At the beginning of this project, we were tasked with identifying three cultures and the ways in which they engaged with a specific topic in the cultural lexicon. I made the decision to concentrate on food, believing that one of the cores of any culture is the taking of a meal. In some ways I wasn't far off base. All three of the cultures that I chose had very specific and important ways in which food interacted with, and in many ways constructed the ways the culture exists. That said, it is important to understand that while there are commonalities between the ways in which we organize around food, there are also many differences in our methods of preparing, gathering, using, and even eating the foods that we organize our cultures around.
The Zande and Basarwa especially share some commonalities, being that they hail from the same continent. While the biomes are not necessarily exactly the same, both groups have access to relatively similar surrounding foods, though because the Basarwa do not grow major crops, and the Zande do, the very basis of their diets and ways of life are different. The Zande live primarily off of crops that they grow and process, though many of their foods can be consumed directly with little processing. This is not true of the Basarwa, who must process many of the foods they gather through crushing or cooking as the plants that make up their diet are far more various and tend to require more work to get to the product.
The Kurds are an even more drastic change, not only possessing a different way of producing food, but also a completely different region from the other two. The Kurds food bases require even more preparation and even more intensive work than either of the other groups. Though the food has less overall cultural restrictions than the Basarwa, and growing space than with the Zande, the Kurds base almost all of their food resources around a flock of animals, and must gather any other ingredients while moving from pasture to pasture.
In the end the groups share an importance placed on food sources, but ultimately share very little in terms of actual cultural implications when it comes to the food. This goes a long way toward explaining the importance that we must place on the differences in our cultures. Different people value different things, and have different ways of life. This will affect how they approach all of the aspects of their lives. It is my hope that you, the reader, have gained some understanding of this, and that you have found value in the information provided here. Thank you for following along!
Works Cited
Roman Hovsepyan, Nina Stepanyan-Gandilyan, Hamlet Melkumyan, Lili Harutyunyan,
Food
as a marker for economy and part of identity: traditional vegetal food
of Yezidis and Kurds in Armenia, Journal of Ethnic Foods, Volume 3,
Issue 1, 2016, Pages 32-41, ISSN 2352-6181,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jef.2016.01.003.
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352618116000044)
Izady, Mehrdad R. 1992. The Kurds: A Concise Handbook. Washington, D.C.: Crane Russak, Taylor & Francis International Publishers. https://ehrafworldcultures-yale-edu.northernkentuckyuniversity.idm.oclc.org/document?id=ma11-012.
Evans-Pritchard, E.E. . “A Contribution to the Study of Zande Culture.” Africa: Journal of the International African Institute 30 (No. 4)1960: 309–24. doi:https://doi-org.northernkentuckyuniversity.idm.oclc.org/10.2307/1157595.
Schlippe, Pierre de. 1956. Shifting Cultivation in Africa: The Zande System of Agriculture. London: Routledge &Paul. https://ehrafworldcultures-yale-edu.northernkentuckyuniversity.idm.oclc.org/document?id=fo07-060.
Gillies, Eva. 1999. “Culture Summary: Azande.” New Haven, Conn.: HRAF. https://ehrafworldcultures-yale-edu.northernkentuckyuniversity.idm.oclc.org/document?id=fo07-000.
Culwick, Mrs., G. M. 1950. A Dietary Survey among the Zande of the South-Western Sudan. Khartoum: Agricultural Publications Committee, Ministry of Agriculture, Sudan Govt. https://ehrafworldcultures-yale-edu.northernkentuckyuniversity.idm.oclc.org/document?id=fo07-061.
