The itis
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The itis is a Caribbean term in Black American Vernacular English to describe a condition of sleepiness associated with eating meats and sauces, a real human phenomena known as food coma. The term "itis" or "The itis" actually derives from its racial(ist) connotation "niggeritis" with the racist word later being dropped as usage of the term came to the U.S. This word derives from slave owners trying to describe why slaves did not want to work after eating. After slavery was abolished, their replacements (the Indian "coolies"—another racist term) did such work in order to appease the former slave owners.
The foods commonly considered to be soul foods are generally high in both fat and carbohydrates, and are thus more likely to induce sleepiness. The suffix -itis, while used clinically to describe an inflammation, has come in the public mind to refer to any medical condition, along with -osis. With the advent of modern popular culture and the popularity of black comedians in the United States, the concept of the "Itis" has moved beyond its provincial roots and has become fairly well known throughout American culture, and to a certain extent beyond.
[edit] The itis in popular culture
- Comedian Dave Chappelle, on his program Chappelle's Show, featured a joke advertisement for a sleep aid specifically for black consumers known as "ribs," consisting of pork ribs cooked in barbeque sauce, explaining that it induces a state known as "the itis."
- Aaron McGruder's cartoon program The Boondocks featured an episode where the grandfather opened a soul food restaurant named "The Itis" serving the Luther Burger. Customers would reserve a table and, following their meal, would rent naptime in a bed provided by the restaurant.
