“Tradition! Tradition! Tradition!” – Fiddler on the Roof
Traditions and culture are firmly linked, the two preserving each other for generations. For example, the harvesting of titi for the Kai Tahu tribe. Chief Tahu Potiki claimed, “Our habits and customs, should be as much a flag to them that we are Ngai Tahu, as titi are, […] for our self-esteem.” (Stevens, 2006: Kāi Tahu me te Hopu Tītī ki Rakiura) The concepts of tradition and self-esteem are symbiotic. In partaking in culture, self-assurance is attained. They gain identity.
This makes sense – your culture shapes who you are. In this sense, I don’t exist.
I have no culture thus no identity.
Backstory: my parents bounced around the world: leaping across NZ; springing off to Australia; ricocheting over to Europe, eventually landing in Sydney, my birthplace. We barely touched down with the kangaroos and the spiders before catapulting back to Aotearoa.
Thus, I have no clear culture. I’m not Aboriginal, so thousands of years of culture are out of my reach. Although my bloodline likely traces back to Britain, that was so many generations ago that any connection is lost. I’m not Aussie, having left before ties were made. Nor am I Pakeha – I’m an immigrant.
I’ve grasped pieces of my cultural hodgepodge through food. Dad’s nachos – an Irish recipe. Mum’s pavlova, a kiwi dessert. Grandma’s spag-bol. Uncle Deano’s roast. Aunt Livvy’s haggis.
Delicacies spread like a tablecloth around the globe. I’m a cultural pariah, not because I lack traditions, but because I have many.
Food connects the dots, bringing my identities together like the titi did for the Kai Tahu tribe.
An interesting topic! In an ever globalising world, I feel more and more people can no longer identify with a particular place. when you think that people have lived in the same place for many thousands of years they learn and connect with the land what is possible to grow and harvest and the values and traditions of a place. what happens when you leave that place? if food helps make us who we are, then what happens if we move before it can be ingrained into who we are? Perhaps it’s one of the reasons that so many people are disconnected from their food. There is no longer locational knowledge backing our concept of food. However not identifying with a place can be positive, there is a chance to form a new identity using the best of world cuisine.
I loved reading your blog as I feel like it addressed a very common and isolating problem regarding today’s generation. The rapid change of globalisation has smashed the boundaries surrounding communication and formed a global community that our grandparent’s generation couldn’t have imaged.
However, as with all blessings, we must navigate some problems. Having, “no culture thus no identity” was painful to read. I was ready to jump to your defence, citing the formation of a global community. Upon reading more, you did exactly what I consider to be kiwi culture. You accepted and merged the cultures around you, starting with food. I love this, I do this! It’s accepting that culture is constantly growing and changing.
But when does culture stop changing? Is it when we don’t wish to share it with others?
This made me think of the online community. The phrase ‘cultural appropriation’ is being used a lot. (To clarify, I don’t believe you are appropriating culture at all) What aspects of culture are we allowed to interact with before we are appropriating? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this because your blog inspired so much thought.