Volume # 2 Issue #2 Aug 2005 - Nan: Their Bread of Life

One of my great joys of living out here is getting up early in the morning and watching the city wake up.  The best is to walk down by the bread sellers and buy a piece fresh out of the kiln.  I then take it and sit on some near-by steps and eat it while it is still so hot I can barely touch it.   I don’t dare eat the nan while finishing my walk.  This isn’t just any bread- it is the YOU bread of life.

 

Nan is round flat bread that has fancy designs stamped on it.  It is a regular part of the YOU diet.  It is so regular in fact, they couldn’t imagine life without it – hence the title.  There are therefore special unwritten roles that go with mam.  Everyone know (and foreigners like me must quickly learn) that you should never eat it while you walk for fear that crumbs might unnecessarily fall to the ground and be wasted.  That means even as I sit on the steps I must break the bread over the open bag and turn my had in an uncomfortable position in order to catch tiniest pieces that may try to get away.  You should NEVER throw nan away, although I have seen some foreigners take the time to break it into the smallest pieces so that it will not be recognized if someone later goes through their garbage.  When a guest comes over it is always good manners to have nan on the table and to break it for them as a gesture of sharing the bread of life with them.