Food In The Life Of Mizos: From Precolonial Times To The Present

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Jagdish Lal Dawar founder head of the department of History & Ethnography, Mizoram University, Aizawl, was Dean, School of Social Sciences before retiring from Mizoram University in October, 2015.

He has guided PhD scholars both in Arunchal University (Rajiv Gandhi University, Itanagar) and Mizoram University. He was visiting scholar at the Rachel Carson Centre for Environment and History, Rachel Carson Centre for Environment and History, Ludwig Maximilians Universitat, Munchen, Germany from June to July, 2011. He has been a Fellow of the Indian Institute of Indian Studies, Shimla from May, 2016 to April, 2018.

He has presented papers in various conferences in India and abroad. Besides contributing papers to various journals and as chapters in edited books, he has also written Cultural Identity of Tribes of Northeast India: Movement for Cultural Identity among the Adis of Arunachal Pradesh.

This book is about production, distribution and consumption of food and impediments to these due to natural and political forces since nineteenth century in Mizoram to the present. While the focus is on Mizo food consumption practices, this study is a broad negotiation with colonial and post-colonial modernity, where in, bakery products, milk and restaurants etc. represented sites of such modernity with which the Mizo people transacted and construct ed a Mizo version of modernity.

This monograph is the outcome of the Fellowship granted by the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla from 2 May 2016 to 1 May 2018. I thank Prof. Chetan Singh the former director for his keen and critical interest in issues related to the question of food studies. This study however started a long time ago and my debt is large. Recalling the names of all who helped and assisted me in preparation of this book is almost an impossible task; some are likely to be missed. The individuals and institutions I acknowledge below are just those that readily come to my mind; I beg the indulgence of others.

I express my thanks to the University Grants Commission, New Delhi, for granting me the project on history of food in the North-East India, with special reference to Mizoram, while I was with the Department of History and Ethnography, Mizoram University. This opportunity enabled me to collect material from different regions of North-East India.

I thank my interpreters, specifically Pi Lalmuanpuii Khiangte, Associate Professor, Government College, Lunglei, Mizoram, for not only helping me in conducting interviews at Lunglei but also helping me in translating a number of documents collected from the archive maintained by Baptist Mission headquarters at Serkawn, Lunglei.

I owe most to the two institutions where I have taught for years, Arunachal University (Rajiv Gandhi University), Itanagar, and Mizoram University, Aizawl. Prof Tamo Mibang encouraged me to conduct research on various aspects of the history of Arunachal Pradesh during the 1990s. He has been a generous friend. Sarit Chaudhuri and Sucheta Sen Chaudhuri as my erstwhile colleagues in Arunachal University have been providing me a deep insight into Anthropological issues from time to time. Discussion with Sajal Nag from time to time has broadened the frontiers of my knowledge on the various communities of North-East India.

I would be failing in my duty if I don't express my intellectual debt to my former colleagues in the department of History & Ethnography, Mizoram University: K. Robin, Lalngurliana Sailo, Rohmingmawi. Besides 1 am highly obliged to Remruatkimi, Department of History, Government Hrangbana College, Aizawl, and Vanlalremruata Tonson for helping me in providing material from time to time and also translating some documents from Mizo to English language. I am highly indebted to Pu Thangchungnunga (PU Para) for his support from time to time.

I acknowledge the help of all my fellow colleagues at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, and specifically Samir Banerjee who took great pains to go through the draft and for his suggestions at various stages of the writing of this monograph. I thank Prof Sujata Patel for her help in providing suggestions and restructuring the the chapter on Restaurants. The weekly seminars presented by Fellows have been very helpful in developing my ideas.

Officials at several libraries and archives have helped my research: V. Remkunga, the archivist of the Baptist Christian Mission (BCM), Lunglei, who was extremely helpful when I spent a few days in the archive maintained by Baptist Christian Mission, Lunglei; the archive maintained by Aizawl Theological College, Durtlang (Aizawl); Mizoram State Archives, Aizawl; Synod Archive, Aizawl; Assam State Archives, Dispur; Central Library. Mizoram University, Aizawl; Mizoram State Library, Aizawl; Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, Teen Murti Bhavan, New Delhi, Central Secretariat Library, New Delhi; Central Library. Jawahar Lal Nehru University, New Delhi; Ratan Tata Library, Delhi School of Economics, New Delhi, Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, New Delhi. I am extremely obliged to the Librarian and his team at Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla.

1 express my thanks to the entire secretarial staff at IIAS. including the drivers and mess staff, for making my stay very comfortable at the Institute.

The support of my brothers, Roshan Lal Dawar and Om Prakash Dawar, and sister Krishna Devi Ahuja has been very significant in my life.

Last but not the least the entire credit in writing of this monograph goes to my wife Usha Dawar and daughters Shivali and Bhumika who have been always inspiring me to complete my work. Usha Dawar had to take the entire burden of domestic chores on her shoulders and allow me to pay full attention to my work.

Mizoram situated between 21°58' north to 24°35' north latitude and 91°15' east to 93°29' east longitude, covering an area of 21,081 sq.km. forms one of the seven states of the North-East. It is flanked by Manipur, Assam and Tripura states of India and shares International border with Myanmar and Bangladesh.

The entire territory is mostly mountainous and hilly with precipitous slopes forming deep gorges culminating into several streams and rivers. Almost all the hill ranges traverse in the north-south direction. The western side of the ranges is always very steep and precipitous whereas the eastern sides are somewhat gentler¹. There are small as well as big rivers, the former being seasonal and mainly dependent upon monsoon, the later ones are Tlawng (Dhaleswari), Tuirial (Sonai), Chhimtuipuii (Kolodyne) and Khawthlangtuipuii (Karnafuli), which, however, don't dry up and are navigable throughout the year. In spite of its tropical location, Mizoram has a moderate climate. During the monsoon, the climate is humid and it rains from May to September. It has a short winter and long summer. Because of its climatic conditions, there has been a presence of dense forests of evergreen trees and variety of bamboo species. These resources supported the economic lives of the people of this region. In this respect, bamboo being an important part of forest ecology in Mizoram was the fulcrum of Mizo economic and cultural life. The abundance of forest cover and water resources in turn had created conditions for the development of rich wild life. In fact the integration of human and non-human is embedded in the folklore of the Mizo community.