Food Trail: Discovering food culture of North-East India

Summary & Literature Review

Food plays a crucial role in defining and shaping human existence and identity. While most of us still tend to
regard food as a mere source of nutrition it touches everything that is important to humans. Food can unite
as well as diversify people, food in the Indian context be doing the both. It gives people their identity.

Food Trail is first-of-its-kind-anthology on the food culture of the NE India. Till date a lot of studies have been
done on the tribes in the NE India, several monographs written on their culture, lifestyle, dress, etc. but
nothing had been done on the food culture of the NE. Aiyushman Dutta, an Assam-based-journalist cum
blogger has made an attempt to write on the NE food culture with support from a lot of scholars, sociologists
and non-anthropology background people (travellers, writers, bloggers, etc.). The NE blogger wanted to show
people the image of the NE from the view of its food culture. He believes that food is a tool that can be used
with good results for examining the economic, social and political aspects of the tribes and communities in
NE-India and to make comparisons of these aspects.

The book is divided into nine parts, each signifying and underlining separate focus areas. The very first part
is the Foreword-Introduction part. In this portion, Aiyushman Dutta and Prof. A.C. Bhagabati (Anthropologist,
NEZCC) introduce us into the NE culture of food. The Next section is named ‘Select Papers’. It includes 12
papers written by research scholars and writers based on their experience of the culture or from their
interviews of people from the NE India. The next section is ‘Special Focus’, which consists of 5 papers based
on one specific elements of the NE foods. The writers have defined the significance of a specific ingredient
or food item in building up of the whole cuisine, to say. The next section is called ‘Nutritional/Therapeutic
Papers’. As the name says, the two papers deal with the nutritive values and medicinal values of the food
items – like the bamboo shoots and other organic foods available there. The following section is the ‘Personal
Experience’ section, in which the writers are mainly the field-workers or research scholars who have collected
some first-hand experience of the food culture of the villages and the tribes. Following this is the ‘visitor’s
narratives’ and ‘folk-tales’. Both give a huge insight into the cultural practices and thinking of the people
living there. The second last part of the book – ‘Culinary Practices and Recipes’ involves recipes of famous
dishes of the NE states. The final few pages of the book gives us a visual tour of the NE villages and their
lifestyle and markets, food habits, kitchen and other moments where food is a culture.

Since the topic of my research is Nagaland food anthropology, I tried to limit myself to select chapters that
focus more on Naga food culture rather than others. The identified chapters include:

 Eating Cham And Drinking Phelap With the Tangsas by Meenaxi Barkataki.
 An Overview of Naga Cuisine by Imsopangla Ao.
 Food in Culture by Morningkeey Phangcho.
 Wicked Aroma, Enchanting Taste by Susan Waten.
 To Eat or Not to Eat by Khriebo Belhou.
 The Fireplace: Bonding the Community Life by Akhrieno Savi.
 No Substitute Can Beat the Real Flavour by Easterine Kire.
 Taste Preserved Through Pickles by Hsi May.
 Food Prohibitions Among the Changkis by Prof. Temsula Ao.
 How Axone Was Discovered? Compiled by Villoli Achumi.
  The Discovery of Rice (An Ao Naga Folktale) by Prof. Temsula Ao.

Following is a small chapter-wise review of the above chapters, based on the knowledge they provide me
about the Naga food culture.

 Eating Cham And Drinking Phelap With the Tangsas by Meenaxi Barkataki: The Tangsas are a small hill
tribe who consider themselves as Nagas, occupying the hilly areas of NE Nagaland and Assam. The
people work according to the sun; they get up with the sun-rise and sleep a little later after the sun-set.
A normal Tangsa day would include two main meals of which 70 % of the plate would be covered with
rice, along with a bland and very watery soup, with some roasted meat on the side. The articles gives us
a view of the Tangsa food culture and their cooking methods. It talks about the use of a big, fat and wild
leaf out of which the women of the household make containers called ‘Khou-pat’, which are used to
store cooked rice in the form of rice-balls. This not only kept the rice warm for longer, but also served
as a plate to eat from when opened. The cultural significance of various things from the natural
surroundings in the lives of the Naga people is very much embedded in their food culture.
There is a perfect division of labour in a general Tangsa kitchen; women are in-charge of making the rice,
wrapping them in khou-pat and brewing rice-beer along with the preparation of the soups and
vegetables, while the men were in-charge of preparing the meat (cleaning, cutting and cooking). There
is no gender bias when it comes to food, she says. Men and women eat together, drink together, without
any restrictions.
The article also gives some information regarding the Hakhun language – the Tangsa dialect, and the
verbs associated with cooking and eating. But the context of it in the paper seems very lost and
haphazard. The overall context is not clear enough, as it is just one paragraph long.
Towards the closing of the article, Barkataki talks about the importance of rice in the lives of the Tangsas,
not only as a food item, but also as an important tool in their ritual sphere. Despite saying that, she
never gave any examples to explain the statement. The article is perfectly formulated from an outsider’s
perspective of the Tangsas, but anthropologically it lacks a lot.
 An Overview of Naga Cuisine by Imsopangla Ao: the article starts with the general note that Naga food
is much simpler as compared to the rest of the NE food, and the method of preparation is steaming or
boiling. The author has covered around three major Naga tribes – Anagamis, Sumis, and Aos – and their
respective methods of cooking the common Naga food items like Axone (fermented soybean), rice,
smoked pork/meat, and bamboo fish. This article is just a general description of what a Naga food plate
looks like to an outsider, and gives a note of it as a tourist, should I say. There was hardly any insightful
anthropological data which I could distinctly find from here, apart from the basic diet of Nagas, their
methods of preparing foods and the importance of bamboo, both as a food item as well as a tool for
preparation of food, among them.
 Food in Culture by Morningkeey Phangcho: This is general article about the food culture studies and
food anthropology in India, especially the NE. it talks about the general ritualistic significance of food in
sacrificial events and food as a cultural element among the NE states. Nagas are known for their culture
of preserving food for future use – using fermenting and drying methods. Also, the meat prepared is
usually smoked, without any external flavour additives, which keeps it simple and retains the flavour of
the meat itself.
Among the Nagas, he says, the size of the chunk of meat defines the status of a person in the family, and
the amount of meat consumed per household defines the status of the family in the community. Food
cannot be tasted by anyone before the head of the family tastes it. There is a solid hierarchical system
among the Nagas. Also, he says, that feasting is a very important habit among them, especially those
who live in the villages.
 In a little paragraph towards the end, he talks about food avoidance among some Naga sub-tribes, but
neither does he name the tribes, nor cite examples of such food avoidance. Overall, this article is just a
general introduction into the NE food culture and the studies related to the same. Although it talks about
the Naga food culture, but only in little bits and pieces.
 Wicked Aroma, Enchanting Taste by Susan Waten: This article mainly talks about the strong smell of
the foods in the Naga cuisines. The food item, she has specifically pointed out and discussed about is
‘Axone’ which is a delicacy among the Nagas. It is made from fermented soybeans. Susan gives a
narrative in which she tells us about her experience of the Quaint Essence Food Fest in Guwahati. She
talks about a non-NE guy who for the first time encountered Axone, and decided to smell it first. She
says she regrets not being able to capture his expressions at that moment.
Later, she talks about the differences among the other dishes of Nagas, which could come out
completely as a culture shock to the people who are experiencing it for the first time. This article was
more like a food review, than some anthropological study of food among the Nagas, but it brought out
several insights including the culture difference of the NE from mainstream India and the growing
interest of youth into the completely different Naga Food.
 To Eat or Not to Eat by Khriebo Belhou: This article talks about the taboos related to food among the
Naga tribes. She mentions about 5-6 food taboos that are mostly followed by all the Naga tribes. She
specifically mentions that there are more taboos for women, compared to men. The food taboos, as she
mentioned, circled either around building one’s self (achieving success) in front of the elders and other
tribesmen, or maintaining peace among people.
 The Fireplace: Bonding the Community Life by Akhrieno Savi: In this article, Savi talks about the socio-
cultural significance of a fireplace in a traditional Naga household. It could be referred to as a living room
in an urban context, reflecting the togetherness and communitarian trait of the Nagas. The fireplace,
she says, is the place where the food is cooked, served and is eaten. It not only keeps the family ties
intact but also makes the guests feel special and at ease. It draws the neighbours closer and binds people
together.
She goes on to explain about the fire and the smoke, its cultural importance and the role it plays in
bringing the people closer. The aroma of the burning fire was and still is a symbol of inter-connection
and friendship. She says that the fireplace serves as the axis for the communal development in a
traditional Naga household. It brings about a sense of belonging and connection to their native place.
The smoke, she says, tells other people that there is someone at home, and guests will know that they
are welcome in the home.
Savi, towards the end, romanticises the concept of the fire and smoke to say that the growing smoke
from the chimneys of houses rise and get mixed with the smoke from other households, giving us a
picture of harmony and peace among the community members. She says that smoke from the fireplace
teaches us the importance of inter-connection. in the end, she writes a paragraph about the decrease
in the fireplaces among the Nagas, as villages are developing into urban cities where there are modern
stoves and dining tables, where most of the food-related work takes place, and hence does the
communication and bonding between members and neighbours. She exclaims that although the
fireplaces are slowly diminishing from a Naga household, they will always be there in the memory of
those who have experienced their importance and of course in the grandma stories.
 No Substitute Can Beat the Real Flavour by Easterine Kire: The article mainly talks about the richness
of flavour in the Naga food items. Kire says that a traditional Naga food item is generally very simple and
hardly has any other spices for flavouring, as is the case in the North-Indian foods. The flavour in Naga
foods is the original flavour of the vegetable/meat which is cooked, which gives it a very simple and
different taste. Also, the traditional foods prepared in the villages are all prepared using freshly picked
 vegetables and herbs from either the kitchen gardens, or the forests which makes them more tastier
and healthy.
In one last paragraph, she mentions how the city peoples miss these fresh herbs and vegetables as there
is neither any space in their city houses to keep a kitchen garden, nor are the herbs available in the cities
cheaper. So, usually people prefer to bring lots of fresh herbs and vegetables whenever they visit their
villages.
 Food Prohibitions Among the Changkis by Prof. Temsula Ao: She talks about the food taboos among
the Aos and Changkis, mainly talking about the forbidden fish “Natsu”. She says that for each taboo
among the Nagas, there is always an interesting story behind it. Only married women can eat this fish,
as the story runs like Alokba, the traditional numskull, while fishing once accidentally severed the tip of
his penis, which floated away and formed this fish. Incidentally, the fish has a strong resemblance to the
male penis, supporting its forbidden-ment in the community.
Prof. Ao through this short fold tale conveys the message that behind every cultural belief, there exists
an equally excellent reason which lies within the cultural practices itself. Hence, when studying food
culture, the study of food taboos in the community is a must to know more about the community.
 How Axone Was Discovered? Compiled by Villoli Achumi: This article also goes in a similar fashion. It
talks about the folk tale that follows the discovery of Axone (Akhone) in the Naga society. It talks about
how due to an unkind step-mother, a young girl accidentally discovered fermented soybean (Axone).
The folk tales are not just tales, but many times, these tales tell us about the societal thoughts and beliefs
of the olden periods and their traditions. Like in this one, it clearly shows the ill-relationship between a
daughter and her step-mother. But it also gives the message that all happens for good. The ill-
relationship of step-mother and daughter, led to the fermented beans and hence to present day Axone.
 The Discovery of Rice (An Ao Naga Folktale) by Prof. Temsula Ao: The article talks about two things in
all – one, the discovery of rice; and second, the reason why the people worship rats before harvesting
starts. The folk tale involves story about the dishonesty of a smart friend with another, who isn’t as
intelligent, while digging yams in the jungle, followed by the survival of the latter in the jungle late at
night when the former left him alone. After this, it talks about a rat who steals away the man’s meat
which he struggled to get from a deer. In exchange to be spared, the rat showed the man the way to the
wild rice plants. In return, the rat only wanted a proper funeral from the man who became very rich
after finding the rice. But he did not fulfil his promise which is why the rats act as pets in the fields and
in the granaries.
The story thus gives the message that humans have always been ungrateful beings and hence are
punished in the form of pests on the plants they grow. Because of man’s ingratitude, the Aos say, rats
continue to take revenge, and thus, before setting out to sow or harvest, the men worship rats, beg for
forgiveness and ask them not to destroy their fields.

The book also consists of a few photographs, majorly showing their kitchen and cooking spaces. There are
also some pictures showing the markets and people selling different meats and vegetables. The photographs
lead the reader through the spaces of NE India where he/she hasn’t gone through and provides a good picture
to the above stories and talks that the writes have presented. Apart from this, there are a few pages at the
end which provide recipes for some traditional NE foods, prepared in traditional ways.

Overall, the book was a very fun-to-read and a good guide to beginner’s who are interested in the NE food
culture. Also, since it has an insider’s touch to it, through the local writers and external point of view from
travel experiences and reviews, this seemed to me one of the best and an only source to the NE, especially
Naga food culture through an anthropological perspective.