From Pepper Commerce to the Multicultural Formation of Culinary Culture of Banten XVI-XVIII Centuries

Abstract

Pepper became the main commercial commodity in the spice route of the archipelago in Banten. This is supported by the geographical condition that connects Banten with Sumatra Island as one of the main producers of pepper as well as playing a role in creating multicultural cultural fabrics in Banten. This study aims to describe the formation of Banten’s culinary culture as a result of the spice trade in the XVI-XVIII centuries. The method used is the historical method using contemporary literature in the form of travel notes by Cornelis de Bruijn (1737) and Stavorinus (1798) which describes the atmosphere of a banquet in the Banten palace environment. These sources are then studied further in this article to describe the evidence from the early traces of the assimilation of Banten’s culinary culture. In addition, an archaeological study of the Sultanate of Banten conducted by Kaoru Ueda et al (2016), shows a form of assimilation of Banten culinary culture from the use of porcelain tableware, the use of jugs in religious rituals, and the use of buffalo meat as part of Banten cuisine. This study also uses the local script Sanghyang Swawarcinta which describes the food processing culture of the Sundanese people. The result of this research is the existence of cultural assimilation in Banten which results in the formation of a culinary culture, namely soupy dishes, spicy, sweet, sour and the use of fish and poultry. The formation of culinary culture is intertwined with the cultural encounters of various nations such as Arabs, Indians, Chinese, and Dutch as a result of the pepper trade.