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Domestic Customs Among Muslim Women In The Greater New Orleans Area By Denese Neu Islam And The Muslim Population Of Southeast Louisiana
Hospitality, Food, Home, and Clothing In any culture, food is always important for maintaining identity and a sense of community. For Amal Bensrieti, cooking and baking traditional Libyan foods are sources of solace. She maintains an Arabian herb garden in her backyard. There she grows special mints from Africa and Jerusalem in addition to marjoram and rosemary. The herbs are grown in pots around her patio and are easily accessed from the kitchen. She also grows grape vines along her fence. These are for the leaves, which she stuffs with a rice mixture to make dolmas. This is a common practice within the community to ensure that they have the ingredients for their traditional. They also grow a special type of spinach and other vegetables common to Middle-Eastern cooking.
Within the Muslim community, food is integral to hospitality. Sharing is a custom and so it is standard practice to open one's home and offer the best one has. At a gathering at Jenny Yanez's home, the coffee table was covered by home-prepared food, including traditional Middle-Eastern and Spanish foods. The food served were savory and sweet finger snacks prepared and served by the hostess and her mother. Items included empanadas (a Spanish fried stuffed pastry), baba ghannouj (an eggplant dip served with pita), and fresh citrus slices. The hostess offered a choice of coffee and tea to her guests throughout the morning. These beverage choices were ordinary American versions. As it was served, the women described the Arabian coffee ceremony that is often a part of accommodating guests. It is informal and cardamom green coffee is served throughout the hours long gathering. Incense is also burned and the guests position their face near the holder and wave the smoke toward their nose.
Food also plays an important role in religious holidays, particularly those that require fasting before a culminating feast. Sara explains the primary holidays and the decorative cooking associated with them. Eid is an Arabic word meaning festivity. Eid ul-Fitr is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. The second, and larger festival, is Eid al-Adha which translates as the festival of sacrifice. It begins approximately 70 days after the end of Ramadan and lasts for three or more days. It is the celebration that starts the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. To prepare for these festivities, the women gather to prepare the traditional foods of the feast days including sweets, dolmas (stuffed vegetables), and meats. A table should be covered entirely with food, as the hostess is considered stingy if her table can be seen. Dolmas (or dolmades) serve as the centerpiece and the food is decorated with nuts, raisins, and dates. Most westerners know dolmas as stuffed grape leaves but, according to Holly Al-Dahir, this term refers to any elaborately stuffed vegetable. While some families have resisted adapting recipes to include New Orleans ingredients, some have experimented. Lema Hamdah keeps her traditional recipes but also uses some Cajun-style spices in some of them. The community also prepares other traditional foods to eat at home and to share at celebrations. These include the popular Palestinian dish maqluba, which is Arabic for "upside down." It is a one-pot dish of meat, rice, and vegetables. After preparation, the meal is flipped onto a platter and served with a side of yogurt. Another popular dish is mansaf. It is a traditional lamb and rice dish that is served on special occasions and main holidays. Palestinians also enjoy a special dish, emsakhan, which they describe as their version of pizza. It is a specialty bread item cooked with onions, spices and olive oil; another specialty bread is sfinz, a Libyan tradition. It can be served savory (filled with eggs) or sweet (covered with honey or sugar). This item plays a role in the Libyan folktale Sabe'a Sabaya about greed. And lastly, there are the traditional desserts hilba (cakes) and mutabak (sweet or savory pastry turnovers usually stuffed with cheese, banana, or meat).
Domestic customs within Muslim immigrant homes vary according to the cultural traditions of the home country and family. Homes are decorated with art from the place of origin but cannot include images of ordinary human beings and animals. Islam prohibits depictions of humans or animals because these images might result in idol-worship. As a result Islamic art uses geometric, arabesque, floral, and calligraphic forms. In addition to art, other cultural traditions are incorporated in the home. For example, Sara indicated that she has a formal Arab sitting room decorated with carved wooden arabesque furniture. With regard to dress, Holly explains that many men wear American-style clothes to work but change into traditional dress at home. Sara adds that women have a great deal of choice with regard to clothing, but adornment almost always is within the cultural customs of the native country. Many purchase clothes and bring them back from visits from the Middle East. The women often add embroidery and beadwork to dresses to make them fancier. Teaching Cultural Traditions The mosque, in addition to serving as the community's spiritual center, also provides education to the children. Many of the women volunteer to teach traditions such as Arabic calligraphy. The mosque also supports the Islamic School of New Orleans where the children are educated within the Islamic environment. The school is all Muslim but very multi-cultural because of the diversity of Muslim immigrants. Estimates are that 70% of students are first generation, 20% American born, and 10% transient (the children of people living in the area while pursuing higher education). The parents volunteer to teach physical education and art so that the professional teachers can focus of delivery of the curriculum. Physical education and art instruction are associated with the culture of Islamic countries and traditions of Islam. For example, archery is taught and practiced because it is an Islamic physical art. Calligraphy, oral traditions of poetry, dances, and traditional tile painting are incorporated into the curriculum. Each Spring, the Islamic School of Greater New Orleans has a heritage fair that is open to the public. The fair is an excellent example for observing and appreciating the diversity of cultures within the larger Muslim community. The children all wear the traditional clothes of their native land and do a presentation on their customs. It is important to the parents that the children have cultural education beyond that of Islam. They visit museums and engage in other physical activities, such as soccer. Teaching modesty within Islam can be challenging, particularly as the girls assimilate to the larger culture while also living the Muslim life. The transnational Muslims living in the New Orleans area maintain rich folk traditions. During a time when many have not been accepting of them, their traditional culture has helped develop a strong community and perhaps helped them preserve traditions of their native places more than if assimilation were eased. As we learn more about the traditions and customs of these new immigrants, it is likely that they will find a way to negotiate between their religion and with those outside their faith.
Denese Neu has a doctorate in Urban Studies from the University of New Orleans. She runs a consulting practice specializing in heritage, health, and sustainability issues; conducts independent research; and is an adjunct professor now residing in Chicago. She did this research as part of the New Populations Project in 2009. |
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