Matoke, also called matooke and known by several other local names across the African Great Lakes region, refers both to a group of starchy triploid East African Highland banana cultivars and to the mashed, steam-cooked meal made from them. The green fruit is harvested unripe, carefully peeled, and then steam-cooked and mashed or pounded into a meal that is considered a national dish in Uganda and Rwanda. The bananas themselves are a staple food crop across Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and other Great Lakes countries, especially around Lake Victoria and in Tanzania's Kilimanjaro region.
Facts
Origin Period, From (Year)Sourced to the subject's own accountMarks the first century AD, the early end of the first-to-sixth-century AD window the source documents for the introduction of the ancestral banana cultivar from Southeast Asia into Africa; matoke's East African Highland banana developed locally in the Great Lakes region only after this arrival. See origin-end-year on this entity for the later end of the same window. Origin RegionSourced to the subject's own accountAfrican Great Lakes region (Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, western Tanzania) 1 Origin Period, To (Year)Sourced to the subject's own accountMarks the sixth century AD, the later end of the same documented introduction window; see origin-start-year on this entity for the fuller note. Sources
1. Matoke (Wikipedia)
WikipediaOrigin and distribution sectionQuote, Origin and distribution section
East African Highland bananas were introduced early into Africa from Southeast Asia during the first to sixth centuries AD, probably via trade.
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