THROUGHOUT Zimbabwe, men grow up being told or taught that their sole purpose on this earth besides making money is to make sure that women are satisfied in bed. According to some men, Sex is more important than food, in fact, it’s more important than water. You may fail in other departments in life, but never ever fail when it comes to the bedroom department.
By Michael Gwarisa
The Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs places Sex at the uttermost level of importance and falls in the same category as food, water, and sleep among others. Because of that pressure, the urge to outdo and perform beyond the normal has seen most men in Zimbabwe and the world over roping in the services of sex enhancing herbs and foods or aphrodisiacs.
For several decades in Zimbabwe, Cow Trotters also known as Mazondo in Shona or Amanqgina in Ndebele have been touted to be the secret recipe towards achieving lengthy rounds and hard prolonged erections. This has however been largely a traditional belief passed on from generation to generation through the word of mouth and to date, there has not been any scientific research around the subject.
Speaking to HealthTimes, one of Zimbabwe’s renowned Urologist and Sexual Health expert, Dr Shingai Meki said sex was largely a psychological game and without the right mood and emotional status, even sex enhancing foods, medicines and herbs won’t work.
When people talk about how Aphrodisiacs work perhaps in terms of sexual libido or desire, you might have found that there are a lot of substances, a lot of plants and herbs that have been suggested. One needs to remember that sexual drive resides mainly in the brain which is connected to emotions, past experience and expectations basically that system in the brain that deals with our emotions.
“You then find that if you have mood stabilisers which is what is most commonly found in herbs, it tends to help with your sexual attention and sexual desire but they are not known to enhance one’s erection. What perhaps people need to understand is that there is nothing wrong with Mazondo. They do not harm anyone and I believe that people who tend to use them as an Aphrodisiac tend to just have a partly psychological belief from eating them and perhaps because of the herbs that are put in there which may help with mood stabilisation and sexual desire,” said Dr Meki.
Mazondo have been a part of the Zimbabwean diet for ages and the best cow heels have no spice or flavor added to it. They are simply boiled in salty water; their flavor comes from the marrow inside the bones.
Dr Meki added however that there was little science around the Mazondo legend as an aphrodisiac in Zimbabwe at the moment.
“Basically, this has been a long standing traditional belief and I should say it has not been subjected to any scientific research, hence, its use is strictly a traditional belief rather than any evidence of science in it. As we know, Aphrodisiacs are just sexual enhancers, it may be the libido or the erection.”
He also added that the act of sexual performance has got many aspects, there is the sexual drive or desire and the three is the actual performance which after the desire, you get a good erection which results in penetration and reaching climax which usually comes with ejaculation.
Dr Kudakwashe Mchena, a leading Psychologist in Zimbabwe concurred with Dr Meki and added that said unlike the popular belief that Mazondo possesses some super sexual enhancement powers, Mazondo just act as a confidence booster.
“I totally agree with what Dr Meki said. There is nothing physiological about sex enhancing rituals. What a person needs to enhance their sex drive is confidence. So what Mazondo or any other such ritual does, it gives you confidence. It blocks your shyness or lack of interest and gives you that feel that says “I can do this, I have the power to do this now.” In reality these rituals have a placebo effect.
“If you want to know that sex is psychological, why is it that the same Mazondo doesn’t have the same effect on women. It’s only men who are supposed to “enhance their sexual drive” after eating Mazondo. I call them rituals because in most cases they are mixed with other herbs that are said to enhance the sex drive, but they are not shared with the partner so that they have equal levels of stimulation. A peaceful mind, romantic environment and a loving and caring partner, with a bit of adventure will produce better results than Mazondo,” said Dr Mchena.
Meanwhile, nutrition guru from the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences with the University of Zimbabwe (UZ), Dr Tonde Matsungo said nutrition plays an essential part in men’s sexual health and there is need for extensive research around the Mazondondo/Amanqigina myth.
“Cow trotters “mazondo” or “amanqgina” are a famous delicacy in Zimbabwe due to their good taste and also due to the legendary myth that they boost libido and sexual performance among men and intensifies sexual desire when eaten. However there is limited empirical evidence to justify this claim. Interestingly, traditional food restaurants seem to be benefiting from such claims that Mazondo are purported to have sexual benefits and this tends to boost sales.
“Research is needed to validate or disproove such claims considering that men who believe in them having aphrodisiac properties often boast of good bedroom gymnastics possibly due to the “placebo effect.” In general, good nutrition and exercising have positive benefits on men’s sexual health and fertility. So in the end it’s not just about selected aphrodisiac foods but total nutrition and fitness that men have to consider the next time they go out shopping for “wonderful foods,” said Dr Matsungo.
From expert views summarized in this article, is it clear that there are still some gaps with regards to the authenticity of assertions that Mazondo/Amanqgina automatically give men wings to fly. However, the need for having a healthy state of mind, balanced nutrition and exercise cannot be overemphasized for one to have a fulfilling sexual life.
