Norsk Hostfest

A Celebration of Ethnic Food and Ethnic Identity

Paul Thomas Emch

• Publisher: SIL International
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781556712654
• eBook ISBN: 9781556712906
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: Social Sciences

The Norsk Høstfest: A Celebration of Ethnic Food and Ethnic Identity Paul Thomas Emch SIL International* and the International Museum of Cultures Publications in Ethnography 41 What does it mean to be Norwegian-American? This study, of interest to laymen and scholars alike, answers this question by examining the prominent traditions and functions of food at the annual Norsk Hostfest celebration held in Minot, North Dakota. In this book, the author uses anthropological methodology to demonstrate the ways in which the Norsk Hostfest serves as a celebration of what it means to be Norwegian-American. There are many powerful symbols of ethnic identity in evidence at the festival, but food is the most pervasive, and so it is the chief symbol examined in this study. The Norsk Hostfest not only allows for the maintenance and celebration of Norwegian-American culture, but it synthesizes the forces of globalization, localization, and ethnicity in order to keep Norwegian-American ethnic identity alive and vital in a changing world. Norwegian-Americans of all ages who want to better understand their own culture will find this book both intriguing and informative. Students of food, culture, and ethnic identity, will find the application of symbolic anthropology useful. Paul Emch completed his M.A. in cultural anthropology at North Dakota State University in 2006. He currently serves as an intercultural community worker and anthropology consultant in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Literature Review

Foodways are often laden with emotion and significance for both old and new Americans alike, because food can serve as such a strong symbol of ethnic identity. According to Linda Keller Brown and Kay Mussell, recent scholarship within anthropology has served to change our perceptions of culture from that of “thingness” to that of “process” (1984:44). Anthropologists are not so much concerned with defining ethnicity as a category with certain measurable characteristics and traits, but as a cultural and social process in which the relationships of individuals and groups and the communication of identity are most significant. Social relationships are developed and maintained by symbols, and the symbols are often how others perceive a group. In this way, foodways can actually come to symbolize the group itself.

Fredrik Barth, a Norwegian anthropologist and ethnographer, has written that ethnic groups are a form of social organization for which the significant characteristic is self ascription or ascription by others in the group:

A categorical ascription is an ethnic ascription when it classifies a person in terms of his basic, most general identity, presumptively determined by his origin and background. To the extent that actors use ethnic identities to categorize themselves and others for purposes of interaction, they form ethnic groups in this organizational sense. (1969:13)

Barth states that in order for ethnic identity to be preserved, ethnic groups must maintain boundaries between their group and others. The cultural themes and features used to signify these boundaries may differ from group to group and may change over time, but ultimately the boundaries are maintained. But in order for ethnic groups to thrive and maintain their distinct cultural heritage in the midst of other differing cultures, they not only need “signals for identification, but also a structuring of interaction which allows for the persistence of cultural differences” (1969:16). According to Barth, these guidelines are what mold intergroup relations.

The fundamental tenets of the symbolism found in foodways can be broken down into four interrelated categories of food symbolism. The first of these, according to Carole Counihan, an anthropologist who focuses on food studies and gender, is that specific meanings and symbols can be encoded in individual food items within specific contexts (1999:20). What French literary critic, social theorist, and semiotician Roland Barthes describes as “food’s symbolic malleability” allows it to be an effective medium for accommodating diverse cultural ideologies (1997:57).

In essence, different cultures can endow foods with arbitrary meanings. These meanings manifest themselves not only in the way a food is perceived in terms of its color, taste, texture, and smell, but also in the preparation methods, manner, and order in which it is served (Counihan 1999:114). Paul Fieldhouse, in his work on food and culture, states that food may be invested with meanings of prestige and power, such as Trobriand Island yams and Western caviar. Food can also confer status and sociability, as in the Native American potlatch, or it can mirror gender and sexuality ideals, such as the sacred cow as a symbol of fertility in India (1986:175).

Food can signify protest and dissention, such as the refusal to eat McDonald’s Big Macs or Coca-Cola as a means to “rebel” against the “evils” of globalization. Cultural events are often defined by the foods consumed, such as wedding cakes at a reception or turkey at Thanksgiving. Symbolic food anthropologist Simon R. Charsley writes that foods can embody meaning simply by their linguistic association, such as in Chinese culture, where noodles represent long life, or they may symbolize normative cultural values, such as chicken noodle soup as “comfort food.” There are diverse ways in which food is granted the capacity to symbolize, and while individualized food symbols are not only culturally dependent and fluid, they are also interpreted on a macro and micro basis (1992:3).

However, as Charsley points out, these individualized meanings are essentially insignificant because, like any symbol, food acquires meaning within the context of a given symbolic system (1992:3). For example, if Western culture did not consider such foods as caviar to be symbols of prosperity and wealth, then their consumption by individuals would not in any way signify a person’s cultural knowledge of the “fine” things in life, nor would it showcase an individual’s wealth in being able to afford such delicacies. The same situation can apply to the Thanksgiving turkey. If a given culture considers sausage as “the” ideal Thanksgiving meal, then the turkey as a food item is insignificant to the “sausage culture.” Ultimately, context is everything within a particular culture, especially when it comes to ideals and beliefs about what is the most important determinant of a food’s meaning.

The foods of certain cultural groups can also denote inclusion and exclusion of individuals based on cultural, moral, gender, or religious grounds. According to sociologist and social anthropologist Anne Murcott, because eating and drinking are ultimately cultural affairs, a sense of community and belonging can be fostered and confirmed based on one’s adherence or lack thereof to a set of food rules (1986:108). As Charsley states:

The inclusionary and exclusionary aspect of food reinforces symbolic boundaries by recognizing and reaffirming a group’s distinctiveness through the medium of food commonality. Through enculturation, individuals learn which foods to eat, which to abstain from, what foods constitute a cultural meal and when to eat. These preferences reinforce culture, while excluding all those who fail to conform to these culinary patterns. (1992:3)

Some examples of this are that Muslims know other Muslims and Jews know other Jews by their shared participation in fasting during Ramadan and eating kosher foods, respectively. In the same way, one good “Norskie” may know another good “Norskie” at Høstfest by their mutual appreciation for lutefisk.

Mary Douglas, the well-known British anthropologist who has written extensively on the role of symbols in human culture, has popularized a second area of food symbolism—the notion that food is socially meaningful to groups, whether it is meals, feasts, categories of foods, or groups of foods. According to Douglas, food categories and groups encode social events because the groupings of foods are an inevitable byproduct and reflection of the rules and structure of a society’s organization on both broad and intimate levels (1972). To further emphasize this point, Douglas goes on to state:

Because foods and groups of foods are structurally reflective of social rules, conditions, taboos and boundaries and because they implicate the symbolic and material conditions of society, the examination of such food groups can reveal concepts of hierarchy, inclusion and exclusion, symbolic boundaries and social relations. (1972:61)

According to symbolic anthropologist and behavioral scientist Leslie Gofton, Douglas’s concepts of hierarchy imply issues of power and class in relationship to an individual’s position (i.e., the social and cultural food hierarchy). Food consumption, as with the cultural consumption of resources, can be a vehicle for social differentiation, an embodiment of class inequality and the stratification of knowledge, as well as aesthetic sensibility and values (1986:141). Gofton goes on to say that knowing which cutlery to use for which dish or the appropriateness of certain foods at certain meals can be an indicator of one’s position within the social hierarchy. But hierarchy is not merely encoded by one’s knowledge of food, but also by one’s cultural understanding of and preferences for food (1986:142).

From this explanation, we can see that certain foods are perceived to be more privileged than others—banquet foods over fast foods, caviars over sour cream. It then follows that those who have access to these symbolically privileged foods are conferred the social position that these foods represent. According to Gofton, a good example of this can be observed in looking at how food rationing in Napoleon’s army was organized. In Napoleon’s army, the officers ate lobster while the lowly soldiers ate salt pork, thus typifying French societal hierarchy during the time period (1986:142).

A third direction that symbolic food anthropology has embarked on, according to Appadurai, is that meanings can be seen in the oral and written traditions of cooking, namely oral stories and recipes about food and cookbooks (1986:36). Not only do oral and written traditions reflect changing attitudes about what is edible (i.e., they serve as a gauge as to what is socially acceptable), they also signify the greater culture from which those traditions emerged. These oral and written food recollections are a part of cultural history. Along this stream of thought, food does not simply symbolize an idea or part of culture, nor does it represent the structure of culture; food is a representation of culture itself. When individuals share their oral traditions or read of others’ cooking habits, food semantics, or the meanings of foods in different civilizations, the image of “foreign” cultures can be discerned. Why is bannock important in some Native American cultures? Why are there myths surrounding corn in Mexican society and moon cake in Chinese society? These oral traditions are simply a part of the culture.

The final approach within symbolic food anthropology that will be expounded is that meanings can be attached to culturally shared food events. According to Fieldhouse, the food “culture” subscribed to by a given group represents a collection of learned attitudes and behaviors that dictate not only what is acceptable as food, but also when and how that food is to be prepared, served, and eaten (1986:48). Because dominant values of a given culture influence all aspects of food-related activity, it becomes vital to instill in individuals the social, cultural, and psychological values of food and food events.

As British anthropologist Jack Goody has asserted, all of the idiosyncrasies that emerge from commonly shared food rituals, such as foods chosen, methods of eating and preparation, utensils utilized, and time of eating, are a part of an integrated cultural pattern in which custom and practice have a part to play (1982:13).

Performance and Symbols

These theories can help us to see how effectively symbols are used within a culture to signify group identity. Barth (1969) focuses on the “performance” of identity through the manipulation of shared cultural symbols. These symbols of identification function as a playbook of sorts, which guides the course of events within group interaction. Since cultural symbols serve this vital function, application of this t...

Table of contents

• Foreword
• Contents
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Methods
• Theory
• Literature Review
• Food Traditions of Norway in Historical Perspective
• Demographics of Norwegian Americans in North Dakota
• Traditional Norwegian Cultural Attributes Continued in the New World
• References