Studying the preparation of Banana Lumpia in Filipino Culture
From what I’ve learned in previous classes, food is a great way to experience a culture, so for this assignment I have decided to prepare an ethnographic report on the study of the preparation of a Filipino dish called banana lumpia. Also known as Turon, this dish is eaten as a dessert and resembles a spring roll with a banana wrapped up in it.
My informants for this study would include my friend Wealth and her sister Maxyne. Maxyne was preparing banana lumpia for a party she was having later that evening and Wealth and I agreed to help her. From this, I was able to establish rapport. The activity took place in Maxyne’s kitchen. It was an ordinary American kitchen that included a refrigerator, stove, cabinets, and shelves. It also included the dining area, which is where I observed and made banana lumpia.
Maxyne had bought the ingredients for the dish earlier that day. The ingredients looked fairly simple in that it only included bananas, brown sugar, and lumpia wrappers. The wrappers were bought at an Asian grocery store called Uwajimaya, and were similar to what their mother would use. It was in a red box and read “Original Lumpia Wrappers” by a brand named Simex. The other ingredients were bought at a local grocery store. She laid down all the ingredients on the table and brought some plates over from the kitchen. Wealth was sitting at the end of the table, waiting to begin making the lumpia. Maxyne had given Wealth instructions on what she was going to do. It seemed as though they both would have specific jobs when it came to making the lumpia. Maxyne would open and slice the bananas lengthwise with a small knife and set them on a plate. Wealth would coat the cut bananas with brown sugar, which had been poured onto a separate plate prior. She then placed the coated banana on an individual lumpia wrapper and began folding the wrapper around the banana. As I watched her fold the banana I noticed that it was folded in a certain way. She would place the coated banana at the edge of the round lumpia wrapper and bring that edge over the banana. She would then fold both sides of the wrapper that were closest to the ends of the banana and folded it over, making a rectangular shape. Afterwards, she would continue to roll the banana down the end of the wrapper. As I watched them make the lumpia harmoniously, I paid close attention to their hands. They did not use any type of utensil to aid in their preparation. Everything that they did was with their hands. After everything had been cut, coated, and folded, Maxyne turned on the stove top that had a frying pan with oil on it. After the oil was hot, she began frying the lumpia, and within a few minutes you could smell the sweetness of the banana and sugar frying in the air.
They did this activity for about half an hour. The television was on in the living room that acted as background noise as they continued with their work. America’s Got Talent was on TV, which they talked about while making the lumpia. They also talked about many other topics that included school, Maxyne’s job and husband, their family, and so on. From watching them, I could tell that they had a very close relationship. There were numerous times I would hear them laughing about a memory from the past and the jokes that Wealth would tell. From this, I feel that this activity helps bring people together. I can remember Wealth saying, “I miss hanging out with you” to Maxyne. Not only did this activity bring them together, but it also helped strengthen their relationship. Being that they are both busy with their lives, taking time off and making lumpia together brings them to a state of nostalgia. Phone calls and Maxyne’s husband had interrupted the activity, but it did not hinder their conversations.
When participating in the activity I noticed that I was included in their conversations. In addition, I learned how to fold the banana lumpia properly, which was completely new to me. I began asking them informal questions about what they liked most about making banana lumpia, and they both responded with that it reminds them of home and their culture. They talked about how they missed their mom’s cooking and being surrounded by their family. Although Wealth and Maxyne were family, they yearned to be with their entire family. In addition, they emphasized that banana lumpia was made only for special occasions, like the party they were having tonight. At times, I would think about how hard it must have been to have come from Hawaii and suddenly be living in Washington, where everything is different. Maxyne and Wealth had been living in Washington for about 3 years now and it seems that they still miss home and their family. I feel that they both are still in their reconnection phase of culture shock and are using their culture (ex. making banana lumpia) as a way of coping and connecting to their family.
Taking everything into account in my observations, I have concluded that in Wealth and Maxyne’s Filipino culture, making food with your hands is second nature. Knowing that Philippines is a third world country where people don’t have access to basic utensils like forks and spoons, like we do in America, using your hands is how you would prepare your food. Also, food is very important in bringing people together. The fact that this dish is only made on special occasions means that it is of importance. It is a staple dish found at every party, but I am not very sure where the importance originated.
As I shared my findings with Wealth and Maxyne, we found that the etic and emic view of the activity were quite similar. We all agreed that making food in their culture connects people. I could tell from their interactions together and their facial expressions how this activity affected them. I observed that they smiled and laughed during this activity, which I understood as being happy. In conclusion, this activity was one that makes people happy.
When discerning the differences between observing and participating, I noticed a few things. I now understand why I paid close attention to the informant’s hands when observing them. I had an ethnocentric reaction, to which I found using your bare hands to make a dessert quite weird. Coming from a culture where desserts are made with the help of mixers and other baking tools, I felt that making the lumpia entirely by hand felt foreign. As I continued making the lumpia, I began to understand that there is no need for baking tools when making this dessert. It is much more proficient to use your bare hands. The task of making the dessert was simple, you cut the banana, coat it, and the fold it into a wrapper. This act is an example of how much simpler life in the Philippines is. There is no need for excessive materials. The indigenous people of the Philippines have learned to adapt to their surroundings and were able to make a life out of what they were given. Being able to participate in the activity has given me insight about how the informants might feel while doing the activity in concurrent with the differences I felt when observing versus participating. As mentioned previously, I observed many laughs and smiles during the activity suggesting that this activity creates happiness. When participating in the activity I was also happy, not because of the activity itself but the people that surrounded me. This was of great importance because being able to participate in the activity has corrected my interpretation of my observation. It was not the activity that made people happy, but the people. In addition, the informants were very open with me when I was observing and participating. I feel that some of that openness must have been a result from the rapport I’ve established prior and the fact that I was helping out.
Observing the activity can only give you so much information. For example, it shows you what people are feeling, how they interact, and what they are doing, which all seem to be very factual. However, it does not help with the overall understanding of the activity since observations are focused. It is when you participate you better understand why they do the things they do. We interpret our observations through participation, though the information becomes more subjective. In addition, participation and talking helps verify interpretations made by your observations. There may be pros and cons to both observation and participation, individually. But when you are able to use them together, you are able to get the best interpretation and understanding of the activity and what it means to the culture.
Overall, making banana lumpia is an important example that shows how Filipinos connect with one another and how they were able to adapt. Being able to understand a portion of Filipino culture through observation and participation helped me understand how others interact from a different point of view. It will ultimately shape how I see the world around me.