Kola Nuts

Reference to kola nuts occurs throughout the novel. Sir Goddie keeps special kola nuts harvested from Gumchi in his office at Villa Potencia. He even has them sent by special delivery. The kola nut is a mild stimulant, and his appreciation for the nuances of their flavor marks him out as a man with a discerning and uniquely Nigerian palette. When he offers them to Mukarjee, the Indian prospector suggests that they are an acquired taste, betraying that he does not really care for their taste. This is in the same conversation where Mukarjee mentions that specialized Indian goldsmiths can taste gold to test its purity. Gumchi, he says, has gold deposits. Thus, the kola nuts are implied to be ever so slightly melded with the taste of gold. In this context, the kola nut represents the bounty of the earth and the soil of...