2nd Research Posts 2009
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LITR
5731 Colonial-Postcolonial Literature 
Melissa Hollman
Our Emotional Attachment to Food: A Postcolonial Perspective
We use food to nourish our bodies but food can also provide nourishment for our souls. The familiar dishes that help improve our mood and elicit memories are what we often refer to as comfort foods. These foods have a special meaning because of the person who made the food or because of the company we share the food with. This idea of preparing and partaking in food with others is a cross-cultural practice, one that has been greatly affected by colonialism. When the ideas of one group of people begin to alter the ideas of another, either consensually or by force, a change takes place and something new is formed. Colonialism influenced many aspects of native cultures and food was no exception.
Jamaica Kincaid mentions the idea of comfort food many times in the novel Lucy. Kincaid explores how this concept is different from the perspective of the immigrant, Lucy, and for the family that she joins that serve as a representation for American culture. I started thinking about comfort foods when I was gathering information for my first research posting on Caribbean cuisine. While looking for information on Caribbean foods I came across an article by Eric Grayson titled, The Most Important Meal: Food and Meaning in Jamaica Kincaid’s Lucy. As I read this article I began to realize how often Kincaid makes references to food. Early in the novel when Lucy has just arrived in America and is feeling homesick she begins to think about comfort food. Lucy daydreams and says,
I was eating a bowl of pink mullet and green figs cooked in coconut milk, and it had been cooked by my grandmother, which was why the taste of it pleased me so, for she was the person I liked best in all the world and those were the things I liked best to eat also (7).
It is interesting that when Lucy longs for home the first thought that comes to mind is her favorite food. In this passage it is apparent that the person preparing the food, her grandmother, is as important as the food itself. During the novel Lucy often reflects on Mariah preparing food for her children. For Lucy this is a representation of the maternal care that she longed to receive from her mother. The pain Lucy feels when she speaks of her mother is obvious and it is often the times when Lucy watches Mariah in the kitchen cooking that she most misses the relationship that she did not get to have with her own mother. As the au pair, Lucy begins to fill the maternal role herself when she describes the creative way that she feeds Miriam “a bowl of stewed plums and yogurt specially prepared for her by her mother” (44). Even though Lucy is the one doing the feeding she appreciates that Mariah prepares food lovingly for her children.
It is easy to see that food prepared by a loved one can be received as a comfort but the way that food is cooked can also emphasize cultural differences. There is a passage in the novel where Lucy describes Mariah cooking fish “under flames in the oven, a way I did not like” (39). Lucy is used to eating fish that is boiled and she does not like the way the Mariah makes fish. This difference in cultures helps to illustrate the struggle that Lucy is going through as she tries to adjust to living in America. Despite Lucy and Mariah’s differences Lucy seems to view Mariah as a mother-figure and often has the most meaningful conversations with Mariah in the kitchen or at the dining table. Lucy describes talking with Mariah over a cup of coffee and says, “one day Mariah and I were in the kitchen, seated at the table. This is where we always found ourselves if we had to talk about anything at all” (113). Lucy recognizes that even something as simple as sharing a cup of coffee at the dining table can be a bonding experience.
Why does food taste different based on who prepares the food? How does food
make us feel better when we have a bad day? The answers to these questions can be gathered by looking at Lucy’s journey. Lucy shows us that the comfort that can be found in food comes partially from tradition. Eating food that is familiar is emotionally satisfying. Food also takes on a new meaning when it is made by someone we care about. Pink millet and green figs would not taste the same if it were made by anyone other than her grandmother. Most importantly, Lucy shows us that something as simple as food can help us to learn about another culture and help to bring two cultures together.
To further explore how we form emotional attachments to food we can look at other cultural practices to gain a better understanding and appreciation of how the foods we enjoy came about. While reading Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe I discovered the thematic significance of food in Okonkwo’s story. I observed how food was associated with gender roles such as the women preparing food for their husbands and children as well as the types of plants that were considered masculine and feminine. In the novel it is interesting how food seemed to be something that helped to define a group of people. Food was often used in traditional ceremonies and was an important part of religious celebrations and sacrifices. There was even a celebration dedicated to food which was called “The Fest of the New Yam.” At the end of the novel traditional African customs had begun to change with the introduction of the missionaries. The Christians had already altered the way the Ibo thought about religion and it is reasonable to assume that this influence had begun to permeate other aspects of the traditional culture to include food choices and techniques for food preparation.
To better understand the changes in African foods, due to the introduction of the colonizers, I found a book titled African American Foodways by Anne Bower. Bower explains the ways in which African food changed from colonial times as African slaves were brought to America and a new form of cuisine was created. Communal meals were an important part of traditional African culture. The experience of meal sharing was viewed as a way to “maintain ethnic and family solidarity” (54). When different tribes would gather together for a religious ceremony or feast, such as a wedding, the event became an opportunity to share recipes and techniques with others (52). As mentioned in Achebe’s novel, oral traditions were the way in which customs were shared and the sharing of recipes was no different. The same food could be prepared by several people but the dishes would all come out a little different because it was easy to loose parts of the recipe when it was shared orally. African recipes were not written down until many years after African slaves had been preparing meals in America (Rahul).
Traditional meals consisted of “one pot dishes” like soups and stews that included staples such as: rice, yams, and various leafy greens (47). A traditional practice used by Africans for consuming food was the use of bread in the place of utensils to serve and scoop up these hearty one pot meals. When the colonizers invaded Africa and began to partake in meals with the tribes they did not impose their use of utensils as they imposed other practices. The colonizers were fearful that the Africans would use the utensils as weapons. When African slaves were brought to America their traditional cuisine began to be infused in American cuisine. The customary practice of eating food with bread became less popular but is still practiced today in Ethiopian restaurants (53).
The blend of African, European, and American cultures helped to create a fusion that has been given the name soul food. Bower defines soul food as “a mixture of food staples and spices…based on a variety of tribal traditions” (50). Soul food describes African dishes that are deeply rooted in traditional African food practices. Some popular dishes include: black-eyed peas and rice, barbecued ribs, collard greens, and fried catfish (52). These dishes are described as food for the soul, comfort foods to many African Americans that see these recipes as a representation of cultural traditions. Bower states that “food, like art, music, and literature is an authentic expression of a people’s culture” (46). Whether the food is traditional Caribbean, African, or American; the ingredients, preparation, and consumption of the food helps to identify that culture. What we eat speaks volumes about who we are and where we come from. Food becomes a powerful way for people to share their heritage and traditions with others. Simple ingredients by themselves may seem insignificant but when they are combined and prepared in a familiar way that food seems to transform into a comfort food that allows for the making of new memories and the remembrance of times passed.
Works Cited
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. 1958. NY: Random House, 1994.
Bower, Anne. African American Foodways. Urbana: Univ. of Illinois, 2007.
Chauhn, Rahul. “Soul Food.” Street Directory. 2009. Nov.16, 2009 http://www.streetdirectory.com/
travel_guide/105427/cooking_recipes/soul_food.html.
Kincaid, Jamaica. Lucy. NY: Plume, 1991.