Food Familiarity and Novelty in a Condition of Socio-economic Transformation in North-Central Ethiopia

This article is about ideas and practices concerning production, distribution, preparation and consumption of food among the Argobbā of Ethiopia. It examines how Argobbā consumers have become accustomed to foreign foods and new modes of preparation and distribution of foods; how such changes have also altered the ways in which food has expressed social relations in terms of class, ethnic and gender identity; and looks at food politics and aesthetics and the gendered meanings behind the organisation of Argobbā menus and meals in changing environmental and socio-economic conditions. The article explores the nature of meals, not only how they emphasise and formalise gender difference and how children are socialised within gendered relations embedded in food ways, but also how the organisation of dinner ‘tables’ or plates reflects social differentiation that is loaded with gender meanings. It also analyses the extent to which meals construct social boundaries by focusing on the nature of ritual meals in Argobbā households and by discussing the ways in which cooking and cuisine reflect local, regional and national socio-economic changes resulting from environmental disturbances, reorientation of regional trade routes, and internal and external market exchanges. The article describes the contrasts between plenty and scarcity, tradition and modernity, hunger and satiety, and finally change and continuity.