Semiotic food, semiotic cooking: The ritual of preparation and consumption of hallacas in Venezuela
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José Enrique Finol
und
Beatriz Pérez
Abstract
The purposes of this paper are, first of all, to present a model of semiotic ritual in food consumption, and, second, to carry out a general analysis of the rites of preparation and consumption of the traditional Venezuelan Christmas dish known as hallaca, a particular kind of tamal well known in most Caribbean and Latin American countries. Our ethnographic research is based on the observation and participation field method, during which we have taken photographs, held interviews, and had discussions with actors involved in this family ritual. We have also taken advantage of our own thirty years of experience as direct participant actors. In its first part, this paper presents some theoretical and conceptual definitions that guide us through the analysis. Hallaca is not only a strong symbol in historical and contemporary Venezuelan culinary culture but it is also a living expression of a particular syncretic mixing of semiotic and culinary elements and cultural traditions. We conclude that, as a whole, semiotics of food will benefit from a ritual and symbolic approach to what is done before, during, and after cooking and consuming food. Our analysis shows as well that hallaca preparation and consumption is not only a matter of gathering and having fun but a strong, deep rooted way of expressing, communicating, and renewing profound values and beliefs among family members.
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©2016 by De Gruyter Mouton
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- The Umberto Eco gaze
- “La morte non avrà signoria”: Domande per Umberto Eco
- Vistas for organized global semiotics
- Semiotics of food
- Introduction: Semiotics of food
- Food and translation
- The translation of food in literature: A culinary journey through time and genres
- Semiosis of intercultural cooking: The nineteenth century travel literature as a case study
- The semiotics of migrants’ food: Between codes and experience
- Lost in translation: Food, identity and otherness
- Glocal and food: On alimentary translation
- Contemporary foodspheres
- A note on the meanings of junk food
- Are nutrients also good to think?
- Critique of the culinary reason
- Food and taste
- Food meaning: From tasty to flavorful
- L’esthésique et l’épiphanique: Traces figuratives de la saveur
- Taste and meaning
- Cooking and eating
- The culinary and social-semiotic meaning of food: Spicy meals and their significance in Mexico, Italy, and Texas
- Semiotic food, semiotic cooking: The ritual of preparation and consumption of hallacas in Venezuela
- Food and communication
- Myths, traditions, and rituals of food in Spanish cinema
- Starred cosmopolitanism: Celebrity chefs, documentaries, and the circulation of global desire
- Food design chez Bras
- Food design: Symbols of our daily nutrition
- Food-ography: Food and new media
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- The Umberto Eco gaze
- “La morte non avrà signoria”: Domande per Umberto Eco
- Vistas for organized global semiotics
- Semiotics of food
- Introduction: Semiotics of food
- Food and translation
- The translation of food in literature: A culinary journey through time and genres
- Semiosis of intercultural cooking: The nineteenth century travel literature as a case study
- The semiotics of migrants’ food: Between codes and experience
- Lost in translation: Food, identity and otherness
- Glocal and food: On alimentary translation
- Contemporary foodspheres
- A note on the meanings of junk food
- Are nutrients also good to think?
- Critique of the culinary reason
- Food and taste
- Food meaning: From tasty to flavorful
- L’esthésique et l’épiphanique: Traces figuratives de la saveur
- Taste and meaning
- Cooking and eating
- The culinary and social-semiotic meaning of food: Spicy meals and their significance in Mexico, Italy, and Texas
- Semiotic food, semiotic cooking: The ritual of preparation and consumption of hallacas in Venezuela
- Food and communication
- Myths, traditions, and rituals of food in Spanish cinema
- Starred cosmopolitanism: Celebrity chefs, documentaries, and the circulation of global desire
- Food design chez Bras
- Food design: Symbols of our daily nutrition
- Food-ography: Food and new media
