Jolof rice originates from Senegal. This paternity has been proven by history and confirmed by Unesco. Senegal must meet several challenges to take advantage of this label.
Jolof rice or rice with fish – also called ceebu jën, according to the Wolof spelling – has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site at the request of Senegal. Beyond the debate between West African nations on the paternity of this dish, the challenges that await Senegal to take advantage of this recognition are numerous.
The origin of this dish is linked, first, to a point of history. Specifically, colonization replaced food crops with broken rice, imported from Indochina. Then will come what we have called in our book The ceebu jën, a very Senegalese heritage the stroke of genius of the natives, in particular the Saint-Louisians. In this respect, the main curiosity was the following: how to succeed, from what one has not produced, in creating something entirely new. And in this case, for ceebu jën, it is not only rice that is exported. With the exception of fish, practically all its essential components testify, by their origin, to an extroverted economy.
The Penda Mbaye legend
The rice will be the subject of an original treatment, at the end of which will be invented a dish that is unknown both to those who cultivate rice and to vegetable producers. The name of rice with fish is regularly attached the name of a woman, Penda Mbaye. If no one disputes this filiation between this dish and this lady, the fact remains that serious information on the identity of this woman, on the place and the time where she lived and on the conditions of the creation of this dish are cruelly default. This is why we affirmed in our free that she quickly left history to carve out a place of choice in legend.
The settler will find the appropriate strategy to "hook" his subjects. Act one was to make all those disconnected from agricultural activities dependent on rice, who had come to try to make a fortune in the markets in St. Louis, one of the gateways for Westerners and, for a long time, the capital of French West Africa.
Next will follow the peasants, the first victims of the economy disrupted by the programmed disappearance of food crops. If we add to these fringes, the teachers, the various administrative agents and the military, we better understand the pernicious process of promotion of rice.
Overflowing the urban centers, the rice will be consumed on, practically, the essence of the colony of Senegal. And, thanks to the intermingling, the "foreigners", by marrying Saint-Louisiennes, bring back to their land of origin their "sweet half" who does not miss the opportunity to make their new family taste the delights of rice. to fish. Combining expertise and coquetry, she will “have fun” serving rice with fish in its different variations: red rice, white rice with goorjigèen sauce – this dish straddling red rice and white rice is called man-woman rice.
Gastro-diplomatic issues
The success of the strategy of promoting rice by the colonial forces resulted in the anchoring of a fundamentally extroverted economy. From independence to the present day, efforts have been made to produce rice in Casamance and in the region of Saint-Louis. In the same movement, the exploitation of the market gardening areas of Niayes and Gandiol contributed to meeting the population's need for vegetables.
A highly divergent claim to the paternity of ceebu jën has been noted. However, this controversy has never led to these "wars" which often provoke violent outbursts of which Paul Bocuse, nicknamed “the pope” of French gastronomy. For illustration, he points out that during the arrival of Barack Obama, in 2013, in Israel, the Palestinians had estimated that by serving as the American president of the houmous, their neighbors had committed a “theft of their cultural heritage”. The author indicates that, in addition to hummus, the falafel, another highly prized dish from this region, is also the subject of the same "war" between Lebanon and Israel.
Nigerians and Ghanaians claimed the paternity of Jolof rice. But, in our book, we indicate that the "senegality" of this dish is all the more established as the reference to “Jolof”, ancient kingdom, constituent of Senegal, is not a simple stylistic clause.
As it happens in history, when an art reaches a certain notoriety, its paternity becomes object of controversy. In addition, the transformations and different variations undergone by the dish can contribute to blurring historical landmarks. In this case, when ceebu jën refers exclusively to rice with fish, jolof rice is suitable, in an undifferentiated way, for meat, chicken and fish. Undoubtedly, it is an undeniable enrichment, but in the original heritage there are codes that allow to distinguish the different types of dishes. We also think that today the question of paternity arouses less and less passion.
Challenges
Since December 2021, Unesco has included ceebu jën on the list of intangible heritage of humanity. This labeling by Unesco of the Senegalese version of rice with fish has, first of all, the merit of valuing what the Senegalese have on two levels. This classification of this culinary art in the treasure of humanity is a recognition of a know-how, an integral part of the immaterial heritage. And it's always good for the minds of Africans. It is also an encouragement to provide a more sustained effort to make local consumption a reality, even a reflex.
This labeling no doubt also has implications completely positive for the economy, tourism, agriculture, fishing, catering, etc. It is not superfluous either to integrate the stakes within the framework of gastrodiplomacy. However, taking advantage of all these advantages requires that Senegal pay more attention to its halieutics resources and, above all, settles, for good, the recurring question ofrice self-sufficiency to put an end to this scandalous perversion consisting in feeding on what we do not produce.
Senegal, whose reputation is based more on its cultural influence and its diplomacy, has every interest in joining this movement. Thus, it will be up to it to revalorize, in addition to fish rice, all its gastronomic heritage, in order to make it an additional asset for the benefit of the role it intends to play in the concert of nations.
In this spirit, theInstitute of Food Technology would find a new youth. This public establishment, created in 1963, had been assigned the mission of research and development in food and nutrition.
In this spirit of promoting the rich Senegalese heritage, the institute could set itself the objective of promoting all this remarkable Senegalese consumable made from millet or local fruits. And to meet this challenge, Senegal would be well advised to take advantage of all the proven expertise of research institutions, universities, the National Company for the Development and Exploitation of Land in the Delta and the River Valley (Said) OfAfricaRice and the various players in its economy.
This article was written with the contribution of Alpha Amadou Sy, co-author of the book Ceebu jën, a very Senegalese heritage.
Fatima Fall Niang, Director of the Center for Research and Documentation of Senegal (CRDS), Gaston Berger University
This article is republished from The Conversation under Creative Commons license. Read theoriginal article.