Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, November 25, 1993                   TAG: 9311240107
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV18   EDITION: HOLIDAY 
SOURCE: Michael Csollany STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                 LENGTH: Medium

WHAT MAKES A MEAL A FEAST? IT DEPENDS ON WHO'S EATING

Take the Trobrian islanders in the South Pacific. "The Trobrian islanders will accumulate yams throughout the year and not eat them, even though they may be hungry, in order that at the appropriate time they may celebrate the yam festival," said Neumann, a Virginia Tech religion professor.

A man's status is judged by the size and quality of his yams, not unlike the praise one might get for selecting a good turkey.

"And then [the islanders] will indulge in an orgy of yam eatting to a point where they may actually get sick by them," he said.

Sound familiar?

Unlike some American counterparts, Neumann is pretty sure there is no guilt for overindulgence among the yam eaters. "It's just what's done."

Societies throughout the world and history express their culture in forms of eating, and most celebrate by eating, Neumann said.

Societies set a lot of standards for what you can and can't eat, based on economics, nutritional value and ecology - what you can raise given the area in which you live, he said.

Neumann said foods are often chosen to "preserve distinctness" between groups of people. Eating or not eating a food sets a society apart from other people, he said.

The professor said he got interested in the topic basically because he likes to eat and cook. He has co-taught an honors course on food and culture.

While Neumann is an expert on food, you might not want to invite him to your Thanksgiving celebration. He considers it his job to question and wonder about American tastes and aversions.

The feast scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom - the one where eyeball soups, snakes, bugs, and monkey brains are on the menu - is one of his favorite topics of discussion.

"Americans are horrified by the thought of eating an eye, but there are cultures that do it with great relish," Neumann said.

Hindu people, on the other hand, find the idea of eating beef abhorent.

But back to Thanksgiving.

"It's one of the few celebrations in our country that will bring family's together . . . we also reach out to include others as members of the family. If you're invited to a Thanksgiving dinner, it's as if you're being asked to be a member of the family," he said.

The holiday is largely symbolic. The foods chosen are symbolic of a longstanding tradition. And when the turkey was first eaten, it was probably selected because of the challenge of catching the elusive bird, he said. Not to mention that it's a large bird that serves a lot of people.

He said a connection between the time of year and food has grown. "People call it turkey day, and turkey time. For some people, they rarely have it at any other time of the year."

Neumann said the strength of the holiday is truly evident in the difficulty of breaking tradition.

"If you don't serve turkey, you're considered somewhat of an oddball. You might find people resentful, unless you tell them in advance," he said.