Food as a factor of collective identity: The case of creolisation

Abstract

The process of creolisation is linked to the movements of globalisation that have occurred since the seventeenth century, disseminating material resources, people and their cultures. Populations were displaced and their social and cultural worlds coexisted, often intermingling. This gave rise to unique socio-anthropological patterns on the level of both tangible and intangible cultures and in ways of living together. In these processes, food still plays a major role as a foundation and expression of identity. Creolisation in food first refers to cultural intersections that occurred in these societies to provide what is known locally as Creole cuisine. More broadly, it refers to the identity processes crystallised in food, in multicultural Creole societies, reflecting their internal structures. In this article, I explore these issues in the context of the island of Réunion, where Creole cuisine provides the basis for a common culture beyond differences, and at the same time maintains a link with cultural origins.