Food, Culture and Identity 

Assoc. Dr. Hayati BEŞİRLİ*

 

Eating is not just a biological action. Different social associations and rituals that occur during the production, transportation, storage and consumption of food reveal the importance of culture in nutrition. In this study, it is emphasized that food is a social symbol. In this context, the importance of food in social status and power relations is emphasized. 

 

In the study, the consumption of foodstuffs according to social classes and the social aspects of the differentiation in consumption were examined. In the study, the effects of food on the communication and interaction process between the members of the society were evaluated on the basis of the socialization process. Within the scope of the study, it was emphasized that differentiation based on the supply and processing of food in the development process of societies was emphasized, and the appearance of differentiation based on nutrition in different society types and different cultures was mentioned. 

 

One of the subjects emphasized within the scope of the study is the relationship between belief and nutrition. It has been emphasized that foodstuffs have an important place among the foods offered to gods or gods in both polytheistic and monotheistic religions. In this context, the effect of the foods that religion prohibits and allows to be eaten on the formation of nutritional habits in the society has been revealed. In the study, it is stated that the cultural differences in the production and consumption processes of food are a part of the identities of the societies. 

 

Nutrition is a biological act. In this approach to nutrition, there is a reference to the process of meeting the nutrient and energy needs of human metabolism. However, the supply of necessary nutrients to provide the energy in question, making them suitable for human consumption and the process of consumption behaviors transform nutrition from being a purely biological act into a cultural phenomenon. 

 

Because eating is largely considered a biological act, many sociologists have paid little attention to this issue. However, food has been seen as a natural action, which is often emphasized in sociological theories. Many theorists have made implicit and explicit references to human food needs and to the activities of gathering to meet it (McIntosh 1996:1). Actions in the production, transportation, storage and use of foodstuffs made it necessary to evaluate the issue of nutrition and food within the concept of culture.

 

Tezcan (2000: 1) expresses this as follows. Culture,

 

a. It is the main indication of what we will eat.

b. Culture is learned. Food habits are also learned at a young age. Once learned, it does not change for a long time.

c. Food is an integral part  of culture . 

 

Almost every cuisine in the world has some basic features. These are defined as the features that distinguish that kitchen from others. Most of the time, these are limited to the restrictions of religions and beliefs, the existence of animals and plants specific to the region (Şavkay 2000:11). The economic structures of societies and the daily life practices shaped by these structures are the main determinants of the cuisine. Whether the community is based on agricultural production or a nomadic lifestyle, the physical characteristics of the geography it lives in will determine the nutritional culture and the way it makes food consumable.

 

As can be expected, meat and dairy products are dominant in the diets of communities that lead a nomadic lifestyle and keep animals. 

 

In the frequent relocations to be carried out to feed the animals, the necessity of processing the foods in accordance with their storage has emerged. In this context, the packaging process of animal foods will also be shaped according to the necessity of frequent relocation of the community. 

 

Many comments have been made on the relationship between nutrition, lifestyle and behavior. Ibn-i Haldun (1988:271-272) states that nutrition is effective on people's body, moral structure and character, and therefore on both the umra itself and its various states. Food and nutrition depend on the fertile soil and climate. This raises the issue of abundance and scarcity. In Ibn Khaldun, people and societies are divided into three groups in terms of food and nutrition: 

 

1. People living in rural, arid and barren land, infertile lands,

2. People living on fertile plains, fertile plains and fertile lands,

3. City and townspeople.

 

The first group has to struggle for little food and work hard because of the climate and terrain. This makes them lively, fit, active, agile and agile. Their colors are brighter, their bodies are cleaner and neater, their shapes are more beautiful, more perfect and more handsome, their temperaments and characters are far from abnormal, their minds are sharper in terms of knowledge and perception. They owe this situation to eating less and working hard as per imsak and fasting. The second group obtains at least enough food with little work, since the land on which they live is fertile. 

 

The food they take in large amounts causes some unnecessary and useless residues, excess meat and fat to occur in the body, obesity and clumsiness. According to Ibn Khaldun, the color of such people would be pale, pale, dull and dull, and their body structure would be formless and ugly. There is even this difference between deer, gazelle, wild goat, cattle and donkey living in unproductive lands, and those of the same breed living in productive areas. There is even this difference between domestic cattle, goats and donkeys and their wild ones. 

 

The reason for this difference is nutrition and food regimen. Although the third group, like the second group, can find abundant and diverse foodstuffs, they refine them by various treatments such as cooking, salting, drying, and brining, that is, they refine them and remove their hardness and coarseness. This is the reason why the people of the city have a thin and gentle body structure as opposed to the hard and durable body structures of the Bedouins and nomads living in the countryside. The fact that the people of the city are more polite and more elegant in terms of temperament and behavior is due to this. 

 

In short, the source of all these physical and spiritual differences is the difference in nutrition and food regimen. Rikkat and delicacy, that is, delicacy, in foodstuffs result in the refinement of spiritual pleasures.

 

A similar approach will be seen in the shaping of social life in anthropological studies. These works are based on the nutrition of people and the social situations shaped based on it, on the basis of the agricultural revolution and the industrial revolution, which provided social change. This acceptance manifests itself in a social Darwinist line. According to this, food gatherers are people who do not do agriculture and keep animals. For this reason, they prefer places close to places where they can obtain food as a settlement and residence. 

 

In other words, their migrations in large groups from one place to another are not aimless journeys and end when a stable land is reached. The distance between the food sources and the place where the water is located should not be too great so that the water required for the energy to be spent to reach the food is not more than the amount of water to be seized. In foraging communities, food sharing serves a very important function by distributing the resources necessary for survival within the group. The most important feature of foraging societies is that they are egalitarian. 

 

At the same time, foraging societies are far from the attempt to accumulate goods, which is the only source of status in agricultural societies. These types of communities are communities where differentiation in terms of age and status remains at a minimum level. No one gains wealth and status by accumulating goods and wealth, since food is distributed equally among the group. In such societies, wealth is not a desirable feature, on the contrary, it is a sign of deviation and abnormality. The transition from foraging to producer is revolutionary. By changing the way of living, humanity has also changed the structure of societies. The effects of this were seen in more different dimensions in the urbanization process. 

 

Three elements of human organization were probably developed during hunting for meat. These are the sexual division of labor, the division of labor for food, and the camps as places where daily activities and meat sharing take place (Haviland 2002: 210–226). In another approach, Cohen's six adaptation strategies are hunting-gathering, horticulture, agriculture, herding, trade, and industrialization, respectively. Hunter-gathering was humanity's only subsistence strategy until food production—agriculture and animal domestication—appeared about 10,000 years ago. 

 

Ultimately, food production has replaced hunter-gathering in many places (Kottak 2008: 285). As it can be seen when the anthropological approaches in question are examined, nutrition and food-finding strategies have the feature of being a determining factor in the formation of social structures and the formation of different types of society.

 

Food is a cultural element with individual and social aspects and many other influences. Human has a sense of food under the influence of the culture in which he lives, as well as being directly related to food in terms of his physiological structure. In short, the physical and cultural geography experienced affects the food culture. Changes and transformations in the way of life cause the food culture to change as well. In this respect, there are differences between nomadic and settled ways in eating and drinking, and this difference has a significant impact on the eating culture (Çetin 2006:108).

 

Power and Food

The concepts of food and power can initially be seen as two concepts that are difficult to combine. However, when the social functions of food and its symbolic meaning while fulfilling these functions are considered, it will be understood that this is not the case at all. The simplest aspect of this power-based differentiation is seen in the power relations regarding the sharing and consumption of food. It determines where and how much of the hunted animal will be taken by the individuals participating in the meal or taking a share from the hunt, and the function they fulfill in the hunt. 

 

Here, the shares of those who perform more difficult tasks than the others will be different from the others in terms of both quantity and quality. The member of the group, who participates in the process of food supply with a valuable instrument, will also be in a different position in sharing with this feature. The tradition of whaling found in Alaska Natives is a typical example of this as a complex cultural phenomenon consisting of technological, economic, religious and magical elements. Determining the hunting place, finding and tracking the prey, shooting it, landing it, breaking it up and distributing it with the hunting boat, oars, harpoon, rope equipment, clothes and rafts constitute the technological dimension of the tradition. 

 

These jobs and functions are interwoven with such a ceremonial web of beliefs and traditions that the leaders of the whaling crews are also the leaders of the Eskimo community. In dividing the caught whale, strict rules determining the shares of the owner, harpooner and other crew are followed. The hunter's wife offers a symbolic drink to the whale that has been hunted ashore (Wells 1984: 81-82). 

 

Similarly, in agricultural societies, the fact that the best part of the meal is considered appropriate for the male head of the household or that it is the right of the head of the household to decide which piece is whose right is shaped according to the division of labor in production, on the basis of power relations within the family. It is a situation that should be evaluated in this process that the man, who plays a decisive role in the production relations at the family tables, starts the meal without sitting at the table, and that the father, if any, takes the first piece of the meal from the grandfather.

 

In the relationship between food and power, it is possible to see that the role of individuals in the food supply process can be determinative, and the relations between the ruler and the managed are reflected in the food. In many cultures, banquets indicate the social status of the organizer. The toys and the meals of the rulers in the Turks should be evaluated in this context. Both the quality of the food offered to the participants and the number of participants invited to the banquet are an indicator of social power, and the frequency of the banquet is an indicator of power. 

 

Just as being invited to the banquet has a symbolic meaning, the rejection of the invitation should also be considered important. Kutadgu Bilig, on the subject of attending the invitation, said, “Just as there are four groups who invite to the banquet, the people who respond to this are also four groups. One of them goes to every banquet to which he is invited and eats whatever is served. However, he does not invite others to his house. He stays at home and eats food by himself. Someone goes to the banquet he is invited to, eats the food and invites him to dinner. One does not invite others, just as he does not go to his own feast. This person is dead. Don't count him alive. Don't join him, don't be with him. Some of them do not go to the invitation, but they slaughter animals and invite others to the feast. The best of these is the last one. This is the movement that scholars like.” It is evaluated with his advice (Yusuf Has Hacip 2006:219)”.

 

In a ceremonial meal, the places where individuals will sit and the food served to them also have symbolic meaning. In the banquets, the guests sit at the table according to their social position. These differences are shaped culturally. Sitting to the right or left of the manager is regulated by protocol rules. The settlement here is an indicator of the value that the manager places on the individuals he sits on his right or left. The concept of custom in Turkish culture is an important concept that should be evaluated in this context. According to the tradition, the highest prestige of the table is seated, but the individual in the highest position among the guests due to his social position. While this differentiation is sometimes determined on the basis of age, it can sometimes be caused by the individual's position as a manager in the society1. 

 

The prestige and power at the meal can be measured by the amount of service the participants receive. The position of the individual at the table is also important as a sign of respect. The most demanding part of a vegetable or meat dish can be reserved for the most respectable person. The distribution of the parts of the meal according to dignity is an element seen in Turks. The place where everyone would sit at the table was clear, and it was directly related to the duty and rank of the person. This order, as can be seen in the examples of the Karakhanids and Seljuks in the Turkish states, is a custom and not a coincidence. 

 

The food eaten during the meal, as well as the place to sit, indicated status. In the Oguz Kagan epic in Secere-i Terakime, it was clearly stated which parts of the sheep to be slaughtered at great feasts would be eaten by which tribes. In order to avoid a fight between the tribes and the Turkish sections, it was declared as a definite custom which Turkish division would eat which piece. This idea was an image of the "ülüş or share" system among the Turks. The share of meat in a sheep was, in a much broader sense, another way of expressing an understanding of the state and law2 (Ögel 2003:335-336, İnan 1998:247-254). This understanding is the division of sheep into twelve parts in today's Kyrgyz and Kazakh communities, 

 

For Turks, food is not just something that satisfies the people who are eaten. Food has become a symbol and a means of establishing discipline and honor with the community order. Otherwise, everyone's ancestor was noble and everyone was at the same level. However, there was a gradation between people with service and honor (Ögel 1982: 16). He also noted that in the works belonging to the Mamluks, the parts of the meat, called simat, where the meat eaten at the table is placed whole and with bones, perhaps without breaking down, are privileged places for food. In the Mamluks, the sultan took his place at the head of the table, and the amirs and notables sat next to him according to their rank (Çetin 2006:111).

 

Social Classes and Food

Nutrition habits differ according to the socio-economic status of families. The economic situation of individuals affects their consumption levels and habits. This differentiation is also seen in the eating habits, which food and how much is consumed differs according to the social classes occupied by the individuals. In addition, it is clear that the way the food is cooked or the instruments used in cooking and presentation are also related to the social class of individuals. The differentiation seen in the cuisines of societies can be seen in the same society, in different social classes and strata. 

 

This is hierarchical differentiation. The notion of elite cuisine differs from non-elite cuisine with common food, plates, cutlery and normative practices. Control and manipulation of the symbolic aspects of the class help the class to maintain its boundaries (McIntosh 1996: 22). Social class membership functions as a reference point in forming the attitudes and behaviors of individuals. 

 

For appropriate behavior patterns, the individual takes into account the norms of the social class to which he belongs. Daily life is shaped around these norms. Social life, which is shaped by the factors that determine the class position of individuals, is shaped by learned behavior patterns (Odabaşı and Barış, 2006: 310). 

 

Bread for the poor has been the main food in all societies. This bread is barley for most Greeks, wheat bread for Romans. In Turkish culture, on the other hand, poverty is expressed as "there is no loaf of bread to eat". In Turkish culture, in communities with low social and economic levels, bread was not bought from the oven for economic reasons, but yufka bread or flatbread style village bread varieties were produced by housewives. Today, this type of bread, which is consumed by low-income people in the society, is sold in big markets as a sign of longing for local values ​​under the name of "nostalgia", it finds its place in the shopping baskets of urban people and is offered to guests on the menus of large restaurants. 

 

The type of bread produced has changed its meaning within the food culture. In addition, holiness is attributed to bread in Turkish culture. Oaths are made on bread (Let the Bread be struck by the Mushaf) or pieces of bread on the ground (kissed and placed on the forehead) are carefully collected. 

 

Dalby (2001:6) exemplifies Rome while describing the class difference of food. “Those who couldn't bake used to make porridge and polenta varieties with their wheat and barley. For others, there was nothing to eat but bread, vegetables and fruits gathered in the fields, and shellfish. However, even the long feasts of the rich began with bread. Both wheat and barley bread were served in baskets. The plates of the main course follow each other in a certain order. He was taken to each guest by the waiter to buy a piece. The guests were given fresh fruit, shellfish, fried birds, meat appetizers in delicious sauces, lamb and kid stew.”

 

In the Hindu food system, meals are shaped according to the social caste system. Food plays a major role in describing the caste system. The relations of eating and receiving food in the castes express the mutual positions of the hungry in the customary hierarchy of purity. Upper castes can only receive raw (naturally uncontaminated) food from lower castes. Sub-caste groups can get any cooked food they want from any group. The Hindu food system divides the cooked food into two. Paka and kacha. Paka meal is the meal of the people of the house. It is boiled and considered very sensitive to contamination. 

 

In high caste Hindu homes, some dishes are not served by servants. Kacha meal, on the other hand, usually uses different food items and is easily exchanged between groups. For high-level Indian deities, dishes are placed even further away. Food offerings are meticulously cooked and consecrated in special ceremonies by high-caste priests. Likewise, food attributed to an identity is clearly avoided. Contamination, in which high-caste Indians are considered inferior to other meat eaters, and that those who eat beef are considered inferior to non-vegetarian Indians with the distinction of contamination, are spoken of by other meat eaters in derogatory terms (Goode: 2005:173–175).

 

In the consumption of beverages, it is possible to talk about the image of the beverage, both depending on its geographical and social prevalence and class distinction. The socio-economic and socio-cultural status of the consumer class is decisive in the formation of this image. If we evaluate this with the example of wine and beer, wine was a rare drink in Mesopotamia. The cost of transporting wine from the mountains to the plains made wine at least ten times more expensive than beer. Therefore, only the elite could afford to drink wine, and its main use was religious. Its rarity and high price made wine a drink worthy of being consumed by the gods when found (Standage 2005: 57). The position of wine and beer regarding this class consumption still continues. 

 

Similarly, tea has been known as a pleasure ingredient in Europe since the 17th century. Even in the 18th century, it was consumed only by the upper strata. However, it has benefited from the phenomenon of social imitation as much as no agricultural product is included. “For breakfast, the bourgeois drink coffee, the nobles have tea; The bourgeois eat cold in the early evening, while the nobles eat hot in the late hours. The bourgeois drink beer and play cards, the nobles drink wine and play bridge. This situation, which was determined in 1930, still maintains its validity in Germany's rich club” (Reimertz 2003: 31). 

 

It is seen that the gender differentiation is also reflected in the foods and beverages. Produced from the anise plant, which is called "lion's milk" in Turkish culture, raki has a special place in kitchens and is a men's drink. Wine is considered a woman's drink. Here, at the same time, the food served alongside the drinks is also shaped in a cultural sense. The diversity of meat products among the appetizers next to raki in Turkish culture and the reflection of the variety of cheese in French culture in the presentation of wine is a cultural element in itself.

 

Ayran, which belongs to Turkish culinary culture, especially the birth of nomads, is also among the important drinks. Ayran drink made from yoghurt, which has been transferred directly to foreign languages, takes its place among the cool drinks on hot days. Turkish coffee can also be mentioned. The proverb “A cup of coffee has forty years of memory” can be said as an indication of the importance of coffee.

 

Faith and Nutrition

Food has always been among offerings to the gods. While the presentation is sometimes an expression of gratitude for the realization of a request, sometimes it takes place in the process of conveying a request. In both forms of offering, there is a demonstration of weakness in the face of the power of the gods. In this case, individuals or communities must offer what is most valuable to them. Food is the community's most valuable commodity. Maslow's hierarchy of needs will be understood more clearly when the importance of nutrition is considered.

 

Anthropologists explain that although animals and plants were edible in primitive societies, they were not included in their menus, with the belief that it was taboo. In other societies, religions have determined what can and cannot be eaten to different extents. This is true in monotheistic religions as well as in polytheistic religions. 

 

It is seen that the "bread of life", which makes people immortal, is an ancient belief in the Middle East. The bread of life or immortality goes back to the Epic of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh wanted to be immortal in the epic. On the day he passed the test of immortality before the gods, he made seven holy loaves to keep him awake. The Greeks called the bread of immortality "ambrosia", probably inspired by the Babylonians. The Jews also learned the bread of life from the cuneiform tablets while being held captive in Babylon. Man wanted to compete with the gods and become immortal. But behind this desire lay the urge to protect himself from the wrath of the gods. It was necessary to offer a vow both when there was plenty of produce and in times of famine. One for gratitude and one for forgiveness. 

 

Unless man could dominate nature, he would always be afraid of nature gods. Before moving on to the sanctity of bread in the Middle East, a period in which agriculture, especially wheat, was glorified, briefly bread worship should be mentioned. The influence of the Temple of Eleusis, dedicated to Demeter, the goddess of fertility and agriculture in Greek mythology, would spread beyond the seas. Even in the first centuries of Christianity, Eleusis, the culture of Demeter, would be considered a serious rival to the church. The polytheistic Hellenes glorified agriculture, especially bread, and eventually created the Eleusis Bread Temple; The sacred bond between man and nature was so strong that after the threshing, the farmer and his wife would lie side by side on the land, hoping that the land would yield again. Those who said that wheat is the essence of man were not wrong (Ünsal 2003: 82–83).

 

In the heavenly religions, on the other hand, the most extensive application of the rules about food is found in Judaism. The religious books of the Jews clearly stated the foods that were allowed and prohibited to be eaten. These laws, called kashrut, went even further, specifying in detail how and under what conditions food could be prepared4. Leviticus is arranged in 11 chapters “Animals with and without flesh (Law 14:3–21)”, wherein which animals are eaten and not eaten “Be holy, for I am holy. “This is the law concerning animals, birds, all aquatic creatures, and small land animals, so that you can distinguish the unclean from the clean, the edible from the edible.” clearly expressed in the form 5. 

 

According to Judaism, in order for meat to be eaten, the slaughter of animals that are free to be eaten must be slaughtered by a special slaughtering technique called martyra, by people certified by a rabbi who has been trained in this job. It is not enough to just cut it according to the rules of martyra. According to Judaism, it is forbidden to eat meat and dairy foods at the same time, or to cook them in the same containers. After consuming light dairy foods, after rinsing the mouth and changing the tablecloth and utensils, meaty foods can be eaten, but vice versa is not possible. 

 

As a requirement of the belief that "you will consume the mother's milk at the same time while eating the meat of a lamb," Jewish milk and dairy products and meaty foods cannot be eaten before six hours in Sephardic Jews and three hours in Ashkenazi Jews after eating a meaty food or derivative. In addition, the kitchen and dining utensils in which meaty foods are cooked and used should be separate.

 

In Christianity, which came after Judaism, the laws gradually lost their importance, and most of the details were ignored by the new religion. Pork, which was a taboo in Judaism, has ceased to be a taboo in Christianity (Şavkay 2000: 11). It is known that some rules of Jewish Sharia are accepted in Islam. Pork ban is one of them. In this context, when Muslims cannot find halal meat, they buy and consume products with kosher inscription. 

 

Animals to be eaten in the Qur'an: "Carrion, blood, pork meat, slaughtered in the name of other than Allah, drowned, shot and killed (by stone, tree, etc.), rolled from above, dead by horns, eaten by monsters (with animals). It is forbidden for you to seek fortunes with slaughtered animals and fortune-telling arrows on pillars (idols), except for those that you slaughter before you die. 

 

These are strays. Today, disbelievers have despaired of your religion (destroying it). Do not afraid from them anymore, afraid from me. Today I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and have chosen Islam as your religion. Whoever falls into tare in hunger (he can eat from haram meat) without having turned to sin from his heart. Because Allah is very forgiving and merciful”6. 

 

The fact that religions give special importance to some foods and impose prohibitions on others sometimes cause different groups to feel affinity and dislike for each other in the formation of different cultural identities. An Indian who never eats meat distinguishes himself from someone who belongs to the religion of Islam, where meat is halal. While the same Muslim agrees with the Christian about eating meat, he sympathizes with the Jews about not eating pork (Hatemi 1996:126). It is possible to see differences in foods that can and cannot be eaten between members of different sects of the same religion, which do not contradict the basis of religion. This situation can be explained by the geography and eating habits of the members of the sect. 

 

Among the Islamic sects, the distinction between Hanafis, Shafis and Malikis for the consumption of seafood can be considered on this basis. This situation, which is not seen only in different sects, is also valid for different Islamic societies in the same sect. An animal that is food for a community within the members of the same sect is considered as food in another community under the influence of cultural processes. Consumption of horse and kumis obtained from horse milk as food in the Central Asian geography is a typical example of this.

 

In this context, it is possible to talk about the food culture of the Japanese and Chinese. It is the culture of the Chinese not to use knives and cutting tools, but to boil chicken or red meat without damaging the spirit of the food. 

 

Food in the Process of Cultural Transfer

Parsons describes the functions of the family as maintaining and maintaining the motivational energy of family members, as in socialization and other statuses and roles. Strengthening and maintaining the solidarity of the family is possible with the participation of family members in familial, religious and social rituals. In modern society, supporting the family and commitment is by supporting the members of the family emotionally and establishing the solidarity in the family.

 

One of the important family rituals here is dinner. Many times a year, families reinforce daily activity with big meals on important religious and communal occasions, such as iftar tables for Muslims and thanksgiving dinners for Christians. The second function of dinner in the family is to contribute to socialization. 

 

With socialization and social sanctions, family members are taught to communicate with other people, to accept appropriate values. In this sense, the dinner table is a socialization forum. Early in life in modern society, the school system is to begin formal practices of socialization. Families are still needed at home for the function of providing their children's basic social and personal skills. These include language use, relations with authorities, and directing physical activities (McIntosh 1996: 64).

 

Mealtime has a routine content in which the social interaction of family members, the coordination of family activities, the sharing of information among members, and the shaping of individuals. The meal has additional functions as a system for the family. For families, food not only serves to sustain life, but also to maintain status differentiation and division of labor. This includes differences based on age, gender and economic responsibilities. The distributional differences of food are quite numerous in agrarian society, farmer family, and industrial settings. 

 

The man is largely responsible for the family's agricultural activities, and the man's right to take the meal first and get the best portion is agreed upon. However, in African society, women use their labor power more in agriculture and men inevitably give them priority. In modern societies, on the other hand, all family members eat together and are concerned with having enough food for all family members, and men's food preferences continue to be decisive (McIntosh 1996:65).

 

Conclusion

Food is not a situation that can be evaluated only on the basis of the chemicals that make up the food and the importance it carries for the survival of the organism. The formations related to food, from its supply to consumption, have made the communal behavior of people and thus culture an important issue. Human associations are formations shaped by institutionalized behavior patterns. These formations include both religious and non-religious rituals. Among all these rituals, food-based ceremonies have an important place both in the regulation of daily life and in the effect of religion-based behaviors on daily life. These ceremonies and rituals are the basic behavior patterns that distinguish a community from others. 

 

In this context, the meals organized on certain religious, national or special days should also be suitable for the social position of the individuals. This determination is very important not only in the selection of the food material, but also in the way the food is cooked, presented and even in the sitting style of the guests. Many situations related to food, from our eating style to our eating habits, have been shaped in the socialization process. Likewise, the dinner table has an undeniable place in our socialization process. Individuals learn their social status and roles at this table. Religious values ​​are transferred at this table.

 

Historians state that Mehmet the Conqueror had good contact with the scholars around him. It is stated that he often meets with scholars and likes to eat together. The disagreement between Molla Hüsrev and Molla Gürani, the two great scholars of the time, is evaluated in this context. The story is told as follows: “Fatih was going to give a big feast to the scholars and he wanted to seat one of his teachers, Molla Gürani, on his right and Molla Hüsrev on his left. This situation weighed heavily on Molla Hüsrev. He got offended by saying, “The effort to sit on my left is an obstacle to ilmiye” and left Istanbul and went to Bursa” (Şavkay 2000:25). As can be clearly seen in the example, the table setting is a symbolic protocol rule. Food, with its symbolic meanings in society, is also the subject of sociology.

 

Both sitting at the dinner table and sharing food are our achievements in the socialization process on the basis of social symbols. These achievements are an important indicator of the cultural identity of societies. Croissant is identified with the national identity of the French society, kebab with the Arab society, pastry desserts with the Turkish society, fast food with the American society, pizza with the Italian society. Samsa for Uzbeks and Turkestan pilaf for Uyghurs is an indication of the ethnic identity of the communities. This is not limited to just food types. The order of consumption of meals can also be evaluated within this scope. While Turks consume soup at the beginning of all meals, börek is a starter in European cuisine and should not be considered as an insignificant cultural element (Kösoğlu, 1992: 48). 

 

NOTES

1-For the seating arrangement in the tent, DULKADİR, H. 

Last Yörüks Sarıkeçililer in İçel. Icel Governorship Publications. İçel, 1997, KUTLU, M., "Black Tent in Eastern Anatolian Nomadic Communities", Proceedings of the 3rd International Turkish Folklore Congress. V.Vol. Ministry of Culture and Tourism National Folklore Research Department Publications. Ankara, 1987, BEŞİRLİ, H. “Tent in Sarıkeçili Nomads”, Socio-Cultural Structure of Recent Nomads, ed. MCÖzönder, E.Aksoy and G. Köktürk, Hacettepe University Press, Ankara, 2005, pp.59-72.

2- The rules that determine the position of the tribes and their members in the interaction process with the other tribe members in the political field are discussed in the form of the issue of religion and nationality. On this subject, Abdulkadir İnan, Orun and Ülüş Issue, Articles and Reviews, Turkish Historical Society 1st Volume Ankara, 1998 pages 247-254, Bahaeddin Element Turkish Mythology Turkish Historical Society Ankara, 2003, Volume 1, p. 217 detailed information can be obtained.

3- In the ceremonies of the allocation of meat among the Kyrgyz in the north and south, there is a difference in the "respectability grading" of the meat. In the Saribagis and Solto tribes in the north, the most revered part of the meat is the head. On the other hand, kidneys, which the northerners do not respect, are considered equivalent to other delicious parts of the meat. The coccyx represents the most respectable place among the pieces of meat. Around Issyk Kul, the most respected guest is given the rump of the sheep. See about it. SM Abramzon “Food Culture in the Kyrgyz”, trans. Hüsamettin Yıldırım, Research on Turkish Culinary Culture, Edited by Kamil Toygar, Research on Turkish Folk Culture 

Foundation Publications, Ankara.1997, p19-23 

4- Regarding Jewish food culture, David Kraemer (2007), Jewish Eating And Identity Through the Ages, Routledge, London can be examined.

5-You can use the link http://kutsalkitap.info/tr-lev11.html to get more information on this subject and to access the entire chapter of Levi.

6-Surah Maida, Verse 3

7-Concerning this subject, Belge Murat (2008), Food Culture Throughout History, Istanbul, İletişim Yayınları p. 32 can be used.

 

RESOURCES

Dalby. Andrew; Sally Grainger (2001), Ancient Food and Food Culture, trans: Betül Avunç, Istanbul, Homer Bookstore. 

Çetin, Altan (2006), “An Overview of Food Culture in the Mamluk State”, National Folklore, Traditional Publishing Year 18. issue.72. s-107-117.

Haviland, William (2002), Cultural Anthropology. trans. Husamettin Inac, Seda Ciftci. Kaknüs Publications, Istanbul.

Hatemi, Hüsrev (1996) “The Relationship between Nutrition and Culture”, Our World of Art, Yapı Kredi Publications. Istanbul, issue:60–61 pp.125–129.

Goode, Judith (2005), “Food”, trans. Fatih Mormenekşe, National Folklore, Traditional Publishing, Year: 17. issue 67.p.172-177.

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Inan, Abdulkadir (1998), Articles and Reviews, volume 2. Turkish Historical Society, Ankara.

Kottak, Condrad Phillip (2008). Anthropology. trans. Serpil Altuntek, Balkı Aydın Şafak, Dilek Erdal et al. Utopia Publications, Ankara.

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McIntosh, Alex (1996), Sociologies of Food and Nutrition, Plenum Press, New York.

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Ögel, Bahaeddin(1982), “Development of Turkish Cuisine and Turkish Historical Traditions”, Turkish Cuisine Symposium Proceedings, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, National Folklore Research Department Publications, Ankara pp.15–18

Reimertz, Stephan (2003), Cultural History of Food of Tea, Trans. Mustafa Tüzel, Dost Publishing House, Ankara.

Standage, Tom (2005), A History of the World in Six Cups, trans. Ahmet Fethi, Merkez Books, Istanbul.

Şavkay, Tuğrul (2000), Ottoman Cuisine, Şekerbank Publications, Istanbul.

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As the head chef Ahmet ÖZDEMİR, I see the source:

Mr. Assoc. Dr. I sincerely thank Hayati BEŞİRLİ* for his academic studies on "Food, Culture and Identity" and wish him success in his professional life. It will definitely be considered as an example by those who need it in professional kitchens and the gastronomy and culinary community.