There is a lack of clear documentation on the historical background of eating with hands, and the archaeological museum in Kumasi did not display anything resembling a spoon. More accurately, due to the destruction and looting of various historical artifacts during the colonial period, there is little remaining evidence to verify that history. As a result, most of the museum exhibits—excluding those in the military museum—focused on ruins discovered after Ghana’s independence and on post-independence history, with very little coverage of the pre-colonial period. It might be more accurate to say that such exhibits are no longer possible, rather than simply absent.

There were several moments when I got the sense that locals found it unusual for people of Asian descent to eat fufu with their hands. For instance, in a tourist-oriented restaurant, forks and spoons were provided to us. However, when local customers ordered fufu at the same restaurant, no cutlery was offered—suggesting that the waitress may have assumed that “Asians would have trouble eating with their hands” and provided them out of consideration. Whenever we mentioned that we had eaten fufu, people seemed surprised. When I posted a photo of the fufu on WhatsApp Stories, I received three responses simply saying, “Really?” Indeed, we didn’t see any Europeans or Asians eating at local cafeterias; they tended to dine at places like cafes or hamburger chains in shopping malls. Locals may have found it surprising that people from Asia were eating fufu in the first place.

Experience in Lomé and Assomé (Republic of Togo)

Lomé is the capital of the Republic of Togo, home to a large port and a major hub airport, making it a central point for West African logistics. On the other hand, Assomé is a rural village located about 30 kilometers north of Lomé. In 2023, I ate fufu at a local cafeteria in Lomé, and in 2025, I had fufu at a similar establishment in Assomé.

My visit to Togo in 2023 was part of a team of four Japanese people. While our tour guide, Pascal, was showing us around the fabric market, we stopped at a local cafeteria where we had fufu. Additionally, when we visited Parimé, I had the opportunity to eat fufu at a church with Mamadou, who also serves as a pastor. In 2025, I visited Assomé with Pascal and the driver, where we met the artist Atisso Goha, who is involved in creative activities. He had held an exhibition at INTA-NET KYOTO (https://www.instagram.com/kyoto.intanet/) in November and December of 2024, and the purpose of our visit to Assomé was to return the sculptures he had exhibited there.

In Togo, fufu and soup are served separately (Figures 1, 2, and 6). When eating, you tear off a piece of fufu, dip it in an appropriate amount of soup, and then bring it to your mouth. At the cafeteria in Assomé, it was common to see people licking the soup off their fingers and holding the plate with their right hand to drink the remaining soup. This behavior may not be due to regional differences in food culture but rather the casual atmosphere of the cafeteria. In particular, the soup in Assomé had a very rich flavor from the broth of the hen, and it was easy to understand why people might want to lick their fingers. While the cafeteria served fufu and soup on separate plates, it is more common in households to serve fufu on a large plate and share it among everyone.

There was no significant difference in the taste of the fufu itself, but the soup in Togo was spicier. In particular, at the cafeteria in Assomé, there was a large amount of green chili peppers, and for about two days, my lips were burning. However, the locals, despite sweating, ate their fufu without relying on cold water. Whether this is due to a higher tolerance for spice, genetic factors, or simply their ability to endure, the exact mechanism is unclear.

I was unable to find information regarding the historical background of eating with hands in Lomé and Assomé. The museums were closed, and there were no bookstores that carried books on Togo’s indigenous culture, so there was no way to obtain information. According to Pascal, the practice of eating with hands is learned not in schools but within the family and community. Children naturally acquire the etiquette by observing adults eating with their hands from a young age.

Why Do People Eat Fufu with Their Hands? A Reflection Based on My Own Experiences

1. Eating with Hands for Safety

Firstly, the practice of eating with hands may have become ingrained as a way to gauge the temperature of food. In Togo, traditional cooking is done using a clay stove (Figure 7), and adjusting the fire intensity is not an easy task. While firewood is added to regulate the heat, fine adjustments are difficult, often resulting in food being cooked over high heat for extended periods. As a result, the soups served in cafeterias and homes are often very hot.

This background may be linked to their living environment. For instance, at the elementary school in Asomé, children are split into two groups: those who attend in the morning and those who attend in the afternoon. As a result, even during the midday hours, it is common for children to be around the house. In fact, at the cafeteria I visited, I saw a child, presumably the cook’s son, playing outside. In Togo, the total fertility rate in 2022 was 4.20 children per woman, meaning the proportion of children is much higher than in Japan. Therefore, it may be inevitable that the adults responsible for cooking end up leaving the pot on high heat while simultaneously caring for children. Additionally, there may be a cultural association between “hot = safe” when cooking. This could stem from the sanitary knowledge that insufficient heating can lead to foodborne illnesses or infections, knowledge that may be ingrained in both the cooks and the customers.

In such an environment, using cutlery to eat would result in the food’s heat being first experienced in the mouth, increasing the risk of burns. The skin on the lips is about 0.6mm thick, and compared to other parts of the body, the stratum corneum is thinner, making it more susceptible to damage when exposed to something hot. Similarly, the mucous membranes inside the mouth are also delicate, and bringing hot fufu or soup directly into the mouth without checking the temperature poses a significant risk.

On the other hand, eating with hands allows one to check the temperature of the food by using the fingertips before bringing it to the mouth. The skin on the fingertips is thicker than that on the lips or inside the mouth, making it more suitable for assessing temperature. Additionally, even if the fufu is hot, kneading it with the hands helps release some of the heat, making it possible to bring the food to the mouth at a safe temperature. Considering that in the past, items like ice, cold water, or ointments for treating burns were not easily accessible, eating with hands can be seen as a rational method to minimize the risk of burns from hot food. In other words, eating with hands may not just be a cultural habit but could have developed as a practical solution for safely consuming hot dishes.

2. Eating with Hands to Finish the Meal

The background behind the practice of eating with hands may be closely related to the toughness of the meat. In Togo, the supply of meat is not centered on young livestock, which are typically tender like in Japan or Western countries, but rather on older birds and goats (i.e., animals that have finished producing eggs or milk). As a result, much of the meat served locally is fibrous and very tough. This tough meat is simmered for a long time over high heat in a soup with a high salt concentration, causing even more moisture to be drawn out, making it difficult to cut with a knife or fork.

In Togo’s food culture, the combination of fufu and soup is the norm, which often leads to the use of deeper bowls rather than flat plates on the dining table. The lack of widespread use of flat plates may be one factor contributing to the absence of a habit of using forks and knives. Forks and knives require a flat surface to hold and cut ingredients, but in Togo’s food culture, this need was likely much lower to begin with. Additionally, the meat in the soup is served on the bone, and the vegetables are often dissolved into a thick, stew-like consistency. As a result, there is little to scoop with a spoon, and it may have felt more natural to use hands to pull the food out and eat it.

Furthermore, it seems that the difficulty of acquiring eating knives in rural areas may also be a contributing factor. When I visited the market in Lomé, I noticed that eating knives were almost nowhere to be found. This could be because the distribution of knives in the market is limited, which may explain why they are not widespread (although it is possible that I overlooked knives being sold in the market).

In such a situation, while there is a risk of getting hands dirty, it may be considered reasonable to hold the meat with hands and tear it with one’s teeth. In other words, eating with hands may not only be a “traditional way of eating,” but also a practical and rational eating style that has adapted to the local ingredients and cooking methods.

Reconsidering Eating with Hands from a Colonial Perspective

I had the opportunity to discuss the relationship between eating with hands and diseases with Felix, who guided me around Kumasi, Ghana. According to his clinical experience, he recognized that, in situations where proper handwashing is not practiced, eating with hands could be a risk factor for the spread of infectious diseases. However, he also mentioned that eating with hands is a deeply ingrained cultural habit, and rather than trying to change it unilaterally, promoting the spread of proper handwashing practices would be a much more realistic approach.

In some cases, eating specific foods directly with hands is perceived as “unsanitary,” “dirty,” “impolite,” or “backward.” However, when considering the local characteristics of ingredients and cooking methods comprehensively, eating with hands can be a more sensible choice than using a fork or knife. What this insight leads to is the danger of easily labeling a specific culture as “unclean” or “underdeveloped.” Instead, it emphasizes the importance of understanding the rationality behind different cultural practices from a multifaceted perspective. Food habits are intricately linked to the climate, history, social structure, and functionality of kitchens in each region. Ignoring this context and making one-sided value judgments is neither possible nor acceptable.

Thus, when considering cultural food practices, it is essential to approach them not merely as the preservation of tradition, but by continuously questioning the historical and social contexts in which they were formed and the rationality behind them. Ultimately, we must reconsider what “tradition” means in countries where history has been destroyed. The accumulation of responses to these questions may hold the key to reconciling two seemingly conflicting goals: improving public health and respecting culture.

Conclusion: Why I Examined Eating with Hands from a Rational Perspective

It is likely that a criticism of this examination would be, “The rationality of eating with hands is not unique to Ghana and Togo, but can also apply to other regions.” Indeed, there are many common aspects among people in India and Southeast Asia who eat spicy and hot foods. Is it not possible to understand eating with hands in the context of the unique history and culture of Ghana and Togo? Aren’t there any interesting stories specific to this region? These were some of the questions I pondered as I kept my senses alert while in Ghana and Togo.

However, as I lived in the region, I repeatedly felt the deep loss of cultural memory due to the destruction of local history under colonial rule. In the southern parts of Ghana and Togo, which I visited, there are many Christians, and traditional beliefs are only partially preserved in certain tourist areas. When I visited the history section at the bookstore of the University of Ghana, the largest university in Ghana, I found that apart from books on the history of the Ashanti Kingdom, there were almost no books documenting the pre-independence era. As for Togo, I was told, “There is no place that sells books about indigenous culture during the colonial period or before.”

Through the accumulation of such experiences, I realized that the question “Why did eating with hands begin?” is based on a Western historical perspective — that is, the assumption that “specific events are historical constructs that can be understood through documents and records.” However, in a situation where this premise was destroyed by Western countries, is it appropriate to consider history using this method?

Let me offer another symbolic example. I found an intriguing mask in an antiques shop in Togo and asked the shopkeeper about its origin. The answers I received were vague: “It has been in the shop for a long time,” “I think it came from country X,” and “I think it was used in ceremonies.” The history of that mask has neither been passed down through tradition nor documented. We tend to seek context in order to understand things, but how meaningful is it to try to understand something whose history has been severed, within the framework of history itself? Moreover, should I readily accept this ironic situation in which those who destroyed the history are now seeking it?
I completed everything prior to the “Conclusion” section shortly after returning home, but it took me another month to finish writing the “Conclusion”. This is because I had been continuously reflecting on these matters.

Given this context, I focused more on “discussing hand-eating based on what I personally observed and heard” rather than “discussing hand-eating from the unique history of Ghana and Togo.” Since access to bibliographic support and established historical backgrounds is difficult, I chose to observe how local people eat with their hands in their environment and integrate that data into my analysis. The reason I decided to describe hand-eating in this manner is that I often felt that the transmission of bodily movements exists, even if it is not recorded in texts. For example, even though Christianity became the central faith, the dance movements have not been westernized. This approach—generating knowledge from information gained through my own lens—may be a method that goes beyond the Western academic system, which values textual data and records. I practice qualitative research (i.e., research using interviews) in the context of public health, and the importance of qualitative research in public health is somewhat similar to this approach.

However, as I mentioned at the beginning, this approach also has its limitations. Even if a reader were to visit Ghana, they would not be able to experience the exact same reality that I did. While video documentation is possible, people’s behavior may change in front of a camera (and of course, secretly recording someone without their consent is ethically unacceptable). So how should we overcome the many remaining limitations in explaining, expressing, and documenting the act of eating with one’s hands? I hope to take on the challenge of updating this hand-eating archive in the near future.