I luh me a rich platter of cultures and perspectives
…some pocky, kenke, some spicy pad thai, kitfo with coal toasted KoCHo and gomen be ayib, some falafel, tegabino shirro, butiCHa topped off with bubble tea or a mojito…
I get intrigued that a certain arrangement of patterns, colors, monuments or objects tell stories, harbor history and hold meaning.
Seemingly nonsensical (to me!) rites and rituals, stomping and romping are the abodes for meaning about belief systems and ways of life for identities across time and space.
I love the fact that music, as it seeps out of surfaces, expresses such abstract things like turbulent emotions and heavy thoughts, it evokes reminiscence of vivid smells, tastes and visions across miles and centuries as it also transmits messages and exudes impact.
…as do words… the way the story is told amplifies the volume, emboldens the energy with which it is relayed. The cultural idiosyncrasies, their uniqueness and weirdness are the salt, spice, sour and sweetness perfectly fused like in thai cuisine…along with deliciousness they relay nutrition for survival. They are the vesicles of identities and alternate realities…
“The core of creativity is based on identity” - Dr. Kay Shelemay from Harvard University talking about modern Ethiopian Music at the Tsehai Conferences.
A little while back…on the bernos blog someone made a comment about the diverse backgrounds of bernos readers and bloggers. It is a curious question; how diverse are your experiences?
Thinking about it, I realize that if anything, without the privilege of traveling to many places though I have done somewhat extensive travel within Ethiopia, I’ve become an ‘international consumer‘ …an old professor of mine would call this commercial exotification or orientalism or some other jargon term…the kind of culture you can buy from the store! lol, Ok, so what? it’s a guilty pleasure.
A small snapshot – I tend to shop at Asian marts and go a little too crazy buying sweets like chocolate covered green tea cubes. I treat myself to some good Ethiopian food once in a while…other than the instant shiro and tibs at home.
I can’t get enough of music like bossa nova, flamenco, cool jazz, samba and oldskool southern african beats… Nothing gets me dancing are guragigna, zouk, soca or the mishmash of salsa, merenge and cumbia.
My favorite foods: QoCHO begomen, southern indian snack smothered with chutney, thai curry fried rice, sushi, kenke and Qategna… I find myself chasing after items that are ‘ethnic’ and dreaming about traveling to costa rica…
They say something like… it’s when you go out of your comfort zone that you can learn a lot about who you are and where you are from. I am sure many who are more traveled and tri/quadru-lingual can speak to that better
tpeace also blogs @ senduQ
cheers!
Published by July 10th, 2008 in Bernos, Social and Thoughts.
My Name is Nolawi. I am approaching the 30 mark and I live in DC. The second best city in the world.
I love you guys as well, especially the ladies…
Nolawi,
What?
Tpeace
I agree with two things
1.
Yeah you should explore as much as you can. There is so much to see to this world than the big macs and the Coca cola.
2. I agree with your professor. I don´t like mass culture. It sucks the variety out of the world.
If you are into ethnic items Costa Rica should not be your destination. Try Guatemala. They really have the tradition and history. CR is beautyful and refreshing as well but in a diffrent way.
LOL only for the record, this post was not intended as a personal ad!
spacefog – looks like i need to clarify why i disagree with my professor – her jargons generalize that when you buy ‘ethnic’, you are commercializing culture = reducing tradition and history into mere iQa- a commodity. her point is, the value of culture is reduced into a trinket just by the very fact that you buy it…
I don’t think the issue is as Black and White as she put it- it is a lot more complicated. It’s unrealistic in this intermingling world to say you shouldn’t buy traditional items to keep cultural essence intact in the abstraction of ideas; especially when materials mean different things and serve different purposes to different people.
I’m actually not a big shopper…either way- we all eat, drink, wear clothes, entertain ourselves… As someone said at the Tsehai conferences, you ‘vote with your wallet‘. What I decide to spend money on makes a statement about what I value… for me that includes a way to explore, and be expressive…
Anyhow, bottom line- the big question with commercializing is– whose pockets are u patting? u can buy imported international products – not multinational produced ones (if u’re referring to these when u say mass culture then we agree). To me, the issue really is not the act of shopping itself, its what u choose to buy- i choose not to buy big brands that show off the big icons and logos – i prefer to explore patterns and colors of diff cultures…and that’s just me!
and actually I would love go to CR for the nature…
Nolawi said
Really!!! I don’t think so.
I have seen DC a few times.
What’s the first best then????
Yes I heard Guatemala is very beautiful (wild life etc) not the big city.
I think San Francisco is the best city in the US.
tpeace,
Good post. It kinda resonates….my life is full of stuff like …Tofu sprinkled with mitmita….Shrimp Tibs with back home Qibe on Injera…(yum yum)…..Hip Hop over Ambassel key….Digital Kirar….all u can eat Dim Sum lunch and Kitfo supper….etc….
I live in Toronto…probably the most multicultural city in the world and I luv it. Now I realize what I thought was a cultural shock is a blessing in disguise…
DC is the second best city in the world for abesha people – thus the second best city…
the first is AA
u better say like that…..oh it is not right to say something with out knowing it.
The first thing u should do is , try to explain things based on something vivid……what ever u say should make sense…huh…….
the first comment given by someone is different from what u r saying man!!!!!
dinich,
wow wow…shrimp tibs made with Qibe? on injera! now that is a twist I haven’t heard of! very nice, will have to try it. Toronto seems like one of the very coolest cities ever! (as opposed to San Fran or DC — I’ve been to both these cities and I find DC especially lack luster)
What’s the real buzz about DC anyways? yea, its a nice place, but nothing to be wowed by….
rem,
what’re u trying to say?
Tpeace, your musings are fantastically imaginative! and thought provoking indeed. Keep it up.
But I must say I have to agree with your prof. Commodification degrades all sort of experience, including cultural ones, only unless the culture itself is a culture of commodification then of course it is nothing but destructive.
Dincho… last few weeks we were hearing a lot about Canada, I even considered that is could be all a hype but I got the opportunity to visit 2 weekends ago and in the few days I was there I glad to confirm your statement. Toronto is not only a multi-cultural city in name, like many are in the United States, but rather their multi-culturalism/tolerance is reflected in their everyday media, in the numerous cultural, art centers I saw just randomly driving on the street. Even though there is a long way to go, at least it is comforting that the liberal dreams is closer to a reality some place in the world. And also concluded as much I love it DC ain’t shit. Dinicho, will hit u up next time I come up there.
peace
Nyala bro,
Please do. And I ll take you to church….ha ha
Seriously, let me know when u coming…I promise at least a lunch lelaw biqer….look for semere semere on facebook and let me know…
haha dinich… I might go to church with u too
got to try the spirits one of these days. but yeah just added u on facebook… talk to u soon.
torntoo, ye…we got a great window into the abesha community there during the Tsehai conference! Hopefully, I’ll make my way up there sometime
nyala,
explain to me esti what ‘essence’ and ‘worth’ we are talking about that’s degraded? sure, a guy buys a tye-dye shirt with an image of a bali traditional dancer on it from a market. that bali dance may hold some traditional/spiritual significance etc… but how is dude shopping for that t-shirt taking away from that “essence”/worth if he buys an item representing?
…I just don’t quite get that point of view…
i just cringe at some idea of a ‘timelessness’ and static essence of any culture which gets degraded. IMO cultures are always in flux and always in an interplay with other cultures…each society is forging and molding ways that its culture allows the people to survive and create a worthy lifestyle…
t-peacye this is purely an opinion but for me comodofication is the the precise moment at which an object of purpose and value within a certain cultural context is transformed into a consumer product. When I say consumer product, I mean of products that have lost their original utility and are possessed purely for the sake of possession. Then once that market is created, the utility, purpose and expression of the culture itself reorients itself to the market. I recognize that is how the cultures interplay with each other influencing exchanges and innovations. But, the cultural market place itself is utterly dominated by western corporate globalization. As you well know that global machinery is chugging along stamping out uniformity of culture MacDonals and Walmart style, molding or destroying anything that is comes into contact with. Assimilating everything like the Borgs in StarTrek. Invitably, as we all are part of this machinery, when u we go out and buy “native” ppls trinkets, masks etc, whether we like it or not, we are all feeding into the whole hyper consumer culture, only instead of Ipods and Nikes our consumer product is cultural artifacts. Before you know it those dashikis, kente cloth and masks, etc as brother Profit from Burntface points out in one of his songs, are being made by sweat shops in china and sold right back to us. But then again that shouldn’t be a surprise because the system even comodifies revolutionary messages that advocate for its own demise (poor Che).
t-peacye this is purely an opinion but for me comodofication is the the precise moment at which an object of purpose and value within a certain cultural context is transformed into a consumer product. When I say consumer product, I mean of products that have lost their original utility and are possessed purely for the sake of possession. Then once that market is created, the utility, purpose and expression of the culture itself reorients itself to the market. I recognize that is how the cultures interplay with each other influencing exchanges and innovations. But, the cultural market place itself is utterly dominated by western corporate globalization. As you well know that global machinery is chugging along stamping out uniformity of culture MacDonals and Walmart style, molding or destroying anything that is comes into contact with. Assimilating everything like the Borgs in StarTrek. Invitably, as we all are part of this machinery, when u we go out and buy “native” ppls trinkets, masks etc, whether we like it or not, we are all feeding into the whole hyper consumer culture, only instead of Ipods and Nikes our consumer product is cultural artifacts. Before you know it those dashikis, kente cloth and masks, etc as brother Profit from Burntface points out in one of his songs, are being made by sweat shops in china and sold right back to us. But then again that shouldn’t be a surprise because the system even comodifies revolutionary messages that advocate for its own demise (poor Che).
“Tofu sprinkled with mitmita….Shrimp Tibs with back home Qibe on Injera…(yum yum)…..Hip Hop over Ambassel key….Digital Kirar……”. I call your experiances as a perfect example of globalization madness :=(
Wish you luck finding comfort with these kind of experiances.
Grandma,
Dont wish me luck finding comfort….I already found it…shrimp Tibs is comforting….ha ha
nya,
i hear u bro…i do. tho…that all seems so black and white! how can u generalize this uniformity, sweatshop, hype phenomenon is the case for all cultural items bought from any place in the world by anybody buying? how can u be against all forms of traditional items being up for sale as commodities?
well isn’t it on us, to keep the individual experience intact?
i’m not advocating for cultural brainwashing and uniformity for the profit of few big corporation and i agree possession for the sake of possession (i.e. materialism) is pointless.
all i’m really saying is there is fair trade, there are ways u use items for function as well as to create, express, explore your own individual experience and that is part of this globalizing world. no culture is being degraded, and not all commodity exchange is working for the big bad greedy wolf…
Dinich,
Where do you find your shrimp Tibs comfort? Let me guess, China Town. Oh, yeah you’ll feel so much close to the culture, eh.
Yes, give me non-hormonized, non-toxic shrimp with the side of dry Tibs, i’m for it (i dont’t know about the shrimp sauce blended with Tibs, though. You’re brave enough so, i’ll leave that to you).
Frankly, taste is not my point here. I just hate that sameness in the urban setting. No authenicity whatsoever!!!!
Grandma,
The shrimp Tibs is homemade…I was inspired when I saw it on the menu in one of the DC Abesha restaurants….Can’t remember which one. I wanted to try it at the restaurant but my friends were disgusted and didn’t let me. So I decided to try it at home and the small peeled shrimps make nice tibs and they taste great with injera….wierd huh
Oh, when you said “Tibs”, what i had in mind was Ethiopian “Tibs”. I didn’t connect the fried shrimp thing by itself.
nice piece, tpeaces.
if you can, you should try to travel. i have a feeling it’d suit you. you’d love it. i don’t think it suits everyone; you need to be pretty open minded.
as well as exposing you to a wealth of new experiences, travel exposes you to novel ways of doing and seeing things. i find that it makes you look at even the familiar with a new pair of eyes. makes you question your view of the world, and consider abandoning some of the western ideas that you cling to. i like to think i come back a slightly different (better) person. yes, travel’s really good for you.
Mixing, blending food, spices supposed to make me feel experiance a culture? I don’t get it. I’ll leave it as it is.
Grandma,
That is not what u do to make u feel experience a culture….That is what u naturally do when u live in a mixed culture….
yonas,
I hear ya! i would seriously love to satiate some wanderlust!… the places I’ve been are within the US, Ethiopia and England and I’ve traveled within them…but that’s about it. You have any tips on making travel a feasible and integrated part of the lifestyle?
right…?
Grand Ma and Grandma…you’re right about the mixing within a multicultural society. though also– what do you usually do when you travel to ‘experience the culture’? what comes to mind: participate in the daily activities/rituals, eat the food, enjoy the entertainment, interact with the people, see the sights and eventually buy some memorabilia/record some memorabilia
I think there are ways you can get some small glimpses of that in a multicultural society…if u really seek it out.
Though, you’re right about the ‘sameness’ of chinese food for example. But in a society where there are people of all backgrounds you have the ethiopian restaurants that cater to the white customers, and the ones that the abesha people themselves keep going back to because its so good and ‘authentic’.
Sorry about post 23…It is my post. I meant to address it to Grandma and ended up putting grandma in the name field….It should be me Dinich…
Dinch,
I’m sorry, it’s doesn’t come naturally, however, i make a choice. Of course, food, music and art is always a strong link to ones culture, family,community. My biggest problem what i see in the westen world is that authenticity. What you see in hot so called “cultural districts” the food, the music, the art – are they really representing the people culture? In most cases it’s a disappointment.
tpeace … list the destinations you want to travel to. prioritise and decide which destination(s) you want to hit this year. buy a lonely planet guide book for your destination. request time off work (unpaid leave if necessary). then … JUST DO IT. travel.
it really is that simple
the rest is just detail. money wise, it’s not as expensive as you might think, and you can choose great destinations that match your budget.
cool…yonas, u got any suggestions for such destinations
grandma, i agree about the authenticity in city ‘districts’ the best example of that in my opinion is the DC chinatown. every asian restaurant I’ve been to there is not even a step up from mall food court grease-o-rama! And somewhere near adams morgan I went to an “indian” place that was owned by a bangladeshi man…he told us that they cooked the food bangladeshi style… his attitude being like: ‘hey! who could tell the difference anyway…’ he explained ‘indian is more marketable’ lol
tpeace,
Funny. Lol!
tpeace … as you’re in north america, the most practical place to start is south america. i’d personally recommend Peru as your first destination. i’ve heard great reports on argentina, chile and bolivia too. they are affordable destinations and all culturally vibrant and rewarding places. on that continent, i’ve only been to Peru … drop me an email for travel tips if you ever decide to go there.
on indian restaurants … food from india, pakistan, bangladesh, and sri lanka is often grouped as “indian”. don’t forget, they were all one country until late 1940′s and their culinary styles did not divide neatly along their new borders. punjabs of north india share the same food culture as pakistan. the bengals of east india share with bangladesh. so vast majority of indian restaurants serve food from all over the indian subcontinent … with a bangladeshi slant as most happen to be owned by bangladeshi folks. and yes of course, most patrons have no idea. they’ve never been to the subcontinent.
yonasina…
thanks for the tips! I’ll def do that if i end up going…
you’re def right about the indian restaurant bit. the only reason we found out was our bangladeshi friend heard them talking in bengali and ended up saying hello! While this may be skirting along the fringes of politics a little bit, maybe there are eritreans out there who own and market restaurants as ‘ethiopian’ even if they serve some unique foods not typically found in ethiopian restaurants…
Hey Tpeaceye, I somehow missed your response. Anyhow, I was not generalizing or being too black and white. Nor am I overstating. I was simply describing what is happening in the world. The increasing homogenization of global culture is indeed reducing indigenous cultures to nothing more than producers of “cute” goods for tourists and the well traveled bohemians of the dominant culture.
Nor am I against traditional items being up for sale as commodities. Basically, what I was saying is that, either you are an unwitting participant in this paternalistic trade or u accept the fact that the idea of fare trade is an illusion and live with it.
With that said, I am your average hypocrite who is taking advantage of what this sad system affords us to go to Peru and Bolivia in about 2 weeks. Will let u know how it turns out.
I have a question to DC residents:
The last time I visited Washington DC was almost ten years ago. I remember seeing so many habeshoch. I felt excited, amazed, overwhelmed it’s hard to explain the feeling.
The restaurants, the night life, around a strip called Morgan I am not sure.
I am planning to visit again. Which restaurant has good
food with great customer service?
where can I listen to a good live band?
Any suggestions on Italian restaurants?
Thank you
nyala … lol @ hypocracy. have a great time. i guess i should now give up on waiting for part 2 of your classic addis adventures.
Have you ever thought about writing an e-book or guest authoring on other sites? I have a blog centered on the same subjects you discuss and would love to have you share some stories/information. I know my subscribers would enjoy your work. If you are even remotely interested, feel free to shoot me an e-mail.