Koki

SAArchaeological or primary source Family H · Leaf-wrapped grain parcels (separate inventions)

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Region: West, Central and Southern Africa
First record: 1914 · Modern & global
Fold: Leaf parcel or pillow
Cooked: Steamed in plantain or banana leaves

Anatomy

Inside

Koki opened on banana leaves with boiled plantain — As served. Photo FranckYN, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Dough: Maize doughLeaf-wrapped batter; savory
Made with: Coarsely ground black-eyed peas (or fresh corn: koki corn), red palm oil, chili, leaves
Cooked: Steamed in plantain or banana leaves
Served: Eaten with boiled ripe plantain. Also made as fritters
Size: About 9 cm across
Note: A borderline case: it stretches the definition of a dumpling.

Not known yet We don’t yet have a written story, a recipe or a precise place of origin for Koki. What we do have is below, with its sources.

Field notes

History

Wikipedia says the Ministry of Arts and Culture recorded koki as one of the 111 elements of Cameroon's national intangible cultural heritage in a decree of 21 February 2021 (decree not consulted).

Range

Where

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From Mbo of Moungo; also Bassa, Banen, Makaa, Bamileke. Popular in all of Cameroon.

Pin · Mbo of Moungo (Nkongsamba) · historical or cultural region, not a town

How sure we are

Evidence

Well established. An archaeological find or a primary source backs it.

We list 3 sources: 1 primary or archaeological, 1 dated text, 1 secondary. How grading works.

First record Dinkelacker, Duala dictionary, 1914: "ekoki", a bean-flour pudding with palm oil (A); first found

Sources

A
Wörterbuch der Duala-Sprache (Hamburg: L. Friederichsen & Co., 1914)
Archaeological or primary source · E. Dinkelacker; Internet Archive scan, OCR text read · 1914
'ekoki, be- eine Art Pudding, von Bohnenmehl, Kürbiskornmehl, Mais etc. mit Palmöl hergestellt' (a kind of pudding made of bean flour, pumpkin-seed flour, maize etc. with palm oil); German-Duala side: 'Pudding, der…
'ekoki, be- eine Art Pudding, von Bohnenmehl, Kürbiskornmehl, Mais etc. mit Palmöl hergestellt' (a kind of pudding made of bean flour, pumpkin-seed flour, maize etc. with palm oil); German-Duala side: 'Pudding, der ekoki'; also 'dipupa ... der am Teller hängenbleibende Rest von ekoki'.
D
ICH-02 nomination form no. 49220-FR, 'Nguon : rituels autour du pouvoir sacré du Mfon' (UNESCO web archive)
Dated text · Republic of Cameroon / UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage · 2020-02-21
Cameroon's UNESCO nomination file for the Nguon cites 'l'Arrêté N°20/0006/MINAC/CAB du 21 février 2020 portant classement des Eléments du Patrimoine Culturel Immatériel au Patrimoine National'. The file does not reproduce the list, so koki's inclusion is NOT confirmed.
S
Koki (food) (en.wikipedia)
Secondary consensus · Wikipedia · 2021-02-21 (as stated; see note)
Wikipedia: koki is 'acknowledged and recorded as such by the Ministry of Arts and Culture, as part of the 111 elements of Cameroon's national intangible cultural heritage, decreed on 21 February 2021'. The sentence carries no reference.

Found by research in October 2026; awaiting editorial review.

History sources are from the atlas and not yet independently checked.

Family H

Kin

More leaf-wrapped grain parcels (separate inventions)