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Alcoholic Rice Beverages
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The Karbis have an age old tradition of preparing Hor Alank (rice beer) by fermenting cooked rice with locally prepared yeast culture called Thap and distilling the alcohol called Hor Arak from the beer. Thap is traditionally prepared from leaves of Croton joufra Roxb. and uncooked rice. Highly concentrated alcohol in small quantities has been used among rural masses to cure dysentery, pharyngitis and cholera; while hor alank is used as preservative and for flavouring dried fish (manthu). The paper describes the indigenous method of preparing the beverage, various substitutes and adulterants used for the preparation of thap and its uses. The traditional Still called Bhot as well as improved Still have also been described in detail.
The main objective of this article is to document and represent the medicinal herb used for the preparation of Apong by the Mising tribal community. North-East India is inhabited by many indigenous tribes and as a part of their socio-cultural life, most of these tribes prepare their own household liquors, mostly using rice grains as the substrate. Each of the tribes also prepares their own unique starter cultures to carry out fermentation, and each type is a mixture of different parts of various plant species. There are 39 plants documented here which possess distinct medicinal values. The paper reflects the rich ethno medicinal values of the herbs. The informations are collected by the active field survey in three villages of Sibsagar district in Assam, and through the available local literature. This review will help to researchers and scholars to investigate the proper bio-molecules and its' accessible pharmacological responses. The further scrutiny and evaluation of the safety parameters of each component of the herb used in Apong may be investigate to develop a pharmacologically potent lead molecule.
The study of ethnobotany relating to any tribe is in itself a very intricate or convoluted process. The Northeastern part of India is well known for production of household liquors, which is associated with the regions rich indigenous knowledge system. The paper documents the traditional knowledge for the preparation of starter cultures used by the indigenous tribes through structured questionnaires in consultations with a few ethnic tribes residing in isolated pockets of Northeast India. The study revealed that the methods for production of household liquors among the different tribes vary, as all of them follow their own indigenous protocols, where they use different plants during the preparation of starter culture although the substrate employed as the source of carbon is common. The study thus highlights the potentials of the ethnobotanical research and the need for documentation of traditional knowledge pertaining to the production of alcohol.
In practically all the states of India, some fermented food or drink is part of daily intake for easy digestion of food. In eastern India, it is rice beer or wine. Drinking alcoholic beverages may be seen as stigma in many societies but in Eastern India, it has a place equivalent to that of lassi (beverage made from curd) and tea as a food item. Rice beer has achieved a holy status as it is used as a welcome drink by most of the tribes. It is equally liked by children, adults, men, and women and also used as offerings to deities and no ceremony is complete without ample use of rice beer. During the British period, authorities banned the production of this homemade drink to collect excise from distilled drinks, but it created social problems. This paper especially highlights various alcoholic rice beverages prepared by various tribes and their role in cultural life in eastern India.
Rice-beer prepared at household level of the aboriginal communities of Assam is served to all irrespective of age and sex. Certain plant species are traditionally used by the Rabhas of Goalpara district of Assam for the preparation of rice-beer cakes as well as rice beer. Goalpara district of Assam is situated on the southern bank of the river Brahmaputra. Several villages of the district are the homeland of some Indo-Mongoloid tribes like the Bodos, Garos, Hajongs, Karbis, Rabhas, etc. Rice-beer accounts for a major portion of the daily caloric intake of these tribes. These tribes traditionally use certain herbs for the preparation of starter cake to be used in the making of alcoholic drink or rice-beer. Numerically, Rabhas are the most dominant tribe of the district. The study is aimed for the need of a detailed study on the curative properties of the herbs used by the Rabhas for the preparation of rice-beer cakes and rice-beer, which may provide better and beneficial remedies for many ailments.
Utilisation of locally available agricultural and livestock produces into edible products known as ethnic fermented foods and beverages is common among different tribes of North Cachar Hills of Assam. Some of the familiar fermentedfoods are bekanthu (preparedfrom soyb,eans), miya (from bamboo shoot), saphak and satu (prepared from pork fat) and some common alcoholic beverages prepared from rice are judima, zunak, dekuijao and distilled liquor juharo. These ethnic foods and drinks are important contents in local diets of the people ofN. C Hills, Traditional methods of preparation withflow sheets, their mode of consumption and some social importance of these ethnicfermentedfoods and beverages ofN.C Hills have been documented, which may be useful to understand the traditional knowledge of food production in rural Assam.