Saturday, November 24, 2018

Journal Entry 2


FORGOTTEN TREES
THE EXCITING LIFE AND UNNOTICED DEATH OF INDIGENOUS FOODS


©2018  Kajsa Alger
Tamang Translation and Cultural Guide: Bhimsen Tamang

Journal 2, Tekampur
            Can a tree be sexy?  When the bark shaves off to reveal a golden peach colored flesh that is soft and pliable, I may argue that it’s possible.  When that piece of tree is then carried into a village and chopped finely, placed in a bowl of fresh ground flour and made into a dough where speckles of the color fleck and shimmer on the surface, I would say most likely.  That dough is then made into the perfectly round fried pastry called Sel Roti, a staple of the indigenous Tamang and Nepali diet.  You may wrap it up and eat it alone, or dip into some daal or curry.  The tree gives an element of lightness that make the Sel Roti soft and supple.  You dip the Roti into the curry and take a bite.  Your senses explode with the earthy, exotic spices of an age-old comfort food and you realize that yes, a tree can be sexy.

            It is rough country in Tekampur.  The days of farming or herding are long and physical.  The weather is harsh and there is no hot water in Nepal except for hotels.  The traditional Tamang day starts off with a breakfast of Makai Rhoba.  This is a corn kernel, roasted and popped in a mud pot[1] .  Soybeans are also toasted in the pot and combined with the corn kernels and eaten together with achar and either tea or Chyang.  Chyang is a fermented drink made by the indigenous peoples of Nepal.  You can find it made with corn where there are Tamang, Gurung, and Magar tribes. Some Sherpa, Sunuwar and Rai drink as well, but it is less common to make with corn than rice or barley[2].  A cooked grain is mixed with a dried yeast and wild herb flora called Chanzi[3] and then kept in jars or bamboo barrels wrapped with towels for 6 days.  Afterwards, the jars are filled with water and the strained liquid is the Chyang.  The solid product leftover is used for animal feed. 

And so, the day begins.  For the traditional Tamang, some Makai Rhoba with achar and a bowl of Chyang.  Sel Roti and Tea are taken to the fields or for the work day.  The new generation of younger people in Tekampur, as in the rest of the world, opt for quicker and easier foods in lieu of Makai.  Gurulachhin Tamang is 5 years old.  He eats biscuits and tea for breakfast.  It is faster and tastes better[4].  Sel roti is made less and less in the village because of the time it takes, and someone has introduced baking powder into the markets.  Sel made with Damsing is very rare now. 


   
  
   







[1] A Mud Pot is a pot that has been coated with mud on the bottom and outside so that after cooking over open fire and flame, it can be washed easily.
[2] Chyang is often made with rice, barley, or millet.  The method is the same but corn is also used by the Tamang.
[3] I have heard both the words Marcha and Murcha used for this as well.  The Tibetans call it Pab.
[4] The original Tamang translation of this was “tasty and quick”.  The biscuits are British biscuits, as in cookies.

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