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FOOD FEUDS CONTINUE TO SIMMER IN THE CAUCASUS
Aljazeera.com, Qatar
May 8 2013
Pride and markets are at stake as countries in the troubled region
accuse one another of gastronomical plagiarism.
by Felix Gaedtke and Gayatri Parameswaran
Fifty-five year-old Ayda Sergsyan sang out a series of verses in
praise of a traditional Armenian dish, pumpkin stuffed with rice,
apple, apricot, almonds and other nuts - on a recent afternoon, as
she prepared lunch for her family of six. The song pays tribute to
the dish for its aroma and taste, but also highlights the importance
of cuisine in Armenia's culture.
Pride in national cuisine is common across the Caucasian countries of
Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. But "gastronationalism" has caused
quite a stir among these neighbours, who vie for the recognition of
certain dishes as their own. The issue is increasing tensions between
nations that share a troubled past.
That sunny afternoon, Sergsyan prepared her favourite dish, tolma,
in her modest kitchen in Areni, a village in southern Armenia. She
meticulously filled some vine leaves with rice and beef. "I'm preparing
two kinds of tolma today - vegetarian and a meat variant," she said,
as her grandchildren eagerly awaited their meal.
Meanwhile, a pot of harissa - chicken and wheat stew, boiled on the
gas stove. "Harissa is our national dish. We all love it. It takes
a lot of time for preparation, so we began making it last night,"
she said. An hour later, as lunch was served, the Sergsyan family
gathered around their large dining table and cheered with their
homemade wine to the glory of Armenian cuisine.
But what the Sergsyans, and thousands of other Armenians, proudly
consider to be their national food is a bone of contention in the
surrounding region.
For instance, neighbouring Azerbaijan claims tolma to be integral to
Azeri cuisine. Last year, Azerbaijan's president Ilham Aliyev declared
it to be their national dish.
The National Cuisine Centre of Azerbaijan has gone further, accusing
Armenia of "plagiarising" its national food.
Tahir Amiraslanov, who heads the organisation, said: "Armenians claim
Azerbaijani and other dishes as their own... We've accused Armenia
many times of plagiarising Azeri dishes. We tried to have a scientific
argument to determine [the food's] origin, but they aren't willing
to cooperate."
The fight doesn't stop there. Earlier this year, Azerbaijan's Ministry
of National Security produced a documentary film called "Three Points"
about the issue. The movie emphasises the importance of food in the
conflict between the two countries, which went to war in the late
1980s and early 1990s over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The conflict left more than 30,000 dead and a million displaced from
both sides. In 1994 a ceasefire was declared, but both sides accuse
each other of violating the peace accord.
Armenia has refuted the allegations of food plagiarism. As a show
of defiance, the Preservation and Development of Armenian Culinary
Traditions, an organisation that works to preserve Armenian cuisine,
set up an annual tolma festival in which chefs from across the country
are invited to participate in a tolma-making competition.
Sedrak Mamulyan, a celebrity chef, culinary expert and organiser of
the festival, said: "If they [other countries] want to make these
dishes, let them. We don't have a problem, but why do they claim
it as their own? We don't do that - we don't claim other countries'
dishes as our own."
The organisation has also been contesting UNESCO's decision to add
keshkek - a dish made of chicken and wheat stew - to its list of
Turkey's intangible cultural heritage. According to Mamulyan, the
dish called harissa in Armenia has been proven to be theirs. "The
word 'keshkek' has Armenian roots. 'Kashi' means 'to pull' and 'ka'
means 'to take out'. Once harissa is cooked you take it out of the
oven. Ask the representatives of other nations about this dish and
see if they can give you a similar explanation."
Meanwhile, Armenians have been questioning claims by neighbouring
Georgia that khash, a soup made from cow feet, is its own.
Michaela DeSoucey, an assistant professor at North Carolina State
University, has researched gastronationalism and argues that such
disputes are not just about nationalism. "It is much more than
that ... What often seems to be nationalism and pride is more of a
struggle for markets. Jobs and livelihoods among the producers of
the ingredients can be influenced by these disputes."
Arguments over which country "owns" a type of food are not intended
to end in agreement, Desoucey believes. "[The disputes] help to raise
awareness, but also help grow the markets by making people want to
try the products," she explained.
Breaking bread together
And gastronationalism is by no means limited to the Caucasus region.
DeSoucey cites disputes over the origin of feta cheese between Greece,
France and Denmark, and a feud over who "invented" hummus between
Israel, Palestine and Lebanon. "By creating symbolic boundaries,
food is being used to keep people apart," she said.
At the same time, though, food and peacemaking have been connected
historically, noted DeSoucey: "The main way alliances were brokered,
how conflicts were resolved, was over food and feasting together."
The disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh illustrates how there may
be some room for reconciliation. Despite decades of conflict with
Azerbaijan, the people of the region reportedly love Azeri food.
Although there isn't any direct contact between the two sides,
Karabakhis have found a way around closed borders. The Azeri tea they
are so fond of reaches them through relatives living in Russia. Azeris
in Baku procure their bottles of Armenian cognac in a similar fashion.
In 2007, the Helsinki Initiative, an NGO that works towards promoting
peace in the conflict-ridden region, organised a unique event called
"Azeri Kitchen Day" in Nagorno-Karabakh's main city, Stepanakert,
in which Azeri dishes were cooked and served.
Karen Ohanjanyan, who heads the Helsinki Initiative, stressed the
need for such exchanges. "It is very difficult to establish peace on
the grassroots level," she said.
"In order to achieve real change you have to start from the
grassroots. You have to organise such things as the Azeri Kitchen
Day and other events, in order to move towards peace."
Source: Al Jazeera
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/05/201355102059629831.html
Aljazeera.com, Qatar
May 8 2013
Pride and markets are at stake as countries in the troubled region
accuse one another of gastronomical plagiarism.
by Felix Gaedtke and Gayatri Parameswaran
Fifty-five year-old Ayda Sergsyan sang out a series of verses in
praise of a traditional Armenian dish, pumpkin stuffed with rice,
apple, apricot, almonds and other nuts - on a recent afternoon, as
she prepared lunch for her family of six. The song pays tribute to
the dish for its aroma and taste, but also highlights the importance
of cuisine in Armenia's culture.
Pride in national cuisine is common across the Caucasian countries of
Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. But "gastronationalism" has caused
quite a stir among these neighbours, who vie for the recognition of
certain dishes as their own. The issue is increasing tensions between
nations that share a troubled past.
That sunny afternoon, Sergsyan prepared her favourite dish, tolma,
in her modest kitchen in Areni, a village in southern Armenia. She
meticulously filled some vine leaves with rice and beef. "I'm preparing
two kinds of tolma today - vegetarian and a meat variant," she said,
as her grandchildren eagerly awaited their meal.
Meanwhile, a pot of harissa - chicken and wheat stew, boiled on the
gas stove. "Harissa is our national dish. We all love it. It takes
a lot of time for preparation, so we began making it last night,"
she said. An hour later, as lunch was served, the Sergsyan family
gathered around their large dining table and cheered with their
homemade wine to the glory of Armenian cuisine.
But what the Sergsyans, and thousands of other Armenians, proudly
consider to be their national food is a bone of contention in the
surrounding region.
For instance, neighbouring Azerbaijan claims tolma to be integral to
Azeri cuisine. Last year, Azerbaijan's president Ilham Aliyev declared
it to be their national dish.
The National Cuisine Centre of Azerbaijan has gone further, accusing
Armenia of "plagiarising" its national food.
Tahir Amiraslanov, who heads the organisation, said: "Armenians claim
Azerbaijani and other dishes as their own... We've accused Armenia
many times of plagiarising Azeri dishes. We tried to have a scientific
argument to determine [the food's] origin, but they aren't willing
to cooperate."
The fight doesn't stop there. Earlier this year, Azerbaijan's Ministry
of National Security produced a documentary film called "Three Points"
about the issue. The movie emphasises the importance of food in the
conflict between the two countries, which went to war in the late
1980s and early 1990s over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The conflict left more than 30,000 dead and a million displaced from
both sides. In 1994 a ceasefire was declared, but both sides accuse
each other of violating the peace accord.
Armenia has refuted the allegations of food plagiarism. As a show
of defiance, the Preservation and Development of Armenian Culinary
Traditions, an organisation that works to preserve Armenian cuisine,
set up an annual tolma festival in which chefs from across the country
are invited to participate in a tolma-making competition.
Sedrak Mamulyan, a celebrity chef, culinary expert and organiser of
the festival, said: "If they [other countries] want to make these
dishes, let them. We don't have a problem, but why do they claim
it as their own? We don't do that - we don't claim other countries'
dishes as our own."
The organisation has also been contesting UNESCO's decision to add
keshkek - a dish made of chicken and wheat stew - to its list of
Turkey's intangible cultural heritage. According to Mamulyan, the
dish called harissa in Armenia has been proven to be theirs. "The
word 'keshkek' has Armenian roots. 'Kashi' means 'to pull' and 'ka'
means 'to take out'. Once harissa is cooked you take it out of the
oven. Ask the representatives of other nations about this dish and
see if they can give you a similar explanation."
Meanwhile, Armenians have been questioning claims by neighbouring
Georgia that khash, a soup made from cow feet, is its own.
Michaela DeSoucey, an assistant professor at North Carolina State
University, has researched gastronationalism and argues that such
disputes are not just about nationalism. "It is much more than
that ... What often seems to be nationalism and pride is more of a
struggle for markets. Jobs and livelihoods among the producers of
the ingredients can be influenced by these disputes."
Arguments over which country "owns" a type of food are not intended
to end in agreement, Desoucey believes. "[The disputes] help to raise
awareness, but also help grow the markets by making people want to
try the products," she explained.
Breaking bread together
And gastronationalism is by no means limited to the Caucasus region.
DeSoucey cites disputes over the origin of feta cheese between Greece,
France and Denmark, and a feud over who "invented" hummus between
Israel, Palestine and Lebanon. "By creating symbolic boundaries,
food is being used to keep people apart," she said.
At the same time, though, food and peacemaking have been connected
historically, noted DeSoucey: "The main way alliances were brokered,
how conflicts were resolved, was over food and feasting together."
The disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh illustrates how there may
be some room for reconciliation. Despite decades of conflict with
Azerbaijan, the people of the region reportedly love Azeri food.
Although there isn't any direct contact between the two sides,
Karabakhis have found a way around closed borders. The Azeri tea they
are so fond of reaches them through relatives living in Russia. Azeris
in Baku procure their bottles of Armenian cognac in a similar fashion.
In 2007, the Helsinki Initiative, an NGO that works towards promoting
peace in the conflict-ridden region, organised a unique event called
"Azeri Kitchen Day" in Nagorno-Karabakh's main city, Stepanakert,
in which Azeri dishes were cooked and served.
Karen Ohanjanyan, who heads the Helsinki Initiative, stressed the
need for such exchanges. "It is very difficult to establish peace on
the grassroots level," she said.
"In order to achieve real change you have to start from the
grassroots. You have to organise such things as the Azeri Kitchen
Day and other events, in order to move towards peace."
Source: Al Jazeera
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/05/201355102059629831.html