“The Cinnamon Peeler” and Sri Lankan culture in Running in the Family
Stella Rose
Within Michael Ondaatje’s novel Running in the Family, his poem “The Cinnamon
Peeler,” contributes to the overall theme of memory and connections with other people. The
speaker’s act of leaving cinnamon residue on his wife represents his desire to show others that he
loves her, and she belongs with him. However, since cinnamon is inextricably linked to Sri
Lankan culture and industry, it is arguable that the speaker’s want to cover everything with
cinnamon is synonymous with Ondaatje’s appreciation for his home country.
In his poem “The Cinnamon Peeler", Michael Ondaatje writes, “If I were a cinnamon
peeler/I would ride your bed/and leave the yellow bark dust on your pillow.” This poem is in the
middle of narrative chapters, and works to shift the structure of the story away from a standard
biography and provide us with a glimpse into Ondaatje’s mind. Instead of a more objective
retelling of Ondaatje’s family history, the reader is presented with a personal fantasy where he
addresses a nameless lover, presumably his wife. The poem opens with the line “If I were a
cinnamon peeler,” introducing the Western reader to a relatively obscure profession. One might
think Ondaatje is referring to an appliance, but a cinnamon peeler is someone who strips the bark
from cinnamon trees. Ondaatje makes the assumption that the reader already knows what
cinnamon peelers do, which excludes those without knowledge of Sri Lankan culture. He allows
us a glimpse into the profession by describing the ‘yellow bark dust’ that stains his wife’s pillow.
This shows that being a cinnamon peeler is messy work and coats the worker with residue.
Michael Ondaatje includes the phrase “ride your bed,” which is undoubtedly sexual in
nature. To put it mildly, it implies the speaker would move vigorously on his wife’s bed, evoking
the sexual act of riding. This is almost certainly a euphemism for a sexual encounter with his
wife. Once he is finished, the speaker says he would ‘leave the yellow bark dust on your pillow.’
This tells a story of the cinnamon peeler coming straight from work to have sex with his wife,
not bothering to clean the dust from his body. It implies the speaker wants to stain his wife’s
pillow, and the first line announces his intentions. He likely wants to leave a reminder of himself
behind. The yellow bark dust will continually remind his wife of his presence, and possibly their
sexual escapades. The bark dust represents the speaker’s love and desire for his wife, as well as
the need for his memory to remain with her even when he is not physically present. He desires to
make an impact on her that can be noticed by everyone around them.
Cinnamon itself has a surprisingly rich background of history and legend. The spice is
mentioned several times in the Bible. Proverbs 7:17 reads, “I have perfumed my bed with myrrh,
aloes and cinnamon. Come, let's drink deeply of love till morning; let's enjoy ourselves with
love!” It is used as an aphrodisiac in this context, symbolizing sensuality and temptation. Exodus
30:22-33 reads, Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take the following fine spices: 500 shekels of
liquid myrrh, half as much of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant calamus, 24 shekels of
cassia—all according to the sanctuary shekel—and a hin of olive oil. 25 Make these into a sacred
anointing oil.” Here, cinnamon is used to anoint another person, which symbolizes selection and
belonging to a group. By leaving the yellow bark residue on his wife’s pillow, the speaker is
showing that she belongs with him, leaving a visual reminder of himself. He is anointing her,
covering her and her belongings with the dust in a sort of ritual. Additionally, he is also
perfuming his wife’s bed with cinnamon, which in the poem is the result of their shared desire
and sensuality. Cinnamon could symbolize the speaker’s connection to his wife. He wishes to be
inextricably linked to her by way of the cinnamon bark residue he leaves wherever he touches.
Cinnamomum zeylanicum Blume is a plant native to Sri Lanka. It is known as Ceylon
cinnamon. Other types of cinnamon are grown in different parts of Asia, but Ceylon cinnamon is
valued for its health benefits and chemical composition. Unlike other types of cinnamon, it
contains low levels of the chemical coumarin, which can cause liver damage if too much is
ingested. The most obvious use of Ceylon cinnamon is as an edible spice, but it can also be used
to preserve perishable foods and keep pests away from those foods. Accounts detailing the
superior quality of Ceylon cinnamon date back to the 10th century, when it was featured in Ajaib
al-Hind by the Persian scholar Buzurg Ibn Shahryar’s. In the year 1283, the Sri Lankan King
Buvanekabahu sent ambassadors to the Mamluk state council in Egypt. Details of this mission
are recorded in the book History of Sultans of Mamluk by the historian al Maqrizi, where he
wrote, “Ceylon is Egypt and Egypt is Ceylon. I desire that an Egyptian ambassador accompany
mine on his return and that another be sent to reside in the town of Aden. I possess a prodigious
quantity of pearls and precious stones of every kind. I have vessels, elephants, muslins, and other
stuffs, wood of baqam, cinnamon, and all the objects of commerce, which are brought to you by
Banian merchants.” This shows that cinnamon has been exported from Sri Lanka for centuries.
Even during British colonization in the 18th century, cinnamon continued to be a profitable
export for Sri Lanka, with the British East India Company driving most of the industry during
this time.
In Sri Lanka, as many as 350,000 families work in the cinnamon industry. Compared to
the country’s other agricultural exports, cinnamon is the second most profitable, coming in
behind tea. The process of harvesting Ceylon cinnamon is an arduous task. These duties are
performed by the titular ‘cinnamon peelers’ mentioned in Ondaatje’s poem. It takes around 2.5-3
for a cinnamon plant to be ready for harvest. When it is harvested, the bark is loosened from the
stem with a knife. The structure of the cinnamon plant causes bark pieces to overlap, forming
quills that resemble the familiar cinnamon sticks used in cooking. Afterwards, the cinnamon
quills dry, hanging on rope strands for up to a week. They are then graded for quality, which is
determined by size, shape, and color. The quills are also checked for defects called ‘foxing,’
which are dark spots that can appear on the surface. This process is unique to harvesting Ceylon
cinnamon. A cinnamon peeler can produce up to 8-11 pounds of cinnamon per day. This
amounts to roughly 50 cinnamon sticks, which can take 10-15 hours. Since the above methods
are used only for harvesting Ceylon cinnamon, the duties of the cinnamon peeler are consigned
to Sri Lankan workers.
Therefore, the cinnamon peeler Michael Ondaatje writes about in his poem is undeniably
Sri Lankan as well. It is Ceylon cinnamon that covers the speaker’s wife and her belongings.
Later in “The Cinnamon Peeler,” Ondaatje writes, “You will be known among strangers/as the
cinnamon peeler's wife.” No matter where she travels, she is marked with a reminder of her
husband, but also of her home country, as the ‘yellow bark dust’ from Ceylon cinnamon is
unique to Sri Lanka. Because of this, the speaker’s desire to leave cinnamon dust all over his
wife becomes the desire to commemorate Sri Lankan culture. The cinnamon marks her as
belonging not only to her husband, but to Sri Lanka. Throughout Running in the Family,
Ondaatje celebrates his home country’s culture through biographical excerpts about childhood
memories and family history. Ondaatje’s appreciation for Sri Lanka is written in every page of
his novel, and it can be found in “The Cinnamon Peeler” as well. The love Michael Ondaatje has
for his country is synonymous with the love the speaker feels for his wife.
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Works Cited
Suriyagoda, Lalith, et al. “‘Ceylon cinnamon’: Much more than just a spice.” PLANTS,
PEOPLE, PLANET, vol. 3, no. 4, 8 Apr. 2021, pp. 319–336,
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10192.
“Botany of Endemic Cinnamomum Species of Sri Lanka.” Edited by Ranjith Senaratne and
Ranjith Pathirana, ResearchGate, 26 Jan. 2021,
www.researchgate.net/publication/348766585_Botany_of_Endemic_Cinnamomum_Species_of_
Sri_Lanka.
Dasanayaka, Rohitha. “(PDF) Cinnamon: A Spice of an Indigenous Origin- Historical Study.”
ResearchGate, Mar. 2019,
www.researchgate.net/publication/331588549_Cinnamon_A_Spice_of_an_Indigenous_Origin-
_Historical_Study.
