The traditional recipes of the indigenous community of Brorán, Costa Rica, as an identity resource

Abstract

Culinary traditions and the lexicon associated with them serve as reflections of a community's worldview, encapsulating the environmental, social, and historical conditions under which a people has evolved. In light of this, this paper examines the nouns most frequently associated with ingredients, recipe names, and culinary techniques within the Brorán indigenous community of Costa Rica, as documented in the Diccionario-recetario pictográfico de la alimentación tradicional en Brörán̈ qu'ercuó (the language of Térraba) (Sánchez et al., 2016). The classification of ingredients follows Eberenz's (2016) categorization into simple foods, prepared foods, cooking utensils, and other relevant items, thereby facilitating the acquisition of the most commonly used vocabulary. Fruits and vegetables emerge as the predominant food sources, a pattern shaped by the community's geographical proximity to both a river and a forest, which restricts the availability of animal-derived ingredients to fish and wild game. Additionally, the Christianization of the Brorán people introduced salt as a fundamental ingredient—an element notably absent in the culinary practices of the Teribe, their sister culture. This study not only highlights the significance of ingredients in shaping culinary identity but also underscores the impact of cultural exchanges and environmental factors on the evolution of the Brorán lexicon