People from the indigenous Mucubal community are known to raise their cattle (the Mucubi cattle) which have long supplied them with cow’s milk that needed to be preserved for extended use, thus giving rise to their long tradition of making sour milk called leite azedo.
To make this traditional milk product, the women from the community collect the fresh milk into a hupa - a gourd which has been cut open and hollowed out, but has not been washed. The milk is then allowed to ferment for several hours before it is stirred vigorously for about half an hour.
This milk product is not sold commercially and is typically made for personal consumption. Soured milk is consumed on its own or used as an ingredient in traditional specialties such as maìne or manhini, which is made by combining soured milk, funje (a cornmeal porridge), and dried beef or mutton.
The indigenous Mucubal people also make a traditional sun protection cream by mixing the layer of thicker cream (obtained from the milk’s surface) with a reddish rock powder. Unfortunately, the cattle’s threatened existence due to climate changes has led to a significantly lower supply of milk, which has put this traditional milk product at risk of being lost.
