“Food Utopias” as Reflections of Cultural Traditions of the People of the World

Abstract

The mankind’s dream of a well-fed life is probably the oldest in the world. It is not surprising that a significant number of traditional rites and ceremonies are associated with various attempts to ensure this kind of life such as to send down a successful hunt, to increase the harvest, to save the livestock, etc. And historical, folklore and literary sources provide us with the richest material such as “food utopias”, where a folk dream is realized in the form of magical places, objects or creatures that provide the desired food. And it is done effortlessly and com- pletely free. In this article, “food utopias” are examined from the point of view of the nutritional systems characteristic of the people who created their “food paradise”. Nothing reflects national dietary habits as clearly as food utopias, generalized and simplified views of national food.

References

1. Zagrjazkina T.Ju. 2015 Kody francuzskoj kuhni v kontekste narrativnyh tekstov [Codes of the French Cuisine in the Context of Narrative Texts]. Moscow State University Bulletin. Series 19. Linguistics and Intercultural Communication, no. 2, pp. 51–76. (In Russ.)

2. Korolev K.M. 2007. Mifologija Britanskih ostrovov [Mythology of the British Islands]. Moscow. (In Russ.)

3. Kje Ju. 1987. Mify drevnego Kitaja [Myths of the Ancient China]. Moscow. (In Russ.)

4. Molchanova G.G. 2013. Tradicii gastiki kak otrazhenie nacional’noj i regional’noj identichnosti. [Gastic Traditions as a Reflection of National and Regional Identity]. Moscow State University Bulletin. Series 19. Linguistics and Intercultural Communication, no. 2, pp. 20–26. (In Russ.)

5. Montanari M. 2009. Golod i izobilie [Starvation and Abundance]. Moscow. (In Russ.)

6. Pavlovskaya A.V. 2015. Gastrosofija: nauka o ede. K postanovke problem. Part 1. [Gastrosophy: the science of food. Formulation of the problem. Part 1]. Moscow State University Bulletin. Series 19. Linguistics and Intercultural Communication, no. 4, pp. 23–38. (In Russ.)

7. Pavlovskaya A.V. 2016. Gastrosofija: nauka o ede. K postanovke problem. Part 2. [Gastrosophy: the science of food. Formulation of the problem. Part 2]. Moscow State University Bulletin. Series 19. Linguistics and Intercultural Communication, no. 1, pp. 26–41. (In Russ.)

8. Raevskaja M.M., Kiseleva L.N. 2015. Ispanskaja gastronomicheskaja tradicija kak jelement sociokul’turnoj identichnosti [The Spanish Gastronomic Tradition as an Element of Socio-Cultural Identity]. Moscow State University Bulletin. Series 19. Linguistics and Intercultural Communication, no. 2, pp. 77–87. (In Russ.)

9. Rammel H. 1990. Nowhere in America: The Big Rock Candy Mountain and Other Comic Utopias. Champaign, University of Illinois Press.