The 20th annual Symposium will be held on Thursday, April 23, 2009.

The Role of the Consumption of Yerba Maté in the Construction and Expression of Argentine National Identity
Norris 104, 3:00 PM

Emily  Knoppe,   '09 72
   Majors: Anthropology, Transamerican Latino/a Studies
   Hometown: Birmingham, MI

Sponsor(s): Julia Medina
Support:  

Abstract: 
In this presentation I intend to explain how Yerba Maté, a South American tea-like beverage, has emerged as a unifying and romantic symbol of Argentine national identity and equality through its historical production and egalitarian consumption processes. Yerba Maté also known as Ilex paraguayensis, was first cultivated, prepared and consumed communally amongst indigenous Guaraní people and today it continues to be prepared and consumed communally in almost every home, park, plaza, office and university in Argentina. Associated with the shared consumption of Yerba Maté are a set of rules that promote sociability, sharing and equality amongst friends, acquaintances and even strangers. The mass consumption and sharing of Yerba Maté cuts across economic lines; however, the harvesting of the plant is dependent on local agricultural laborers who oftentimes live in a state of poverty. I will argue that despite the economic differences that have been maintained or that have resulted from the cultivation of the local plant, the physical form that the “produced” Yerba Maté takes combined with the form that its ritual consumption takes has cultivated a national sense of Argentinean unity despite the distinct economic, religious or even cultural backgrounds.

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