\u201cIf you want to honour your guest, there\u2019s nothing finer than mansaf,\u201d agrees his business partner Tamer al-Majali, 42, about the custom of greeting guests with huge platters piled high.<\/p>\n Mansaf was inscribed on UNESCO\u2019s list of intangible cultural heritage late last year, highlighting the \u201cdeep sense of identity and social cohesion\u201d it evokes.<\/p>\n Long before it became a symbol of peace \u2014 traditionally shared to mark the end of tribal feuds \u2014 mansaf was born on the eve of battle, according to one version of history.<\/p>\n In the 9th century BC, King Mesha of the Moab Kingdom \u2014 located on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea \u2014 wanted to test his people\u2019s loyalty in a war against the Kingdom of Israel, said historian George Tareef.<\/p>\n \u201cThe king knew that the Torah forbade Jews from eating meat cooked with milk,\u201d and so he instructed his people to cook a rudimentary version of the non-kosher dish ahead of battle, said Tareef.<\/p>\n In modern-day Amman, Mubaideen and Majali\u2019s restaurant is called \u201cManasef Moab,\u201d a nod to the dish\u2019s ancient origins.<\/p>\n \u2018Authenticity and heritage\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Jordan\u2019s most popular dish \u2014 regularly served at wedding banquets and in households for large families \u2014 bears little resemblance to Mesha\u2019s culinary allegiance tests.<\/p>\n The dish underwent thousands of years of \u201cevolution as a result of economic and agricultural conditions,\u201d according to researcher Hassan Mubaideen.<\/p>\n In an Amman restaurant, the 58-year-old academic \u2014 donning a red keffiyeh scarf and tucking into a plate of mansaf \u2013 said rice came to replace bread and cracked wheat, as a way to feed more people with less, though shows of generosity remain integral.<\/p>\n “There are special rituals and hospitality protocols linked to the meal — like how you greet guests, in what order you serve them, where the head of the animal goes, and how you say goodbye,” Mubaideen told AFP.<\/p>\n Large platters are traditionally shared between around a dozen people, using only the right hand, while the left is placed behind the back.<\/p>\n Customs have changed, and individual plates and utensils are now often used, as younger generations adopt the age-old tradition.<\/p>\n Sharing mansaf with her classmates, 14-year-old school pupil Zeina Elyan expressed pride in the symbol of “Jordan’s ancient heritage” and the health benefits of the dish’s whole foods.<\/p>\n Her teacher, Duha Saleh, 31, said she brought her students to the restaurant to teach them “the social culture” behind the dish, and the inherited values of generosity and hospitality.<\/p>\n “There’s a pleasure to it,” she said, “in how it connects us to who we are, our authenticity and our heritage.”<\/p>\n Any reproduction of this content is prohibited.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/mansaf-foto-Khalil-MAZRAAWI-AFP-1.jpg\")
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