From Segregation to Integration: Tracing the legacy of Food Acculturation in Parayipetta Panthirukulam

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-583-6_26How to use a DOI?

Keywords

food; culture; society; hierarchy; tradition

Abstract

Human evolution is inextricably linked to the evolution of food, with culinary practices shaped by the available flora, fauna, and socio-economic conditions of different communities. In Kerala, settled within the luxuriant Western Ghats, the abundance of natural resources has given rise to a diverse and distinctive food culture. Much of this culinary heritage is preserved and transferred through oral traditions, often intertwined with rituals, customs, and religious beliefs. Parayipetta Panthirukulam, a renowned oral narrative particularly prevalent in northern Kerala, serves as a rich source of such cultural expressions. The tale reflects Kerala’s food practices, deeply embedded within caste hierarchies and religious codes. Simultaneously it also depicts an inclusive approach that embraces both vegetarian and non-vegetarian diets. This study examines how the rigid, hierarchical food order historically constructed within the region is reimagined and contested in the narrative space of oral traditions. Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of habitus and cultural capital, the analysis situates food practices within the framework of society. The reading also highlights the subversive potential of oral literature to disrupt deep-rooted norms. By bringing in Bhaktin’s carnivalization, the study reveals how narratives like Parayi Petta Panthirukulam also act as cultural mediators, which diminishes the social margins in Kerala’s culinary identity.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - P. Reshmi Ravindran
AU  - Anupama Murali
AU  - N. R. Swapna
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/30
TI  - From Segregation to Integration: Tracing the legacy of Food Acculturation in Parayipetta Panthirukulam
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Emerging Food Studies: Intersections of Culture, Science and Sustainability (ICEFS 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 276
EP  - 283
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-583-6_26
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-583-6_26
ID  - Ravindran2026
ER  -