Assam Heritage Shines: 8 Unique Products Earn Prestigious GI Tag

GUWAHATI: The Geographical Indications Registry in Chennai conferred GI tags on eight products coming from Assam, which included traditional foods and different kinds of rice beer.

The Bodo Traditional Brewers Association applied for the GI tags for three rice beers. The highest alcohol content found in Bodo rice beers was in 'Bodo Jou Gwran, which had an alcohol content of about 16.11%.

The second, 'Maibra Jou Bidwi' or 'Maibra Jwu Bidwi' or 'Maibra Zwu Bidwi', is one of the popular welcome drinks in Bodo tribes. It is prepared through fermenting half-cooked rice with little water and with yeast-like 'amao'.

The third type is 'Bodo Jou Gishi,' a traditional rice-based alcoholic beverage. The GI application shows that rice beer was an age-old item from the Bodo culture, which originated from Lord Shiva and was administered as medicine.

Four GI tags were provided by the Association of Traditional Food Products for four items among which 'Bodo Napham' happens to be one of the favorite dishes prepared from fermented fish.

The fish is kept in air-tight vessels for about two to three months, which is one of the traditional preservation methods for the Bodo people like smoking, drying, salting, fermenting, and marinating. Fermentation is preferred here since these regions receive heavy rainfall and are fully flooded throughout the year, with little availability of fish everywhere in all seasons.

Chennai-based Geographical Indications (GI) Registry has accorded GI tags to eight products from Assam, including traditional foods and unique varieties of rice beer.

Another such product, 'Bodo Ondla', a rice powder curry flavored with garlic, ginger, salt, and alkali, also won the GI tag. 'Bodo Gwkha' (popularly also known as 'Gwka Gwkhi'), which is a dish prepared on the occasion of the Bwisagu festival, and 'Bodo Narzi', a semi-fermented food prepared from jute leaves, have been awarded GI tags. The Bodo Narzi boasts of high Omega-3 fatty acids along with vitamins, calcium, and magnesium in its composition.

Traditional Bodo weavers association could get the 'Bodo Aronai' handwoven cloth, which is 1.5-2.5 meters in length and 0.5 m in width, GI-tagged. The traditions Bodo people possess in themselves range from dance, music, festival, and clothing to nature, with designs such as trees, flowers, mountains, birds, etc.

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