Caruru and Calulu, Etymologically and Sociogastronomically

We begin our etymological considerations by citing some pertinent dictionary definitions. In The Random House Dictionary of the English Language one finds the following definition of callaloo: "a thick soup of crabmeat, greens, and various seasonings." The dictionary entry then proceeds to indicate that the word callaloo is comparable to calalu, which is a Jamaican term for " . . . any of a variety of greens used as an ingredient in soup." With respect to the word's etymology, according to the Random House entry, calalu is of Spanish American origin and derives from the Portuguese caruru. What is especially noteworthy is that caruru, a word that first appeared in Brazilian Portuguese, is said to be of Amerindian origin. Indeed, many Lusophone linguists contend that the term caruru derives from caaruru. The latter is the name of a thick-leaf plant, and the word is said to be from the language of the Tupi-Guarani ethnic group of Brazil's Amazon region.

Although it appears that many Portuguese language scholars accept the validity of the above-cited Amerindian derivation, there are researchers who believe that caruru, and all orthographic, phonetic, and semantic variations of the word, including, of course, callaloo, originated in a sub-Saharan African language. According to the highly respected Portuguese-language dictionary Aurélio Século XXI, caruru possibly derives from the African word kalúlu. One might be even more inclined to accept the afore-stated possibility upon verifying that the noun kalúlu (note that in this variation of the word the accent mark indicates that the word is pronounced with the stress on the penultimate syllable rather than on the final syllable, as is the case with calulu and caruru, as well as kalulu, as the latter is printed in the afore-mentioned Aurélio dictionary) appears in António de Assis Junior's Dicionário Kimbundu-Português (1941). Assis Junior (1887–1960), a highly regarded, acculturated African intellectual, proficient in Portuguese as well as in his native Kimbundu language, defines kalúlu as a botanical term for a plant family found in Angola. Assis also indicates that Kalúlu is a place name in the southern Angolan province of Kwanza Sul.

Many, possibly most, sociolinguists and other researchers with a knowledge of Lusophone Africa believe, however, that kalúlu is an Angolan derivation of the loan word, of Brazilian Indian origin, caruru. What appears to stand in evidence of this belief is found in the culinary sphere. Specifically, the dish called caruru, although of African influence, was first concocted in Brazil and then taken to Angola, where it became known as kalulu (with or without the accent mark on the penultimate syllable), today usually spelled calulu. Although presumably of Brazilian origin, with respect to many of its ingredients and mode of preparation, caruru/calulu is essentially an African dish. A prime ingredient in Brazilian caruru, as well as in the Angolan and Santomean varieties, is okra. It happens that this vegetable pod originated in West Africa and was introduced into the Western Hemisphere in the seventeenth century. The word okra is from Nigeria's Igbo language and the Portuguese equivalent quiabo is a creolization of a Kimbundu term. Another of caruru's and calulu's ingredients of African origin is palm oil (azeite de dendê).

In the state of Bahia, especially in the city of Salvador, often called "The Black Rome," caruru is considered to be a quintessentially African-Brazilian dish. In the introduction to the recipe "Caruru of Bahia," included in Cherie Hamilton's Brazil: A Culinary Journey, one reads: "this okra-based dish figures importantly in Afro-Brazilian religious ceremonies where it is known as amalá" (61). Moreover, to quote further from the introduction to the caruru / amalá recipe: "It is preferred by Xangô [pronounced shanGO], the majestic Yoruba deity [i.e. orixá, pronounced or-ree-SHA] of fire, thunder, and lightning" (61). Amalá is from Yoruba, the language of one of Nigeria's principal ethnic groups. It happens that slaves of Yoruba origin were purveyors of the...