SEVEN CURRY, UNITY, AND BROTHERHOOD

 SEVEN CURRY, UNITY, AND BROTHERHOOD- VOICE OF THE VILLAGE.

Harry Bissoon 08/02/2021

There are some things that you could never get rid of because they have intrinsically become an integral part of your culture, etching themselves on your psyche, with deep rooted influences from your culture and traditions. Guyanese SEVEN CURRY is one of these things! Served with rice, roti, or puri, and mango achar, it's a mouth watering experience, with significant social ramifications. 

It is an Indo - Guyanese delicacy! It's an essential component of Indian vegetarian functions, especially at weddings. Served hot in the Lotus leaf, it is a gastronomic encounter of mouth watering proportions! 

An Indian wedding in the village was an event that took on a life of its own. It required several months of preparations that culminated in frenzied, uninhibited celebrations that touched not only the bride and groom but their relatives, friends, neighbors, colleagues, classmates, even the postman! In essence, the whole village was invited, even if you were a relative, or not.

SEVEN CURRY was symbolic in its message of unity. It was, in essence, unity manifested!  It brought all and sundry to sit together and partake in a spicy meal that left you filled, yet still not satisfied, craving for more. The village got together, regardless of race, color, creed, or status. It was a moment in time when all became one, suffused in the glory of food and brotherhood. 

The village buzzed openly with talk of the wedding day, long before the actual ceremony. Uninhibited anticipation filled the air, and simmered with unbridled excitement amongst the villagers who all became brothers and sisters, drawn together by a wedding in the village.

SEVEN CURRY could be likened, literally, to the social and ethnic composition of the village, with people of different color, creed, culture, and disposition. It was a carefully crafted combination of vegetables and spices, and, for reasons which may be traditional and maybe spiritual, there had to be seven vegetables, culled into an aromatic dish. Sometimes it is more, or less, depending on availability, but the parents of the bride and groom diligently ensured that they procured these seven items. Cost at this time was not a factor. It was a matter of status, fulfillment, and tradition. Generally, it was pumpkin, katahar, bhagie/callaloo, aloo/potato, channa/chick peas, daal/ yellow split peas, and bigan/egg plant, or, any other combination of vegetables. 

After the procurement of these food items, came the equalizing factor in the equation of seven curry unity - the use of the lotus leaf as the utensil in which the curry was served. Tradition, economies of scale, and  

labor intensive concerns, could have been determining factors in the use of the leaf; to feed one hundred people, and more, was no easy task! And it was environmentally friendly, inviting all to enjoy the delicious vegetarian dish in a leaf - a lotus leaf that grew out of the mud in a nearby canal, or swamp, and rose above the waters in a celebration of splendor and unison.