Category Archives: Foodways

Traditional Guatemalan Funeral

Nationality: United States
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Language: English

Text: “When my grandmother passed away, we held a traditional Guatemalan funeral. The night she died, we stood over her body and prayed the rosary from 5pm to 8am. The next day, we walked her to the cemetery, stopping to pray at four different places: the house doorway, the yard, the entrance to the street, and the first street corner. On the third day, we celebrated her life with a big gathering. All of her neighbors came, bringing food and support. We served Guatemalan hot chocolate, tamales, and tostadas.”

Context: The informant, N, shared this ritual during a conversation surrounding the passing of her grandmother and the traditional Guatemalan funeral that followed. N grew up in a Guatemalan household and explained how these practices have been followed by her family for generations. N described the multi-day ritual, which included an all-night rosary and a massive celebration. To N, these rituals don’t help her just honor her grandma but also help her stay connected to her cultural and spiritual roots.

Analysis: This is an example of a traditional death ritual that reflects deeper cultural beliefs surrounding death and spiritual transition. The rosary allows N’s family to show love for her grandma as each bead represents a prayer for her soul. The four stops along the funeral procession symbolize spiritual check points that allow for her soul to be gradually released from the physical world. The massive gathering on the final day brought the entire community together, turning grief into a beautiful moment of collective remembrance. This ritual shows how Guatemalan funerals combine Indigenous and Catholic practices to create a meaningful service that brings people together in support and remembrance.

Haldi Doodh- “Golden Milk”

Nationality: United States
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Language: English

Text: “Whenever I get sick, like with even a cold or just a runny nose, my mom will always make me haldi doodh. It’s warm milk mixed with turmeric, black pepper, and honey. She heats the milk then stirs in the spices and has me drink it before I go to bed. She always tells me how her mom gave her the same tea and now she has the privilege of doing the same for me. It has a weird earthy taste but it always helps and I start to feel better the next day.”

Context: This element of folk medicine was shared by the informant, D during a conversation about home remedies passed down through generations. D explained that whenever she is sick her mother will make haldi-doodh, also known as “golden milk”. This remedy comes from Indian tradition and is passed down through generations, with D’s mother having learned it from her own mom. While it has a strong earthy taste, D associates it with comfort and feeling better the next day. 

Analysis: This is an example of folk medicine passed through generations, emphasizing both cultural continuity and caregiving. Haldi doodh is both a physical remedy and a symbolic act of love and care. The turmeric, black pepper and honey that are used are tied to traditional Ayurvedic beliefs that view food as not just nutrition, but also as powerful medicine. Given that this remedy is always given before bed, it is also a comforting ritual. This practice shows how folk medicine not only physically heals but also acts as a vessel for expressing love across generations.

Thanksgiving in Chicago

Nationality: United States
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Language: English

Text: “Every Thanksgiving, my family and I celebrate thanksgiving in Chicago. My mom, brother, and I will always travel to celebrate with my Uncle, aunt, and cousins who live in Chicago. We have been celebrating Thanksgiving in Chicago for as long as I can remember. Our family has a typical thanksgiving dinner with traditional foods such as a smoked turkey, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, rolls, etc. As an Indian family we also often have traditional Indian foods as well.”

Context: The informant, D, shared this ritual during a conversation about holiday traditions. D explained that she and her family always celebrate Thanksgiving in Chicago with their extended family. As D is Indian, her family also includes Indian dishes along with traditional Thanksgiving foods. To D, this ritual represents family unity and cultural blending.

Analysis: This is an example of a life-cycle calendar ritual that combines both ethnic and national traditions. Despite Thanksgiving being an American holiday, D’s family adapts it to reflect their own cultural identity by serving traditional Indian foods. This blending shows how traditional holidays can be adapted to specific cultures, allowing families to celebrate their heritage in all settings. The annual trip to Chicago emphasizes the importance of family connection, while the inclusion of Indian food showcases how ritual meals can be adapted to reflect cultural identity across generations. 

Grandma’s Indian Food

Nationality: United States
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Language: English

Text: “Whenever I visit my grandma’s house in Seattle, she always makes a plethora of my favorite Indian foods. She will begin cooking several hours before we even arrive as the dough has to be made by hand. She makes traditional north Indian foods such as aloo sabzi (broken potatoes), raita (yogurt sauce), gulab jamun (syrup dough balls), and pooris (a ball of fried dough used as a vessel for everything else). Despite how she is feeling or when we get there, she always has food waiting.”


Context: This ritual was shared by the informant, D, during a discussion about family and food traditions. D emphasized how her grandmother in Seattle consistently prepares traditional Indian dishes whenever they visit. D shared how even when her grandma isn’t feeling her best, she always cooks, making the experience a meaningful act of love and care. 

Analysis: This is a food-centered ritual that reflects themes of hospitay and cultural continuity. By cooking traditional Indian food, especially labor-intensive dishes like pooris, D’s grandmother is both expressing her love and maintaining the family’s cultural identity. Given that she will prepare the food regardless of circumstances, this ritual turns food into a symbolic gesture of love that further strengthens familial bonds. This example shows how culinary traditions can help both deepen familial relationships and also preserve heritage. 

Lechon

Age: 51
Occupation: English
Residence: Corona, CA

Text

“When I think about big Filipino parties like weddings, baptisms, birthdays, Christmas, and even some funerals, the first thing that comes to mind is the lechon.

Lechon is a whole roasted pig, skin golden and crispy, head and all. It’s not just food; it’s also a spectacle. When the lechon arrives, someone always yells, “andiyan na ang lechon!” (the lechon is here), like someone famous just arrived. People gather around it, phones out, kids ready to grab, and family members grabbing their plates to have a piece.

Here in California, we usually order it from a caterer. It arrives crispy and ready to eat. The most important part of the lechon is the skin. It’s crispy, salty, and slightly sweet.

Lechon isn’t just something we are eating. It is a real celebration that marks abundance, pride, and hospitality. It shows that you spared no effort to feed your guests, too. Sometimes it can become a competition of who had the best lechon.

Even when there are other yummy dishes like pancit or lumpia, the lechon is always the centerpiece. It almost feels like the lechon is the guest of honor.

When I see lechon on the table, I don’t see just food. I see a tradition. I see a family showing love the Filipino way, which is full of laughter and full bellies.”

Context

The informant of this narrative was born in the U.S. to immigrant parents from the Philippines and grew up attending traditional Filipino gatherings in both domestic and community settings. Her story centers on lechon, which is a whole roasted pig that serves as the focal point of large celebratory events. The presence of lechon transforms an ordinary gathering into a culturally significant event, and its performance carries a deep symbolic and social meaning.

My Interpretation

From a folklore perspective, lechon functions as a material symbol of abundance, kinship, and collective identity. While it is technically a food item, it is best understood as a ritual object within the context of Filipino celebrations. Its preparation and presentation serve as a ritualized performance, where cultural meaning is enacted, remembered, and passed down.

The centrality of lechon to the events positions it as a symbolic quest of honor. The pig, therefore, is not just food but a performative symbol that embodies both economic investment and cultural pride. Its role aligns with the folkloristic principle that everyday practice scan function as nonverbal, expressive culture, encoding shared beliefs and values.

Lechon also serves as a visual and sensory expression of Filipino-American identity in diaspora. Even when the preparation changes from backyard firepits in the Philippines to pre-ordered catering in California, the core symbolic structure remains there. This demonstrates the multiplicity and variation that define folklore: traditions persist not because they are static but because they adapt meaningfully to new environments while preserving key elements. 

In this sense, lechon is more than just a cuisine. It is a ritual marker of festivity, community, and cultural continuity.