Traditions Feed the Soul

by Perry O'Parsons 2 Comments

The first chapter of If I Can Cook/ You Know God Can gave me some things to think about; like about the varying degrees to which holidays carry meaning for different people. This is something I have never really thought about. It had never occurred to me before that holidays that get the most attention and deference are not for everyone (no holiday is). Placing value on one set of traditions A. creates the expectation that everyone else will feel the same about those traditions and B. that those traditions are somehow superior or more important than any others. This could be incredibly demoralizing to anyone who does not subscribe to those traditions and/or their value-systems.

This makes me think about nationally-recognized holidays. How does that work? Who is deciding what should be recognized as a national holiday? Like… thanksgiving?? I do love cranberry sauce on turkey, but why do we eat it on thanksgiving? And WAY more importantly, WHY do we get a week (or about a week) off for thanksgiving? That week off says “this  holiday is important and should be celebrated” and as we know Thanksgiving has some devastating and violent baggage attached to it.

That all being said, for those who might be ignored or harmed by the observation of certain national holidays, there is great pride and strength to be found in reclaiming holidays. As Shange writes in If I Can Cook/You Know God Can: “And so, black-eyed peas and rice or “Hoppin’ John,” even collard greens and pig’s feet, are not so much arbitrary predilections of the “nigra” as they are symbolic defiance; we shall celebrate ourselves on a day of our choosing in honor of those events and souls who are an honor to us.”(7) I think this quote gets to heart of what If I Can Cook is about. Shange is celebrating her traditions, her loved ones’ traditions, and the traditions of the African Diaspora, by exploring the stories behind these recipes she gives them recognition that that they do not get from, for example, the united states government.

Additionally, by documenting these recipes and their stories, she is creating a record for future generations to refer to in order to understand, and establish their traditions. Holidays such as Christmas, Hanukkah, Thanksgiving, and easter are often discussed or taught in American schools, meanwhile hundreds, probably thousands of holidays which may be practiced/observed by students in an American classroom, are not taught.

The same principle is at work in chapter one when she cooks a traditional New Year’s Eve meal for her daughter. She is giving her daughter a solid ground to stand on, an assurance that someone came before her, and by carrying on their traditions she is supported by them. Lots people in America don’t necessarily have to think about this dynamic. People who unquestioningly subscribe to the holidays and traditions observed by the government, by those currently in power, are given this support. They don’t have to look for it. Some might say, who cares? It’s just a silly matter of holidays and when school is out for winter break. But, as Shange seems to get at in “What’d You People Call That?” the human soul is fed by traditions and history. She says, “Though I ate alone that New Year’s Eve, I knew a calm I must attribute to the satisfaction of my ancestors. I tried to feed us.”(9) She is feeding her daughter’s soul now, and giving her means to feed it for years to come. Something she might not be given otherwise, or may not discover for many years. What a gift to give your daughter! 

 

Below I’ve listed two Wikipedia pages that I make me realize how many different holidays, which many of which are likely practiced by people in America, are ignored by the designation of Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter etc. as national holidays.

Here is a picture of one of the covers of If I Can Cook.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_immigration_statistics

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_holidays

Comments ( 2 )

  1. Breana Beaudreault
    This post brings up an aspect of the text that I hadn't even thought of--the formation of national holidays are another form of canonization, like the names we have on Butler, pushing the same colonizing agenda. I think something you could think about, in terms of holiday seasons that hold a lot of baggage and trauma, the way that cooking becomes a form of care, caring for oneself and caring for others. Even in the moment you drew attention to in the text, she notes that "though [she] ate alone that New Year’s Eve, I knew a calm I must attribute to the satisfaction of my ancestors", demonstrating that despite the likely lonely or difficult moment, the act of cooking and eating provides her a sense of calm and the company of all those who came before. She also continues with "I tried to feed us," reminding us that this care is supposed to continue generationally, as you said, "giving her daughter a solid ground to stand on, an assurance that someone came before her". We've seen many kinds of motherhood, and we know that recipes among other things are one way to communicate care and love, just as the recipe for a Kwanzaa meal was something shared in Sassafras, despite the mother's lack of understanding of their celebration of the holiday at all.
    • Kim Hall
      Breana, that is a great insight into a great post. All semester we have seen how Zake's work make us think about the difference between "canonical" (to use your term) knowledges and indigenous/"folk"/community knowledge that "feeds" us differently. Inspired by Kachi, I wonder if we might read that passage of Zake and Savannah somewhat differently: at the point of her description, whos needs does the desire to create a Thanksgiving memory most serve? What memory will the three year old retain --being carried around in the cold and then having a late meal? who retains the memory and what memory are they keeping?

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