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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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