Spice Routes and Story Maps: Transgressive Cartography of Mappila Cuisine in Kerala

Abstract

This paper explores Mappila cuisine not merely as a static cultural artifact but as a hybrid spatial construct that continuously negotiates identity, power and territory, and one that assumes the role of a transgressive geocultural text. Rooted in Kerala’s Malabar coast, Mappila foodways emerge as a palimpsestic record of layered histories—Arab trade, colonial encounters, caste contestations, and gendered labour—all encoded in everyday culinary practices. Through the theoretical lens of Bertrand Westphal’s geocriticism, particularly his notion of transgressivity, the paper traces the evolution of Muslim foodways in Kerala. Drawing upon Ummi Abdulla’s culinary literature and the Malayalam film Ustad Hotel, it argues that Mappila food functions as both a cartographic and narrative device—challenging caste hierarchies, colonial legacies, and gendered silences. In doing so, Mappila cuisine becomes a palimpsest of layered spatial meanings. The paper argues that Mappila cuisine resists homogenization, asserting cultural multiplicity through cooking, sharing and storytelling.