Omohundro - Evolution of a Tradition (1)

I have never been to or have ever really learned too much about Newfoundland, so any knowledge I have has been gained by reading this article. After reading this article I feel that I now have a better grasp on how some of the traditions in Newfoundland came to be. I had never really thought about how certain foods end up being ‘the staple’ food in certain parts of the country. It hadn’t occurred to me that it was just people trying to hold on to their traditions. Which is very much what was happening with the settlers who arrived in Newfoundland. I took this article has how traditions evolve from their ‘original’ location to how they adapt when placed somewhere ‘foreign’.

I found it interesting that though the settlers were traveling to this new land that they weren’t ready to accept that maybe the traditions they had back ‘home’ weren’t going to suite the conditions of Newfoundland. Like the seeds they brought over with them, that wouldn’t have survived the conditions without the new innovative skills the settlers seem to have in horticulture. I thought the idea of the lazy beds were a really unique idea. Having the soil dug up and piled on top of the ground not only allowed for ‘root vegetables’ but also would have kept the natural minerals of the soil contained for only the seeds to feed off of, instead of having trees and plants taking them away from the food. Or how instead of being able to use ‘man-made’ fertilizers they used fish and seaweed as natural fertilizers. Which just shows another way their new lifestyle impacted their ‘original’ traditions.

Omohundio mentioned that the settlers suffered devolution. Which I think depends on what point of view the article itself is taken. Going by the lifestyle and traditions from the settlers ‘home country’ I can see how Omohundio might perceive the settlers adaptations of their traditions as devolution. The conditions of Newfoundland forced the settlers to break from their ‘original’ traditions and shift them in a way the land would allow, moving a little bit away from what was the tradition to what is now the tradition. Allowing the settlers to adapt and integrate their ‘new’ lifestyle into these changed traditions. In that aspect I can kind of picture what Omohundio would take as devolution.

However, nothing ever stays quite the same and there is always some sort of adaptation to every tradition no matter where one performs the tradition. The settlers adapting to the new conditions and limitations the land provided is what has brought Newfoundland where it is today in the aspect of cuisine. And it is still continuously changing, allowing the traditions to evolve with the culture of Newfoundland.

Omohundro - The Evolution of a Tradition

The basis of this article by Omohundro is how traditions change. He focused on the early Irish settlers of Newfoundland, and how they adapted their European traditions to a place that was not as advanced.

The foundation of this article is not something that is unique to early settlers. It is something that happens on a regular basis; people moving from an advanced situation to a primitive one. It occurs when a student moves away from mom and her well stocked fridge and into an apartment with possibly only condiments on the shelves. It happens when someone moves to a different country and can no longer find the foods they're used to at their local grocer. The people who find themselves in these situations simply adapt to their surroundings, substituting ingredients and preparation methods to suit the circumstances, Omohundro refers to this process as "devolution," I don't necessarily agree with this process being a step backwards, in the case of the Irish settlers, the student and the traveler, that all left their advanced traditions to pursue the next steps in their lives. In all the cases exhibited the subjects did not have the resources to carry out the advanced traditions, they did not lack the knowledge. They adapted to their new environment and did their best to keep their traditions alive.