ABSTRACT
The social memory of catching and eating fish is primarily embodied rather than narrated. In her discussion of the impact of modernity on Greek life, Serematakis argues that certain foods, in particular a peach called the ‘breast of Aphrodite’, alluded to the past in a way that newly introduced foods cannot. This chapter suggests that fish are similarly entangled with Luvale history, society and cultural identity, in part explaining the force of the refugees’ embodied memories of catching and eating them. It focuses on the over-arching shared memory of catching and eating fish amongst the Luvale-speaking refugees in Meheba. The observation made in the chapter was that the social memory took on a new vitality whilst preparations were being made for a mass voluntary repatriation following the signing of a peace agreement between the Angolan Government and National Union for the Total Independence of Angola in Lusaka in November 1994.
