Braais are a huge part of South African culture and the way that South Africans enjoy themselves. This is because braais appeal to all the right instincts. For example when you are having a braai you get to indulge those primal urges of the hunter gatherer and every man loves this feeling. This is not to say that braais are strictly the domain of the men in South Africa, because some of the best braai masters in South Africa are women.
This is probably because braais in south Africa normally go hand in hand with drinking, so while the idea of having a braai seemed great in the morning, but by the time he has drunk a bottle of brandy and watched a couple of hours of rugby, the chances of him being to cook a good meal are rather slim.
Braais are massive in South Africa and they are part of so many important rituals in the culture. It is part if the right of passage for young men to learn how to make a good braai. This involves not just making a fire and cooking some meat. Braais are so much more complex than people realise.
To begin with the selection of the wood that is going to be used is a very important part of the process, next the kindling has to be prepared because nothing looks sillier than someone trying to start a braai with logs. The kindling is especially important when the braai s happening in weather that is not the best.
This is one if the many oddities that make South African men stand out from the crowd. If a South African has invited people or decided to have a braai, then this matter has been cast in stone and nothing is going to stop it from happening. This is why South African had to learn to braai in the rain.
In Western Cape they have summer rainfall, but summer is the best time for braais, so they had to come up with a solution. The ones that could afford to, built a lapa, those that could not just chopped their kindling a bit smaller.