying on tables in bikinis their bodies covered with sushi. This act
raised the hackles of ANC politicians, the Trade Union leadership and
women’s groups including the ANC Women’s League.
Undaunted, or perhaps spurred on by the
significant publicity Kunene repeated the stunt at the launching of his
latest club ZAR on the Cape Town waterfront late last month.
ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe was moved to
voice his condemnation of the “serving of sushi on the bodies of
scantily clad women,” calling it, “defamatory insensitive and
undermining of women’s integrity,” The Times wrote. As for that, women
must mind their own integrity, but that is another column. Kunene told
the paper he understood the party’s concerns and since he was humbled
by the way Mantashe handled the situation would desist in future from
serving sushi that way. He told the paper:
“If the ANC had not spoken I would have had Indian
and Chinese girls in Durban. I just wanted to change the plates to see
how the sushi tastes from one plate to the other – so South Africans
will miss the Indian plates and the Chinese plates,” he said bursting
into laughter’. Kunene also added he was not the only one who enjoyed
picking sushi off beautiful bodies. “White ladies were also enjoying
sushi off male sushi plates.”
Well that’s alright then equal opportunity pleasure!
Jokes aside what strikes one in all this is the
incongruity of the behaviour in the context of the setting. Put simply
it is a typical example of money miss road insensitivity that is
universal, but on this continent has a heightened impact because of the
wide gulf between those who have the means to live like this and the
conditions of the vast majority who do not.
Kunene, a former teacher and ex convict who served
6 years in prison for fraud, has argued in interviews that he now makes
his money honestly and has the right to enjoy it. He adds that he
donates substantial sums to charity and visits schools to tell children
that they can live well if they earn money the right way.
But it goes beyond that. This was an act in bad
taste and the depiction of a wealthy black man in the new South Africa
bending to eat food off the body of a naked woman left a bad taste in
the mouth. It had echoes of Idi Amin riding on the shoulders of a white
man and loving it because it signified a reversal of the status quo.
Surely we should have gone beyond that by now. There are far more
important goals to reach.
