Cooking and Playing with the Chonta Palm

Abstract

The chonta palm – Bactris gasipaes – is a part of the identity of the Afro-descendant communities that inhabit the Pacific coastlands of Panama and Colombia through southern Ecuador. Its fruit, chontaduro, was fundamental for the food sovereignty of those who made this area their home after escaping slavery and continues to be a nutritional source with multiple uses in regional cuisines. The wood stock of the palm is used in the construction of chonta marimbas, emblematic instruments of traditional Afro folk music. Both in the elaboration of chonta marimbas and in the culinary uses of chontaduro there is a great knowledge and intangible cultural heritage of the Afro communities of these three countries, knowledge that binds them together and transcends international borders. The article addresses this heritage with the aim of contributing to the understanding of how biased race and class issues have affected both culinary culture and music making.