Food for us comes from our relatives, whether they have wings or fins or roots. That is how we consider food. Food has a culture. It has a history. It has a story. It has relationships. – Winona LaDuke
I recently came across ‘Tsukiji Market place’ by reading an article. I was intrigued by the fact that how food is a remarkable marker for culture. I realized the Japanese pride in that market place. Thousands of people flock around 03:00 am in the morning and thousands of bids take place. Japanese associate fish with their status symbol. Those who could afford finer qualities of Tuna fish, were viewed as higher in social strata. I am a Bengali, so I can relate with this. In our culture, Hilsa fish is considered to be the prime delight. As the fish is costly, only the rich and elite can afford it. Even during our marriages, a pair of big Hilsa fishes is presented to the groom’s family as a mark of respect. The bigger the fish we present, the more high is our status symbol. ‘Food’ has been an integral part of the culture since time immemorial. In festivals like Diwali, Holi, Christmas, people distribute sweets and cakes to form new bonds and strengthen existing relationships.
American anthropologist, Theodore Bestor had been in Japan since he was 15 years old. During his study on anthropology, he had stumbled upon Tokyo’s fish market and was astounded to see how generation after generation, people not only looked after the fish market as a source of income but as a part of their culture. What amazed me was the fact that the market is as much as about the culture and social trends as it is about economics. The market place shows how economic transactions are embedded in social institutions.
I felt it also gave a hint on ‘globalization’ as the market observed trading and daily auctions of Octopus from Senegal, Salmon from Norway, Eel from Guangzhou, Urchin from Maine etc. Every fish from every ocean of the world was traded here. In his article, How Sushi went global, Bestor explains that Sushi is just not an icon of Japanese culture, it is the icon of globalization. Sushi became associated with ‘culture’ only when it reached American restaurants. I believe globalization helps in exchange of ideas and knowledge that can give birth to a new culture, and is not just limited to export and import of goods.
By Theodore’s way of explanation, I could draw a correlation with a Mumbai based restaurant chain, ‘Mi hain Koli’ which is famous all over the country. For Koli community, fishing is their lifeline and they make unique dishes from the sea fishes they catch. Koli food became famous only after some travelers and immigrants visited coastal parts of Maharashtra and came to know about their culture. Kolis have an unique way of drying and cooking the fish. Their staple dish, “Sukka Bombil” is famous not for the fish, but for the way it is cooked. My learning from this example was that food has formed an inseparable entity of culture in the lives of every community. Probably, this is why Bestor described Sushi and Tsukiji in great detail. Food is not just an edible item, it is an metaphor for culture. It gives us an identity.
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