LITTLE AFRICAS

Food is a fundamental and inseparable feature in any activity related to Afro-diasporic culture, and samba activities in Rio de Janeiro reproduce and refresh the eating/drinking dynamics of African tradition. More than the simple function of nourishing the body, it is a way of renewing energies and the bonds of belonging. In samba, eating is equivalent to preserving life, and communicating and reinforcing individual as well as collective memories. There is no gathering of sambistas without the pleasure of preparing and tasting food made by the tias. Bringing together the inheritors of family recipes passed down through oral tradition is an important way of preserving the traditions of popular cuisine, which so aptly represents the culture of the diaspora. Bringing together these divine gastronomic artisans at fairs held every two months in the historic area of Oswaldo Cruz, and calling them Yabás, a term that denotes the group of female orishas, keeps alive the tradition of the sacred act of cooking and its ritualistic character.