Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge Vol. 6(1), January 2007, pp. 37-41

Traditional fermented foods of the Naga tribes of Northeastern,

Ashiho A Mao* & N Odyuo Botanical Survey of India, Eastern Circle, Laitumkhrah, Shillong 793 003,

Received 29 August 2006; revised 25 September 2006

The paper describes the various traditional fermented foods of Naga tribes, their method of preparation, uses and the potential for improving using modern biotechnological tools.

Keywords: Fermented food, Traditional fermented foods, Naga tribes, IPC Int. Cl.8: A61K36/00, A01G1/00, A01G17/00, A47G19/00, A23L1/00, A23L1/06, A23L2/02, C12G

The Northeastern India, with various ethnic groups, undertaken about the Naga tribes and therefore, there offers an excellent opportunity for ethnobotanical is still a lot of scope for studying traditional fermented studies. The Nagas are one of the Mongolian racial foods and beverages of the different Naga tribes. groups making up the population of Northeast India In olden days, the use of oil to fry food items was hill states. The people called, Naga lie in the present completely unknown to simple Naga villagers living state of , in the hills of , in North in the remote hills. Their main diet consisted of rice, Cachar and Mikir hills, Lakhimpur, Sibsagar and meat, fish and vegetables. Preparation of food was Nowgong in , in the two districts (Changlan & simple and in most cases, meat, fish or vegetables Tirap) of , in the Somrat tract and were cooked only with salt and chilly or meat cooked across the border into Myanmar12. The Naga tribes with some vegetables. Nagas are very fond of consist of 31 different tribes, viz. Angami, fermented foods. They often flavour their simple Chakhesang, Ao, Sema, Rengma, Lotha, Chang, curries with different kind of fermented food items Konyak, Sangtam, Phom, Zeliang, Mao, Maram, and herbs. The women folks of Naga villages, process Tangkhul, Maring, Anal, Mayao-Monsang, Lamkang, traditional fermented foods, such as fish, animal fats Nockte, Haimi, Htangun, Ranpan, Kolyo, Kenyu, and vegetables and beverages, viz. rice beer as done Kacha, Yachimi, Kabui, Uchongpok, Makaoro, Jeru in all other tribal communities. The most popular raw and Somra1. The Nagas are basically cultivators. They materials for fermented food items among the Naga grow rice crop, which is their staple food. They also tribes are: bamboo shoots, soybean, Colocasia leaves, grow maize, millet and fruits such as pears, plums, crabs, animal fats and fish. The paper, therefore, for oranges, lemon, pineapple, passion fruit, etc. on the the first time describes some traditional fermented hills by clearing the forest patches. foods of the Naga tribes in detail: In spite of the vast scope for ethnobotanical researches of the Naga tribes, so far a few accounts on 2,5,7-9,3 Anishi ethnobatany , which largely deal with medicinal Anishi is prepared from edible Colocasia species and wild edible plants used by the Angami, Ao, Mao, leaf mainly by Ao Naga tribe. The fresh mature green Tangkhul and Zeliang of the Naga tribes with the only leaves are taken, washed, and then the leaves are report on rice beer preparation by the Mao tribe have 4 staked one above the other and wrapped finally with been reported . Traditional fermented foods and banana leaf. It is then kept aside for about a week till beverages have been reported from Darjeeling and 6,10,11 the leaves turn yellow. The yellow leaves are then hills and from Himachal Pradesh . ground into paste and cakes are made out of it. The However, so far no detail studies have been cakes are dried over the fireplace in the kitchen. ______During grinding if desired, chilly, salt and ginger are *Corresponding author added to it. The dried cakes are ready for use. It is 38 INDIAN J TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE, VOL 6, NO. 1, JANUARY 2007

cooked with dry meat especially with pork, which is bamboo shoots are graded according to size for the favourite dish of the Ao tribe (Figs. 1a-d). preparing different dishes. Thus, from the above methods three products of fermented bamboo shoots Axone (Akhone) such as wet, dry and juice are obtained (Figs. 5b-f). Fermented soyabean [Glyxine max (L.) Merril.] is Three products mentioned above are used in cooking popularly known in Sema Naga dialect as Axone meat or vegetable dishes. However, choice of the (Akhone). It is prepared by boiling the beans till it products for cooking depends on individual or tribes. become soft and water is drained out. The cooked The juice has preservative property similar to vinegar beans are then wrapped in banana, Phrynium and meat, fish or vegetables are cooked with it have pubinerve Blume (Marantaceae) or Macaranga indica longer shelf life. Wight (Euphorbiaceae) leaves and kept above the fireplace to ferment for a week (Figs. 2a-f). Within a Fish week, the beans are used in chutney preparation along Small fishes are used as a whole and big ones are with chilly, tomato and salt. However, for long-term cut into smaller pieces. Fish is washed and put inside storage and depending on choice of taste, the a bamboo (normally in Dendrocalamus hamiltonii fermented beans are kept in cake form above the Nees et Arn. ex Munro) and tightly plugged with fireplace or individual beans are separated, dried in leaves, and kept over the fireplace for fermentation the sun and stored in containers (Figs. 3a-c). The (Figs. 6a & b). Within few days the fish becomes dried beans or cakes are cooked with meat or are used fermented and ready for use as a tastemaker for for the preparation of chutney as mentioned above. vegetable curry. However, the fermented fish can only be stored for a period of one month, as it rots Bamboo shoot gradually and becomes unpalatable. This is mainly Bamboo shoot fermentation process is done during prepared by the Lotha tribe and is still a favourite May to June when new shoots are formed. Young and food item of the villagers. tender bamboo shoots are collected, the sheaths removed, pounded or sliced into small pieces and put Crab in a conical bamboo basket with the inner wall lined The black species of crabs with hard shell is with banana leaves. Prior to this, a hole is made at the preferred as it produces an aroma with good taste. bottom (tapered end) of the basket and a pointed Crabs are washed, hard appendages and entrails bamboo stick a little longer than the length of the removed, ground and mixed properly with ground basket is inserted in the hole passing through the black til (Sesamum orientale L.) wrapped in banana, centre for draining the juice/sap. The basket is tied to Macaranga indica or Phrynium pubinerve leaf and a post, the upper portion covered with banana leaves kept over the fireplace in the typical Naga kitchen for and stones are placed above it as weight. The stick a week to ferment. On opening the wrapped banana passing through the centre of the basket is leaf, it gives a strong inherent smell, and is ready for turned/twisted from time to time to ensure proper use in cooking or chutney preparation. It is one of the drainage of the juice that comes out from the ground favourite items of several tribes, such as Lotha, Mao, bamboo shoots which is collected in a container Angami, etc. (Figs. 4a-d, 5a). The bamboo shoots and juice get fermented within Animal fats two weeks, which are now ready for use in cooking. Fermentation process of animal fats is similar to In olden day they were stored in hollow internodes of fish fermentation. The fermented fat is stored in the bamboo with one end of the node removed and bamboo and usually a spoon of it is added during plugged with a leaf or a vat made of wood and cooking of vegetable curry to soften the vegetables covered with banana leaves. The juice is stored in and also it impart nice taste to the curry. Today, the Gourd (Lagenaria siceraria Standl., Molina) practice is observed only in remote villages. (Cucurbitaceae) shell/jar commonly used by the Nagas as container. Also the fermented bamboo Discussion shoots are dried in the sun as it produces a different Barely a century had gone that distinct tribes of aroma after drying and for longer storage. The dried Naga came into contact with the outside world, which MAO & ODYUO: TRADITIONAL FERMENTED FOODS OF THE NAGA TRIBES 39

40 INDIAN J TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE, VOL 6, NO. 1, JANUARY 2007

MAO & ODYUO: TRADITIONAL FERMENTED FOODS OF THE NAGA TRIBES 41

has opened up the closed world of the Naga villages. traditional fermented foods & its safety They are being exposed from their life of simplicity to considerations. Therefore, with proper intervention of the life of modern sophistication. Today, their modern biotechnology, no doubt the traditional approaches to life have changed completely and it is fermented foods of Naga tribes can be improved and hard to find the age-old simple life style even in the boost its commercial potential. villages. Traditionally fermented foods are still a favourite item in the food preparation of Naga tribes. Acknowledgement The advent of modern civilization has adversely Authors thank the Director, Botanical Survey of affected the age-old tradition and thus the younger India, Kolkata and the Deputy Director, Eastern generations are not exposed to traditional practices. Circle, Shillong for the facilities provided for the Today, nutritional values of traditional fermented work and the villagers for providing the information foods and its quality of preserving foods is well provided for documentation. known and therefore, it is high time to revive and improve this valuable traditional biotechnology by References intervening with modern biotechnology. At present, 1 Horam M, Naga polity, (B R Publishing Corporation, Delhi) there is a need for the understanding of microbiology 1975, 27. 2 Jamir N S & Rao R R, Fifty new or interesting medicinal and biochemistry involved in the entire fermentation plants used by the Zeliang of Nagaland (India), Ethnobotany, process in Naga traditional fermented foods. Many a 2 (1990) 11-18. times the products are spoiled or the taste of the 3 Mao AA, A preliminary report on the folklore botany of the products varies considerably making it difficult to of Manipur (India), Ethnobotany, 5 (1993) standardize. The nutritional aspects of the various 143-147. 4 Mao A A, Ethonobotanical observation of rice beer Zhuchu fermented foods of the tribes need to be investigated. preparation by the Mao Naga tribe from Manipur (India), Therefore, a thorough study of microbiology and Bull Bot Surv India, 40 (1-4) (1998) 53-57. biochemistry involved in the entire fermentation 5 Megoneitso & Rao R R, Ethnobotanical studies in Nagaland, process and nutritional aspects of Naga traditional Sixty two medicinal plants used by the , J Econ Taxon Bot, 4 (1) (1983) 167-172. fermented foods need to be carried out. 6 Navdeep T, Savitri & Bhalla T C, Characterisation of some The preparation for fermentation, its processing and traditional fermented foods and beverages of Himachal harvesting can be improved through selection and Pradesh, Indian J Traditional Knowledge, 3 (3) (2004) development of productive microbial strains, control 325-335. of culture conditions, improvement in product 7 Rao R R & Jamir N S, Ethnobotanical studies in Nagaland 1. Medicinal Plants, Econ Bot, 3 (1) (1982a) 176-181. purification and concentration. Isolation and 8 Rao R R & Jamir N S, Ethnobotanical studies in Nagaland 2, characterization of the essential microorganisms, Fifty-four Medicinal plants used by Nagas, J Econ Taxon determination of physical and chemical environment Bot, 3 (1) (1982b) 11-17. affecting metabolism of these microorganism need to 9 Rao R R & Jamir N S, Ethnobotany of the Ao and Angami Nagas of Nagaland, J Econ Taxon Bot, 3 (3) (1990) 593-604. be investigated. Also, the effects of pretreatment of 10 Tamang J P, Sarkar P K & Heseltine C W, Traditional raw materials on the fermented process, identification fermented foods and beverages of Darjeeling and Sikkim, of options of down stream processing and their effect J Sci Food Agric, 44 (1988) 375. on taste and texture of the product need to be 11 Tamang JP, Thapa S, Tamang N & Rai B, Indigenous investigated. Understanding of the above mentioned fermented foods and beverages of Darjeeling Hills and Sikkim: Process and product characterization, J Hill Res, 9 aspects would certainly enable to improve and control (1996) 401. the quality of the products, and also overcome the 12 Yonuo A, The rising Nagas: A Historical and Political problems presently faced in the preparation of Study, (Vivek Publishing House, New Delhi), 1974, 1-2.