A key aspect to be considered is the role played by the act of eating in the domain of cultural reproduction. Some authors have observed how clothing and ornaments played a key role in the building of individual identity by serving as a 'social skin' which allowed the individual to identify as a member of different groups (Lima et al., 2014). Although they can be transported, ceramic vessels, on the other hand, are not attached to the body and tended rather to be used in places for cooking and eating. Eating is a communal process that adds to and reinforces the bonds of union and solidarity within a group, while also emphasizing differences from other groups (Smith, 2006, p. 480). Haaland (2007) observes how the African culinary tradition was dominated by soups made in saucepans, the symbolism of which, although varied, developed as a basis for metaphorical associations on the existential questions and aspects of life, including solidarity and the dependence on divine forces. The author refers to this as 'saucepan syndrome'. The role of eating in the creation and reinforcement of bonds within groups supports the aforementioned metaphorical associations between saucepans and human bodies (Haaland, 2007, pp. 168-170). African communities formed in the diaspora maintained this cultural and ideological significance in the preparation and consumption of food, which was crucial to the sense of identity among these groups (Slenes, 2011, p. 196).  
In light of the symbolic dimension of eating and the inextricable link between foods and the vessels in which they are prepared, we must consider the senzala contexts in which groups of slaves gathered around fires with ceramic saucepans decorated with marks and motifs reflecting symbols and memories from their societies of origin. Remembrance therefore formed as integral a part of a group's eating practices as biological survival, the two becoming indistinguishable. In this sense, memories, values and symbolisms were referenced on a daily basis