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FOOD and
DRINK
The staple food of the Naga tribes is rice. It is generally taken with meat
or vegetables. The Nagas are very fond of chillies and the Semas eat them with
the greatest delight. Meat could be beef, pork and chicken. Nagas also
eat mithun, dogs, cats, fish, spiders, birds, crabs - in fact almost any
living thing that he can lay his hands on. Even the elephant is eaten and
is considered a delicacy. No part of the animal is wasted. Even the skin and
intestines are eaten. The skin is spared only if needed for making a shield.
Sometimes the meat is smoke dried and preserved for a long time. Meat and vegetables are usually cooked together. The food is generally boiled.
Certain items are considered taboo by the Nagas either because they are not
clean or because they are suspected to transmit their qualities to the
consumer. Most of the restrictions relate to women, and in case of items which
are 'Genna' for men to take, the restriction is relaxed in respect of old people. Women are not allowed to eat monkeys lest they became
extravagant. Pregnant
woman was not allowed to eat a bear, as it is regarded as a stupid animal. The tiger and the leopard are not taken because of an old belief that man,
tiger and spirit were all brothers at beginning of creation.
Rice beer is the main drink. It is generally of three kinds, Zutho, Ruhi,
and Dzutse and may be taken at any time. It is nutritive in content and if hygienically
prepared is a desirable drink. It is taken by all, including
the very young.
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