Category Archives: Foodways

Apples & Honey on Rosh Hashanah

Nationality: US
Age: 53
Occupation: Advertising
Residence: New York
Performance Date: 4/4/19
Primary Language: English

Main Piece:

Informant: You have supposed to dip a slice of apple in some honey and eat it. It’s supposed to guarantee that you have a sweet year.

Interviewer: Do you remember when you learned about this?

Informant: It’s always been in my life. It’s not specific to our family, It’s a Jewish thing. Remember we’re Jewish? You know, it’s your grandmother’s thing though. She always made me and D— (The informant’s sister) eat the apple.

Interviewer: When is this performed?

Informant: Every Rosh Hashanah, before the meal starts.

Context:

The informant is my father, and he is describing a traditional Jewish ritual associated with Rosh Hashanah. Rosh Hashanah is a holiday symbolizing the start of the Jewish New Year. The informant learned this tradition through their mother. At our family Rosh Hashanah dinners, dipping the apple in the honey is a formality. However, it wasn’t until I went to my first traditional Rosh Hashanah dinner that I realized this was a common Jewish practice. This conversation was transcribed from a recording of a phone call. He learned this tradition as a kid growing up in Los Angeles.

Analysis:

I think it’s interesting that this religious custom was passed down through familial relationships. Even more so, I didn’t associate this tradition with being distinctly Jewish until I was told so. For me, this was a tradition exclusive to my own family. For my Dad, this tradition tied him to Judaism. My father is not overly religious, so claiming a piece of religious folklore from someone like him. Even though he doesn’t place much value in religious symbols, he has never failed to perform this tradition on Rosh Hashanah. Possibly, it is the value he places in his mother that had shifted this Jewish tradition into a familial superstition.

Venezuelan Folk Dishes: “Moros y Cristianos” and “Pabellon”

Nationality: Venezuelan
Age: 20
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 04/08/2019
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Context: The informant, a 20-year-old college student who was born in Venezuela and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, was describing various rituals and superstitions that relate to both her passion for theatre and her Venezuelan nationality. The following is an excerpt from our conversation, in which the informant describes two Venezuelan folk dishes

Text:

Informant: So, in Venezuela, but I think this is also like throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, there is this dish called “Moros y Cristianos” and it means “The Moors and the Christians.” It’s basically just rice and beans. Because, you know, race relations are very prevalent in South America, especially with the slave trade and the differences in how races were treated. So, this plate is meant to represent the difference between the two races. I have always found it interesting because my dad makes this meal and he calls it that and I’ve always been like, “What? That’s so weird.” He just says it’s like a thing that people have done since people were slaves in Latin America. And I’ve just always thought it was so weird because you’re like calling a plate like Moors and Christians, which usually relates to like darker-skinned and lighter-skinned people. So it’s just really interesting because I’ve definitely eaten that plate since I was a child. There’s another dish that’s called “Pabellon.” It’s just rice, beans, plantains, and shredded pork. It’s supposed to also represent all the different races, including indigenous people. That’s why is contain plantains because the yellow part is supposed to represent the indigenous people. I don’t really know why it’s called “Pabellon.” That’s a really common dish… that’s just kind of like, “Oh, we’re going to have this for dinner.” You really eat it on any old day. It’s not like both of these dishes are used in any specific celebrations or events. It’s like a home food or a comfort food.

Informant’s relationship to the item: The informant grew up eating “Moros y Cristianos” and “Pabellon,” two Venezuelan folk dishes. The dishes were so integral to her childhood, that she only realized their historical significance later in life. The meals served as an important piece of folklore for her and her dad to use as a means of starting a dialogue about Venezuela’s complex history and the multiculturalism of its citizens. Both dishes remind her of her family and her birth country; she considers them “comfort food.”

Interpretation: Both “Moros y Cristianos” and “Pabellon” hold a lot of symbolic and historical significance to the people of Venezuela. They are more than just the traditional cuisine of the country, which citizens tend to eat on a regular basis; the ingredients that make up both dishes are important symbols for the country’s history of complex race relations and rich multiculturalism. While Venezuelan’s history includes shocking atrocities such as the nation’s slave trade, which made up a large part of its economy for centuries, it is interesting to see how Venezuelans have immortalized this history within their cuisine. Like in the case of my informant, the meals seem to serve as important folk dishes capable of sparking dialogues about Venezuela’s complex and problematic history of race relations that ultimately led to the diverse population seen in the country today.

 

 

Catholic Polish Christmas Tradition: Oblatek

Nationality: American
Age: 70
Occupation: Musician
Residence: Austin, Texas
Performance Date: 03/15/19
Primary Language: English
Language: Polish

Content: Oblatek (pronounced “Obwatek”)
Informant – “Oblatek is an unleavened wafer. On Christmas, the head of the household breaks off a piece of the wafer and gives it to his spouse with some message. Could be ‘I know I am not perfect, but I will try harder,’ or ‘the best of everything for you.’ It’s a confession of love. Then the wife breaks off a piece and gives it to the next oldest person in the room with a wish of her own for that person. And so on and so forth until everyone has a piece. Everyone shares a message with someone.”

Context:
Informant – “It’s about love. Sharing love and well wishes at Christmas. It’s a family bonding activity. The wafer is very similar to a communion wafer.”
The informant learned of this tradition from his family. He used to do it when he was a child.

Analysis:
It’s very Catholic and very Polish. The bread, though similar to communion wafer, is a uniquely Polish recipe. It’s interesting that the informant never lived in Poland, and only practiced this ritual in America. It was, perhaps, a way for his family to preserve their cultural identity while simultaneously observing a religious holiday.

Corned Beef & Cabbage at Silver Lake Potluck for St. Pat’s day

Nationality: Irish American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 03/20/19
Primary Language: English

Folk Tradition:

“We of course to corned beef and cabbage but that ain’t too original for St. Pats. We do open house pot-lucks at our house every year. A tradition my dad’s family did back on Long Island was basically where the party goes on all day and anyone can just walk in and out. But by the end of the night at my house it really looks like the boys in my family drank too much Jameson, stumbling over just about everything as we sing to The Dubliners.“

Background:

“So, yeah, my dad taught me how to marinate the corned beef and my mom taught me how to add vinegar to the cabbage so it don’t taste like old laundry.…both my parents are third generation in America and all the stories I know of my great great grandparents are of them coming from Ireland. I know we’re not entirely Irish but that’s the majority of it. Specifically, my moms side is from the county Clare. And then I’m not sure who taught them, but I would venture to say it was my grandpa on my moms side and some uncle/aunt on my dads side.”

The informant is 21 and grew up in Los Angeles.

My Analysis:

I think the open-door policy on the family pot luck stemming from his dad’s family in Long Island could speak to the prevalent Irish community on Long Island. Many Irish immigrants settled in pockets there, so it would make sense to keep your door open for your neighbors who are also celebrating the holiday.

For another mention of the Irish St. Patrick’s day corned beef and cabbage tradition see: Henri, Kirsten. “St. Patrick’s Day.” Philadelphia Weekly 16 Mar. 2005: 46. Web.

 

Oysters For New Years in Bayou, Louisiana

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: student
Residence: Louisiana
Performance Date: 04/02/19
Primary Language: English

Folk Tradition:

“Basically my godmother’s niece married this guy who lives in Bayou, Louisiana so it’s like two hours away from New Orleans?  And it’s a really tiny town and their whole schtick is that they have oysters. It’s like where they farm all these oysters. So oysters are really special or whatever there. Whenever she married him or whatever it became their tradition to to harvest them on New Years Eve. And then they like all make them. And now we all go over to my godparents house on New Years. And my godfather is a really good chef and shucks them and he makes different oyster dishes and we eat them.

We started having this be a party when I was in high school so like four years ago ish? But they’ve been doing this forever, they just didn’t start coming over till they had a kid. Then it became more of a family thing. Their family will come to New Orleans and we’ll all meet there. Now my friends fight to like come with me. It’s like a fun thing cause my godfather’s a really good chef. Oysters are so special to Louisiana, but its a really niche tradition and cool. But Bayou is not that far away from New Orleans and not that many people in Louisiana know that people there only eat Oysters for New Years. For them it’s like the way thanksgiving is with turkey.” 

Context:

New Year’s in Bayou, Louisiana.

Informant Background:

The informant is 20, from New Orleans.

My Analysis:

This is a perfect example of folklore transcending geography. While the oysters on New Years are a tradition unique to the Bayou region (Informant specified that people in New Orleans, only two hours away, generally don’t even know about this tradition), this family brought the unique folk tradition to New Orleans, where it is now being shared with friends of family and extended beyond the Bayou region exponentially. My informant now resides in LA and she says that should she get married and settle here, she will institute this tradition in her home.

After doing some digging, I discovered that this tradition is of French origin:

Beardsley, NPR. “For the French, New Year Means Good Oysters.” All Things Considered, 04/20/19, https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6707229.

This makes sense as Louisiana is proud of its heritage, being colonized by dominantly French immigrants. Perhaps the reason the tradition has only been preserved in the Bayou region is because of the higher proportion of French immigrants there than in New Orleans. Again, this is an example of mobile folk traditions, having been brought to Louisiana by the French.