Food, Memory and Identity: Tracing Mizo Foodways

Abstract

This paper will deal with the development of food practices among the Mizos with the development of their culture and society. The Mizos are a people living in Mizoram, situated in the northeastern region of India, bordered by Myanmar on the east and Bangladesh on the west. Rice is the staple food of the Mizos and the dishes prepared to be eaten with the rice are called chawhmeh (side dish). The important role played by memory and time in repeating and recreating various versions of food preparations will also be discussed. The changes in the food practices act as a valid record of the changes brought forth by the socio-economic conditions of the time. This paper will take into account the Mizo customs of food production, preservation, presentation and marketing. This paper will thus take into account how the ‘indigenousness’ (Dunkel 46) of the Mizos explains their foodways. This paper will study the ways in which food and food practices keep the tradition and memory of a people alive, and the reason for the lack of certain items like salt in the preparations will also be explained. This paper will also study the reversal of gender roles during feast preparation and how age-old customs are still practiced by the Mizos during mealtime.

Keywords

• custom, memory
• mizo
• tradition