Dinner Buried at Dawn

Near a small lake covered in steam, Polly found a row of big pots next to deep holes in the black ground. A cook in a thick apron lowered a sealed pot into each hole using a rope. Polly landed nearby to watch, curious what could be worth cooking in a hole in the ground.

Karibu na ziwa dogo lililofunikwa na mvuke, Polly alikuta safu ya vyungu vikubwa kando ya mashimo ya kina katika ardhi nyeusi. Mpishi aliyevaa aproni nzito alishusha chungu kilichofungwa ndani ya kila shimo kwa kamba. Polly alitua karibu ili kutazama, akishangaa ni nini kingeweza kustahili kupikwa ndani ya shimo ardhini.

Each pot was full of meat, sausage, cabbage, and vegetables. The holes are heated from below by the volcano, to about the same heat as boiling water. No fire is used at all. The heat comes only from deep underground, through cracks marked with stone rings long ago.

Kila chungu kilikuwa kimejaa nyama, soseji, kabichi na mboga. Mashimo hupashwa moto kutoka chini na volkano, hadi joto sawa na la maji yanayochemka. Hakuna moto unaotumika kabisa. Joto linatoka tu chini ya ardhi, kupitia nyufa zilizowekewa alama za pete za mawe zamani sana.

The cook showed Polly, mostly with his hands, that the pots stay buried for six or seven hours. People go visit the lake or the town while they wait. Then they come back to dig up their dinner.

Mpishi alimwonyesha Polly, zaidi kwa mikono yake, kwamba vyungu hubaki vimezikwa kwa masaa sita au saba. Watu huenda kutembelea ziwa au mji wakati wanasubiri. Kisha wanarudi kuchimbua chakula chao cha jioni.

When the first pot came out, thick steam rose up, and the smell of cooked meat filled the air. Polly did not stay to eat, but she watched the cook carry the pot away, proud of a meal the mountain had cooked.

Chungu cha kwanza kilipotoka, mvuke mzito ulipanda, na harufu ya nyama iliyopikwa ikajaa hewani. Polly hakubaki kula, lakini alimtazama mpishi akikibeba chungu, akijivunia mlo ambao mlima ndio uliupika.