Shiny sufurias and what does that have to do with you being wifey material

Last week I saw a reply to a tweet. The original tweet stated that the easiest way to tell she’s a wife material is if she can properly clean sufurias. The other tweets were just men giving their vetting process. One mentioned that when driving recklessly the lady should not keep asking you to slow down. As it… wait for it… shows that she is a control freak. Ladies, please learn to let your man lead, okay?

I just finished cleaning the dishes. This story was triggered by one sufuria I didn’t clean thoroughly. I heard that man whisper you ain’t no wife material… you ain’t no diva, get it? Anyway, I chuckled, partly because I don’t care and second, I will get myself some nice non-stick pans or cast iron. Anyway, I redid the sufurias as my mum does. I, hate, abhor, steel wool. Mostly because you have to rinse it out severally. I used little water, and lots of lather and those tu things sold for 20bob. As I slaved away, getting my arm workout in I’m reminded of the last time my mum washed- I must say showed love to her sufurias- was Christmas Day.

My mum cleans her sufurias with utmost care. A bucket full of warm water. Sunlight bar soap.  A new steel wool. The kitchen sink is too small for this activity, so she does it outside. Bending. My old back could never! The first wash gets rid of the dirt. The sufurias are in a row from the easiest to the hardest. The milk and tea sufuria are always the first. Yes, huku kwetu sufuria ziko na kazi yake, ya nyama, ya chai, ya ugali, ya mukimo, and that one lonely sufuria. Second wash, she takes her time. One hand holds the pot as the other does swiping motions. The pot will be will be rotated every couple of seconds for a uniform clean. As a child, it was fascinating to see the grey foam.

The first rinse is done immediately, lest it stains the sufuria. The second rinse is done when all the sufurias are clean. She then lets them dry under the sun. The sufurias are only brought in when they are completely dry and hot (from the sun).  You have to rinse them again before using them… to ensure there are no steel wool pieces. Lest you kill your husband. Sufuria ya ugali- the heavy, aluminium one, should not be washed with steel wool. My mum said that material ‘stores’ some steel. And to that we say: whatever makes my work easier!

Since this is a story is about sufurias. Growing up in the ghetto, all women washed their sufurias the same way. Most mama’s used jiko la makaa I badly want to say jiko ya makaa. Thus Some sufurias had soot others didn’t. Let me explain, soot is brought by smoke, determined by how good your fuel (charcoal, kuni, papers) is. Those with soot don’t get scrubbed on the outer part- I have no idea how to rewrite this sentence.  Mamas with jiko la kuni would clean the inside and leave the beautiful soot on their sufuria. Did you know there’s perfect soot? My grandmother has this rack she places her clean sufuria on. Some have fresh soot: New soot; cloudy, soft and light. I liked to touch it and draw on walls with it. There’s old soot; shiny, hard, and looks like small pebbles. I love touching it. New soot can be washed away but the old soot clings.

I hope you found this article useful. I’d hate for you not to qualify as a wife. When you clean your man’s sufuria and he sees wife in you, please send cake.

The tweet