Date: 27-06-2016
Name: Floris Wouters
Student number: 10559752
Supervisor: dhr. dr. J.M. (Maarten) Bavinck
Second reader: dhr. dr. D.L. (Dennis) Arnold
Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences
Dep. Human Geography, Planning & International Development Studies
University of Amsterdam
Cultural beliefs in
fish consumption
Improving the food security of Hindus and Muslims in Bangalore, India
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Acknowledgements
This research has taught me the amount of work and time it takes before the collection of data is even possible in an unfamiliar, foreign place. Four weeks seems like a lot of time, but it is not. Finding a safe place to stay, where food is available and one can focus fully on doing research takes much effort and patience. There are some people in particular I would like to thank.
I would like to thank Dr. Amalendu Jyotishi for making sure I felt welcome in Bangalore from day one and overseeing the research in Bangalore and connecting me to Ramesh, who properly introduced me to local cuisines and the area I was staying in on the first night of my arrival. Thanks to the Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham University in Bangalore for letting me be a guest and use their facilities. Thanks to Mahit Tyagarajan for making the research in Bangalore and Mangalore very enjoyable. And a final, very heart-warming thanks to Vysakh Shaji, who, next to a highly knowledgeable and skilled translator, has also been a friend.
Thanks to dhr. J.V. (Jaap) Rothuizen MSc for, even though not being the designated mentor in writing the thesis, still always being helpful. And finally, thanks to dhr. dr. J.M. (Maarten) Bavinck for leading me through this exciting path of writing a thesis on Indian culture and giving me the opportunity to let the thesis have meaning to future research.
According to officials in the Department of Fisheries of Karnataka, there has not been any
quantitative, let alone qualitative research into fish consumption so far so it seems this research is a pioneering endeavour. Thank you for this opportunity.
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Inhoudsopgave
1. Introduction ... 4
2. Theoretical Framework ... 5
2.1 Protein consumption in India ... 5
2.2 Determinants of diet and fish consumption ... 6
2.3 Beliefs in India ... 7
2.3.1 Hot and cold qualities ... 7
2.3.2 Auspiciousness ... 8
2.3.3 Ramadan and Halal Foods in Islam ... 8
2.4 Food security ... 9
3. Methods ... 9
3.1 Research design and methods of data collection ... 9
3.2 Key persons and the research population ... 10
3.3 Limitations to the research ... 11
4. The city of Bangalore and the district of Banashankari ... 13
4.1 Bangalore ... 13
4.2 Banashankari ... 14
5. Structures of fish consumption in Bangalore ... 15
5.1 The supply lines ... 15
5.2 Distribution in Bangalore ... 16
5.3 Fishing and trading ... 17
5.4 Safety of fish ... 17
6. Results: the cultural beliefs ... 18
6.1 Product related fish consumption ... 18
6.1.1 Hot fish ... 18
6.1.2 Beliefs about types of fish and seafood ... 19
6.2 Structural beliefs in fish consumption ... 21
6.2.1 The three Gunas in Hinduism ... 21
6.2.2 Vegetarianism in Hinduism ... 21
6.2.3 The Muslim and Hindu calendar... 22
6.3 The significance of geographical location ... 23
7. Survey results ... 24
7.1 The sample ... 24
7.2 Stated reasons for fish consumption ... 25
7.3 Differences between Hindus and Muslims... 26
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8.1 Recommendations in improving food security ... 28
9. Discussion ... 29
10. References ... 30
Appendix A: Data survey results in graphs ... 32
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1. Introduction
In economically developed countries, official advice for a healthy diet is to eat more fish. Much attention is being given to the related health benefits of its properties, of which especially omega-3 oils seem to be beneficial to human health. In many less economically developed countries, fish is a key human health asset, generally contributing to more than 20% of animal protein intake for 2.6 billion people. It has long been recognized that fish is a valuable food. Compared to meat, poultry and eggs, fish is low in saturated fatty acids and a good source of protein and selenium; oily fish in particular is an excellent source of long-chain Omega-3 fatty acids (Brunner et al., 2009). Some studies found that fish consumption helps preventing high blood pressure, cholesterol,
cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, and various types of cancer (Can et al., 2015). When researching a social phenomenon such as food security regarding fish from a western,
secularised viewpoint one can forget that there are also cultural and religious determinants to eating fish. Where for this person it might just seem logical to eat fish because it healthy, because it
contains selenium and Omega 3 fatty acids, there is also a cultural reason. In modern western society, science plays an important role as a source of (factual) knowledge and is often the absolute reference to back up statements or behaviour. In this case, science is used to determine fish is healthy. This is part of the modern, western culture. In India, a place quite far from this world and in a different stage in development, it seems plausible that that culture might differ from that of the western world and one might have other reasons for eating fish.
As in all cultures, certain beliefs exist surrounding what facilitates a good or bad health and often these beliefs influence people’s diet and food intake. Some people believe for instance that a hearty, strengthening and nourishing stew is the ideal choice of food on a cold, winter day, because it is abundant and flavourful enough to satisfy the appetite and support the body’s resistance against the weather. People’s food choice decisions are often based on traditions, habits or well established behavioural patterns (Kaptan et al., 2016). This research took place in Bangalore and functions as a preliminary research for the larger research programme Fish4Food. Fish4Food aims to realise new knowledge, products, practices and policies at various levels of the low-price fish chain (from local to international) to improve the food security of vulnerable groups in rapidly growing city regions. It takes place in both (South) India and Ghana.
In light of enhancing the food security of inhabitants of South India this present research aims to identify how cultural beliefs influence fish consumption. To that end, it gives a description of the cultural determinants of fish consumption of Muslims and Hindus in Bangalore, as the largest two religions in India are Hinduism (79,8%) and Islam (14,2%) (Census of India, 2011). Hopefully this can add to the understanding of their fish food choice so that eventually the food security of the Bangalorean and South Indian Hindus and Muslims can be optimised or improved.
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2. Theoretical Framework
The goal of this research is to find out how cultural beliefs influence the consumption of marine fish. To specify the units of analysis only Muslims and Hindus will be researched. The sub questions of the research first entail the context of how marine fish consumption is made possible: the supply lines, prices of fish, their stability and the structures of distribution. The context of this food consumption follows the subjects that are essential to food security: availability, stability and safety of fish. Second, the cultural beliefs that seem to have any relevance to fish consumption are discussed and explained. Finally, the survey results will point out how it actually impacts the diet of the people in Bangalore. In the conclusion, some ideas are stated to optimise the consumption of fish.
This chapter will open with the state of fish consumption in India and its vegetarianism. It will then enumerate the general determinants of food choice and discuss their influence on fish consumption. Of these determinants, culture is the subject of this research. Next, some of the apparent cultural beliefs in Hinduism and Islam that influence fish consumption will be described, after which a small section is dedicated to explaining food security and its relevance to this article.
2.1 Protein consumption in India
Fish and by-products of fish are critical to account for the nutritional needs and global food security. Global fish consumption has increased from 9,9 kg per capita in 1960 to 18,9 kg in 2010. To account for this demand, fish production has naturally grown accordingly. In 2010, the recorded average per capita fish protein consumption (kg/capita) was 2,85 kg, which accounts for 2,2% of total protein consumption. Between Indian states the consumption varies between a consumption of over 20 kg/capita of a coastal state to one of 0.03 kg/capita of a landlocked state (FAO, 2014).
India is one of the developing countries in the world with very low average per capita fish consumption. Fish consumption accounts for 31% of the protein consumption in the world (FAO, 2014). For a country with a relatively large coastal area, this is contrary to expectations. However, India is known for its large vegetarian population. The The Hindu CNN-IBN State of the Nation Survey is a survey done in 2006 about the diet and food habits of the Indian population. For this, 14,680 respondents were interviewed. The results showed that 31% of Indians are vegetarians. Another 9% is 'eggtarian', vegetarians who eat eggs.
As opposed to individual belief, vegetarianism seems to be more determined by inherited cultural practice, which means religion is an important factor for food choice. For instance, 55% of Brahmins are vegetarians. On top of that, the results show that Hindus who worship every day are more likely to be vegetarians Hindus that do not. However, the majority of all Hindus is non-vegetarian. Most important, however, seems to be the regional location. Especially the coastal states have a very large non-vegetarian population, opposed to the landlocked states: Kerala for instance has a 2% vegetarian population, whereas Rajasthan's is 63%. Finally, vegetarianism was found to be very infrequent among Muslims (3%). To understand the diet preferences that lead to this vegetarianism the next section will elaborate on the determinants of a person's diet.
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2.2 Determinants of diet and fish consumption
The essential driver for eating is hunger. There are, however, multiple determinants of food choice, such as whether the choice of food is healthy, tasty or cheap. The consumer's geographical
accessibility for the distribution or catching of fish is determinant of the availability of fish: it is a precondition. One simply cannot eat a certain food, if it is not there.
People’s preferences and food choice are bio psychosocially determined: biologically, psychologically and socially. The biological drivers of food are palatability, sensory aspects (whether food looks appealing) and especially the need for nutrient dense foods. These are foods that are high in sugar and fats and are biological preference because of the energy it provides to the body. As an example for palatability, humans are more prone to liking sweet or salty food over sour and bitter food, for the latter may indicate spoiled or poisoned food.
The influence of sensory aspects on food choice are also known as the risk perception. Risk
perception in food is a highly personal process of decision making, based on an individual’s frame of reference. When a person is educated in hygiene standards and is aware of the possibility of bacterial infection, that person would use that knowledge in choosing foods that are safe to eat. Secondly, psychological determinants such as a person's mood or the amount of stress of the person are important for the choice of food.
Third, another quite important determinant of food choice is its cost and the income of the
consumer: the access to food. The price of many foods nowadays are very low because of their bulk production. These foods are often unhealthy: potato chips, sugary drinks, fast food and so on and are cheaper than nutrient-dense, healthy foods such as fresh vegetables. There are for instance also various types of fish that have different prices. Low-income families will not be able to afford the more expensive ones.
Finally, cultural determinants are significant drivers for food preference. Social surroundings such as family and religion have a significant influence on food choice in that they include everything and everyone around an individual person that tell that person how and what to eat, in every stage of life: food choice is essentially formed and constrained by circumstances that are cultural and social. People for instance generally prefer food that is familiar to them and they have known since their childhood. Similarly, advertising is a means to make products familiar to people and when this happens, people are more prone to buying it. The final social factor in food choice that will be discussed here is convenience. One can think about the convenience of preparation, accessibility and edibility. Fast food is for instance often much more convenient than making dinner yourself from scratch: it takes less time and there is less cleaning to do afterwards (Eufic Review, 2005; Shepherd, 1999; Vabø & Hansen, 2014).
A relevant example of determinants of food choice is in the shrimp industry in Kerala after the 1960’s. Kurien (2000), in his explanation on the socio-cultural implications of fishing to Keralan communities, found that there were strong taboos against eating shrimp since it was associated with producing stomach disorders, even though there was a large stock of it available along the coast of Kerala. Next to shrimp, the population of fish is also vast. In Kerala, over three quarters of the animal protein intake accounts for fish: the consumption ranges between 15-20 kg per capita per year. Even though the consumption of shrimp was very little in the Keralan diet, this largely untouched stock of cheap shrimp caused an export boom in both shrimp and fish, which led to overfishing. This changed the availability, price levels and the quality of fish in the domestic market and eventually also the composition of the diet of many Keralans. Especially the middle and upper-class’ animal protein preferences were adapted to new the new status quo: more milk, chicken and eggs were consumed
7 because of their better quality and availability compared to fish. A change in the availability, price and quality of fish thus influenced their diet. Fish is, however, still consumed in abundance. Kerala’s coastline of about 600 kilometers long and 100 kilometers wide heavily influenced or rather
determined the traditions, occupational technologies, architecture, (nuances in) language and food habits (ibid.).
Can et al. (2015) have done research about the influence of determinants of fish consumption in Antakya, Turkey and the characteristics of the socioeconomic status on food preferences. In their survey of 127 randomly selected people they found significant differences in fish consumption between the age, gender and marital status. Younger people seemed to consume two times as much fish than the elderly. Also, single people apparently ate more fish than married people. And lastly, women consume more fish than men do: over one kg per year more. With a 62% majority, the primary reason for fish consumption was because of health reasons. The other reasons given were either because of the tastiness of fish or economic reasons. Finally, there were no significant differences in income groups and professions.
The main subject of this present research is the cultural determinant for food choice, or more specifically, choice for fish. Why do people eat fish and what is the cultural influence? Cultural influences are the underlying cause of habits in food consumption, traditions in preparation, restrictions of certain foods and beliefs about the purpose and effects of food. These influences, however, can change. If a person moves to a different culture, this local culture is often adapted to by changing personal food habits and diet, because habits and attitudes develop through interaction with other people. In the example about the Keralan fish consumption it was stated there was a taboo on eating shrimp. This is because of a common cultural belief about foods in India, which will be explained in the next section.
2.3 Beliefs in India
This section will describe some of the cultural beliefs in Hindu and Muslim food consumption. It will start off with the beliefs of Hindus, followed by those of the Muslims. In scientific literature about India, it seems multiple beliefs about foods exist; beliefs on their effect and purpose. Next to the well-known belief that in Hinduism cows are sacred and are therefore not to be eaten, two beliefs are apparently also quite common. First is the hot and cold food belief. The second is auspiciousness. 2.3.1 Hot and cold qualities
The hot and cold belief originates from the ancient Hindu medical system of Ayurveda. The concept is similar to the medical method of allopathy. Allopathy is the method of treating disease by the use of agents, in this case food, that produce effects different from those of the disease treated: by
inducing a condition opposite to the cause of the disease, the disease is believed to be cured. Foods, diseases and parts of the body are assigned various attributes, especially hot-cold qualities. It is when the body is out of balance that diseases occur. The belief is that this disease is either hot or cold and the way to restore balance to the body is by taking food that is opposite to the disease. In this way, hot-cold is not only a quality ascribed to temperature or spiciness, but has a deeper meaning. One that is more embedded in Indian culture. A hot disease is for instance a skin rash, diarrhea or a stomach ulcer and a cold disease is for instance a cold, cough or and ear infection. Bodily
constitutions are also divided in either hot or cold. Apparently, when a person's constitution is hot, the body is more likely to pick up a hot disease. This person has to be very careful in eating hot foods, because that will only further bring the body out of balance. Consequently, cold foods can be eaten
8 as much as desired. It is thus also believed that these diseases can occur, and therefore a disturbed balance, from eating a certain hot or cold food in excess.
Hot and cold constitutions and diet do not just have consequences for occurring diseases. Research by Pool (1987) showed that Indians from Gujarat believe that meat and alcohol are two very clear examples of hot foods, because one of the effects of having a hot constitution is that this person is more likely to become aggressive when eating these foods. Constitutions and diets therefore also influence behavior. Furthermore, Choudhry (1997) wrote an article about the beliefs of Indians that facilitate a good pregnancy and its outcome. According to her research hot foods are harmful and cold foods beneficial during pregnancy. Carrying a child is supposed to make the body hot and to balance this out it is recommended to eat cold foods.
Similar to Pool (1987), her research included a classification of hot and cold foods. Both found that fish is one the foods that are considered hot. The beliefs about these classifications are however not uniform: people assign various qualities to food in different regions. Food can have either hot or cold properties, depending on the location in India. Generally, though, most foods with a salty or acidic taste are considered hot and foods with a sweet, or bitter taste are cold (Storer, 1977). The hot and cold belief is passed down by families and communities and has since its origins even spread to other Asian countries.
2.3.2 Auspiciousness
The second belief discussed here is auspiciousness in the Hindu culture. Auspiciousness exists in many aspects of daily life: in Pooja (prayer), other ceremonies, food consumption, calendars and even in wearing colours. Daniels (1984) mentions multiple scenarios in which auspiciousness plays a role. In the birth of a child for instance the child is believed to be of good health when the planets are auspiciously positioned. Also, in everyday interaction with other people, one has to be careful not to wrongfully cause inauspiciousness over someone else. In Tamil Nadu, one should supposedly not ask someone else the direct question: ‘Where are you going?’ or their journey would become ominous. Instead, the question should be phrased differently, so the syntax of the sentence is critical.
Furthermore, touching someone else’s body with feet is also believed to be inauspicious. Whenever this happens, apologies are made by touching that part of the body that was unintentionally ‘cursed’ by the foot. It is evident that auspiciousness is thoroughly embedded in Hindu culture, but how it influences fish consumption specifically and to what extent seems to remain unclear from literature. 2.3.3 Ramadan and Halal Foods in Islam
There are also multiple beliefs about food preparation and consumption in Islam. These beliefs have been spread through the Holy Book in Islam: The Quran, which is said to have been given to the prophet Mohammed by Allah. The writings in the Quran propose certain restrictions in the types of meat consumed. Foods that are permitted are called halal and foods that are forbidden are called haram. Since Islam is the second largest religion in the world, halal foods have the potential to become a global business for the large demand it can supply (Soelisowati, 2011). The most common restrictions are that no animal blood, no pork and no intoxicating liquor can be consumed by Muslims. These dietary regulations are the collection of what the prophet Mohammed ate, gave to others or said about food on various occasions during his life. On top of that, slaughter has to be done according to Islamic rites and rituals: in the Quran, specific directives are given concerning food practices. There is also a period of fasting, which happens in the month of Ramadhan. In this time of fasting, Muslims are remembered that food is a gift from Allah to them and it should not be wasted. This period which foods may not be eaten between sunrise and sunset. Muslims are encouraged to fast even during other periods of time, because fasting is believed to bring a Muslim closer to Allah and receiving His rewards. Fasting on Monday, Thursday and the 13th, 14th and 15th of every month
9 are therefore done by many orthodox Muslims (Fieldhouse, 2013). With these beliefs and restrictions Islam there is bound to be an influence on fish consumption.
2.4 Food security
The definition of food security of the FAO is that ''all people, at all times, should have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences to maintain an active and healthy life (FAO, 1996).'' This definition consists of three pillars or dimensions: food availability, food access and food use/utility. Food availability refers to the quantities of food available on a consistent basis in a certain place. Food access refers to the
sufficiency of resources to purchase food in the market or any other food system. Food use refers to the knowledge of basic nutrition and care, as well as adequate water and sanitation. Since 1996 a fourth pillar was added: stability. Stability involves issues of price stability and securing incomes for vulnerable populations and communities (Napoli et al., 2011). Not addressed in this declaration is an important dimension of proper nourishment, which is the utilization of food once it has been
consumed (Pinstrup-Andersen, 2009).
There are two ways in which people can starve. Apart from the obvious undernourishment, the insufficient intake of calories, there is also malnourishment, which is the lack of essential chemical elements in food. The latter is not always lethal, while the first always is. Malnourishment can cause physical and mental problems or failures in the growth and sustenance of the human body.
Starvation is a direct consequence of poverty. The problem for economically marginal people in rural areas, like the problem for the smaller share of the urban population that is undernourished, is incomes that are so low that an adequate diet is unaffordable. Also not emphasised in this definition is the necessity of food safety. Food safety is about properly handling, storing and preparing food to prevent infection and help to make sure that the nutrients in food do not deteriorate in order to contribute to a healthy diet.
The catches of fish along the coasts of India have begun to diminish in the last years. The fish population has been heavily pressured by current global problems such as population growth and climate change, but also by overfishing. Dey et al. (2005) fear that because of export of fish to more developed countries the consumption of fish may have declined, threatening the traditional source of food of both local communities, but also the access and availability of fish for the urban and inland people of India: their food security. This chapter has shown that there are more determinants to a diet than the declared pillars of food security, all of which the cultural determinant is the subject of this research. Food security is, however, the goal to why this research is relevant: to include fish in the diet when, where and to whom it is absent. The cultural determinant is just another variable that should be taken into account when tempting to optimise food consumption.
3. Methods
3.1 Research design and methods of data collection
This research is a case-study that combines observations, a survey and semi-structured interviews. The observations were mainly done on fishing markets and harbours to find out about the supply lines and safety of the fishing industry. In the data collection about the cultural determinants of food choice the ordering was that the survey was done after some days of semi-structured interviews in the field. This was done to find out relevant cultural determinants, that could then later be included
10 in the survey. For these semi-structured interviews, a guide addressing certain themes was
necessary. At the time the data collection started, some beliefs relevant to fish consumption were already known, which were then processed in the topic list for the interviews. This list gave topical trajectories in the conversation that, when strayed from relevant subjects, was a reliable list to fall back on and provided that the interviews resulted in reliable and comparative qualitative data. The semi structured interviews were not scripted, but rather took the form of a conversation. When the data was required, these conversations often ended in topics that were not directly relevant to the research but provided context of the respondent’s behaviour and habits. The survey was finally used a means to gather lots of data about a fixed range of variables that could consequently be used to confirm the qualitative data that had thus far been collected and to find other important
determinants to the food choice that were not apparent in qualitative data, such as for instance the influence of income.
The approach of this research was inductive. The inductive approach holds that the development of empirical generalisations and identification of relationships between concepts are done in the progression of the research, rather than starting out with coming up with theories and testing hypotheses to finally confirm or reject them: the deductive approach (Yin, 2015). Specifically, that meant that, before data collection in India took place, there was hardly any knowledge about the cultural determinants of food in India apart from some articles. After that, the findings were related to theories and concepts. The theoretical framework takes up an odd role because of this design. It tempts to explain all the concepts that are relevant to this research, but should do so without resembling the final results too much: it is supposed to represent the knowledge of the researcher before data collection.
3.2 Key persons and the research population
This research is part of a Bachelor's thesis programme in which twenty-one students took part in a lecture series in India, after which they went to collect data for their individual Bachelor's thesis for one month. The lecture series took place in Chennai whereas the locations of the individual
researches were spread across South India. This research was done with the help of a translator and student named Vysakh Shaji. In collaboration with another student named Mahit Tyagarajan it is part of an exploratory research project about Bangalore’s supply lines, wholesale and retail markets and functions as an introduction for the Fish4Food project in Bangalore. Vysakh has a rich understanding of traditions and cultures in especially Hinduism and he has had some courses in Hindu mythology. Consequently, many of the ‘leads’ for phenomena in Hindu culture that influence fish consumption and explanations of them came from him. Next to the importance of survey respondents, there were, next to Vysakh, some respondents explaining the background and deeper meaning of
especially cultural findings and others giving new information. These key figures were Taj, an imam; Dr. Rama Venkataraman, a Brahmin acupuncturist and Dr. C.K. Murthy, the Joint Director of Marine Fisheries of Karnataka.
The research population of survey in this research are Hindus and Muslims. This is of course a very large population to choose from. The first idea was to do a survey at fish markets, since the research is about fish consumption. However, this research focusses not only on the reasons people decide to eat fish, but also on the reasons people decide not to eat fish, which is why a research area was chosen to do the survey in. The reason for that was to control the variable of distance from the respondent’s house to a location to buy fish: it needed to be constant to make sure that the (lack of) availability of fish was the same for the whole sample. At the start of the research, this seemed like a controllable variable, but in the results it turned out that respondents in Banashankari, the area of
11 research, buy their fish from a number of places, not always with the same distance. However, this did not seem to influence their fish consumption.
The survey serves as a means to compare the findings about the cultural beliefs influencing fish consumption to that of a large range of respondents. It is also a way to find out other influences and determinants to fish consumption. It is only a small survey of 51 people: 25 Muslims and 26 Hindus. Most of these survey respondents were asked about their cultural beliefs about food, and more specifically non-vegetarian food and fish consumption, aside from the standard survey questions. On top of that around fifteen more people were asked about the structures and reasons for behaviour regarding fish consumption in Muslim and Hindu cultures.
The respondents were sampled through a combination of snowball sampling and purposive
sampling. Snowball sampling was the initial method used to find respondents that were relevant to the variety of the sample, through contacts that had already been made. Apart from the known contact, this method is similar to purposive sampling. Purposive sampling is used to select the specific study units that will yield the most relevant data to the research (Yin, 2015). In the first days of data collection, the first few Muslim respondents were introduced and interviewed with the help of Nyamat, a friend of Vysakh who happened to live in Banashankari. Among also other inhabitants of Banashankari, he arranged a meeting with an Imam from a local Masjid. Because the respondents were familiars to him, they were very helpful in answering questions. These respondents were, however, often housewives. To acquire more variety in the sample, purposive sampling was used to find people with varying occupations, ages, incomes, genders and origins. This could not have been done without the help of Vysakh and his connections in Banashankari.
Since the respondents in this sample were often subjectively chosen, there might be discrepancy between the sample and the population of the area. It is not sure whether the sample is
representative for the area in which the survey is done, thus it is not generalizable for this particular area. However, that is not the goal of this survey. It rather aims to understand the motives for the diet in different levels of the whole Hindu and Muslim population of Bangalore and to find out what are deciding factors in their fish consumption. Generalizing the results for these religious groups in Bangalore would also be too blunt and short-sighted. This survey was done in a moderate to rich area in Bangalore and income is bound to have a larger influence on fish consumption in areas that are poorer.
3.3 Limitations to the research
This data collection has been done in a period of four weeks. In this period of time, in which also accommodation and identification of research areas had to be taken care of, the data collection had to be done efficiently and fast. The design of this research has, despite the efforts in the field, several limitations. Next to this time-constraint the city of Bangalore was in a season of exhausting
circumstances. Even though Bangalore’s temperature is relatively cool compared to the humid heat of other South Indian cities, most days it was over 40 degrees Celsius. Moreover, because of
congestion the transportation in Bangalore took a lot of time and energy.
Even though in the end the answers to many of the questions became repetitive and it felt that theoretical saturation was reached, more survey results would have made the research more externally valid. Either the sample could have been larger or, preferably, in more Hindu or Muslim communities across Bangalore. There might be varying results between different communities of the same religion. A probability sample would perhaps have been preferable over a non-probability sample, because then the sample would be random, rather than selecting respondents in that area on certain criteria. It could have for instance been done by approaching the household of every fifth
12 house in a street. These results could have been generalizable for that particular area. However, this would have meant that those households had to be questioned on different parts of the day, because not every member of the household is home at all times, which would have been too time-consuming to arrange in four weeks. Moreover, the translator was not enthused by the idea of disturbing people in their homes and possibly annoying them with personal questions. There were multiple instances in which the intentions of my collection of data were questioned. Even though it might not seem intrusive to ask about a person’s diet, respondents were still sometimes reluctant to cooperate.
A valid study is one that has properly collected its data, so that they accurately represent the reality (Yin, 2015). During this research, much attention has been paid to my own views and stance in the data collection. I did so, because the perceptions of data were probably highly influenced by my own modern, western view on society. As is also hinted at in the introduction, the people in Bangalore, or India for that matter, think in a different manner. Regarding the choice of food, that would mean that food is for instance not always chosen because it is healthy, cheap or tasty, but it might be because of the auspicious position of the planets. Even though all the effort is made to understand such a point of view, I will still be clouded by own habits and convictions. In other words, in my education I have been taught that objective, scientific knowledge is the most ‘reliable’ truth: it is what constitutes my reality. Food security for that matter is scientifically the ultimate goal in diet; it focusses on nutritional values. I had to keep in mind that this vision is not shared by everyone and that there are multiple views on what is important in a diet, such as strictly vegetarian food. The time constraint prevented me from strengthening the validity of this research, by not being able to
produce a more in depth and complete understanding of the data acquired in Banashankari. This could have for instance been done respondent validation, which is getting feedback from the people studied so the data have not been misinterpreted (ibid.).
Variables in education were not in the survey questionnaire. At the start of the research the
education variables were not included in the survey questions. At the time of development in India, it did not seem relevant to include it, since no theoretical sources were found to indicate a relevance. Sources that were then later on found (Can et al. (2015) found significant differences in the level of education and the consumption of fish. This demonstrates a drawback to the inductive design of this research: the limitations of theoretical knowledge at the start of data collection, causing this
research to possibly miss an important variable in the survey.
Finally, my inability to speak the several languages spoken in Bangalore compelled me to hire a translator. Although the quality of the translation was excellent, because the translator knew the relevant context and explained statements by respondents where necessary, the extra link in the chain of communication can lead to misinterpretation and a loss of nuances and detail, which are essential to the context of the story of the respondents. Possible misunderstanding would threaten the validity of the research. On top of that, the translator was not available every day. This was quite a constraint: even though the days he was available were very productive, more frequent visits to the research area would have been desirable.
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4. The city of Bangalore and the district of Banashankari
4.1 Bangalore
The location in which the data for this research is collected is Bangalore. Bangalore is the cultural, industrial, administrative and knowledge capital of the state Karnataka. It is the home of many (labour) migrants from other states: in the 2001 census of India only 53% of the population were Kannadigas and the rest were immigrants. Of these immigrants, most were from Tamil Nadu (19%). Of the total population, 79.4% of the population is Hindu, 13,4% Muslim, 5,8% Christian and 1,1% Jain. In 2011 it had a literacy rate of 89% which is high compared to the state’s average of 67% (Census India, 2011).
For its economic, demographic, technological, governmental Bangalore has been called two names. The first one is ''the Silicon Valley of India'', which it is most known for. It acquired its name from the IT-boom in the last century, which attracted this large amount of migrants from other Indian states (Sudhira et al., 2007). The population has grown from around 400.000 people in 2001 to 11,5 million in 2016, which it has almost tripled in 15 years (Indiaonlinepages, 2016). Because of its explosive development, some of the city's amenities are not caught up with the population pressure. At some junctions in the city the traffic is constantly congested for over 12 hours per day, leading to
suffocating amounts of exhaust fumes.
The second name that Bangalore is known for is ''the Garden City''. The older colonial centre is indeed very green, with many trees and public parks like Cubbon Park and Lalbagh Botanical Garden. It is a beautiful, bustling centre. However, further off from the centre the trees become more scarce and concrete and asphalt take over. According to the Deccan Herald (2009) a report by an
environment group in Bangalore calculated that 50.000 trees have been cut down in the period of 2006-2009. For the new metro line 279 more are going to be removed. Some native Bangaloreans that were interviewed for this research did not like how Bangalore has turned out over the years. It is too polluted and crowded. When questioning their ideas on the improvement of Bangalore the first response was mostly that it cannot be done, because of the corruption and nepotism in Bangalore city politics, that eats away of many of the city project’s financing.
Another aspect in which Bangalore lags is its waste collection. The population of Bangalore produces between 3000-4000 tons of garbage per day (Sachs, 2014). Yet, there is hardly any sign of a waste disposal plan; often people still burn their trash on the side of the road. Side to side with some of the other more developed planning in the city, this gives an odd contrast: only twenty meters from a very modern shopping mall with a McDonalds, a smouldering fire is burning a collection of plastic and organic wastes.
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4.2 Banashankari
Banashankari is a very large district in the southeast of Bangalore. It is a moderate to rich area in Bangalore and one of the oldest of Bangalore. As are all the larger districts in Bangalore, it is divided into stages, which are divided into phases, which are divided into blocks. It has six stages in total. The research was done on the border of Banashankari and the Kumaraswamy Layout, in the blocks Bendre Nagar and Govinakahalli. In the image the Masjid where the Imam Taj was interviewed (Masjid E Minaj) is highlighted. In this area there is both a Muslim and Hindu community. In a 10-15 minute radius from this area, there are around 15 more Masjids. The area is relatively quiet and clean compared to blocks that are very close to main roads in the city, even though there is the occasional cow eating garbage from the streets.
As is natural, people with the same cultural and religious background group together to form their own community. This meant that, at the beginning of the fieldwork, the locations of these Hindu and Muslim communities had to be identified. There were multiple options for a Muslim community: for instance, Frasier Town, Shivaji Nagar or Banashankari. The areas with predominantly Hindus were harder to find in the beginning. Frasier Town was a district that was in the north of Bangalore. Since the base of operations, Amrita University, is in the southeast of Bangalore, Frasier Town was not favoured. Shivaji Nagar is located in the centre of Bangalore and is a very crowded, and touristy neighbourhood, which did not seem optimal for the research either. Banashankari is in south Bangalore so for convenience purposes this area was chosen to research the Muslim community. After some time in the field and with the help of a local contact, it became clear that there was actually also a large Hindu community in Banashankari. In a few places in the area, the two religious communities seemed mixed: there was a main street with many Muslim and Hindu shops alternately. Figure 1: The border of Banashankari-Kumaraswamy Layout; Source: Google Maps, 2016
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5. Structures of fish consumption in Bangalore
The results from Bangalore will be organized clearly, starting off with a description of the structures of fish consumption in Bangalore: the supply lines to Bangalore, the distribution inside the city and the division of labour in this distribution. Also the observed food safety of marine fish on fishing harbours and fish markets is reported. Next chapter, the results about the belief systems and their explanation are discussed in which all the phenomena found in the field that are relevant to meat and especially fish consumption are divided into subjects. The survey results in the following chapter will then point out their actual influence in the diet of the respondents. Finally, the conclusion reflects on the results of the research and proposes some steps to optimise fish consumption in Bangalore.
5.1 The supply lines
Fish can be divided into two categories: marine fish and freshwater fish. Since the project Fish4food concentrates on the consumption of marine fish, these supply lines have been mostly identified. The joint director of the Directorate of Fisheries of Karnataka Dr. C.K. Murthy provided information about Bangalore’s supply lines, prices and fish consumption and general statistics of fish production in India. Most of the marine fish sold in Bangalore comes from Mangalore, Karnataka and Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The remaining small amount is imported from the Middle-Eastern countries. As a rule of thumb the Directorate holds that the total population of Indians on average eats 5 kg fish per person per year. If you would take the non-vegetarian population then it would go up to 9 kg per person per year. The international average is 16-17 kg. Last years’ production of fish was 10 million metric tons in India of which 1 million was exported. This means 9 million was consumed in India. Of that 9 million metric tons 15-20% went to fish meal and fish oil plants.
Of all the fish that is consumed in Bangalore, 70% is marine fish and 30% is freshwater fish. In April-May the east coast has less supply because of a 45-day ban on fishing. In June-July the west coast has a 60-day ban. This ban is done so that the fish population is given the chance to reproduce, because it is believed that this period in Summer is the breeding season. Especially the west coast ban has a very high influence on the supply and price of marine fish, because it is the largest supplier.
16 price fish of around 150-200 Rupees per kg can actually double during this monsoon period. Because of this the demand for freshwater fish spikes. The price of fish is more expensive or equal to the price of chicken and it is cheaper than mutton. That depends of course on the variety. Some fish, for instance Seer Fish, can sell for 600-700 Rupees per kg. Some low-price fish are for instance sardines and mackerel. According to Dr. Murthy this fish is still very tasty, but people just prefer meatier fish opposed to smaller fish with bones.
The ban on fishing in general is a choice made for the long-term good of fish availability. It would have been a serious problem for the consumption of fish in Bangalore, were it not for the freshwater fish production to supply the demand of fish. However, some of the respondents in this research have clearly stated their preference for marine fish over freshwater fish. Marine fish will during this ban still be available, but in less places, because it has to be imported. Consequently, this also makes the fish more expensive, threatening the economic accessibility of fish. The implications of these bans on prices and availability of marine fish should be looked at in further research.
5.2 Distribution in Bangalore
The fish is distributed in Bangalore through wholesale markets, retail shops and mobile vendors and in the rare occasion through supermarkets. There are multiple wholesale markets throughout Bangalore, but most of them are concentrated at Russell Market and KR Market, the two largest markets for many goods, varying from vegetables and meats to kitchen utensils and clothing. These are located around the centre of Bangalore. The wholesale shops auction their goods to consumers, restaurants, retailers and mobile vendors. The retailers naturally sell these at their own shops, also to consumers and restaurants, and the mobile vendors sell these from crates on the back of their bikes in neighbourhoods with high demand or where fish is not easily available. This system ensures that fish is to some extent distributed throughout Bangalore, but more research is needed to find out if every neighbourhood has sufficient availability.
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5.3 Fishing and trading
Observations at multiple markets have also shown that the multitude of fish salesmen are Muslim. From interviews there seem to be two reasons for this. First of all, apparently many of the Muslim traders in fish hail from the Beary community. The Beary (or Byari) community is one of the oldest Muslim communities in India, so old that it even dates back to the early days of Islamic history. The Bearys have settled all across the western coast of India and supposedly now still constitute most of the Muslim community in Karnataka. Traditionally, many of the Bearys were traders. The word Byari actually derives from Tulu, one of the local languages, and it simply means: ‘trade’. It seems that many of the current trading connections and family businesses in Bangalore have been established many years ago and that this majority of Muslim fish traders has been historically determined. The second reason is that in Bangalore there is supposedly a general rule that animal products from Muslims are safe to eat. This is because the Quran dictates clear rules about quality requirements and safety in consumption of especially meats. The presumption consumers have is that Muslim salesmen apply this knowledge in their occupation and therefore believe that Muslims salesmen have fish of safe quality, even though that might seem conflicting with the statements from the following section about food safety. Unfortunately, quantitative information about this belief is not available, but there seems to be a preference towards Muslim fish salesmen, which explains why there would relatively be so many. Similar to that much of the trade of fish is done by Bearys the fishing is apparently done by mostly Hindu communities, such as for instance the ‘Mogaveera’ community that live around Mangalore on the west coast of India. There are countless of these smaller communities. It cannot be stated with certainty that this division of Hindus generally being fishermen and Muslims being traders exists across all of South India, but it is the case in Karnataka.
5.4 Safety of fish
To address the food safety, the fishing harbours in Chennai, Mangalore, Udupi and Malpe (the latter two are located north of Mangalore) were visited and observed, as well as multiple wholesale and retail markets. The fishing harbours in Udupi, Mangalore and Chennai have ice plants to store fish cooled for transport. The fish is, after catch and arrival at the harbour, directly stored covered in this ice in
Styrofoam boxes and transported. The emergence of these ice plants at fishing harbours has greatly improved the range of transportation of fish. While the quality in transportation to fishing harbours seems to have been well taken care off, the quality in retail markets in Bangalore generally seems less sanitary. Russell Market, Jayanagar 4th Block Market and
Yeshwanthpur Market, these are several of the larger markets in Bangalore, where both wholesalers and retailers concentrate. On the markets, the stacked fish is uncooled and most of the time covered by flies and the streets of the market are covered in what seems to be dried up fish goo. The pungent, often rotting
18 smelling like fish. The retailers use dirty, wooden chopping boards to prepare the fish for
consumption. The waste is collected in leaking crates (which would explain the fish goo) and dumped elsewhere.
Even though these conditions are unsanitary, the fish that is delivered on the markets shows hardly any sign of deterioration. In most cases the gills of the fish were red, the fish smelled fresh, the eyes were clear and the fish felt firm to the touch: all signs of fresh fish. Also, the fish sells, so these circumstances were apparently up to safety standards of the consumers. Compared to western standards of handling food on fish markets, the Indian standards are not up to par. Even though there is an authority in India that deals with food safety, 'The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India', it does not seem to be regulated in any way. However, to combat diseases because a lack of hygiene and food waste because of a lack of cooling, that should be done.
6. Results: the cultural beliefs
Now that there is an idea of the context of fish consumption, the beliefs about food can be
introduced. There were also beliefs and restrictions in the type of fish that can be consumed, both in Islam and Hinduism.
The results about beliefs are divided into three sections: the product related and structural beliefs in fish consumption and the importance of geographical location in fish consumption. In the first section the incentives and restrictions in beliefs of product related fish consumption are discussed. These are the beliefs that revolve around the aforementioned qualities of hot and cold in food and different types of fish. Also, one subsection is dedicated to the means and preference of slaughtering animals in Hinduism and Islam. After that, the structural beliefs are described. These are the beliefs that determine the consumption of fish on a structural basis. This section consists of dietary systems in Hinduism and their significance to traditional occupations in caste. Furthermore, the relevant dates and periods of time in the Hindu and Muslim calendar are discussed. Finally, the importance of geographical origin was found to be a significant determinant in fish consumption, which is why it is explained in its own section.
6.1 Product related fish consumption
6.1.1 Hot fish
Since this hot and cold classification derived from Ayurveda, the expectation was that these beliefs were to be only apparent in Hindu culture. However, the results have shown that they are embedded in both Hindu and Muslim culture. Since literature has shown that the beliefs about the effects to the body vary per location some initial results from Chennai are compared to those of Bangalore.
Whereas some people in Chennai believed fish would make your body both hot and cold, it had for almost every respondent in Bangalore the effect of making the body hot. The exceptions believed that fish does not heat up or cool down the body at all, but none of the respondents in Bangalore believed fish has any heating qualities. For the people in Chennai the effect it has on the body varies between cooking methods. Fried or dried fish is supposed to make the body hot and a fish curry is supposed to make the body cold. Differences in preparation were not believed to have any effect in Bangalore. In response to that question most of the people in Bangalore mentioned however that the condiments used in a meal can be used to balance out the heat of the fish. Notable ingredients that make the body cold are coconut milk, buttermilk, curd and certain fruits and spices like watermelon and fenugreek. Beliefs about the effects of fish sometimes varied in Bangalore as well.
19 According to Usha, one of the respondents, all seafood increases body heat, but freshwater fish does not. It might be the case that the variation in beliefs about the effects of food to the body are determined by the person’s cultural background, which are very specific per location. To Usha and most of the rest of the respondents, hot foods are believed to be unhealthy for the body.
For the respondents in Bangalore, both the young and the old, the effects of food and fish in particular seem general knowledge. It does not, however, influence the consumption of the respondents in any way, according to the respondents themselves. This is opposite to what Taj, an Imam in one of the many Masjids in Banashankari, stated. He claimed that Muslims in general will eat more fish in the summer months of April, May and June, because other sources of protein such as mutton and chicken will be eaten less. Mutton and chicken are also believed to make the body hot, even more so than fish. Because of the hot month, people would be more prone to eating fish than other types of meat. None of the respondents seemed to fit this profile however. Dr. C.K. Murthy, the joint director of the Directorate of Fisheries actually stated that people generally eat less fish in these summer months because of the reason that fish heats up the body, but this is also not apparent from the results from the respondents.
Mohammed Shadal, one of the respondents, said that the heat from chicken gives his body heartburns and digestion problems and it prevents him from sleeping at night if he eats it at a late hour. Hot foods are supposed to activate the body and they should not be consumed when resting. There were only a few people that believed the heat is bad for health: skin rashes and digestion problems were often mentioned as consequences of these foods. Saleem, another respondent mentioned that hot foods are an aphrodisiac. He believes that it will stimulate passion. Since any subject regarding sex can be considered a taboo in South-India, other people might have this belief but choose not to mention it. Saleem considered himself a very liberal man, however. He even continued by saying that increasing passion is one of the most important reasons for eating non-veg. For Brahmins, the reason not to eat hot foods is also to stay in control of their bodies. which is why they avoid foods like garlic, onion and ginger (which are hot). This heat stimulates sexual urges, which is why they do not eat it.
6.1.2 Beliefs about types of fish and seafood
In this subsection about the differences in consumption of fish and seafood types the Muslim and Hindu beliefs are separated, because there is a clear difference between the two results. Some notice is also given to the traditions and preferences in slaughtering animals. Even though the relevance to fish consumption is small, it is still an important aspect in especially Islam.
Muslims
Halal means ‘fit for consumption’ or ‘permissible’. It means that any food that is halal is allowed to be eaten according to Islamic Sharia Law. The opposite of halal is haram, which means 'forbidden'. There are some requirements to meat for it to be halal. First, the meat cannot be from a forbidden animal. These forbidden animals are pigs and all carnivorous animals. Second, the animal has to be slaughtered correctly in the name of Allah. And third, the meat has to be free from blood, which is part of the halal slaughter. The halal slaughter is explained further on in the results.
Regarding seafood, the classification of what is halal is quite straightforward, with the exception that there is a 'gray' area, called makru. Everything that resembles the biology of a fish, meaning both its external and internal characteristics (gills and scales), is halal. According to Taj, all the seafood that is decreed as ‘’fish’’ by doctors and officials. Aquatic carnivores are always haram, like shark. Makru is
20 explained as ‘in between halal and haram’. With the current prescriptions by the Quran it is not clear in what category a certain type of animal falls, so it is unknown whether it is fit for consumption or not. Whenever the ‘makru’ types of fish came up in conversation all of the Muslim respondents mentioned that it is just best to avoid eating them. Examples of makru types of seafood are prawns and lobster. They do not resemble the biological characteristics of fish, but there is no reason to believe they are haram either.
For Taj, ‘halal’ seems to be a pragmatic term. Not just the knowledge in the Quran is used to classify foods, but also modern discoveries. For instance, nowadays chickens are bred in stifling living conditions on fattening diets with antibiotics. Taj consequently declares this particular chicken as haram to the Muslims in the Masjid, unfit for consumption. Similarly, Taj prefers eating marine fish over freshwater fish. The living conditions in aquaculture are often not healthy for the fish (fish eating their own faeces for instance), hence it is not healthy for people. He shares this knowledge with the Muslims that come to the Masjid and tells them that freshwater fish can be ‘haram’. He acquired this knowledge from a documentary on aquaculture and he states that often haram foods are synonymous to what is scientifically proven as unhealthy.
Hindus
For Hindus the consumption of type of fish supposedly varies because of their resemblance to certain deities. The two found restrictions regarding these types are based in beliefs about one of the
avatars of Vishnu, the second god in the Hindu triumvirate of Brahman, Vishnu and Shiva and Nāgas, snake goddesses. The first of the ten avatars is called Mathsya, in which Vishnu takes the form of half man/half fish. This information was acquired from Brahmins and from other respondents it seemed that only Brahmins actually made this connection between Mathsya and fish used for consumption. There is also a type of fish called Snakefish, which derives its name from a fish resembling a snake. Snakes are in multiple portrayals of Hindu gods and are also deified as Nāgas. Vishnu is for instance often depicted as resting on the Shesha, the king of all Nāgas. For this reason, some Hindus
emphatically do not eat fish or snakefish in particular. Of all the respondents, none however gave this as a reason for not consuming fish.
Slaughter in Islam and Hinduism
The halal way of slaughtering animals in Islam is called Zabihah. In this, the neck of the animal is slit so that the main blood vessels are cut and bleed out. During this process, which has to be done by a Muslim, the butcher recites blessings for Allah. The belief is that when this is done, the meat is purer and clean. Originating from the Sikhs, the way of slaughtering that is the norm for non-vegetarian Hindus is called Jhatka. Jhatka is the slaughtering of animals in which the head is removed with a single strike to minimise pain, as a consideration towards the slaughtered animal. Both these ways of slaughtering are, however, not applicable to fish, because the biology of the fish is too different from that of terrestrial animals such as goats, chickens and cows. Dr. Murthy actually explained that there is no halal for fish, because that cut in the neck that is required for halal slaughter is already present: the gills of the fish. None of the Muslims mentioned this however, not even the imam Taj or the Muslim fish salesmen.
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6.2 Structural beliefs in fish consumption
6.2.1 The three Gunas in Hinduism
This subsection explains a cultural belief rooted deeply in Hindu culture. This information is coming from the translator Vysakh, who from education has a broad understanding of Hindu culture and from Rama Venkataraman, who is Brahmin. Most of the explanations of deeper meanings of why beliefs exist generally came from Brahmins. The likely explanation for them to possess this knowledge is that Brahmins are traditionally priests and teachers.
In Hindu culture, the belief that food can heat up or cool down the body is connected to the beliefs that diet types should fit the type of labour a person does. These types of labour are in turn
connected to different castes in India. The belief is that through food a person can control the quality of his or her state of mind. There are three different Gunas, or qualities of food: Sattvic, Rajasic, and Tamasic. The meanings of these Gunas have a much broader and more significant meaning in Hindu culture, but only the aspect relevant to food consumption is explained here. Sattvic foods are plain, simple foods without many spices or fats and are generally those which can be obtained without harming either another organism or one's self. They mostly consist of vegetables, cooked or raw, fruits and rice. They typically cool down the body. Sattvic foods are for people who want to stay in control of their body. According to Rama Venkataraman, if someone eats Sattvic foods a long time his or her intelligence will increase. Contrarily, decay at the mental and intelligence level is supposed to be due to the predominance of Rajasic and Tamasic foods in a person’s diet. Rajasic foods are for growing physical strength and heating up the body. This diet typically contains meat and eggs, but also coffee, chilies and fried foods. They stimulate passion and movement. In Rajasic foods there is a difference between good Rajasic and bad Rajasic. Both stimulate activity of the body, but the difference is in the effect it has on the person’s behaviour. Eating beef and pork is bad Rajasic, because it is believed to make someone more aggressive and more prone to violent acts. The good Rajasic foods are for instance fish. Fish is believed not to influence behaviour in any way. Tamasic foods are typically the luxurious, (non-vegetarian) fattening foods, such as sweets and cakes, but also not fresh, processed foods. They have a grounding effect, stimulate laziness and have a numbing effect on the body. Rama says that these beliefs are known to every Hindu, but not everyone practises it and, unlike the beliefs about hot and cold food, this classification of diets is uniform in Hindu culture.
6.2.2 Vegetarianism in Hinduism
As mentioned, Brahmins are traditionally priests and teachers. These are jobs that rely on intellect and knowledge. For this reason, they do not need foods that stimulate physical activity such as meats, but rather easily digestible foods such as rice and potatoes. Meat causes heat and heat causes activity, which they do not need in their occupation. The Kshatriya caste (warrior caste) is supposed to eat these hot foods, because they traditionally do a lot of physical activity. Presently, it is still believed that people that perform physical labour should eat more hot foods.
In India vegetarianism is very common. Historically, because of Hindu culture, people in India were never known for eating non-vegetarian food. This diet has, however, been changing in the last decades, according to several respondents. People generally eat more meat but, in Hindu culture, there are still some groups that remain vegetarian. From caste perspective the most common vegetarians are Brahmins. Brahmins do not eat meat because they believe killing is a sin and that all life is equal. As Rama explains it: ‘’If a Deva (god) would put some humans in a room and feed them
22 until they are ripe for slaughter, we wouldn’t like it either.’’ Brahmins try to live their life as Sattva as they can so that they can move up the ladder, as it were, to a better vessel in the next life. There is no place for killing in that way of life. She mentions that Hindus generally will eat more fish closer to the coast, because it is more available, but the Brahmins will stay vegetarian. This conflicts with the statement from three Brahmin lecturers (at the City College in Banashankari) that even Brahmins eat fish in coastal regions. To the question on estimations how many of the Hindus that currently live in Bangalore are Brahmin the responses varied from 3% to 20%. The three Brahmin women finally talked about the exceptions to their vegetarianism regarding fish. They stated that if it is prescribed by a doctor for health reasons these Brahmins would be prepared to take fish oil pills, but only in severe life-threatening cases. Otherwise they avoid every other by-product of fish as much as they can as well.
Another community that is generally known to be vegetarian are the Lingayats. The people in this community are not Brahmin (which you are or are not by birth), but they do tend to live Sattvic lives. Lingayats worship Shiva as the only deity, instead of the polytheistic beliefs of Brahmins. Three of the Hindu respondents in the survey were actually Lingayat. They were shopkeepers that owned shops right next to each other. Vysakh concluded that there was probably a small Lingayat community living near those shops. The three of them were all vegetarians and they responded that it was ‘tradition’ for them not to eat non-vegetarian.
6.2.3 The Muslim and Hindu calendar
Muslims
In both the Hindu and Muslim calendar there are some periods of time in a year in which the usual diet or pattern of food consumption is interrupted. For Hindus this calendar is much more
complicated and diverse than for Muslims. For all Muslims, the only period of time in which the regular diet is interrupted is during Ramadan. Ramadan is the time of fasting during daylight hours starting in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar (somewhere in June and lasting one month). It is done to commemorate the first time the Quran was revealed to the prophet Muhammed. In this month, Muslims are required to be more diligent in their faith and not partake in any sinful behaviour such as smoking or drinking alcohol. The meal before sunrise is called suhoor and after sunrise iftar. During the day food is cooked to be eaten after the sun sets and it is enjoyed in the company of the whole family. Ramadan ends with the festival of Eid-Ul-Fitr. This festival is known for the sweet foods that are eaten to break the fast. For iftar, Muslims even abstain from eating makru seafood, but just eat halal fish. Since iftar is a special occasion, Muslims might consume fish more often during Ramadan, for many respondents consider fish a delicacy that is eaten on Sundays or on celebrations. From the data from the respondents there is, however, no particular indication that this is the case.
Hindus
The Hindu calendar is more complicated however. As is discussed, vegetarianism is for many Hindus considered the most desired method of eating, because it contributes to self-control and physical well-being. It seems that non-vegetarians are in some periods of time persuaded to eat only vegetarian meals: on auspicious or religious occasions. In South India many people follow the tradition of worshipping Ayappa. Similar to Ramadan, this time of worship also concerns a period of fasting. This mandala is a period of 40, 41 or even 48 days (respondents mentioned various amounts of days) in which Hindus eat only vegetarian food and as simple (Sattvic) as possible to cleanse
23 themselves. Ayappa the virgin god is the son of Vishnu and Shiva and it is the goal during this festival to become as pure as Ayappa. The worshipping of this god is most popular in South-India because the temple Sabarimala is located in Kerala. During this fasting time people have to live ‘like a hermit’: they can’t consume non-vegetarian food or alcohol and they have to sleep on the floor, wash
themselves with cold water twice per day and walk barefoot. Also, people wear black, orange or blue clothes. Supposedly they get ‘promoted’ from black to orange to blue after 8 years consecutively. People who have done this period of fasting during the whole mandala are not required to do so every year (only for three days), but some still do it.
Shrawana is a month in the Hindu calendar that starts in July and ends in August. Since many
ceremonies and celebrations for multiple deities fall in this period, it is considered the holiest month of the Hindu calendar and every day is considered prosperous. It is dedicated especially to the worshipping of Lord Shiva, but there are also ceremonies for other deities. Devotees bring more or offerings of flowers and prayers this month because that is considered auspicious for a long and healthy life. Additionally, there are some other days in this month which carry a certain importance. Every Monday during this month, it is considered auspicious to fast from sunrise to sunset. Generally, the Hindus that participate in the activities during this month are devoted to Shiva and are all
vegetarian. In Hinduism the consumption of non-vegetarian food often depends of the gods that are worshipped. Generally, the Brahman Shivites (worshippers of Shiva) do not eat non-vegetarian, but the rest of the Shivites do. Of the Vaishnavites (worshippers of Vishnu) people generally do not eat non-vegetarian, even people who are not Brahmin. Vysakh said that generally, Hindus will not know this classification, but Brahmins will, as will people who study Hinduism. The most influential structural abstinence of non-vegetarian food is on a weekly basis. It depends on the gods that are worshipped, but generally Monday, Thursday and/or Saturday (or a combination of two days) no non-vegetarian food is eaten, because it is considered inauspicious. Some of the Hindu respondents mentioned that for them, they still abstain from eating non-vegetarian food on some of these days because it is a tradition, more so than because of religion. Puneeth, an assistant lecturer at City College, abstains from eating non-vegetarian for two days in the week like many Hindus do. However, he does not do this out of consideration for his religion. Rather, he does it because it is a tradition; he does not mind it and has in rare cases even eaten non-vegetarian food on these days.
6.3 The significance of geographical location
This section explains some of the influences of geographical location on the daily fish consumption and the general beliefs people have in Bangalore. People have migrated to Bangalore from various Indian states, bringing with them their traditions, beliefs and habits, which are heavily influenced by the state's location: whether the state has a large coastline or not. What is recorded about these states other than Karnataka during the research is discussed here, but there are probably many more beliefs and habits from various states.
After some exploratory research before the actually data collection for this research began, it already turned out that one of the largest determinants of fish consumption for individuals is their
geographical origin. When asking about fish consumption, many (vegetarian) respondents referred to certain communities in Bangalore, because those people would consume much more fish than they do. The respondents mostly referred to communities from Kerala and Bengal: coastal regions. Coastal areas are more prone to having fish available then inland areas and for a community with a high availability of fish, the consumption of fish is logically high. Fish seems more integrated into the lifestyle of these communities: in their diet, source of income and even religion. Where generally in temples in India only Sattvic foods are offered to the gods, there are places in Kerala where that is
