Paper
Changing Materiality of Food: Chukchi Cuisine at Local Feasts and Official Events
presenters
Vladimir Davydov
Nationality: Russia
Residence: Russia
MAE RAS
Presence:Online
Any event or official activity involves special infrastructure and spaces necessary for the preparation, placement and consumption of food. The practice of preparing of food products became an important part of local festivals and official events in Chukotka. An indispensable attribute of these events in the settlements is a traditional Chukchi dwelling (yaranga), which functions as a place for preparing and consuming food. People modify its space to accommodate the flow of guests. The feast in the village involves both local people and visitors. Such a holiday performs an important communicative function. It allows you to maintain social connections with residents of other settlements and the district center. The feast has a special taste dimension, which is created by the actions of its participants. Both in the village and in the tundra, an official event acts as a communication tool for both representatives of the local community among themselves and with visitors. Local people use new cooking technologies and add new ingredients. The variety of foods demonstrated at official events is a modern trend. They are undergoing a transformation and people adapt them to serve a large number of visitors. The production of flavor diversity in this context is a creative process with elements of search. Festive dishes are the result of the creativity of representatives of local communities; they serve not just as elements of alimentary culture, but form the very feeling of belonging to the festive event, endowing its experience with a palette of different flavors.
Keywords:
food, changing materiality, Arctic, indigenous people, official events