The Magical Herstory of Food

photo from the "About" page of Gather Victoria



I stumbled upon this website/blog and found it so interesting!

 https://gathervictoria.com/who-is-gather/


Here are excerpts from  one entry:

RECLAIMING THE MAGICAL HERSTORY OF FOOD

author:       Danielle Prohom Olson

As is so often the case with history, the “herstory” tends to get left out – and food is no exception. While there are as many books on food history as leaves on a tree, try to find just ONE celebrating “the herstory of food”. I still haven’t. Which is odd considering from our earliest days as hunter-gatherers to the first domestication of plants, it was women who stoked the first hearths, stirred the first pots, brewed the first beer, and baked the first bread. 

 The current “history” of food tells us none of this. Why does this matter? Well, what’s been rendered invisible is the story of our earliest relationship with food and the natural world – the vast swath of “herstory” which kindled our transformation into humans.

...Cooking is a living tradition connecting us back to our grandmothers, great grandmothers and lineage of our female ancestors. And ever since we gathered the first plants and cooked over hot stones, we’ve woven prayers and magic into the food we create. And it’s one reason why, in this time of ecological and food crisis, I believe reclaiming the herstory of food can go a long ways towards healing our fractured relationship with the planet, with food – and maybe even our bodies as well.

...Long, long ago, before food was bought and sold for profit, no act of food production, from harvesting, growing, preparing, preserving, storing, cooking, baking, was left unblessed by women’s prayers, rituals and devotions. And for most of human history, nearly every domestic activity from making pots to planting seeds to baking bread was ritual “hearth craft”. And to put it very simply, women’s food magic had one central purpose, to honour and nourish the great mother of all – who in turn nourished them.

...Womens role in early food economies granted them not just autonomy but authority.  They were at the centre of what is often referred to as “gift-giving” societies meaning no one had to “pay” to eat. Because long before food became a commodity it was a sacred gift of the earth, who as a mother fed all her children equally, no matter their class, status, or gender.  And she gave freely to all of her forests, fields, rivers and oceans. 

I  am a baker of bread and cookies, primarily, but also simply someone who loves to cook.  So you can see why I like this blog.