Smells and Bells

In Religion in the Kitchen: Cooking, Talking, and the Making of Black Atlantic Traditions , Perez talks of Ashabi and her grandchildren providing food offerings to their ancestors. This immediately reminded me of the practice of food sacrifice in early China. I've taken Chinese language classes for about 7 years now and in one of the lessons, we learned about food as well as the history of food in Chinese culture. Ashabi and her grandchildren would give food offerings to their ancestors every day. This included nine beverages (coffee, liquor, and water mixed with sugar and molasses) and nine square pieces of coconut topped with red palm oil and guinea pepper. The offerings would also include whatever food was dropped on the ground. In their house, food dropping on the floor signified more than it would in common American households. It signified that the ancestors wanted that food and had willingly made it fall to the floor. They also used dishware that had been chipped which was...

Smell, memory, and emotion are deeply connected. The Olfactory receptors (where smell is processed) are directly connected to the limbic system (center of emotions). This interaction happens before the cortex can recognize the odor itself. Emotional responses and memories linked to the scent are triggered by the primitive brain before other parts of the brain can cognitively recognize the scent separately from the individual's personal connection with it (11). Something I wonder about is if the reason aromatherapy is effective is because of the scent itself or the memories attached to it. Do we smell floral oils and the brain produces chemicals in response to that scent or does our brain take a trip back to a springtime of our younger selves when the flowers were blooming and we were calm, happy, and carefree? According to Dr. Herz, smell is not hard-wired. People will react differently to smells based on their past experiences and memories with those smells. What calms one ...