This basket was bought in Luquillo in 1979. The hanging supports are made of bejuco, processed fiber from the century plant, or maguey. A large metal disk was placed around the top to keep rodents from crawling into it from above. Widely used in rural kitchens, it is called a canestillo in the center of the island and a barandillo in the north.
Description (Spanish)
Esta canasta colgante fue adquirida en Luquillo en 1979. Los soportes están hechos de bejuco, fibra procesada del maguey. Se colocó un disco de metal grande alrededor de la parte superior para evitar que se introdujeran los roedores. Se utiliza mucho en las cocinas rurales y se la conoce como canestillo en el centro de la isla y como barandillo en el norte.
Woven plant fiber basket with pedestal, small "hook" or handle. Blue block pattern along the bottom. Basket often filled with toasted nuts, barley, or popped corn. Purchased in Ethiopia and brought over some time in the late 1990's or early 2000's. Used during Ethiopian coffee ceremonies held at DAS Ethiopian restaurant in Washington, D.C.
At DAS Ethiopian restaurant, co-owners Sileshi Alifom and Elizabeth Wossen would occasionally invite restaurant patrons to come together over coffee to learn about Ethiopian culture, but also about one another. In Ethiopia, women typically host and perform the coffee ceremony; honoring this tradition, a woman staff member at DAS would perform the host while Alifom explained its cultural significance to participants, including the symbolism of key elements like freshly cut, aromatic grass and incense. As part of his approach to hospitality, Alifom also encouraged conversation among participants so that they might build new relationships with one another over the course of the ceremony, which could last one to three hours.
At the start of the coffee ceremony, the DAS host would set up the rekobot, a low table, that held the coffee pot and cups. DAS’ rekobat also had an attached wooden cup to burn incense that were traditionally believed to scare off evil spirits. To invoke Ethiopian customs, the host would also spread freshly cut grass around the rekobot. Attendees would gather and sit in a semi-circle around the host. Then, in a gesture of welcome, the host would pass snacks, usually toasted nuts, barley, or popped corn, among attendees. To start the coffee making process, the host roasted green coffee beans in a pan over a gas burner. After toasting them, the beans were ground, and put in the jebena, or clay coffee pot, with water. The grounds were brewed three times, each time the host of the ceremony would pour coffee for guests. Alifom encouraged conversation throughout the process covering all manner of topics with the goal of bringing people closer together through conversation and the shared experience of the coffee ceremony.
Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Sileshi Alifom and Elizabeth Wossen emigrated separately to the United States, Alifom at age seventeen and Elizabeth at 3. They were part of an initial wave of Ethiopians, mainly from middle and upper classes, who settled in and around Washington, D.C., in the 1960s and 1970s. For many of them, including Alifom and Wossen, D.C. provided educational and economic opportunities, and had a built-in support network for new migrants because of the presence of the Ethiopian embassy.
In 2011, after Alifom had retired from a 30-year career with Marriott hotels, they decided to take over a pre-existing Ethiopian restaurant in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington D.C. and rebranded it as DAS Ethiopian Restaurant. Das is the Ethiopian word for tent and is a reference to the use of a tent for large family gatherings and shared meals. Alifom and Wossen created a distinct interior décor fashioned after the international look and feel of the hospitality industry: white tablecloths, cream colored walls, white plates and napkins, and black and white photos. In the dining room, they play international jazz music, seeking to provide a welcoming space for visitors from around the globe. Their clientele consists of local Georgetown residents but also many visitors of D.C.
The Lowcountry (coastal) region of the Carolinas and Georgia and the nearby Atlantic Sea Islands were and continue to be home to a distinctive regional African American culture that is now recognized as the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor. By the 1680s, rice began to be grown on the coast. By the mid-1700s, rice became the dominant cash crop for the region. Plantation owners wanted enslaved people from West Africa who already knew the complicated process required for growing rice. The work of these enslaved Africans made the Carolina rice planters the richest planters in the American colonies. The distinctive cultures that West African people brought included the knowledge of how to make coiled grass baskets for a variety of uses. This bulrush work basket was made on Sapelo Island, Georgia, sometime between 1850 and 1900. On the Sea Islands, the primary crop was very soft and expensive cotton, known as “Sea Island Cotton.” Rice was grown only for local consumption along with potatoes and other vegetables.
The Lowcountry (coastal) region of the Carolinas and Georgia and the nearby Atlantic Sea Islands were and continue to be home to a distinctive regional African American culture that is now recognized as the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor. By the mid-1700s, rice became the dominant cash crop and plantation owners wanted enslaved people from West Africa who already knew how to cultivate rice. The work of these enslaved Africans made the Carolina rice planters the richest planters in the American colonies. The West African peoples knew how to make coiled grass baskets for a variety of use. They innovated the method by using materials similar to those at home in their new environment. This bulrush work basket was made on Sapelo Island, Georgia, sometime between 1850 and 1900. At one time, baskets like these were common on working farms on the coast and in fancy homes around Savannah, but today baskets from the 1800s are very rare.
