This week in my folklore class, we talked about foodways. Foodways refers to the study of eating habits and culinary practices of people. Every culture has its own way of eating, reasons for why they eat what they eat and its own meanings for food. Our food ties people together defining our social identities and social relationships. We watched a video hosted by Marcus Samuelson. The video focused on three cultures:
Southern Carolinians eating a lot of rice, Native Americans living in northern
Washington hunting whale, and Hawaiians eating poi.
The people from
South Carolina rely on rice. They saw it as a tradition that they loved; it brought the family together. However, they also saw it as a curse. Other children would make fun of them and they felt embarrassed by being defined as a rice eater. The Native Americans on the coast of
Washington traditionally hunted whales to survive. In the 30s or 40s the whales were placed on the endangered species list. The people have respect for the animals and stopped hunting the whales. Recently the whales have made a comeback and have grown in numbers. The Native Americans got permission to be able to hunt whales in the traditional fashion. They use canoes and only paddle; they do not use any motors or advanced equipment. It took almost a year for them to be able to kill a whale, but when they did there was a huge celebration, they use the entire animal and it feeds them for a long time. As long as the people continue to use the traditional methods, I feel that they are not making a huge impact on the whale population. The last group that the video talks about is the people of
Hawaii. Their traditional main staple food comes from the taro plant. They grind up the root and make a sticky mixture called poi which they ate at every meal. Today, people don’t eat as much poi as in the past, but it is still present at every luau and in the locals’ homes.
I can see how the food of these cultures defines who they are. My family prides itself on being open minded and trying everything at least once. We make an event out of going to eat at new places.
My grandparents are Czech from
Texas (there is a large population of Catholic Czechs in
Texas). The foods that define them are biscuits and gravy, sauerkraut and kielbasa, and bacon. However, these are special when we have them.
Sauerkraut and kielbasa? That's interesting -- isn't kielbasa Polish as well?
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I'm glad that you discussed the movie in detail because I missed that day in class. I think that it's really interesting that those who lived in South Carolina were ashamed of eating rice and was a curse and as a blessing. To me it was a blessing because it brought them closer together as a family. It would be interesting as to why they were made fun of because they ate rice. Maybe it was because it showed that they were poor perhaps? I also agree that the Native Americans being able to kill whales is not detrimental since the whales have a strong population. Anyways, I don't think that it was their fault they were going extinct because they respect and use everything of what they kill(ed). I tried poi when I was in Hawaii and it wasn't for me. It's interesting that people aren't eating it as much. I wonder if it's more than just lack of land/irrigation. In response to Professor Wong in regards to kielbasa, I do believe that it is also a Polish customary food. I didn't know that sauerkraut or kilbasa was a Czech food, so thank you Alison for contributing that information. I thought that sauerkraut was only German. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete