MAIN ARTICLE

CUSTOMS, RELIGION AND MEALS
By Maricela Osorio Rizzo





Several foods in Ecuador are a mixture of culture with religion and ancient traditions that survived after of the process of colonization. Four hundred years ago, Ecuadorian people kept feeding corps’s souls and remembered the dead of Jesus with a traditional meal.
Ecuador has had many meals and customs that remained after colonization. People bring special meals to cemetery for corpses in a holiday that is called “The Day of the Dead”; although the holiday is celebrated in coast and Andean region, it is one of the most important dates in the indigenous calendar.
This holiday is an indigenous ritual, but their meals are eaten in other regions, because it is delicious.
Indigenous prepare those meals, because they believe that the souls of their relatives will visit them on 2nd of November. So they should have food to feed the souls.
The two most popular dishes they prepare are “colada morada” (a purple sweet drink) and “guaguas de pan” (a kind of bread shaped as a child, “guagua” means child).
Colada morada is prepared with cornmeal, pineapple, peach, strawberry, mango, blackberry and other ingredients that are simmered with sugar and brown sugarloaf until the colada has every ingredients perfectly mixed. On the other hand, “Guaguas de pan” are a special bread with cinnamon and stuffed with a special custard with several flavours.
In the Andean regions, the ritual involves in decorating the graves with flowers and bring the soul's favourite drink and food. People sometimes wear black for to the ritual, but the indigenous’ tradition always involves wearing colourful traditional clothes. In the coast this ritual is strange, but people go to the cemetery even on the night, but whiting meals for eat in the tombs.
The indigenous ritual is a mixture of ethnic cultures and Catholic customs. They did this ritual after that Cristobal Colon had arrived to America and they kept doing it for several centuries since then.
Another traditional holiday food is Fanesca, that is prepared on holy week. This food is eaten by people all over the country, in the coast, Andean region and the Amazon region.
Fanesca is a soup with 12 different ingredients (mainly grains) that represent the12 Jesus’ apostles. This food has fish, cheese and milk too.
Many people prefer to prepare Fanesca with tuna that salt cod, because the flavour is different. Other people add sweet corn, sardine and other vegetables.
In general Fanesca is prepared on Friday because Ecuadorian people don’t eat meat during Holy week.
Ancient Spanish people had taught their religion, but people in this country mixed the new religion (Christianity) with ancient costumes. The cross with rituals sun, the Bible with their gods, saints and pagans, church and altars for sun, moon and earth.
These foods are a mixture of ancient cultures and Catholic customs.