Yimchunger Naga Traditional Rice Beer Tsou Nagaland

The Yimchunger Naga tribe of Tuensang district Nagaland produces Tsou — a traditional rice beer brewed from glutinous rice using a natural yeast cake (thukhrie) made from dried root and bark of forest plants. Tsou is fermented in bamboo vessels for 3-7 days and consumed fresh or strained as a clear spirit at community festivals, Tsokum harvest celebration, and ancestor propitiation ceremonies. Cooperative Yimchunger women brewers in Yanglok and Noklak villages maintain the thukhrie starter culture knowledge that cannot be replicated with commercial yeast. The Nagaland Tribal Brewer Cooperative has secured a state excise exemption for tribally-brewed traditional beverages consumed within community. Bottled and certified Tsou and Naga rice beers have been introduced to urban markets in Kohima and Dimapur through Northeast organic food cooperatives. Tsou represents an important nutritional and social function in Naga community life.