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A Study of Food, Family & Nation Among the Garifuna of Honduras

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A Study of Food, Family & Nation Among the Garifuna of Honduras © COPYRIGHT by Kia M. Q. Hall 2014 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED for those who came before me laid the foundation paid the tolls created the path grandma gertie lou & grandpa george, papa, granny for those who crossed over during this journey you are missed i carry on with your spirit guiding me dad, aunt grace, four hundred, brother with love BAKING EREBA, EXPANDING CAPABILITIES: A STUDY OF FOOD, FAMILY & NATION AMONG THE GARIFUNA OF HONDURAS BY Kia M. Q. Hall ABSTRACT My dissertation examines the ways in which the poor and rural women of the matrifocal Garifuna community of Honduras are using the culinary tradition of making cassava bread (or ereba in the Garifuna language) to advance community development. I thus respond to the following research questions: How are Honduras’ ereba makers engaging in grassroots development? What concepts can be best used to understand and describe the ereba makers’ engagement in development work? Building upon the capability approaches to development, which evaluate development in terms of the opportunities individuals have to be and do what they value, this dissertation focuses on the agency and opportunities of rural villagers. Guided by a Black feminist epistemology that seeks to capture voices that have been excluded and/or marginalized in mainstream Western discourse, and specifically in international relations (IR) and international development (ID), this dissertation proposes a transnational Black feminist (TBF) framework as an alternative to the race- and class-biased models of IR. Further, a multi-level capabilities approach that parallels the TBF framework is introduced. The multi-level capabilities approach extends capabilities beyond individuals to analyze families, nations, states and social movements. The TBF framework and multi-level capabilities approach are suggested as tools to develop intersectional analyses in the fields of IR and ID, respectively. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Research and fieldwork funding for this dissertation have been provided by several fellowships from American University’s School of International Service (SIS). I received funding from the SIS Dean’s Fellowship during academic years 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011 and 2012-2013. I also received a summer fellowship from SIS during the summer of 2013. Dissertation writing during the Fall 2013 semester was supported by a fellowship from American University’s Vice Provost for Research and Graduate Studies. I received a U.S. Student Fulbright research grant, during which I conducted fieldwork from October 2011 to August 2012. My dissertation committee, chaired by Dr. Christine B. N. Chin, has been extremely supportive throughout the entire research process. In particular, Dr. Chin has acted as mentor, guiding me to produce ever more rigorous scholarship and helping me to envision a space for myself in the academic landscape. Dr. Chin, thank you for believing in my ability and for nurturing the scholar-activist in me. Also on my dissertation committee, Dr. Skalli-Hanna has pushed me to let my voice be heard, even as I engage intellectual heavyweights. Dr. Rachel Watkins and Dr. Consuelo Hernandez have also provided much-needed support through challenging times in the field and in life during this period. Ph.D. Director Sharon Weiner has been incredibly supportive of both my research and community engagement endeavors. Office of Merit Awards Director Paula Warrick guided me through the Fulbright application process, and has remained a supporter of my efforts to obtain funding for the research that means so much to me. Dr. James Johnson (University of Rochester), who I only met during the summer of 2013, has been incredibly supportive, providing significant guidance and pointing me towards the “collectivist” thinkers of rational choice theory; were it not for his influence, chapter 4 of this dissertation would not exist. I must also acknowledge a circle of women who have supported one another throughout the dissertation writing process. Many of us initially met through SisterMentors, a dissertation support group for women of color. Michelle Coghill Chatman, Monica Wells-Kisura, Dora Odour and Fanta Aw are just a few of the women who have been part of this critical circle of support. Abigail Duchatelier-Jeudy has been my most consistent study partner throughout the years. We have done joint writing retreats, attended conferences together, and pushed each other beyond what at times seemed insurmountable odds. Within iii SIS, my cohort as well as other fellow Ph.D. students, have helped each other through this process. In particular, Ghazala Jalil, Sheherazade Jafari, Sharon Rogers, Sharyn Routh, and Neslihan Kaptanoglu have helped me through difficult moments in the process. In addition to my current circle of academic support, I have been fortunate to have a long string of supportive teachers and professors. In particular, I want to thank Lottie Thomas (from School Without Walls high school) and Joseph Woolfson (from Sarah Lawrence College). My mother (P. Quick Hall) is the reason for all of this. She has single-handedly breathed into my spirit the belief that I can do anything, go anywhere, be anyone. My mother looks at me and sees a limitless world of possibilities. When I consider all that she has invested in me, I understand the power of love. Others members of my family have nurtured my growth, including my grandmother Beulah Quick, godparents Janice K. Smith and Roland L. Freeman, Aunt Gail and family friend L. Theresa Manning. Longtime friends Jessica Cunningham and Maori Holmes have helped keep me grounded and connected to things outside academic life. The African dance community, including Michelle Jacobs, Marie Basse- Wiles, Sadio Rosche, Joyce Pegues and Bakara, has supported me in dancing away the stress of seemingly endless drafts and revisions. In addition to my dance family, I want to thank the Quaker and Unitarian Universalist faith communities for always providing constant reminders of the big picture of social justice, of which this dissertation is only a small part. There are too many cousins, neighbors, and loved ones to name, so I want to simply thank the village. Hi, Billy. Last, but not least, I have to thank the Garifuna community of Honduras. Dr. Santiago Ruiz helped me establish contacts in his hometown village and provided useful political context for navigating fieldwork. Lilia “Neela” Ruiz Alvarez and family were my family in the village. I cannot thank Neela enough for welcoming me into her home and community. As in the United States, the village extended beyond my primary family. Atanasia “Vita” Melendez Giavara, Doris Avila and Delosia “Nellie” Mejia Nuñez all provided motherly advice and care during my time in the villages. In the city of Porvenir, Lina Hortensia Martinez opened her home and business to me and taught me about the commercial side of the cassava industry. She continues to be a friend and ally, always exploring ways to improve the lives of her native Garifuna community. I want to thank the ereba makers of the Iriona region of Honduras, where I conducted my research. I hope that I have done your stories some justice in this rendering. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................................. iii LIST OF FIGUES ......................................................................................................................................... vi CHAPTER 1 SITUATING THE RESEARCH .................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER 2 A TRANSNATIONAL BLACK FEMINIST APPROACH ........................................... 16 CHAPTER 3 GARIFUNA DEVELOPMENT IN LATIN AMERICAN HISTORICAL CONTEXT ...................................................................................................................................... 48 CHAPTER 4 DEVELOPMENT CAPABILITIES: SHIFTING FOCUS TO PLURAL SUBJECT AGENTS ....................................................................................................................... 97 CHAPTER 5 EREBA PRODUCTION: GARIFUNA FAMILIES EXPANDING JOINT CAPABILITIES ............................................................................................................................. 126 CHAPTER 6 GARIFUNA NATION, HONDURAN STATE: DISSECTING RACE AND GENDER IN THE NATION-STATE ............................................................................................. 159 CHAPTER 7 MASCULINIZATION OF EREBA PRODUCTION: CONVERTING WOMEN’S WORK INTO MEN’S CAPABILITIES ........................................................................ 185 CHAPTER 8 INTRODUCING THE MULTI-LEVEL CAPABILITIES APPROACH ...................... 215 CHAPTER 9 BEYOND LISTS: SUGGESTIONS FOR TRANSNATIONAL FEMINIST SOLIDARITY ................................................................................................................................ 237 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................................... 268 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure Author Attempting to Bake Ereba (December 22, 2011) .............................................................................. 1 Map of Garifuna Villages ..............................................................................................................................
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