What Happened to Seri Sweets? Dietary Transition through Culinary Acculturation

Abstract

During the decades of 1960–1980, Richard S. Felger and Mary B. Moser researched the botanical knowledge of the Seris (Comcaac), a hunter-gatherer and fishing people living in the arid desert of northwestern Mexico. They recorded and published an extensive body of species-specific data so rich in biological and ethnographic detail that it is possible to reconstruct a quickly eroding, annual dietary cycle; such a comprehensive account is a precious resource to study transitions in the community diet. In this article, we focus on Seri sweets and sweeteners, represented by 16 fruits, four agave species, one perennial halophyte, pollen paste (beebread), and honey. We rely on archival research to explore various data sources, situating ethnobiological questions in a socio-historical context to provide information on the spatial distribution of resources and the community's livelihood, which can be correlated with specific political zeitgeist. We examine how the swift integration of the Seri society into the state-mediated market in the early-mid twentieth century introduced greater use of exogenous sweeteners and displaced local food items, resulting in culinary acculturation that affected the community's health and well-being. Through understanding the process, we aim to present local foods in ways that are comprehensible to younger Seris in order to foster efforts toward food sovereignty in their community.

Dyslipidemia, Obesity, and Ethnicity in Mexican Children

“…There is no straightforward explanation for why the AUC-ROCs outperform in Seris compared to the rest of the groups, but probably, the answer lies in a mixture of genetics, dietary patterns, and lifestyle. The Seri group is an isolated hunter-gatherer and fishing community in the desert of northwestern Mexico [ 31 ], with different Amerindian ancestry from the rest of the groups [ 10 , 11 ]. Seafood is an important part of the Seri diet [ 32 ].…”

“…NM-Yaqui, NM-Seris, and CM-Puebla children have more than five times the risk of high TC (OR = 5.31), low HDL (OR = 5.11), and dyslipidemia (OR = 5.68), respectively, with the presence of OB ( Table 4 ). This suggests that the transition to Westernization has caused the typical health problems of the Western world, but in Mexico, lipid disorders differ in their emergence among ethnic groups [ 31 , 36 , 37 ].…”

Sweetness and Loss: An Urgent Call for Affiliative Modes of Living

“…The flush of sweet sap in the early spring, the dried balsamroot in the fall, the glistening lerps in the dry season, and the hunger of the hive in the fall are all visceral shows of timing, haste, and urgency stemming from undeniable worth. In Mexico, the cyclic nature of fruit ripening is inscribed in the lunar calendar of the Seris, a reminder of a yearly celebration of sweet gifts from an arid land (Narchi et al 2020). Reading-off on these tender and intricate dynamics, what exactly might people today and yesterday have come to know about value?…”