In the South Asian culture, a predominant dish that is admired by many is Biryani. The flavoured rice is mixed with meat, fish, or vegetables and is known as a staple dish or enjoyed during special occasions and gatherings. The rice being the base of the biryani preparation is important in understanding the value that it holds to this community. Given this, there are several social implications associated with the preparations and sharing of the dish. In a multicultural country like Canada, Biryani has become a symbolic identity linked to the South Asian ethnic group. More specifically, it can be tied to ideologies of gender roles and expectations. Immigrants of South Asian descent often struggle to integrate into the norms of the Western lifestyle, and continue to uphold to the male dominated structure. This means that women are often accustomed to doing the household chores including cleaning and cooking. It's more than just a food, it's an identity. it provides for impacts on social,historical,and political grounds in north American communities and also around the world. Food is a highly significant cultural symbol of ethnicity, and an important means for constructing ethnic identities (Brenda L. Beagan, 2012)-. Biryani and rice both play a vital role, and bring people together whether it be preparing, eating, or purchasing the preparation of ingredients for it. The different ideologies that govern biryani and plays a vital role in the communities which prepare it, is gender. ‘It could be paid or unpaid (voluntary)’ (Jennifer Brady, 2012), but the female gender roles in the south Asian communities in Canada have an identity defined by the food they cook, and this is seen in various traditional dishes worldwide. This paper will explore in a narrower scope, the implications that the symbolic features that Biryani holds to the larger aspects of sociological meaning and identity in terms of status and gender roles. "Food is a symbol of tradition and a link to ethnic identity as younger generations of South Asian Canadian women maintain, conserve or oppose traditional values, while engaging in identity construction"(Tasin Zaman, 2010). This means most women end up being identified andrepresented based on what they cook, and biryani is a dish heavily produced in the south Asian community. This Dish not only brings a lot of women in the Canadian south Asian community doing more food preparation, but also reflects similar number among the American communities as seen in recent studies. Studies show that women tend to do more household work, be it food preparation or cleaning. biryani being heavily made by females, it’s not a surprise because globally most food preparation is done by them. However since it is such a famous dish because of its taste, it links many different communities together. This leads to this dish being available to public in so many restaurants. Because the service industry relating to labor or hands on work is heavily dominated by the male gender, there seems to be a distribution of biryani preparation among both gender. Since this food is not only known for its taste, but a luxury food for households it provides both genders being equal when it comes to eating it. Although the statement goes on to say "it is not possible to create a society where men and women share food work equally"(Debbie Martin,2012) The identity that this holds will take it as far as marriage, the ethnic groups in the south asian community hold a high prestige on the way the food is made in the household. One of requirement in the south asian community when it comes to marriage which might be arranged by elders is how the women cooks. The biryani is one of those dishes that really challenges the women, as it combines various different ingredients and preparation methods to bring out the best taste. “issues of marriage and dating or something else, the notion of food and identity allow these ideas and customs expression”(Tasnim Zaman,2010). In comparison to the canadian society The dish requires various ingredients from all over the world to bring it alive. “Each city has its own way of trademarking its Biryani, mostly varying on the method of cooking”(Vikash Babu,2015). This indicates that many people preparing this food will add their own touch of culture. There are a variety of biryanis made, but it manages to fit into everyone’s own identities and cultures. The canadian social status allows various identities defined by the food that they make. A Lot of people attain the ‘hippie’ status if they boycott foods that are made from certain organizations. Biryani has been accepted into the culture, and it was done by the variety of communities using this food as joy. “Its recipe has been passed down to the family’s heir, from generations. Its pride is in its method of cooking and its satisfaction lies in witnessing the happiness of the public”(Vikash Babu,2015). Because of its acceptance to different communities, it falls among various other dishes that hold that cultural significance that unifies the diverse communities of canada. When it comes to preparing the food, just like other canadian dishes it requires you to go to the supermarket and buy the ingredients. The manner of purchasing it and who it's purchased by is the more geared towards the female. The same gender food work of meal prep distribution is seen in the canadian societies (Refer to table 1.0). Rice is an ingredient that could perhaps be considered a universal food, in many cultures it's used as a dish itself. It is one of the most abundant source of food, and its availability makes food security very strong. The cultivation of rice is the strongest. When currently, and looking back at the impacts of what rice has in culture is strong; Rice plays a vital role in various cultures, at times for blessings rice will be thrown at the the bride and groom(Priscilla Boston, 2011). These rituals are common among various groups, and were done historically and are occurring at contemporary times. It provided a common ground among different ethnic groups to make connections, and a feel of mutual exclusiveness to this tradition. It helped has cultures, diets and the economics shapes of all people globally. However, ‘the 57th session of the United Nations General Assembly noted that rice is the staple food of more than half the world’s population, affirmed the need to heighten the awareness of the role of rice in alleviating poverty and malnutrition and reaffirmed the need to focus world attention on the role rice can play in providing food security and eradicating poverty’( Par Deepika Bagchi,2010). It provided for a means of justice by elevating its abundance towards helping society out. The abundance in rice allows individuals in communities to effectively make it a source of food available and provides security to everyone in the community. The concept of neoliberalism how it ‘emphasizes the withdrawal of government from services that promote the health and wellbeing of communities of citizen’(Jennifer Brady,2012) is well established due to this availability among the lands that rice is farmed. So how the communities want to effectively promote the well being and distribution of rice is heavily based on a micro level. The strong availability among various South Asian, East Asian Land, and African lands had made is such a staple food for the human population, and could be used as a source for helping poverty situations if invested and worked on correctly. When it comes down to preparing the biryani, it's done in different ways throughout various communities, however it still holds as a factor of giving some sort of identity which is mutual to the person(s) making it. It holds a cultural schema by providing an ‘unconscious network of neural connection’ (Sarah Cappeliez,2012), and brings together this community which is represented by the gender and their food preparation. In the case of biryani, it's traditional that most women do the meal preparation it. This gives women an identity to which community members in the south asian regions hold in high regards as respect for the women knowing how to cook a certain dish. Although it is not common that identity by meal preparation in the canadian society as being a priority, the identity that gives of as a women is that more work with food is done by them. This mutual concept provides similarities globally for food preparation and gender. The Rice as being a staple food due to its abundance in large continents provides a great source of availability. This food security should enable various solutions, as mentioned above. In general it could be said that rice is to solid food, as is water is to liquids. This available commodity allows very extravagant dishes like biryani to have a good base to add other exotic ingredients to it. Appendix: Table 1.0 References: 1. Babu, V. (2015, March 31). The Biryani Pilgrimage - Padhaaro Blog. Retrieved November 9, 2015, from http://www.padhaaro.com/blog/the-biryani-pilgrimage/ 2. Boston, P. (2011, September 1). Whether to Throw Rice at Weddings, Traditions Advice from OurWeddingDay.com. Retrieved November 9, 2015. 3. Raju, S. (2010, June 1). Mapping the World of Women's Work: Regional Patterns and Perspectives. Retrieved November 9, 2015. 4. S. Gnanamanickam, S. (2012, December 6). Rice and Its Importance to Human Life. Retrieved November 9, 2015, from http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-90-481- 2465-7_1 5. Winson, A. (2012). Critical perspectives in food studies (p. 136). Don Mills, Ont.: Oxford University Press. 6. Winson, A. (2012). Critical perspectives in food studies (p. 122). Don Mills, Ont.: Oxford University Press. 7. Winson, A. (2012). Critical perspectives in food studies (p. 208). Don Mills, Ont.: Oxford University Press. 8. Winson, A. (2012). Critical perspectives in food studies (p. 45). Don Mills, Ont.: Oxford University Press. 9. Zaman, T. (n.d.). Food, Identity and Symbolic Metaphors in the Bengali South Asian- Canadian Community. Retrieved November 9, 2015, from https://uwspace.uwaterloo.ca/handle/10012/5095
