Dastarkhān

A dastarkhān (Persian / Urdu: دسترخوان, Tajik: дастархон, Bashkir: дастархан, romanized: dastarxan, Kyrgyz: дасторкон, Hindi: दस्तरख़्वान, Kazakh: дастарқан, Bengali: দস্তরখান, Uzbek: dasturxon, Nepali: दस्तरखान) or dastarkhwān is the name used across Central Asia, South Asia, the Caribbean, Mauritius and Fiji to refer to the traditional space where food is eaten.^[1][2][3] The term is a word of Persian origin and alter name for "Sofreh" (persian: سفره) meaning the tablecloth which is spread on the ground, floor, or table as a sanitary surface for food.^[2][3]

Dastarkhān

Aksakals by dastarkhān
Place of origin	Afghanistan, Bashkortostan, Bangladesh, Fiji, India, Guyana, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Suriname, Tajikistan, Tatarstan, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
Media: Dastarkhān

Dastarkhan is a abbreviation of "Dast Tar Khan" (دست تر خوان) which word by word means "Wet Hand Tablecloth" and it's comes from tradition of the host providing water with "Aftabeh Lagan" (آفتابه لگن) for guests to wash their hands before and after spreading the tablecloth. It was based on Islamic teachings of washing hands before eating and considered as means of respect and service to the guests. The tradition is almost vanished in Iran and Tajikistan but still lightly lasts in Afghanistan. Therefore in Iran for new generation the word dadtarkhan not being used anymore and its meaning not clear for the younger generation but the word is vastly used in Afghanistan though the tradition is fading.^{[citation needed]}

The Mughal Indian cookbook Dastarkhwan-e-Awadh, which details the Awadhi cuisine of Lucknow, emphasized the importance of the dastarkhwan.^[4]

The word mainly used in Persian for tablecloth is Sofreh (سفره) and in older times the word Khan (خوان) used to. And Dastarkhan was due to tradition of providing water to wash hands before and after eating. It is used in many other languages of the South and Central Asian region such as Uyghur, Balochi, Bengali, Pashto, Urdu, Sindhi, Hindi, Kyrgyz, Kazakh, Uzbek, Turkmen, Bhojpuri and Nepali.^[5][6]

See also

• Central Asian cuisine
• South Asian cuisine
• Bengali cuisine
• Caribbean cuisine

References

1. Ken Albala. Food Cultures of the World Encyclopedia: Four Volumes ABC-CLIO, 25 mei 2011 ISBN 978-0313376276 p 49
2. Suad Joseph, Afsāna Naǧmābādī. Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures: Family, Body, Sexuality And Health, Volume 3 BRILL, 2003 ISBN 978-9004128194 p 285
3. Glenn Randall Mack, Asele Surina. Food Culture in Russia and Central Asia Greenwood Publishing Group, 1 jan. 2005 ISBN 978-0313327735 p 39
4. Everaert, Christine (2010). Tracing the Boundaries Between Hindi and Urdu: Lost and Added in Translation Between 20th Century Short Stories. Brill Publishers. p. 75. ISBN 9789004177314.
5. Brice, Nathaniel (1864). A Romanized Hindustani and English Dictionary Designed for the Use of Schools and for Vernacular Students of the Language. Trübner & Co. p. 66.
6. Yates, William (1855). Introduction to the Hindustani Language: In Three Parts, Viz. Grammar, Vocabulary, and Reading Lessons. Calcutta: Baptist Mission Press. p. 128.