In Gambian society it is not necessary to be invited to eat at any meal. You are always welcome. It’s true! Don’t worry that there won’t be enough to eat, whatever there is will be shared with everyone and the more the merrier! The important thing is being able to share. This may be hard for you, as a foreigner, to get used to since you feel you may be imposing on people if you show up at lunchtime without being specifically invited.

Eating around the Bowl
The most common way of eating in The Gambia is from a communal bowl. A mat (or mats) is spread and the bowl is centrally placed on the mat. Before you sit on the mat it is polite to take off your shoes (as you always do before stepping on a mat). Look to see how the men and women sit and do likewise. In an average compound, especially in rural areas, men eat from one bowl and women from another. Children are divided between bowls according to sex; at times boys eat with the men. If you arrive when people are eating you are immediately invited to join them.

It is considered polite to wash your hands and “taste” the food even when you don’t feel like eating. If you do not want to continue eating you should leave the eating area and wait until they are through as it is considered impolite to watch people eating.

If you are visiting a village or compound for the first time, you may be served in a separate hut all by yourself, as a compliment to show the importance they give to you! The meal is usually brought out in a large bowl and if there is sauce, it is poured out from a second bowl by the female head of the house.
Hands are washed before and after a meal from a communal basin.
Even if one is left-handed, the right hand is used for eating. Usually you will be offered a spoon, which you should not hesitate to use although joining the group in eating with one’s hand is a welcome gesture.
It is best to wait for the host to begin the meal by saying “Bisimillah”. This is the equivalent of saying “Grace before the meal” and means “in the name of God” in Arabic, the official language of the Moslem religion. Hosts are expected to distribute the pieces of meat, fish, or vegetables to the rest of the group. The bowl is invisibly divided into sectors with each person eating from the portion directly in front of him/her. You can also reach out for the meat, fish, or vegetables that are usually in the center of the bowl.

It is considered rude to take food from someone else’s sector. However, if you see a certain type of vegetable, fish or meat you want in the middle of the bowl, break off a piece and place it in front of your place first, don’t just put it in your mouth. If you need help breaking a piece of meat or vegetable, you may ask the person next to you to help you out.

Talking while eating, especially by children, is suppressed because it is considered disrespectful (and may also cause choking) to the food and is against certain superstitions. Adults may, however, occasionally comment on the hotness of the food. Note that when a Gambian says food is “hot” he means temperature-wise! It is not considered rude to belch; on the contrary it is an indication that you have eaten well and your host will be pleased.

Eating with one’s hand is quite a skilful operation! A Gambian takes a handful of rice, punches it up along the side of the bowl in a swerving back and forth motion, and then forms it into a small ball in his hand. Watch how it is done! Don’t squeeze the rice too tightly or you’ll have difficulty forming the ball. Bones and rice falling from your hand are placed on the cover of the bowl and never back in the bowl.

People usually do drink during the meal. Whenever you finish eating, you get up from the bowl, lick the rice off your hand and wash it with soap (if available). At the end of the meal you express your appreciation by commenting on its “sweetness” and in the amount one eats. The host normally says “Alhamdulilah” meaning “Thanks be to God”.

Some superstitions connected with eating are:
- One should avoid making the bowl slide, for this is believed to cause stomachache.
- Wood should not be touched before washing the hands after a meal; this causes a sore throat. If it is done one touches one’s neck to prevent the sore throat.

Main points to note:
- Hands should be washed before a meal but only the right hand is used for eating.
- Shoes must be removed when sitting around the bowl.
- Talking should be minimized.
- Before beginning to eat, the eldest present gives the signal and the word ‘Bisimillah’ is pronounced.

A Gambian does not like to be watched eating by someone he does not know. There is the fear of the “evil eye”; consequently anyone nearby is invited to join. If one does not want to eat one should say “thank you” and avoid watching those eating. Occasionally your host will insist that you eat despite your repeated declining of the invitations. He is just being polite and will leave you alone if you are adamant, but remember to either leave the area or occupy yourself with something else, e.g., reading a book. Depending on the familiarity with your host and the practicality of the situation you may not actually leave the eating area.

- The host may plunge his hand in the bowl and stir it to cool it as an act of politeness.
- The host pours on the sauce, eats the first handful and invites the guests to follow his example.
- Women eat separately from the men.
- If the guest is an honored guest (like yourself going to the village for the first time), a chief or powerful man, the food is sent to his house and the host does not presume to eat with him.
- Restrict yourself to your own sector of the bowl.
- Bones and spilled rice should not be put back in the bowl.
- Express your appreciation at the end of the meal.

Remember:
You’re not obliged to use your hands for eating. On the contrary, you may be offered a spoon and unless you wish to “please” your host by using your hand, do not hesitate to use the spoon!!