For generations, food has carried more than flavour. It has carried memory, culture and family stories from one generation to the next.
In “The Burfee Seller’s Daughters”, South African sociologist and author Shafinaaz Hassim uses the world of a Johannesburg confectionery business to explore what happens when tradition meets changing ideas about family, womanhood and ambition.
Set around the House of Burfee, a successful confectionery business, the novel follows sisters Tzarina and Jaynab as they navigate the expectations placed on them by family and culture while trying to define their own paths.
For Hassim, the story offered an opportunity to explore cultural heritage while reflecting on the experiences of women.
“Throughout my years of writing, it has been important for me to create bridges in understanding by documenting cultural elements that might seem familiar or new to curious readers, as well as women's lived experiences,” she said.
“The sweetseller allows us to see the world through the traditional with new ways of thinking constantly emerging through new generations.”
At the heart of the story is burfee, a confectionery associated with celebrations across South Asian communities. Hassim uses it as more than a backdrop to the story. It becomes a symbol of heritage and the knowledge passed between generations.
“Burfee represents a cultural sweet from the subcontinent that is linked to celebration and joyous occasions like Eid or the birth of a baby or a wedding,” she said.
The word burfee is derived from “burf”, meaning snow, referring to the sweet's soft appearance. For Hassim, however, its significance goes beyond what is served on a plate.
“It also represents a craft and skill that is traditionally passed down through generations, much like various ideologies,” she said.
That connection between what is inherited and what is reshaped runs through the novel. Tzarina and Jaynab follow different paths, allowing Hassim to examine the expectations that can shape women's lives within families and communities.
“In many ways, family expectations suggest that there is a familiar pattern for women to follow: grow up, get married, have children,” she said.
Hassim pointed to what can happen when women move away from that expected path.
“When someone doesn't follow that script, or deviates too far from it, there's almost an attempt to bring them back in line, to control the outcomes or to stigmatize and correct them.”
The sisters' experiences also raise questions about choice, circumstance, and what becomes possible when women challenge familiar expectations.
For Hassim, the tension between tradition and change is not necessarily about choosing one over the other. Instead, she hopes the story encourages readers to consider how the two can coexist.
“This story holds up a mirror to some of the lived realities in society and will also give hope for how we can embrace the ever-changing dynamic,” she said.
Her connection to the story is also personal. Hassim comes from a family of traders and draws on that history in exploring how people create opportunities from limited resources.
“I want to instill hope in readers that past and present ideas and ways of doing things do not have to collide,” she said. “Rather they can enhance our shared histories to make a better way forward for future generations.”
lutho.pasiya@nationalmg.co.za