Kola nut
A bitter nut offered to guests and used in rites across West Africa.
Also: obi, goro, orogbo
The kola nut is a bitter, caffeine-rich seed of a tree native to West Africa. It is offered to guests as a welcome, shared at weddings, naming ceremonies and meetings, and used in prayers and oaths. Among the Igbo, the host breaks the nut and says a blessing before it is passed to the guests in order of age, in the rite known as oji. In Hausa and Yoruba societies it is also a gift and a symbol of friendship. A nut with more than the usual lobes is thought to be lucky. Kola was also a trade good that crossed the Sahara for centuries.
Region: Sub-Saharan Africa