Growing up, there was nothing quite fascinating to me as sitting by a boukan watching the fat of the fish being grilled dripping into the charcoal ambers, monitoring and smothering the flare ups and smelling the aroma of cooking fish filling the air. I was always filled with a mixture of anticipation and excitement at the thought of the meal that was sure to follow. This method of cooking is locally called boukannen. Boukannen is a cooking method whereby fish is cleaned, incised, rubbed with herbs and spices and hot smoked and grilled over charcoal ambers. A fish cooking method that is still very popular at beach picnics.
Mackerels Ready to be Grilled in a Double Boukan
Where does Boukan come from?
I will attempt to trace the origin of this method of cookery that we inherited from the Caribbean through Réunion Island (then Île de Bourbon).
The Caribbean influence
In the early 1630’s the island of Hispaniola (now divided politically into the Republic of Haiti, in the west, and the Dominican Republic in the east) and some other nearby Caribbean islands were inhabited by some ordinary European settlers and adventurers made up mostly of French and English. Most of them were hunters who earned their living by selling smoked meat of wild cattle and boars to the passing ships. They were often seen cooking the meat on the wooden frames and drying it in the sun. A method of preserving meat that they copied from the Caribbean Arawak hunters who also used similar frames, called buccan.
LEARN MORE
If you want to explore this topic further and learn more about the culture and traditions of these small gems in the middle of the Indian Ocean, click here or on the book cover below. This will link you to our newly published book, which takes you on a journey that is “unique by a thousand miles.” It provides historical context for some of our cultural practices, deepening your appreciation of the Seychelles and hopefully inspiring you to visit, explore, and engage in these activities.
Get your copy and let us begin our journey into the rich and fascinating world of the Seychellois Creole heritage. Open these pages and begin the journey through the coconut groves, the plantations, the workshops and the paths that once linked village to village. Discover the skills, customs and stories that helped shape the Seychellois people.
We will climb coconut palms to tap toddy, discover how baka is made, follow the work of picking and husking coconuts, and learn how copra was produced, among other things. These were not merely occupations; they were part of the rhythm of life in the islands, passed from one generation to another.
Some of these traditions have survived and continue, at least in part, to this day. Others have gradually disappeared, becoming memories of an older Seychelles. Guano mining, the production of karot taba, and the cultivation of patchouli increasingly belong to that vanished world, a world worth remembering before its stories fade completely.
Click here or on the book cover to start your journey into the Seychellois Creole World.
