Author Archives: Sara Bosl

Recipe – Mexican

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Tamales

Masa (ground corn meal and lard)

Carnitas (shredded pork)

Green Chile sauce or red pepper sauce

Corn husks

Spread the masa on the corn husk and fill center with the carnitas and add either red or green sauce. Roll up tightly and ties both ends. Steam for about 2 hours and serve.

I don’t remember the first time we ate these.  My family makes them every year on Christmas Eve.  I know the original recipe came from my Mexican grandma’s side of the family.

Tamales are a very traditional Mexican dish.  They include very traditional Mexican ingredients like masa and corn husks.  As for the other two ingredients involved, pork and chile/pepper, I am not sure how long they have been available for.  So, that may determine how old the tradition of tamales is.  The preparation of the tamales is still very traditional.  With the exception of maybe the steaming part, everything else is done without the use of modern tools (as much as possible).

Julie did not know how far the recipe went back in her family, but she did know that it had been around for several generations.  Her grandma was born and raised in Mexico.  She does not know the tradition got started as a Christmas tradition.  I speculate that since Christmas is a family time, making the tamales became a tradition because it was a way of celebrating their identity as descendants of Mexico.  Julie did not have to call her family or anything to get the recipe; she just sat down and wrote it out from memory.

Charm – Turkish

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Nazar Bonjuk is a Turkish good-luck “evil eye” charm.

The “evil eye” superstition is on the basis that one person can put a spell on someone else. The evil eye was started by Anatolian to prevent the spells, and these evil eyes were placed in homes, near doorways, on people’s handbags or clothing to watch over the person for safety. The evil eyes today are most common to be found in a blue glass with an inner circle in white with an eye on top of the white inner circle.

Robert is Turkish and although his main residence is in the United States he has spent a large portion of his life in Turkey.  He first learned this superstition as a young child because many people still have the “evil eye” in their homes.  This is particularly interesting when looking at it from an American stand point because we do not have very many superstitions that are still taken as seriously.

When I researched Anatolian, it found it to be defined as region surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea, the black sea, and the Aegean Sea.  This is mainly associated with Turkish and Greek Culture.

I find Nazar Bonjuk to be a sort of oxymoron.  The term evil eye is usually associated with something bad, but in this case it is a good luck charm.  I interpret this to mean that you are turning the evil eye on others in order to keep away bad fortune and spells.  This brings up another interesting fact that the Turkish have a belief in spells, which you rarely see in America.  Turkey is a very modern place today and many of the people do not admitted believe in charms and spells.  But, the fact that people still keep Nazar Bonjuk in their homes shows that there is still some sort of residual belief and respect for the tradition.

Custom – Turkish

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Çok Ya?a

A lot live

Live Long

Response

Sen De Gör

(and I hope that) you see it

You too

Hep Beraber

All together

Güzel Ya?ay?n

Nice living

(may you) live beautifully

When someone sneezes in Turkey a common response is Çok Ya?a.  There are several responses you can say.  Sen De Gör is the most commonly.  Hep Beraber is also very common and considered very polite.  Güzel Ya?ay?n is used the least.

Robert’s main residence it the United States, but he has spent much of his life in Turkey.  This is also where the majority of his family resides.  These phrases are interesting because to understanding the words you only need to know the Turkish language.  But, in order to understand the actual meaning and appropriate time to use them, you must know something about the Turkish culture.  This is a way of separating the identities of those who simply know the language and those who are actually familiar with the culture.

The initial response to a sneeze it very similar to the response you would say in America, “Bless you”.  In either case you are wishing someone well.  I do not know where the concept of wishing someone well after they sneeze came from, but it is interesting that it is the same across two different cultures.  The first response is exactly the same as that is America, “You too”.  The second response is sort of odd, “all together”.  I assume by saying all together, they mean let us all live long together, which essentially is a more formal and indirect way of saying you too.  The final response is also slightly odd to me, but I think I understand it as well.  The first person is wishing you to live a long life.  So, in response, you are wishing them to live a beautiful life.

Travel Charm – Turkish

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When someone is leaving on a journey, a customary tradition is to throw water on the back of the car as it is leaving or behind the car as it leaves. The reason behind this is to wish for your travels to move as smoothly as water flows. When the person is leaving the way you say bye is to say “?yi yolculuklar” which directly translates to Good Journey/Travels. The meaning though is “Have a good journey/trip/travel”

Although Robert is from America, he has spent a lot of time in Turkey because most of his family resides there.  He does not know the specific time he learned traditions such as this one, he generally acquired knowledge of them as he grew up and spent more time in Turkey.  People across Turkey still practice this tradition on a regular basis.

Iyi yolculuklar is a very universal, polite phrase.  As far as I am aware, most people wish others a good trip when they are leaving on a journey.  The odd part to me was throwing water on the back of the car.  When I talked to Robert further he did not really know the significance of this, it was something they just do.  I assume the water had some significance at some point.  My speculation would be that it was some sort of sign of good luck that you were throwing towards them as they headed off on their journey.  It could also represent something bad, since you are throwing the water behind the car, it could be symbolic of leaving the bad behind.

Traditions like this are one way a showing an identity.  If you did this some where other than Turkey, people would probably have no idea of what you were doing.  Even people who study the Turkey may not be aware of this tradition because they have not been immersed in the culture.   This is becoming less of a problem though with the internet.  People can find traditions such as these either described or videoed on the internet, so they can maintain this knowledge without ever having to experience the Turkish culture first hand.

Tradition – Turkish

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The custom when eating dinner is to raise your glass and say “?erefe” at the beginning of the meal.  In the past, you raised your glass at the table and said ?erefe to say you were drinking to the honor of the table. You also should try to touch glasses together with everyone at the table or those near you.

Robert has spent much time in Turkey because that is where his family is from and many of them still live.  Several of the Turkish traditions Robert has experienced happened in Turkey.  This tradition, on the other hand, he said he has always done, even with his parents at home in America.  This is a way of identifying themselves as part of the Turkish culture, not only in Turkey, but back in America as well.  It is also a way for them to bring their Turkish culture with them to America.

Robert said that he does not know of a direct translation for the word ?erefe.  As he said it used to mean you were drinking in honor of the table, meaning everyone who was at the table.  Now it still maintains some of that meaning, but it has also become “just one of those things you do”.

Although Robert did not know an exactly translation, he said it is basically the same thing as saying “Cheers”.  The entire tradition, in fact, is very similar to that which we do here n America.  Many people in America, including my family, raise our glasses and touch them with everyone at the table or those near you.  I have never really understood this part of the tradition, but I suppose it could be a way of “honoring” each person at the table individually.  Many people also include the word “cheers” when they do so.  These traditions are basically identical, just with the use of a different word.  I have also seen the exact same tradition in other cultures, except they use the word “Salut”.  I do not know the origin of this tradition, if there even is one.  It may have been passed though cultures, and adapted to fit each culture.  Or, it is quite possible that the same tradition happen to develop in several cultures.