Ecuador has a great diversity of ancient traditions, today we are going to tell you a little more about the delicious “Fanesca” a soup made with at least 12 ingredients.
Fanesca has its origin long before the arrival of the Spanish conquerors in Latin America, it is a dish that our aborigines called “Ushucuta”, which translates as “grain soup with chili” that they prepared with tender grains such as peas, beans , mellocos, corn, beans, pumpkin and zambo. This soup was prepared only once a year between February and April, coinciding with the time of the harvest of the tender grains and with the celebration of “Pawcar Raymi” in the Andean region. The festival of colors or Pawcar Raymi is one of the 4 most important festivals in the Andean worldview and celebrates the start of a new year, this festival is lived in community with family, neighbors and relatives.
With the arrival of the conquerors, things changed in the daily life of the people of that time and the gastronomy incorporated new products and recipes brought from Europe. The Ushucuta being an Aboriginal ceremonial dish from the Pawcar Raymi close in time to the Catholic celebration of Holy Week became an element for religious indoctrination, so the Ushucuta hosts dairy products, dried fish and some cereals becoming the Fanesca current with their respective variations according to the family recipe that is prepared.
This new version of the Ushucuta now called Fanesca (Ushucuta 2.0) relates its 12 main ingredients with the 12 apostles or with the 12 tribes of Egypt and the dry fish is related to Jesus, thus serving as religious syncretism and facilitating the indoctrination of the aboriginal. In some cases and playing at the convenience of the indoctrinators, each ingredient is related to a specific Catholic character such as the onion with the Virgin Mary or the pumpkin with Saint Francis.
I hope you liked this little story about fanesca, now you know that by eating it you are savoring a tradition as old as the first inhabitants of our beautiful Ecuador.
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