Originating as a poor food to sustain nomadic peoples during long journeys, couscous today is much more than just a traditional Maghreb recipe.
Its origins can be traced back to the 7th century A.D. in the Maghreb coast and sub-Saharan Africa but many historians believe it to be older. The term ‘cous cous’ probably derives from the Berber kouskous, a term that in several North African regions defines the cooking vessel of the semolina used to prepare it. From being a popular dish emblematic of North Africa, cous cous soon spread to the Mediterranean and then to the rest of the world. Proposed in the most modest restaurants, ‘revisited’ by the greatest chefs, the dish appears in a banquet in ‘Gargantua’ written in the 16th century by François Rabelais, the most famous writer of the French Renaissance.
Much more than a dish, couscous, with its infinite variety of nuances, is a cultural, culinary heritage, made up of memories, traditions, knowledge and gestures handed down from generation to generation.
In 2020, couscous won a place on the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list at the joint request of Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Mauritania. It is a rather rare fact in the history of the Maghreb countries that several countries have jointly submitted the candidature entitled ‘Knowledge, know-how and practices relating to the production and consumption of cous cous’, without any dispute over the authorship of this traditional dish made from semolina or durum wheat, accompanied by expertly spiced vegetables, meat or fish.
In these four countries, ‘women and men, young and old, sedentary and nomadic, from the rural or urban world, as well as from emigration, in fact identify with this dish that is a symbol of living together,’ states the Unesco candidacy file, without however providing any practical recipe. As part of the 15th edition of the Diplomacy Festival, with the support of the Tunisian Embassy and the Tunisian National Tourist Office, an evening will be held to publicise the tradition of cous cous as a dish of conviviality that goes well with diplomacy.
