A more interesting diasporic perspective- FOOD

Food has been an important element in human’s life throughout history. Not only it is an important element but also something that connects people together.

This week, we have 4 very different kinds of readings to describe food. Two are written in pretty academic manner while two others are written in a more vivid and easy going manner.

Mannur has used Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel “The Namesake” when the character, Ashima Ganguli, the protagonist’s immigrant mother assembles the dish to make a quintessentially Bengali dish more Bengali. The passage has begun with the replacement of taking canola oil over mustard oil because of diasporic perspectives. I like how the author Mannur has used a page from the novel on the side to share with the reader her personal experience how roti canai, flying pancakes, this taste of simple dish can transport herself to an earlier time and place. She has made a comparison of how roti canai in different places such as Malaysia, India, Singapore and Australia are very different and also a point how people have used food to think about their cultural identity. Through eating, Mannur has built up friendship with some Pakistani and Sri Lankan friends. This is an evidence how food connects people together. This piece of writing is convincing because it is a first-hand account of Mannur how she has learnt about being India was based on a diasporic upbringing. She is also intrigued by the role food has played in creating or destabilizing a sense of place and identity. She is eloquent enough to put her words to describe the nostalgic feeling due to diaspora. She can feel uncomfortable when there are spaces in the US landscape that don’t fit a standard expectation of what Indian means. It is interesting for reader to note her transition from disliking Indian spaces in the US to liking and exploring Indian spaces there. Indian food is re- imagined in exciting new ways. It is also through finding her favourite taste that she has re- imagined her childhood. Reading this has intrigued me to read her novel sometime. Her writing is easy to understand and keeps the reader anticipated to flip to the second page.

Sandra has taken another perspective in seeing food with a diasporic meaning. She has taken food as an object that connects the specific ethnic group, particularly the first-generation resident Koreans in Japan through the concept of bodily memory. Instead of using a personal account of lived experience as Mannur, it has used a more abstract concept of bodily memory, meaning the sensations and feelings that come along when eating Kimchee which can remind them of their painful history of moving to Japan. In attached with some background information here, being Koreans in Japan is not a glorious thing. They have been discriminated quite subtly. And in this case of the elderly, because they are old, they experience difficult relationship with their native cuisine due to their aging physiology, a.k.a. their stomach can’t take this like they used to be. Examples like Cho Han Chul and Koo Young Ja are used to deliver messages of how food has produce a bodily memory through Kimchee. This concept has been tied to Pierre Bordieau’s extension of Mauss’ framework, how there is the relationship between objective perceptions and social structure on human behaviour by locating bodily acts within a framework of behavioural strategies. He is concerned with integration of the body into social space and its refraction of embedded social relationships and meanings. (205) I appreciate how this article has been clear and lucid in talking about how Koreans in Japan contribute to this topic of diaspora in terms of food. After giving a general example of using Cho Han Chul, I like how the Sandra gives a historical framework “Colonial subjectivities” so readers can first understand how this topic first falls into place. It is because of how 90% Korean labourers in Japan were displaced therefore there is the special role which Kimchee plays in. Then Sandra explains the “Generational Locations”, meaning the element of generation in this whole picture. If it is set up in an elderly (first generation) setting, it might not be relevant to the theme of food in a diasporic persepective. Then when it comes to the last section before conclusion, Sandra has included “Postcolonial Identity and the Eating of Difference” subtopic so that the understanding of food can be better understood. The change in eating has been supported by the example of Koo Young Ja. Sandra has given another dimension of how food not only connects people to their personal but also social and political identities, as well as how they use what they eat to distinguish themselves from others. I personally think this article has explained and fulfilled the purpose of writing it well. The conclusion is useful to bring all the terms and suggested thoughts into a good closing.

Food for Thought:

(1) Can you imagine a situation or transition you’ve been through? For example: How you first hated the thing but through time, you begin to like it?

(2) Does Sandra’s article apply to the Koreans here in Toronto, Canada? And why?

Reflection on Visiting AGO- Maharaja Exhibition

Arts objects are created and exhibited because of the high relevance and responsiveness to the specific ethnic group community. They are deeply tied into history, an example would be, Maharaja’s patronage. And no matter what, arts objects are ultimately designed for opulence & appreciation.

There are a few things which are adjusted to make the exhibition display more socially acceptable especially in this place with great diversity, like Canada. 6 guiding principles are used to justify before an art object can be exhibited. Passive voice is not used for exhibition display to prevent the misconception of presumption. Another example for adjustment would be having no boundary between Pakistan and India on the map because of some political reasons. All of these adjustments are helpful to describe the objects in a way that connects people and groups together. In this context, it will be for the South Asians especially as their history is very fragmented. The setting in which the object is important too in displaying authenticity of the piece of art.

This style of writing for exhibition is beneficial in focusing on diversity in culture rather than diversity in arts and achieving the state of unity in the midst of diversity. The terms are also defined by the curator to make sure the visitors that are coming are content with the materials. All of these give reason for expanding the definition of arts and also representing the museum as a sign of money as well as power. This will thereby give strength to the exhibition. And through this exhibition, the South Asian culture in Toronto has been greatly addressed and acknowledged. This is a great step in celebrating multiculturalism in Toronto. An example given by the curator from AGO is how “In the search for mother’s garden”, using guilt, cooking and gardening to express has spoken volume to South Asian community because this art is described and expressed in a way that connects South Asian community.

From understanding how objects can be used to connect ethnic groups together to the museum, the exhibition can further build and sustain the special relationship between the community and the museum. The art store opposite to the museum provides an alternative angle to see arts in a contemporary manner.

Besides art objects, concepts like “colonialism” can be something in common that connect people together. “Victoria Albert Museum” is the world’s greatest museum of art and design. This is a kind of museum that

Personally, I find this trip to AGO extremely fruitful. This is my second time going to Maharaja Exhibition and it is very different from the first time because this time I went to see this exhibition from a curator’s perspective instead of just having my own and my friends’ some minimal perspectives. It is different in a sense how the curator’s perspective has helped in expanding my view from a personal appreciative one (E.g. How I am learning to appreciate the Indian Maharaja’s culture especially), to a wider (E.g. How it is connecting museum and community together as well as uniting the ethnic groups together) appreciative one. It has given a greater meaning in looking at the arts that expand from benefiting an individual to a community level. This view has been rewarding as I have been studying Diaspora and Transnational Studies so far.

About Khat..

These 4 articles have addressed the topic of Khat in Somalians’ and Yemens’ communities.

In “pop articles on qat”, it discusses the heated debate about Khat socially what the pros and cons in partaking Khat are. There is FDA, a.k.a “U.S. Food and Drug Administration” advisory on Khat which explains how the drug is to be used. This has offered some good statistics in seeing people’s habits in their consumption with Khat in Rome. It is regarded as illegal only when DEA, a.k.a. “Drug Enforcement Administration” says so, therefore people define Khat for themselves which therefore can result in misusing it. This explains for the article of having a Health Guide for Khat Users that gives hints which might be of help to minimize the risks with 11 points. I personally find this funny because it is like showing a comparison how to crack cocaine in appropriate dosage. This cloudiness in the use of Khat (For example: it is legal to chew but illegal to import Khat in Canada) has also led to two (Somali) Canadians smuggling Khat through Detroit Airport.

In comparison to “Bundles of Choice: Variety and the Creation and Manipulation of Kenyan Khat’s Value”, “pop articles on qat” is a stack of newspaper clippings that briefly describes the controversial issue of Khat and how the government in the US has given guidelines to how people should use it while, the previous article “Bundles” is a more detailed, thorough discussion of what Kenyan Khat (Miraa) is, the literature on value and its relevance to miraa, describes variable used in distinguishing the many different types of miraa., describes how consumers associate themselves with certain varieties and suggests why some varieties are more valued- culturally and economically- than others. The subtitles are clear and useful to help reader follow through the whole piece of argument in first understanding what Miraa is and different kinds of Miraa there are, then the values of Miraa and how it is linked to the idea of migration of how Somalians understand Miraa. It was interesting to find a constant and fluid change between the subject of “I” and plain general statement as one can’t usually find this mixture of narrative styles in a research paper.

Another similar way of writing about Khat is “Khat and the creation of tradition in the Somali diaspora”, this article discusses how Khat is a controversial topic because it is a tradition in the Somali diaspora. Instead of simply seeing the cons that Khat can bring in health- wise, Axel Klein has helped us to Khat from a cultural perspective in understanding why there the Somalis take Khat. One reason suggested was because of how there is unemployment, marginalization, social exclusion, family breakdown and poor health within the Somali communities and these partly cause the possible misuse of Khat. The writer has helped to explain this through the use of the subtitles, “Tradition and History”, “Khat in global market”, “campaigning against Khat use”, “the social context of khat use by Somalis in the UK”, “the Somali Khat tradition”, “Khat and the invention of tradition”. The paper is finished with “Khat and the invention of tradition” which is echoing the first subtitle “Tradition and history” how different pattern of Khat use in the UK, it is the “false memory” or creation of tradition that holds the key to many of the associated problems. Somalis didn’t really question or identify Khat is part of their culture without fully understanding the historical origin of this unhealthy consumption pattern. That leads to some sort of guideline, how etiquette is for appropriate use, and restrictions against excess. (58,59) Despite this fact, Axel Klein concluded Somalis in the UK still regard khat chewing as part of their tradition and culture.

“Peripheral Visions- Publics, Power and Performance in Yemen”, this article is a comparatively a very dense to the previous 3 articles. It is the longest one and the hardest one to understand. It is talking about Khat in a more political and public relational context.

2 Questions for Thought:

(1) Do we have a judgement for what is a good diasporic object? Khat is cultural and social to the Somalis, as a tradition, but taking in Khat can be destructive to health.

(2) From what I’ve been learning so far, I never thought of studying object diaspora can possibly relate to a bigger picture of legalization of drugs. Is there any other implication of studying object diaspora besides this? Should we still celebrate the use of an object even if it is potentially not healthy, while still brings cultural groups of people together?