Sināti Bhūtāni: A Cross Cultural Study of Bondages Emerging from Food Sharing

Abstract

Nighaṇṭu, an oldest lexicon records as many as twenty-eight alternatives for word anna meaning food (annanāmāni, Nigh. 2.7). While literal analysis of some of the words show direct or fetched affiliation to the meaning food, other words such as yaśas, śravas etc., meaning success; or irā, il̥ā meaning praises. Lexical analysis of such words provide an insight into how ‘anna’ i.e. food was perceived in ancient Indian cultural settings. On one hand, food was identified as providing nourishment to the material body and on the other hand, it was considered as a commodity – a means – to achieve certain goals. Thus, linguistic analysis of those twenty-eight lexemes each time leads to a different, previously unnoticed nuances attached to the concept of ‘food’. Sina is one such word listed under the synonyms of food and literally conveys meanings such as ‘reward’, ‘a binder (i.e. bandhaka)’, ‘fee/salary’ etc. This aspect of can traced in societal practises even today: through official refreshments, after-success parties, formal gatherings, food is distributed as a token of gratitude, as a reward against hard work, and eventually creates a sense of ‘getting bound’ towards an institute, community, ethnicity, or individual. Thus, the paper aims at studying textual evidences of this aspect of food across Hindu, Buddhist, Jaina, Christian, and Islamic cultures.