By H H Mohrmen
Many of us would think that paddy fields only grow rice. It is also true that the major crop produced from the field is rice, but it is also true that the rice eco-system has much to offer to the farmers than just rice. During the rice growing season, farmers not only get rice from the rice fields but they also harvest many things apart from rice.
The bunds or stretch of land about one feet wide in between the paddy fields which divide the field into sections of equal levels which also help keep the water required for growing rice are called ‘stiar hali’. The ‘stiar hali’ not only go into making the terrace, but are also responsible for making the different patterns that gives the paddy field its uniform and orderly and which adds to the beauty of the fields when seen from afar. The dividers also make it convenient for the farmers to manage the fields. Rice fields and particularly irrigation canals, dams and check dams are also an example of the marvel of indigenous engineering employed in wetland cultivation.
And apart from grass, the ‘stiar hali’ also grows herbs call ‘Ïamyrdoh’, Ïali Stiar and ‘Tyngkhieh/khliang syiar’ which are greens that people eat raw. People of the area have been consuming these three green leafy vegetables which they believe to be good for their health and they have been doing so since time immemorial. And because these vegetables grow naturally, the vegetables are also part of the Indigenous Food System of the community which supplement their nutritional requirements. Also because they grow in abundance, farmers are also selling them in the market now and collecting the vegetables becomes an income generating activity for them.
But another food which is available in the rice ecosystem is a kind of fish locally known as ‘dathli’ or ‘dohthli’ in Khasi. In English it is called the snakehead fish. The fish looks like a snake. Its scientific name is Channa Pardalis and its size varies between two to five inches depending on the variety that one catches. The fish is a dark brown colour and it has small fins and a tail. It is a kind of fish which lives in wetlands or mud and during winter when there is no water, the snake fish lives in the swamp. It can survive in wet and damp places even if there is no water. It remains alive in that condition till the rains start falling in the hills again.
Therefore at the onset of summer when farmers begin tilling and collecting water in their fields, the fish also starts to come out of its dormant stage in the mud and fills the paddy fields. Rice is a plant which requires maximum water to grow, hence farmers ensure that water covers the paddy fields much of the time and this is good for the fish too. The fish helps the farmers by eating up the insects which damage the rice plant and its waste also helps in fertilising the soil.
This traditional practice of the Pnar people is perhaps the first rice-fish farming system which people have been practicing for ages. At the end of the season, the farmers not only harvest rice from the fields but they also catch snakehead fish and collect herbs throughout the year. In a year, the rice ecosystem therefore provides farmers more than just rice but other nutritional food too and that helps enhance their income.
To catch these fish, farmers make a small basket known as ‘Khnaam’ which is about 12 inches long and which looks like a flower vase with a pointed end at the bottom. It is open only on one side which is considered to be the head of the ‘khnaam’ while the other end is closed. In fact ‘khnaam’ is made from a single bamboo which is then sliced perpendicularly into many pieces. It is made by using another sliced bamboo to horizontally weave these perpendicularly sliced bamboos.
The top or the head of ‘Khnaam’ is where the trick lies, it is open and it is much bigger than the body of the Khnaam, to enable the fish to enter the basket. The shape of the ‘kyrchiap’ or cover is like a funnel and it is made in such a way that it has spikes at the end when the cover is put inside the head of the basket. The spike faces towards the inside of the basket and is made is such a way that it becomes easy for the fish to enter the basket from the opening. Once the fish is trapped inside and because the cover is cone-shaped, the spikes prevent the fish from getting out of the basket. Snake-head fish like worms so the farmers place worms inside the basket which act like a bait to attract the snakehead fish and once it enters the basket then it gets trapped there.
In a single basket the farmers can catch between eight and ten fishes. They are caught alive with no harm whatsoever done to the fish. This has another advantage for the farmers. They can keep the fish for future consumption by keeping them in a container and only changing the water in the container every day. In this way they get a regular supply of fish every day as long as the fish lasts. It is like having a fish pond where you can also have a fresh supply of fish any time. In case they catch more than they need for consumption, farmers will dry it over the fire place and by doing so they are able to preserve the fish for a longer period of time and consume it as and when required.
How is the fish cooked then? The most popular dish made of the snake fish is call ‘Dathli chet sngad’, where the fish is cooked without gravy. ‘Chet sngad’ is not a curry and it is not fried either, it is in between where a paste which is made from grinding onion, garlic, turmeric and nai-iong or black sesame seeds (sesanum indicum). This is then fried in a little oil for a few minutes and the fish is then added to the fried paste. A little water is added to the mixture and after cooking for about twenty minutes the dish is ready. This is the most popular dish made of dathli, but some people would also add finely chopped wild Sohphoh Khasi/saphoh ptet (Docynia indica khasiana), with its water extracted so as to make it taste, less sour. This is the dish which is popular amongst the urban people of Jaintia hills.
The fish can also be fried but before that the fish is mixed with turmeric and salt and then fried (not deep fried) in a pan. The popular way of eating the fish is by inserting a sliced bamboo or a thin iron (nar thang-ktung uses for roasting dry fish in the fire place) through the centre of the fish, lengthwise and allow it to be smoked near the fireplace. The fish are kept around the fire place until it is cooked. This is easy and convenient especially when you are in the field where you don’t have oil, spices and even pots and pans. After heating it till it is cooked, farmers sometime mix it with salt, onion and few drops of lemon to taste.
There is no specific time when the trap is laid, but generally farmers put it in the evening and collect the same in the morning. Setting of Khnaam to catch Dathli starts soon after rice saplings are transplanted in the fields, but the peak time to catch Dathli is from September till before harvest.
It is rather amusing to read in the news recently that the minister in charge of fisheries announced that the government is encourage farmers to start rice-fish farming vide an idea borrowed from somewhere else when we already have our own methods which were practiced since ancient times. The North East Slow Food and Agro-biodiversity Society (NESFAS) embarked on a project which is being supported by REC (Rural Electrification Corporation) to help people get access to nutritional food available in the Indigenous food systems. This project has many components and this write-up is the outcome of Agro-biodiversity walk, in which farmers, youth and students participated to understand the biodiversity or food diversity that exists in the rice ecosystem.