Eating Rice or Barley, a Question of Modernity ?

We were talking with some of my informants in Zanskar, and at the same time, cooking for some festival. Then one of the young Zanskarpa told me "Old People Eat (S)nganphe". As Charles Ramble once observed, "'Tsampa [(S)nganphe] -eaters' is an evocative designation for ethnic Tibetans" (1993: 21). When the younger generation declares that their elders are "barley eaters" they are pointing at once to a generation gap and the new identity-building process of which this statement is a part. Barley has long been highly valued in Tibet, where it is used raw (nas) or grilled ((s)nganphe), as whole grain or flour. In these forms it is used for various purposes-in religious rituals, domestic rituals, in medicine, as currency, for domestic uses such as starching a hat, and for cooking. But as Tibet is changing, this vital foodstuff and cultural anchor is taking on some new meanings and losing others.

At an altitude of between 3,600 and 4,000 meters, the Zanskar Valley is nestled in the great Himalayan range. Zanskar has a population of 13,673; they are officially classified as a scheduled tribe 'Boto/Bozo' (i.e., Bhot/Tibetan), who are either followers of Mahayana Buddhism (92.73 percent) or Sunni Islam (7.27 percent).

The arrival of Indian state administration in the 1970s, and especially the permanent establishment of facilities such as the Government Store for Food and Supplies, has transformed the way Zanskarpas eat. This deep transformation accompanied the development of tourism and the intensification of commercial exchange at the beginning of the twenty-first century: Vegetables, pastas, chicken, eggs and so forth began to appear in shops in the main bazaar in Padum. An additional impact on the traditional diet is that more and more Zanskarpas travel beyond their valley; they may stay in neighbouring valleys or go farther down the Himalayan range to India to study. When you ask younger people about their standard foods, they answer, "A good meal should be rice and meat." Older generations still maintain that "eating barley is the only way to stay in good health." This paper, based on extensive field research, will discuss the ways local people think about modernity versus tradition, and how food is a significant component in this transformation of Zanskar Valley.