Food, work and sensuous materiality: Immigrant Muslim women living in Fordsburg, Johannesburg

abstract

In this article food and food practices are used as a lens to access the narratives of identity constructed by immigrant Muslim women living in Fordsburg, Johannesburg, an urban space renowned for its many eating places and street food culture. Fordsburg, affectionately known as ‘Foodsburg’ to locals, has played host to diverse communities in its history who have left their influence in numerous ways. The reciprocal impact of person on place and place on person is highlighted through this purposeful selection of Fordsburg as a geographic site of enquiry. Sensory experiences were shared by participants, both positive – the smells of familiar food, the sights of familiar ingredients, the sounds of home language, and negative − the lack of taste and texture in some ingredients, among others. The research collected a number of narratives that weave together everyday practices of food and culture, including purchasing, preparation and consumption across time and place. The voices of the participants highlight the sensuous relationship to food of immigrant women in re-making home in Fordsburg and through re-membering the places that resonate with belonging.

keywords:

• food practices
• immigrant women
• narrative
• place identity
• sensuous materiality

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Safiya Bobat

SAFIYA BOBAT is a PhD candidate in the school of Psychology at the University of the Witwatersrand. She is an educational psychologist working in NGO contexts in Johannesburg and is a trainee group analyst. Her interests are in migration with a focus on women and families, identity theory, narrative theory, critical feminist theory, intergenerational trauma and group analysis. Email: [email protected]