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Eating tie bou jenn in Turin: Negotiating Differences and Building Community Among Senegalese Migrants in Italy

2012; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 20; Issue: 3-4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/07409710.2012.715976

1542-3484

Fedora Gasparetti,

Cultural Identity and Heritage

Abstract This article analyses the process of negotiation of difference for Senegalese migrants in Italy through consumption of the most popular dish in Senegal, the tie bou jenn. In the context of migration, where there is a need to emphasize solidarity and sameness, differences that are important in Senegal become mediated and moderated both in response to the Italian classifications of immigrants and in response to the need for mutual support. In this context, the consumption of Senegalese tie bou jenn plays a key function in overcoming religious and ethnic differences, fostering the creation of a sense of belonging to a Senegalese community in a broader sense. Ethnographic contexts include daily life in the African Markets in Turin, the Gran Magal (the annual celebration of the beginning of Ahmadu Bamba's exile, the founder of the Mouride brotherhood) and the important role of "les informelles", the Senegalese women who cook at home and sell tie bou jenn in the street, making it available in the public sphere. Notes 1. The Senegalese community in Italy is the biggest among sub-Saharan African communities, numbering 72,618 as of 1.1.2010, followed by Nigeria (48,674) and Ghana (44,353). Data from ISTAT (Italian National Institute of Statistics, October 2010 ISTAT - Italian National Institute of Statistics. 2010. www3.istat.it [Google Scholar]) available at www3.istat.it. 2. Many migrants point to economic motives for this decision. Families in Senegal tend to be large, sometimes comprising several wives and many children. Migrants calculate that their wages would not be enough for a large family to live on in Italy, where the cost of living is much higher than in Senegal. Other reasons are more nuanced, involving worries about value systems and potentially corrupting influences. See F. Gasparetti, Relying on Teranga: Senegalese Migrants to Italy and their children left behind, Autrepart, n. 57/58, June 2011. 3. In Italy these street vendors were usually called Vu' Cumprà, that is literally "do you want to buy?". This name refers to the most common stereotype, that of the African/Moroccan without work who comes to Italy to be a street vendor, and is rooted in a general Italian tendency to see migration as a unitary phenomenon (Colombo and Sciortino 2002 Colombo, A. and Sciortino, G. 2002. Assimilati ed esclusi, Bologna: Il Mulino. [Google Scholar]), ignoring even the most marked differences, such as country of origin. 4. Youssou N'Dour, La cuisine de ma mère, Minerva, 2004. 5. Pierre Thiam, Yolele! Recipes From the Heart of Senegal, Lake Isle Press, 2008. 6. Coumba Diop, La cuisine du Sénégal, Hachette Pratique, 2010. 7. Translations are by the author. 8. This is what my Senegalese interviewees told me several times. 9. Porta Palazzo is a district in Turin which in the Italian media and in public discourse is regarded as the district that symbolises immigration in the city (together with San Salvario). In fact, Porta Palazzo is many things for the migrants themselves: a public meeting area, a market place, a venue for exchange and consumption, a spatial reference in terms of identity and a mnemonic signifier for links with the homeland. The heart of the neighbourhood is the daily market, which sells food, clothing, and household items. Ever since 1835 (when it was established), there has been a succession of immigrant vendors here, initially hailing from Piedmont, then from Veneto, Friuli, Calabria, Sicily, Morocco, China, Nigeria, and Romania. Piazza della Repubblica, at the center of the district, actually plays host to a number of different markets: alongside the big official market, there are numerous informal type markets, some of which are illegal (Moroccans selling mint, bread, and plastic shopping bags, groups of vendors of telephone cards, and street sellers of pirate CDs of Arab music, pornographic videos, etc.). All of these activities have profoundly marked the area, introducing complex new social and economic dynamics and shaping the urban landscape. (Castagnone and Gasparetti 2009 Castagnone, E. and Gasparetti, F. 2009. "Il transnazionalismo in questione. La parabola dei phone center". In Intraprendere fra due mondi. Il transnazionalismo economico degli immigrati, Edited by: Ambrosini, M. 301–324. Bologna: Il Mulino. [Google Scholar]). For more discussion of Porta Palazzo market see also Black 2012. 10. This is part of the ethic of "making do" abroad of Senegalese men; they feel they must "sacrifice" their own well being in order to gain something later (this is often couched in both materials and religious terms). 11. The informal taxi-drivers. 12. During my field research, I met five informelles in Turin. They worked every day (excluding the weekend) as they had regular customers (mostly Senegalese, but also Moroccans and other African migrants). 13. Marabout usually travel from Senegal during both Grand Magal and other festivities. These visits are very important to keep transnational Mouridism alive from both the organisational and spiritual points of view. Money is collected by the marabout but he also provides followers with blessings and advice (Riccio 2001 Riccio, B. 2001. From "ethnic group" to "transnational community"? Senegalese migrants, ambivalent experiences, and multiple trajectories. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 27(4): 583–99. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]). 14. Furthermore, this process testifies to the Mourides' ability to sanctify space through ritual: Touba is recreated through rituals that temporarily sanctify the given space without the need to create another new center (Riccio, 2003 Riccio, B. 2003. "More Than a Trade Diaspora. Senegalese Transnational Experiences in Emilia Romagna (Italy)". In New African Diasporas, Edited by: Koser, K. 95–110. London: Routledge. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). 15. See for example Lupton 1999 Lupton, D. 1999. L'anima nel piatto, Bologna: Il Mulino. [Google Scholar]; Cinotto 2001 Cinotto, S. 2001. Una famiglia che mangia insieme: cibo ed etnicità nella comunità italoamericana di New York, 1920–1940, Torino: Otto. [Google Scholar]; Filippa 2004 Filippa, M. 2004. Il cibo dell'altro. Movimenti migratori e culture alimentari nella Torino del Novecento, Torino: Edizioni Lavoro. [Google Scholar].