THE ART OF CULINARY: EXPRESSING CONSTRAINTS AND INHIBITIONS IN THE AMIEDI CUISINE OF THE URHOBO PEOPLE

Abstract

The Amiedi (Banga Soup) cuisine has attained international recognition due to the diversity of its preparation. But a critical look into the preparation of the Amiedi soup unveils several constraints and inhibitions. This is the focus of the paper. Through the use of literary food studies approach, this paper argues that the culturally established constraints and inhibitions by the people of Urhobo, the original owners of the Amiedi soup, have continued to dictate the recipe of the Amiedi soup. These cultural constraints in the form of availability of the palm fruit, taboos and prejudices are embedded in several art forms of the Urhobo people. Drawing illustrations from proverbs, myths, legends and aphorisms, the paper discovers that food imagery and symbols represent deep meanings that are expressed in artistic forms. These imageries which appear in the form of taboos or inhibitions are codified to symbolize issues pertaining to the preservation of group identity and resistance to cultural filtration from other groups. The paper also discovers that the issues of acceptance, history, relationships and consumption are also expressed through the nuances of food. This paper established that food is a metaphor for social identity, resistance, sexual desires power and gender relations which are expressed in various art forms.