The Nagas

Hill Peoples of Northeast India

Project Introduction The Naga Database

miscellaneous papers, notebooks and letters on Nagas by Ursula Graham Bower, 1937-1947

caption: food taboos
medium: notes
production:
person: Graham Bower/ Ursula
date: 1937-1946
acquirer:
person: private collection
text: Tiger & leopard: old men only
text: wild dog: old men only
text: leopard-cat: old men only
text: rats & mice: eaten by none
text: bamboo rat: eaten by men only
text: bats: sometimes toasted & eaten by children, less entrails
text: huluk: eaten by men and sometimes by women
text: langur: eaten by men and sometimes by women
text: otter: eaten by men but not by women (pref. not genna)
text: musk-rat: never eaten
text: crow: not eaten
text: mynah: not forbidden, but not tasty. Children sometimes eat it.
text: hornbill (Great): old men only
text: green parrot: old men only as it is always pecking and peeking & eaters might acquire the habit
text: swallow, swift, house-martin: not eaten
text: small red-feathered bird, whose feathers are much worn as ear ornaments, ngeruina: old men only
text: hawks, kites: old men only