Professor Seeman, through his participant observation and his multitude of conversations with Ethiopian Jews living in Israel, analyzed the importance of coffee (buna) or, perhaps, more importantly, the avoidance of buna. He demonstrates through several examples of how coffee (buna) is much more than merely a drink, a cultural symbol, a commodity, or a social tool. Professor Seeman argues that buna represents the contradictions and limitations of the moral agency and freedom, internal conflicts, and complicated emotions associated with broken family relationships, as well as the power to influence social relationships.
His conversation with Tadesse and his fiancé illustrates the deeper complexity associated with coffee. When he talks about his gift (coffee) for Tadesse’s mother, Tadesse’s fiancé raises her voice in frustration about the drink. The conversation is continued with Tadesse, later on, when he tells Professor Seeman secretly that “I can’t stay here with my family all afternoon, drinking coffee and talking about who-knows-what.” (735). Later, Professor Seeman explains that the frustration and annoyance from both of them is an expression of the “whole set of morally inflected moods and dispositions that include ambivalence and regret alongside opportunities for moral integration, healing, or transformation” (736).
He also talks to Yossi who is impatient with his mother’s generation and their habits of drinking buna. He vents out his frustration, complaining that his mother sits three times a day to drink several cups of coffee while he is working. Professor Seeman explains that Yossi’s frustration stems from his identity as a member of a new, modernizing generation rather than the traditional, backward, and old generation. In a different context; however, buna stands for a medium in which elders and the older generation can challenge the independence and autonomy of the younger generation. His conversation with Sivan illustrates how the older generation of her family used their coffee time to make rude side comments about the way Sivan was dressed in jeans, humiliating her father. When she recalled the memory, she was enraged explaining how she stood up for herself by telling them that they were no longer in Ethiopia anymore. To her, the buna represents a force and authority that represses freedom and individuality. It represents the traditional, conservative culture of the past generations.
Professor Seeman explains that his interest in the topic of coffee as an ethnography started when he noticed that one of the first indications of a member of the Pentecostal church or the Messianic church was that they refused to drink coffee. More specifically, they emphasized coffee’s addictive qualities and how addictions are associated with demonic power and the worship of Zar. Professor Seeman compares addiction to “core-neoliberal values” such as freedom, autonomy, and choice, stating that they are on opposite spectrums. The discourse of addiction within the Pentecostal community emphasized not just the superficial reasons for economic improvement but rather, they focused on the “loss of control over one’s body, one’s self, and one’s social-moral world.” (735). In addition, addiction was taught as a religious problem because it was portrayed as an external power that was put up against God and His sovereignty. They also are the only ones to associate the avoidance of buna to biblical interpretations of violence and freedom. In another conversation with Tadesse, Professor Seeman learns that terrorism could also be interpreted as a form of addiction. Tadesse explains how he believed terrorists were motivated by the power of Satan because it was unlikely that an individual would wake up and have a sudden desire to violently kill. In a way, this theory could be applied to drinking buna. Since drinking coffee, addiction is a subconscious habit or action, the power of Satan could potentially be driving individuals to continue to drink coffee. Tadesse also explains how he believes nothing is forced or completely prohibited but he questions what certain actions may mean and that is why he decides to do one thing over another. It seems that Tadesse was implying that many people were not drinking buna because doing so would mean they would not be with God.
One statement that resonates with me is when Professor Seeman states that Pentecostal avoidance of buna or any addictive substance is just a “straightforward affirmation of these [neo-liberalist] values” (735). The statement reminds me of our discussion of witchcraft and how the tribes used witchcraft as a practical way to find immediate answers and solve their everyday problems. It also reminds me of our discussion of Christians using exorcisms to find tangible answers to why one is behaving in a “sinful” or “demonic” manner. Avoiding buna, in my opinion, seems to be a tangible and practical way to express these complicated sets of emotions and frustrations about broken family relationships, the desire for freedom and independence, and the desire to be a member of a modernizing society. Although others are also motivated to avoid buna because of its association with demonic power and possession, that is not the only reason avoidance of buna/buna is prevalent in Ethiopian society. Professor Seeman says, buna is much more than a cultural symbol or a superstition or a religious habit, as he explains through many anecdotes, buna is associated with a lot of emotions and perspectives, that make people want to avoid it because of their experiences.
Seeman, Don. “Coffee and the Moral Order: Ethiopian Jews and Pentecostals against Culture.” American Ethnologist, vol. 42, no. 4, 2015, pp. 734–748., doi:10.1111/amet.12167.
Hi Sehee!
Your blog post was very insightful and encapsulated the main points of professor Seeman’s work. You included small details from the participant-observation method which highlighted the main takeaways about Buna. I agree with your statement that buna is highly associated with emotions and experience rather than merely a drink or cultural symbol. This reading hints at unique attitudes towards coffee based on pre-exposure. I really liked how you explicitly compared different experiences that people had with Buna as told in the article. For example, some associate Buna with autonomy and independence while others gain a sense of the conservative culture of the past. This exact example is representative of how experiences can shape our worldly understanding. Not everyone may have the same feelings about Buna, but these collective experiences can shape how we encounter the same objects in the future. I also liked how you drew attention to the way which coffee holds a possible demonic power which is what leads to its avoidance in Ethiopian society. The connection to witchcraft and Christian exorcisms was very creative to compare the “tangible and practical” expressions of both in comparison to the avoidance of buna. You made sure to include a variety of experiences which were connected to Buna in order to support your thought process. Great work!
Hi Sehee,
I really enjoyed reading your synopsis of Professor Seeman’s work! I felt your analysis was very perceptive. I agree with you that avoiding buna is a physical manifestation of expressing emotions about strained familial/generational relationships as well as the desire for freedom and independence and the desire to be a member of a modernizing society like you state. At the same time, I think for those who do drunk buna, it is another way of expressing similar emotions—a chance to vent about those around one and all the struggles in one’s lives. Additionally, as Rachel said above, I liked the connection you drew to witchcraft in your analysis!
This point truly made me realize that, while the Ethiopian-Israelis we read about drank and avoided buna to express these things, other cultures likely have other physical manifestations to express the same things. Indeed, the emotions that are conveyed through drinking or avoiding buna are universal, but they may take other forms when expressed by other cultures. I definitely see this in the world around me: from the perspective of our generation, it takes shape in refusing to pray every day or attend temple/services regularly like the older and more conservative generation. Thanks for your insight!
Hi Sehee!
This was a very insightful analysis of Professor’s Seeman’s paper. Unlike here is an American culture where coffee is primarily seen as an early morning eye-opener, in Ethiopian culture, it’s an important part of their complex cultural fabric. It was fascinating to learn about the strong social and cultural element attached to the coffee ceremony, and what each subsequent cup of coffee signified for the interaction. Besides its beautiful presentation, the ceremony has a strong social and cultural element to it. The three cups each have a distinctive role in the ritual: arbol, the strongest is for small talk. Cup number two, or toneh, is milder after the second brew. The final cup, baraka, holds the most importance as it signifies a blessing. The ceremony is more than just an act of hospitality – it’s a way of catching up, reconnecting, or showing respect. After three cups of Ethiopian coffee, there’s never a shortage of conversation and many walls have been broken down between the individuals. The differing perspectives across generations can also be manifested through coffee. Like you mention, Yossi’s frustrations with this mother might first appear to be because of her habits of drinking buna, but this also brings the clash between a new, modernizing generation and the traditions of an older, more traditional one. As first, it might strike us as unusual that such strong emotional and cultural value can be placed on a commodity such as coffee, but this is not an uncommon phenomenon in cultures. As humans, we are constantly giving symbolic, cultural power to objects, which dictate how we interact with others within our cultural group.
Hi Sehee!
This was a very insightful analysis of Professor’s Seeman’s paper. Unlike in American culture where coffee is primarily seen as an early morning eye-opener, in Ethiopian culture, it’s an important part of their complex cultural fabric. It was fascinating to learn about the strong social and cultural element attached to the coffee ceremony, and what each subsequent cup of coffee signified for the interaction. Besides its beautiful presentation, the ceremony has a strong social and cultural element to it. The three cups each have a distinctive role in the ritual: arbol, the strongest is for small talk. Cup number two, or toneh, is milder after the second brew. The final cup, baraka, holds the most importance as it signifies a blessing. The ceremony is more than just an act of hospitality – it’s a way of catching up, reconnecting, or showing respect. After three cups of Ethiopian coffee, there’s never a shortage of conversation and many walls have been broken down between the individuals. The differing perspectives across generations can also be manifested through coffee. Like you mention, Yossi’s frustrations with this mother might first appear to be because of her habits of drinking buna, but this also brings the clash between a new, modernizing generation and the traditions of an older, more traditional one. As first, it might strike us as unusual that such strong emotional and cultural value can be placed on a commodity such as coffee, but this is not an uncommon phenomenon in cultures. As humans, we are constantly giving symbolic, cultural power to objects, which dictate how we interact with others within our cultural group.
Hi Sehee,
Your post is a very insightful summary of Dr. Seeman’s piece, specifically highlighting the neoliberalist framework.
I agree with your sentiments highlighting the generational differences surrounding buna. While controversy surrounding coffee rituals may not be something we are all directly familiar with, generational culture clash is certainly something we can all identify with. Younger generations rebelling against the status quo in search of autonomy and personal-identity is a phenomenon that occurs in just about every culture and every generation, so highlighting this in the context of buna allows us to understand the ethnographic stories on a much more personal level.
I additionally found your connection to witchcraft practices very insightful. As you explained, people blame buna for struggles in their life, just as the Azande and other groups turn to witchcraft, to seek answers they cannot find elsewhere. This demonstrates Geertz’ ideas of religion as symbolism and ultimately seeking to solve a fundamental human problem, such as broken families and navigating autonomy and modernization in the case of Ethiopian communities.