Tripura Reang Tribal Forest Food Knowledge

The Reang (Bru) tribe of Tripura, one of nineteen recognized tribal communities in the state, have developed an extensive forest food knowledge system over centuries in the densely forested hill terrain of southern Tripura and the Jampui and Atharamura hill ranges, drawing on over two hundred wild plant species for food, medicine, and ritual use, with bamboo shoot processing techniques, wild honey gathering protocols, and seasonal fern collection cycles forming the foundation of household food security during lean months. Reang women process bamboo shoots (kawak) through fermentation, boiling, and sun drying into a preserved side dish that can last months and is central to Reang cuisine. The Reang community's traditional house type (chang ghar) elevated on bamboo stilts is designed for the humid forest environment, with bamboo screens that control ventilation. Reang communities in Mizoram and Tripura have experienced displacement and conflict over land rights and forest access, with a substantial Reang refugee population in relief camps in Assam and Mizoram as a result of ethnic conflict in Mizoram in the 1990s. The Garia harvest festival involves elaborate bamboo and palm-leaf ritual structures, community brewing of rice beer, and performance of Hozagiri dance, a Reang women's dance balancing earthen pots on the head while performing on a brass plate.