The Sacred Plate: Food, Faith, and Limits of Secular Dietary Labels in Ethiopian Orthodox Tsom Open Access
Demissie, Mahliet (Spring 2026)
Abstract
Ethiopian tsom(fasting) food is being upheld as vegan owing to the growing interests of Western eaters' conscientiousness regarding environmental and health benefits of plant-based eating. Putting a vegan label on those who tsom serves as a convenient label for the West, but it does not align with the religious practice of tsom. Tsom (ፆም) means fasting in Amharic, but translation alone does not do the practice justice. Tsom is a time of conscientious sacrifice in every imaginable sense. You turn towards discipline and cleansing to reorient the body and spirit. With more than 250 days of the year in the Ethiopian Orthodox calendar marked by tsom, this is an undoubtedly central aspect of the daily practices of devotees. Non-Western food practices, like Tsom, are often misrepresented or redefined to cater to a Western audience, thus diminishing food’s spiritual significance and denying individuals 'ownership over their cultural identities. While other anthropological works have been concerned with the physical, this thesis engages the epistemology of the globalization of food by examining how the meaning and understanding of food shifts across cultural and geographic landscapes. Reclaiming the distinctions between Tsom and veganism allows followers to reconnect with their personal stories and agency to define their spiritual/cultural intentions. I used a mixed methods approach including autoethnographic/ethnographic, interviews, and quantitative methods to allow for a more diverse perspective of food’s ability to express one’s spirituality. To get to the heart of tsom, I spoke to the people responsible for leading devotees in their community on their spiritual path’s: priests and deacons. They walk this path daily and are closest to its spiritual center. Across these interviews, Tsom emerges as the intentional weakening of the self so that God may be heard. After conducing participant observation in Atlanta vegan faces, I determine that veganism names what food is while tsom names what food does. The sacredness of tsom food emerges through intention. We end by discussing how one’s religiosity, like participating in tsom, contributes to health and health outcomes in a way that honors the sacredness of food while also expanding the definitions of nutrition and wellness to include the soul, weakness, community, and ancestral knowledge. Because being a global eater requires more than just curiosity, one must practice global accountability as well. Consumers must acknowledge the spirituality braided into each bite. To consume and label without understanding tsom’s significance is a form of erasure.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction ……………………………………….............…………….1
Chapter 2: Methods ………………………………………………………………….8
Chapter 3: Tsom as Practice………………………………....………......…………..12
Chapter 4: The Clergy ………………………………………………………….……17
Communal Labor of Tsom……………………………………………………...23
Chapter 5: Not A Vegan………………………………………………………..…..…30
Globalization of Tsom ……………………………………….……………...…37
Ital Cross-Cultural Connection ………………….……………...………………45
Chapter 6: Tsom Heals……………………………………………………………..…51
Health and Healing …………………………………….…………………….…52
Tsom Testimony …………………..…………………………...……………….53
The Biomedical Failure ……………………..……………...…………………..55
Clergy Healing ……………………………………...…………...………………58
Chapter 7: Conclusions………………………………………………………………...61
Future Directions……………………………………………………………...…64
References……………………………………………………………………………… 67
About this Honors Thesis
| School | |
|---|---|
| Department | |
| Degree | |
| Submission | |
| Language |
|
| Research Field | |
| Keyword | |
| Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor | |
| Committee Members |
Primary PDF
| Thumbnail | Title | Date Uploaded | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
The Sacred Plate: Food, Faith, and Limits of Secular Dietary Labels in Ethiopian Orthodox Tsom () | 2026-04-08 11:20:56 -0400 |
|
Supplemental Files
| Thumbnail | Title | Date Uploaded | Actions |
|---|