Food as cultural access

An idea that has fascinated me for a long time, and which is a central focus of my time here in Ghana, is how food connects us to culture. Food is obviously a necessity for life, but in all cultures it has taken on additional social meaning. Food is comfort, community, sympathy, celebration, tradition. We share food with those we love or those we want to get to know better. In Ghana, too, the acts of buying and eating food have helped me better understand and access the culture.

In America, the act of buying food is often impersonal. I can shop at the grocery store without having a single meaningful interaction. Think about the ubiquity of self-checkout nowadays -- we’ve even managed to cut out the sixty-second interaction with the cashier.

Operating in this kind of bubble is impossible in Ghana. I purchase most of my food from Night Market, a collection of small, open-air stands near my dorm. Before purchasing anything, it is imperative to ask the vendor how they are; if we haven’t met before, we exchange names. I ask fruit vendors to help me pick out ripe watermelon or pineapple and do my best to order red red (beans and fried plantains) with the few Twi words I know. I seek to engage myself in the community through my efforts to know the people from whom I buy. Their responses, in turn, let me know that I am welcome.

My favorite vendor at Night Market is a woman who sells roasted plantains off a grill under a tree -- every time I buy from her, she teaches me a little more Twi and has started giving me extra plantains at no extra charge. Two young women who sell fruit are so ready to have me be part of their family that they have tried to marry me off to their brother!

Eating traditional Ghanaian foods also teaches me about Ghanaian culture and history. Two popular Ghanaian dishes are fufu and banku, dough balls made from a cassava flour and maize base, respectively, which are eaten with soup or sauce. When eating fufu or banku, one swallows without chewing, mainly because the dough is so sticky.

At first I didn’t understand the appeal -- where is the fun in eating something I don’t chew and thus don’t really taste? Someone pointed out that, historically, and still for many today, Ghanaians couldn’t guarantee when their next meal would be available. Fufu and banku, made from cheap and readily available ingredients, are very filling and are thus practical options for people living in poverty. Even today, those who can afford more food still eat fufu and banku out of tradition.

Ghanaian food is, moreover, a study in external cultural influences. As I mentioned in my last column, discerning what is native or traditional from what has been brought to Ghana more recently can be complex. Jollof rice, usually consisting of white rice, tomato paste, and spices, is universal and is considered part of the Ghanaian food canon, yet rice is a relatively recent import. The origin of fruits, especially, can be deceptive. Which seems more likely to be native to Ghana, the pumpkin or papaya? Believe it or not, it’s the pumpkin, and the Twi word for papaya actually translates to “white man’s pumpkin." Likewise, pineapple and plantains are not indigenous, while palm and yam are.

The only aspect of my diet that limits my ability to “access the culture” is my vegetarianism: Ghanaians don’t consider vegetables to be food, and no soup or spring roll is safe. Then again, it’s like that in America too, so it feels just like home!