Adopted Consumption and Transformation

Two things stuck out to me while reading Sacred Gifts, Profane Pleasures in terms of themes we have encountered in previous assigned readings for the class. The first was in relation to the use of customs or knowledge from an indigenous people being either utilized or exploited (or both) by a colonizing power. We see throughout this book that Europeans adopt the customs of the indigenous uses of both chocolate and tobacco. Whether it be that the commodity is used in relation to religious or spiritual significance (or avoided at certain times because of this) or consumed for the purpose of appearances and social status, the European community espouse the means and ways of consumption the same as those who originally developed them. This obviously gives agency to the indigenous peoples, at least according to Norton, despite it being a fact that has been forgotten, manipulated, or modified for the popular historical narrative of the Western powers rise to prominence. This same idea is seen in a related way in Carney’s Black Rice, where the African laborer/slave utilize their traditional customs for growing rice and it is adopted and utilized by the planters in the Americas.

The second trait that I followed harkens back to Appadurai’s idea regarding the transformation of commodities to adapt to different markets and circumstances. In fact Norton even has a subsection dedicated to “Transformation” starting on page 262. The transformations of the way chocolate and tobacco were viewed from a societal aspect and how it was physically consumed was an adaptation by the European market to make the commodities a more attractive product to masses. This transformation of the same basic commodity allowed for chocolate and tobacco to continue on in their popularity despite changing markets and consumers. Obviously, at least in my mind, the addictive qualities of both commodities help to sustain their commodities, however the adaptation and transformation through generations to develop the commodity into something that a wide audience can easily access and can consume is also key.