Pampa mesa

In indigenous communities of the Ecuadorian highlands, a pampa mesa or pamba mesa is a communal meal of food laid directly on a cloth spread on the ground.^[2][3] The meal is seen as an act of social solidarity; it also has mythological connotations.

The name "pampa mesa" comes from the Kichwa pampa, meaning "ground"^[4] or "plain",^[5] and Spanish mesa, meaning "table".^[6]

The origins of the pampa mesa tradition are unknown.^[7] Pampa mesas often are used at festivals, at family celebrations, or after mingas (gatherings for communal work).^[2][7][8]

For a pampa mesa, a long, typically white cloth is spread on the ground.^[7][9] Traditionally, participants in a pampa mesa bring the food they are able to share, and each spreads the food he or she brought along the cloth for all to eat.^{[2][7][9][10]} Once the food is spread along the cloth, participants sit along the cloth and use their hands to eat, rather than using utensils and dishes.^[2][7][8] Before eating, a community leader may give thanks for the food, and a portion of the food may be buried as an offering to the earth mother.^[8]

The food on a pampa mesa tends to be largely staple items such as mote, potatoes, quinoa, oca, carrots, and fava beans.^{[2][7][10][11]} Sometimes, cuy (guinea pig) and other meats are present.^[7] Flowers and fruits may be used to decorate the pampa mesa.^[8] The spicy condiment ají frequently is served alongside the pampa mesa.^[12] The fermented beverage chicha de jora sometimes accompanies a pampa mesa.^[8]

Pampa mesas are a form of social solidarity: all contribute as they are able, and partake as they wish.^{[2][8][10][11]} Some believe that sitting on the earth and eating from a pampa mesa is a form of connection with Pachamama (earth mother), a goddess in Inca mythology who continues to be an object of reverence in Ecuador.^[2][8][12] A pampa mesa also may be seen as an act of thanksgiving for the harvest.^[12]

A similar tradition in Peru and Bolivia is called apthapi.^[13]