Category Archives: Material

Jordan Almond Wedding Favor

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There’s an Italian wedding custom where, as a wedding favor, a couple will place five candied almonds (called Jordan almonds) into a net mesh or piece of lace, tie it up with a bow, and put a tag on them with information about the wedding. The almond net will often be placed inside of something, such as a ceramic angel, a champagne glass, or a ceramic high heel shoe.
Each almond is supposed to have an individual meaning- representing five blessings of health, wealth, fertility, happiness, and longevity for the couple.

Context:

The informant is Roman Catholic, and grew up in the United States. She was exposed to the practice when she was younger and went to the weddings of her Italian family members, where these almonds were offered as party favors.

Analysis:

A common interpretation I’ve seen as to why Jordan almonds are given out at weddings is because they are shaped like eggs, and thus represent fertility. Their taste is also supposed to represent the state of married life, with the delicate balance of bitter and sweet reminding the couple how life can be a balance of both. Either way, this seems to be a form of homeopathic magic- attempting to bring about a desired result by mimicking said result through the ritual. In this case, the desired result is to either have a good balance of bitter and sweet moments in one’s life, or to have a fertile and bountiful marriage. There might be some symbolism in the objects the almonds are placed in as well, those being the shoe, champagne glass, and angel. The high heeled shoe and champagne glass can both be interpreted as representations of the “celebration” at the wedding and a part of the bride, while the angel is more comparable to the Christian aspect of Italian marriage customs. These objects, representing the liminal space that is the wedding ceremony itself, literally carry the blessings (the almonds) that the married couple will receive once this space is crossed.

Birthday Noodles

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The informant makes a special kind of noodles, often just called “birthday noodles” for their children and grandchildren. The most notable feature of these noodles is the noodles themselves- they’re supposed to be long noodles, meant to represent a long life. While she used to make the noodles by hand, the informant now just buys spaghetti or lo meij egg noodles.
As for the rest of the cooking process, the informant says to cut the meat small before sauteing it with corn starch, soy sauce, oil, and pepper. She also likes to put in a teaspoon of sake, and sometimes some teriyaki sauce. Two cups of cut vegetables, consisting of chinese cabbage, carrots, and fresh mushrooms are also sauteed with the meat.

Context:

The informant is a first generation Taiwanese American. She notes that she isn’t particularly superstitious.

Analysis:

Birthday noodles seem to be an example of homeopathic magic, and a rather simple one at that, with the long noodles representing a long life for the consumer. The informant talked a bit about why noodles are specifically used, as they are a very common kind of food found all across Asia, including China, Japan, and of course, Taiwan. There’s quite a long history with the dish, and this presence in culture, combined with the general ease and flexibility of obtaining the ingredients, makes for a meal that can be enjoyed by many regardless of class or wealth.

Moroccan Mint Tea Ritual

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“In Morocco, mint tea ritual is one of the most special ceremony that occurs every day in households. My mom and aunts used to tell me funny stories about babajudu [ grandpa], a sit down mint tea gathering. Every day, not only babajudu prepared the tea in very elaborate manner but also, he had a special way how he drank his tea. The tea is prepared in a traditional crafted teapot with beautiful engravings and served in small glass cups with colorful decorations served on top of a silver artisanal tray.  He would sat in front of lowered legs table with the ingredients to make the most tasty tea with fresh rinsed mint leaves, gunpowder (dried green tea leaves), broken sugar loaf and hot water. First, he would put in the pot a table spoon of the gunpowder and rise it quickly with boiling hot water to remove its bitterness. He would pour it  in empty cup that would be disregarded. He would add a large handful of fresh mint leaves, sugar loaf, than he would pour hot water on top of all the ingredients. After a few minutes, he would stir the mixture and taste it to see if more sugar or fresh mint leaves needed to make sure it had just the perfect flavor . He would serve the tea from very high point, which allows it to be aerate and unveil all its aromas. It took almost an hour for making the tea and savouring it.  He loved to press the glass of tea on his forehead to feel it warmth treating it as if it was a sacred object.”

Context:

“Preparing and serving cup of tea is not just boiling water and adding green tea, fresh mint and sugar, but it it is ceremonial art that is passed from generation to generation. Not only, it is  an old tradition of hospitality but it is deeply rooted in every day’s family life. The tea can be sipped at any time of the day to finish a meal. It is also served in special events like wedding ceremonies, a birth or even other predicaments like funerals.  This ritual is a cultural phenomenon that brings families and people together not only in happy times, but also in  sad times  to show respect and honored guests.”

Analysis:

This is an example of ICH (intangible cultural heritage), meaning that it is traditions that are passed to the next generation. This ritual was passed down to me in a passive way when my mom and my family took me to Moroccan restaurants to have the tea prepared for us. Occasionally though, my family would cook some dishes at home, and I would make the tea myself. It is a ritual which is a form of greeting in a lot of Moroccan households, which didn’t happen as much in America since we didn’t have guests often. That is what differentiates Moroccan and American culture – people would be able to more freely stay at anyone’s house in Morocco compared to America, exemplified through this ritual. Since rituals symbolize a right of passage for individuals, mint tea represents this as it is always served at events such as weddings. Its sweet and energizing quality are always fit for greetings and celebrations.

Altar

Name: Georgia

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I created an altar and painted all of the matriarchs in my family line. In the middle I painted myself wearing a Bulgarian head covering. The women are painted as the different waxing and waning moons. I added some nature ~ leaves, sticks, whatever wonders I find on the ground. There are some other objects that hold an ancestral significance to me. I pray at this altar. By praying at this altar, I commune with my ancestors. I sometimes leave food offerings, I create paintings of them and I talk to them when I pray. Sometimes I cry a lot at the altar and I feel comforted, it’s like crying in your grandmother’s lap. It’s always warm. This is a space where my ancestors can land & where I can share things with them. My brother is awaiting his first child & so I blessed the baby’s gift by leaving it a few weeks on the altar. 

Context

Altars have been used in all sorts of cultures. Praying or praying at an altar wasn’t practiced much in my family and it’s something I’ve rekindled on my own. 

Analysis

This friend is a very spiritual person. I believe she is taking on a traditional practice of altars and re-contextualizing it into her own ritual. They both have a different perspective, or rather have started a new trend in their life because of their spirituality. The idea of altars could reach her through diffusion since it wasn’t taught from her family. This knowledge could be from online, books, or others as I know she is active in spiritual communities online. I believe this is a form of the law of similarity. She altered the tangible world to connect to a bigger thing in the intangible world by depicting something of similarity to that bigger thing. In this case, she has painted her matriarchs in each cycle of the moon to facilitate this. In addition, Georgia is using fetish objects (spiritually loaded or magically significant) to place on her altar to increase the connection to the divine/her ancestors. This is an example of a mashup resulting from the exposure of new cultures from around the world and taking what resonates to create one’s own charged ritual.

Moroccan remedies for discomfort using Cumin

Informant is from Morocco

  • It is said drinking milk cinnamon cumin powder and honey will help with period cramps
  • Putting cumin powder on eggs will help you with digesting it

Analysis:
The spice trade has landed in Morocco, in which its regular dishes are full of spices.It only makes sense that cumin and other powders would be used for remedies. Nevertheless, Cumin is originally from Western Asia, in which it is used for various dishes and remedies there as well. This remedy could be an example of monogenesis. Even though it is a folk recipe, modern research has confirmed that cumin does in fact help with digestion. Perhaps that is not directly correlated to period cramps, but it would in fact help regardless.