Abstract
Jagdish Lal Dawar, Food in the Life of Mizos: From Precolonial Times to the Present (Shimla: Indian Institute of Advanced Study, 2019), ix + 342 pp.
This book provides a fascinating tale of the food history of Mizoram, one of the states in India’s Northeast. Dawar discusses the natural and political conditions that have produced Mizoram’s unique food culture, covering a large historical span from the pre-colonial era to the present. He also investigates how colonisation, globalisation and industrialisation have influenced Mizoram’s food culture to elucidate how external influences, trade networks and technological advances have moulded and transformed the region’s food practises over time, resulting in a dynamic blend of tradition and contemporary innovations.
This study is a significant complement to the current boom in social science literature on modernity and indigeneity, as well as food studies. Dawar expertly situates Mizoram both geographically and politically in chapter 1, laying the groundwork for understanding how these variables interact with the region’s food history. Chapter 2 delves into Mizoram’s pre-colonial farming practices, the considerable influence of colonial policies on land settlement and the introduction of new crops and trade that transformed the region’s food patterns. Importantly, it also investigates the critical function of marketplaces and gardens in Mizoram’s economic environment.
Chapter 3 investigates the severe impact of the bamboo famine on Mizo food consumption habits. Dawar offers a captivating narrative of how the Mizos showed extraordinary resilience and creativity in coping with these hardships through a nuanced investigation of famine foods, connecting this to the Mizo ethos of tlawmngaihna, the ethos that everyone should be accommodating, compassionate and altruistic to others. In a masterful account, Dawar shows how the Mizos survived the famine by eating wild vegetables, wild sago, wild yams and even smoked dried rodents.
Chapter 4 sheds light on the territorial nature of Mizos and the impact of conflicts with the colonial government. It explores how the famine of 1959 and the resulting food scarcity ignited Mizo resistance against the Indian government. Dawar discusses how the government’s imposition of village grouping exacerbated the food scarcity and deepened the challenges faced by the Mizos. Through these narratives, the chapter underscores the intricate connections between territoriality, conflicts, food scarcity and resistance, providing valuable insights into the historical experiences and struggles of the Mizos during this period.
Chapter 5 unravels various missionaries’ judgmental and hegemonic views of Mizo culture and depicts how Mizos resisted this stereotyping through ridicule and feasting. Gradually Mizos converted to Christianity, which played a pivotal role in creating new tastes, a trend further sanctified by the Young Mizo Association. Dawar critically analyses the role of missionaries in censuring the practice of sharing food from the same plate (thlangra), which is now being revived as Mizo tradition (pp. 161-3). Furthermore, Dawar explores the gendered aspects of food and shows how Mizo migrants in other parts of India and in foreign countries reconstruct Mizo cuisine, based on their memories.
Chapter 6 unfolds evidence of the local bakery business through oral testimonies of bakery owners. These are mostly female converts to Christianity who learnt such skills directly from missionary women. Chapter 7 provides a concise overview of the historical emergence of modern restaurants in Mizoram, examining their development as a symbol of cosmopolitanism within the region. Chapter 8 shifts the focus to the history of milk consumption in Mizoram, showing how colonialism, Christianity and insurgency contributed to the increasing popularity of milk among the lactose-resistant Mizos. Here, Dawar sheds light on the significant role played by Gorkhas from Nepal, who were brought over by the British Indian army to accompany them in the Lushai Expedition of 1871–72 and the Chin-Lushai Expedition of 1889–90. Later, they were encouraged to settle in Mizoram, where they played a crucial role in dairy farming (pp. 246–9).
Notably, the book has a limited reach in terms of its analysis of the politics surrounding meat-eating in Mizo society. The contentious issues related to meat consumption, particularly beef and the slaughter of animals, have garnered significant national attention, particularly in the context of recent majoritarian politics. It is worth noting that in 2017, a Mizo NGO organised a beef festival during the visit of the Union Home Minister, further adding to the contested discourse on this topic. The coverage of smoked meat, a popular diet item in Mizoram, is lacking from this book, as is the locally observable consumption of dog meat, which holds significance in Mizo cuisine and is often associated with special feasts (bara khana).
The book predominantly focuses on the Lushai tribe, neglecting to establish connections with the food history of other tribes in the Southern districts of Mizoram. While Dawar examines how local tastes were influenced by the arrival of missionaries, there is a notable omission of the indigenous flavours inherent in Mizo cuisine, particularly the prominent use of savouriness (umami). Similarly, while the book focuses on the introduction of new crops by the missionaries, there is limited discussion on traditional local vegetables and greens unique to Mizoram and Mizo cuisine (p. 37). For instance, zawngtra, known as yongchak in Manipur, often called stinking beans or bitter beans, is a famous vegetable in Mizoram. Extensive usage of fermented soybean (bekang) as a flavour for stews, or its combination with chilies as an accompaniment for rice also reveals historical food connections with Southeast Asian nations, even Korea and Japan (Jacob, 2020). These vegetables are known for their pungent smell and Northeastern people are often discriminated against for consuming these unfamiliar items. Roluahpuia (2023: 89) reports that others ‘will start circling us and blaming us for bringing beef inside if we bring specific vegetables into the dining area that they are unfamiliar with’. Likewise, while the book provides extensive information about modern restaurants, it overlooks the significance of local roadside eateries in Mizoram’s culinary landscape.
Overall, Dawar’s study is a valuable resource for studying indigenous food culture in Mizoram and presents readers with a comprehensive narrative that celebrates the indigenously inhabited state’s culinary traditions and indigenous food culture, while capturing the dynamic nature of its gastronomic evolution from pre-colonial times to the present. Scholars specialising in colonial and postcolonial northeast India would find this book also a valuable resource for researching the historical impacts of colonial and religious interventions in the region’s culinary history. An additional particular significance of this study lies in its incorporation of local people’s oral history through personal interviews. Dawar effectively challenges the colonial gaze by providing a Mizo perspective and critically examining the local food history.