In indigenous communities of the

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

ian highlands, a pampa mesa or pamba mesa is a communal meal of food laid directly on a cloth spread on the ground. The meal is seen as an act of social solidarity; it also has mythological connotations.

Etymology

The name "pampa mesa" comes from the Kichwa ''pampa'', meaning "ground" or "plain", and Spanish ''mesa'', meaning "table".

Description

The origins of the pampa mesa tradition are unknown. Pampa mesas often are used at festivals, at family celebrations, or after mingas (gatherings for communal work). For a pampa mesa, a long, typically white cloth is spread on the ground. Traditionally, participants in a pampa mesa bring the food they are able to share, and each spreads the food he or she brought along the cloth for all to eat. Once the food is spread along the cloth, participants sit along the cloth and use their hands to eat, rather than using utensils and dishes. Before eating, a community leader may give thanks for the food, and a portion of the food may be buried as an offering to the earth mother. The food on a pampa mesa tends to be largely staple items such as mote,

potatoes The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

quinoa Quinoa (''Chenopodium quinoa''; , from Quechuan languages, Quechua ' or ') is a flowering plant in the Amaranthaceae, amaranth family. It is a herbaceous annual plant grown as a crop primarily for its edible seeds; the seeds are high in prote ...

, oca,

carrot The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in colour, though heirloom variants including purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild ...

s, and

fava beans ''Vicia faba'', commonly known as the broad bean, fava bean, or faba bean, is a species of vetch, a flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated as a crop for human consumption, and also as a cover crop. Vari ...

. Sometimes, cuy (guinea pig) and other meats are present. Flowers and fruits may be used to decorate the pampa mesa. The spicy condiment ají frequently is served alongside the pampa mesa. The

fermented beverage This is a list of fermented foods, which are foods produced or preserved by the action of microorganisms. In this context, Fermentation in food processing, fermentation typically refers to the fermentation of sugar to ethanol, alcohol using yeas ...

chicha de jora Chicha de jora is a corn beer or chicha prepared by Germination, germinating maize, extracting the malt sugars, boiling the Wort (brewing), wort, and fermenting it in large vessels (traditionally huge earthenware vats) for several days. The proces ...

sometimes accompanies a pampa mesa.

Interpretation

Pampa mesas are a form of social solidarity: all contribute as they are able, and partake as they wish. Some believe that sitting on the earth and eating from a pampa mesa is a form of connection with Pachamama (earth mother), a goddess in

Inca mythology Inca mythology of the Inca Empire was based on pre-Inca beliefs that can be found in the Huarochirí Manuscript, and in pre-Inca cultures including Chavín, Paracas, Moche, and the Nazca culture. The mythology informed and supported Inca re ...

who continues to be an object of reverence in Ecuador. A pampa mesa also may be seen as an act of thanksgiving for the harvest.

Similar practices

A similar tradition in

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

and

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

is called apthapi.

References

{{Reflist Ecuadorian cuisine Indigenous peoples in Ecuador Eating parties Serving and dining Indigenous cuisine of the Americas