Food practice for physical and spiritual well-being of the Zeme, the tribe in Northeast India

Food is a necessity for physical and spiritual well-being. It is sacred, identity, medicines, arts, religion, politics, social and legal. The different social system is recognised by the type of food that people consumed demarcating self and others. For some, certain foods are delicacies but taboo for others. Nevertheless, taste and smell determine the delicacy of the food. Against this background, the paper examines the traditional concept of food, food practices, and different types of food that the Zeme consumes in brief. The paper explores the delicacies of dry season food such as nkampi chutney, fermentation of bamboo shoots, namely kechui-hia and kechui-nnang, and mustard leaf paste-taste making, njetim, and the local beverages called zou. The paper locates the different local beverages in the context of legal, social, religion and gender implications. The study observed that the Zeme’s food practices have gone through radical changes with the appropriation of the other food practices engrossed into the realm of market enterprises. It is of the view that proper value addition to the food practices can enhance their livelihood opportunities. The paper concluded that it serves as a foundation for the scientific investigation on the Zeme’s food practice in general and fermented food making in particular, and contributions to the food literature. © 2020, The Author(s).