Issue 1 – Bread

The link between humans and bread goes back millennia and reveals many layers of our nature: how we power our bodies, structure our societies, and nurture our traditions. Today, however, the value of bread is increasingly in question; this ancient food has transformed into a controversial item.

In this first issue of BROUDOU – the brothy meeting place for our food curiosities, bread serves as a starting place for us to explore the complexities of modern food culture, particularly within a Tunisian context. Here in Tunisia, sensory invitations to engage with bread are everywhere, from the sweet smell of yeasty breads speckled with fennel and nigella seeds wafting through busy streets to the sight of extra bread perched in the backdrop, molding into different colors as the days pass.

Behind the abundance of bread in daily life lies many spiritual connotations. For example, despite ubiquitous public displays of bread waste (an issue which we will show concerns economic policy failures more than the individual), the practice of lifting bread which has fallen to the ground to higher places is still common, because it represents a gift from God. In other regional-specific traditions, bread has played many roles in important rituals. Paradoxically, its metaphysical power is associated with both growth and decay, as well as birth and death.

Bread in the streets takes on yet other meanings in times of political unrest. At different points in time it has been a symbol of colonial encroachment, Western intervention, and corrupt governance. Nevertheless, bread has also been claimed as a tool for popular resistance, its rich imagery underscoring that Tunisian rebellions have never been about physical hunger alone.

Be they personal, academic, artistic, or belonging to the world of dreams, the stories featured in this issue reflect a wide range of perspectives on the ever-relevant subject of bread.

We thank everyone who has contributed to this project and hope that it nourishes some element of your being.

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