La colada morada: antropología de la culinaria ritual ecuatoriana

Abstract

Th e dead´s ritual homage comprises three ritual cycles: fi rst, the funeral rites involving farewell, prepared with death and burial; the second is the maintenance of diverse symbols of pain, in which relatives or deudos hold signs of grief for his permanent absence; and the third is the celebration of Día de Difuntos which means their reintegration into the world of the living like a reminiscence of its intangible presence or his memory. Th e culinary rite of Día de Difuntos is a banquet or ritual treat consisting of a drink known as colada morada that is consumed with breads of anthropo and zoomorphic fi gures. Colada and bread assume various forms in their preparation, as well as diff erent table habits or modes of consumption. Several rituals are organized for that day: in the liturgy, misa, and in the fi eld of religious traditions, visits to the tombs, prayers, responsos, invocations of animeros, holding ritual banquets, processions of angels beggars and games. Th ey are theatrical performances staged as mitigating resources of the irreducible opposition life/death. Th is article is dedicated to the description and analysis of the ideological, symbolic and social implications of the ritual culinary, the colada morada.