Cultural bridges in immigrant homes: Jamila Mohammed’s family preservation of identity through the “Coffee Room”

In this thesis, I investigated how immigrants preserved their heritage and developed their identity in the diaspora through cultural objects, such as handmade baskets, coffee rituals, and memories. My research centered around the coffee room in the home of Jamila Mohamed, an Ethiopian immigrant living in St. John’s, Newfoundland. I explored Jamila’s motivations for designing the coffee room, which resembles those in her hometown, Harar, and uncovered deeper meanings of the room for family members. My research focused on the role these cultural rituals play in a person’s everyday life, differing from previous studies on the Ethiopian diaspora which examine how traditional coffee rituals help strengthen ties within communities. I investigated how the coffee room served as a cultural bridge, connecting Jamila and her children to Harar and protecting them from feeling disconnected from their homeland or isolated in their new country through folkloric theories of material culture, performance, and gender. Through the coffee room, Jamila and her family practice their rituals together, as well as share them with non-Ethiopian friends. They strengthen their connections to their new community in Canada, not by abandoning or losing their culture, but through pride by actively participating and adapting their heritage.