On September 27, many Brazilians celebrate the saints Cosme (Cosmas) and Damiao (Damian) who were regarded as protectors of children. This is a religious holiday--both Catholic and that of Cadomble (Afro-Brazilian religion). In Bahia, people commemorate the day by preparing a caruru, a traditional Afro-Brazilian dish, and sharing it with poor children in the community. We went to a "caruru" today at the home of a family friend. When we arrived, there were about 7 boys who had been invited from one of the nearby favelas (poor neighborhoods) for the holiday. They were sitting around a table on the patio, eating their plates of caruru, accompanied by other typical Bahian foods. It kind of looked like this:
Caruru is a dish made of okra and shrimp, served with rice and chicken. It is accompanied by acaraje and vatapa, which I wrote about in an earlier blog. These are Afro-Brazilian foods specific to the northeastern part of Brazil.
After the kids ate, they left and we had our own plates of caruru. B and I sat outside on the veranda where we could see the streets below. Not all kids get invited to people´s homes....some just hang out in the neighborhoods and wait for people to stop. We watched as cars pulled up to groups of women and children walking along the streets or sitting on benches...the people in the cars either handed bags of food out the window or opened their trunks from which they gave out food. Once the kids all had a bag of food, the people drove away. It kind of felt like Halloween in reverse--without the costumes, and caruru instead of candy. Apparently for all of the food sharing there is something to do with giving thanks for wishes come true or hoping that wishes come true...not quite clear on that...but was a really interesting tradition to take part in. P.S. I am not a big fan of caruru, but it is definitely a must-try in Bahia.
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