Sensing the Unwritten: Latvian Family Food Rituals and Sensory Ethnography

Description

Participant observation, a cornerstone of anthropological inquiry, gains new dimensions through the integration of sensory methods, offering novel pathways to explore unwritten, embodied practices. Family food rituals–encompassing grocery shopping, preparation, and shared meals–reflect values, identities, and relationships shaped by ecological, cultural, and economic factors. These sensory interactions, grounded in taste, smell, texture, and sound, create embodied narratives that adapt to shifting contexts and intergenerational dynamics. Combining in-depth interviews, participant observations, and sensory ethnography, this research examines how food practices are woven into everyday life. Observations of meal preparation and consumption in rural and urban Latvian households reveal how sensory processes influence decisions and routines, from ingredient selection to cooking methods and table rituals. These unwritten traditions are revealed as both deliberate and habitual, functioning as mechanisms for maintaining harmony, fostering relationships, and preserving cultural identity within families. This paper contributes to the evolving toolkit of anthropology, advocating for a reflexive balance between traditional methods and sensory innovations. It underscores the potential of sensory ethnography to deepen our understanding of multi-dimensional family dynamics and to foster methodologies that resonate beyond textual representation, challenging the primacy of written outputs in the discipline.

Period	16 Jun 2025
Event title	Finnish Anthropological Society Biennial Conference: Comparisons
Event type	Conference
Location	Helsinki, FinlandShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International