Congotay! Congotay! A Global History of Caribbean Food A Global History of Caribbean Food

Since 1492, the distinct cultures, peoples, and languages of four continents have met in the Caribbean and intermingled in wave after wave of post-Columbian encounters, with foods and their styles of preparation being among the most consumable of the converging cultural elements. This book traces the pathways of migrants and travellers and the mixing of their cultures in the Caribbean from the Atlantic slave trade to the modern tourism economy. As an object of cultural exchange and global trade, food offers an intriguing window into this world. The many topics covered in the book include foodways, Atlantic history, the slave trade, the importance of sugar, the place of food in African-derived religion, resistance, sexuality and the Caribbean kitchen, contemporary Caribbean identity, and the politics of the new globalisation. The author draws on archival sources and European written descriptions to reconstruct African foodways in the diaspora and places them in the context of archaeology and oral traditions, performance arts, ritual, proverbs, folktales, and the children's song game "Congotay." Enriching the presentation are sixteen recipes located in special boxes throughout the book.

List of Illustrations and MapList of RecipesPrefaceIntroduction: The Creole Continuum of FoodwaysCreole Culture in the Caribbean CrucibleCreole CuisineA Global Historical Narrative1. Gastronomic Voyages: Magical Foods of the Atlantic World Gastronomic Voyages In the Wake of Columbus Fishing African Shores Sailing with Salted Cod African Salt Production Caribbean Salt Production Maritime Encounters The First Voyagers: Indigenous Cuisines Fishing the Prehistoric Caribbean Early European Chroniclers Magical Fruits of ParadiseCooking with Salt Cod Portuguese Bacalhau Caribbean Salt Fish Pepper PotsAlong the Creole ContinuumPreserving Food and Flavor Jerked Meats Marinades Tasting Modernity2. From African Kitchens: Food and the Atlantic Slave TradeThe Transatlantic Slave TradeAfrican Foodways Remembered Early Food Production in Africa Trading Foods and Beliefs Foods Making MeaningsAfrican-European Coastal Encounters Culinary Exchanges The Cook Who Would Be King Slavery, Food, and HungerFoods of the Middle PassageSaltwater Slaves and CannibalsDomination and ResistanceFoodways of the African Homeland Arrive in the Caribbean Anancy the Spider-Cook One Day, One Day, Congotay The Enslaved African's Kitchen Rice and Provisions Coconuts, Corn, "and Plantains Make It Good" Excavating African ContinuitiesMeals in the Great HouseTaverns, Punch Houses, and GarrisonsThe African-Caribbean Continuum3. Devil-King Sugar: Hierarchies of Caribbean FoodwaysDevil-King SugarSugar's HistoryExpanding Caribbean Sugar Production Copper Cauldrons Sugar and Labor Sugar and Caribbean Cultural Innovations Cannes Brulees: Performing the History of Sugar Cooking with Sugar Indentured Labor: Asian Contributions to Caribbean Culture and Cuisine Transporting Cuisines Ancient Foodways, New Borrowings Finding East Indian Identity Chinese Immigration Caribbean Curry and RotiGifts of SugarDrinking Sugar Distilled Spirits Kill-Devil Hot and Cold Spiced Drinks Sugar and the Caribbean Body4. From Poisoned Roots: Feeding Power and ResistanceFood as Domination and Resistance Poisons and Power Obeah and War: Planting Resistance The MarketplaceFeeding the Ancestors and Spirits African Food Practices and Beliefs Gourmet Gods Fasting and Feasting: Christmas and Other Holidays I-tal Foods of the Rastafarians Asian-Caribbean Religious Foods Hidden at the Hearth5. For the Love of Food: Sexuality and the Caribbean KitchenFood and Family in the CaribbeanGender and the Caribbean Kitchen Demography and Gender Binary Divides Gendered Space Gendered Transmission of Knowledge Liming Food and Procreation Aphrodisiacs Callaloo Potent Food and Drink Cooking TransgressionsDangerous Cooking, Dangerous FoodsDangerous DiningThe Silence and Sounds of FoodGlobal Food Fusion in Caribbean History6. Caribbean Hunger: Food, Politics, and GlobalizationFeasts and Famines Harvest Feasts Funerary Foods Women and Proverbial Hunger Globalization and Food Culinary Travels Medicine and Botanical Science Ice Apples and Banana Boats Caribbean Tourism Caribbean CookbooksUrban Cauldrons Caribbean Fast Food Postcolonial Government Interventions Scarcity and Hunger Changing Ecologies Taking Back the Land Food Memories and GlobalizationA Conclusion in Which Anancy Makes DinnerBibliographyIndexAbout the Author

Authored by Goucher, Candice