Dietary taboos of the Dai people

The Dai people do not have dietary taboos that are uniformly enforced by the entire nation. Most of the existing rules are bound to the Theravada Buddhist beliefs, primitive nature worship, traditional ecological views, and the living habits of different branches. There are huge differences between regions, branches, and generations. Most of them are soft requirements that follow the Romans when you go to the countryside. Very few are hard rules that will be severely punished if you offend.

Two years ago, I went to live in the Dai Village in Daluo Town, Menghai County for half a month. Before departure, I searched a bunch of so-called "Taboo Guides of the Dai People" for fear of upsetting the host. However, when I arrived at my friend Yan Wen's house, the first meal was served with grilled pork belly, boiled fish with sour bamboo shoots and fragrant bamboo shoots. Thatch-roasted chicken, he smiled and said to me, "Don't believe what is said on the Internet: You can't eat this and you can't touch that. Our family doesn't have that many rules. Just don't stick your chopsticks straight into the glutinous rice - it's to honor the dead." The first meal broke the stereotype I had accumulated before.

Regarding the dietary taboos of the Dai people, the most widely circulated saying is "no mutton or dog meat", but the actual situation is far from that absolute. Last year at the night market in Ruili, Dehong, I saw an authentic Dai stall selling charcoal-grilled lamb chops. The owner was a local Shui Dai, and he had a very steady hand in spreading the dipping sauce. He said, "We, the older generation, really don't like to eat it. We think the mutton smells strong. They also said that sheep will nibble the grass beside the mountain altar, which is not considered clean, but we young people don't care about this, as long as it smells good." As for dog meat, most traditional Dai families would not take the initiative to eat it. After all, dogs used to be guardians of the house and companions for hunting in the mountains. After being raised for a long time, dogs became affectionate. But now there are also younger generations studying and working outside. If this is not taboo, no one will jump out to criticize it. It is all a personal choice. There are also differences in this point in the field of folklore. Some people think that this kind of taboo is a legacy of primitive worship of ghosts and gods, while others think that it is essentially the consensus of life in rural society. It is the same logic as the habit of not eating farm cattle in many places, and it has nothing to do with religious compulsion.

If it’s the three days before the Closing Festival, the Opening Festival or the Water Splashing Festival, you can pay more attention when visiting the homes of Buddhist elderly people. Many elderly people will fast during this period and only eat vegetarian food. It’s okay if you bring braised food or the like with you. People won’t say you’re ignorant, you just don’t eat meat. Also, go to the Burmese temple in the village. Don’t just take the offerings of fruits and glutinous rice from the altar and stuff them into your mouth. You have to wait for the Buddha or the old man in charge to give them to you before picking them up. Otherwise, it will be disrespectful to the Buddha. This is a general consensus among believers. Dai villages in any region basically pay attention to this.

What’s interesting is that many of the rules that are classified as “taboos” are actually survival wisdom left by our ancestors. I heard in the village of Huayao Dai in Mojiang that wild vegetables, wild fruits, and wild animals in the sacred forest cannot be caught and eaten. At first, I thought it was some kind of feudal stricture. Later, after talking to the village elder, I found out that the sacred forest is the water source of the entire village. The purpose of not allowing the animals and plants in it to be touched is to protect the ecology. If trees are cut down or animals are hunted, soil erosion will occur, and the entire village will be deprived of water. Isn’t this more down-to-earth than blunt environmental protection propaganda? There are also rice flower fish in the rice fields, which are not allowed to be fished casually. The whole village can only fish them together after the rice is harvested. This is also to allow the fish to eat pests in the rice fields during the growth period, reduce the use of pesticides, and make the rice grow better. To put it bluntly, there are no taboos on the line, but they are all practical experiences accumulated by ancestors.

In fact, many "taboos" posted on the Internet have not been taken seriously by many people for a long time, such as "you can't sit on the threshold to eat", "you can't talk loudly while eating", "women can't touch the food used for sacrifices". I have seen Yan Wen's sister sitting on the threshold eating cold rice noodles from a bowl. The smell of sour bamboo shoots filled the courtyard, and her grandmother was weaving brocade beside her without even saying a word. Only in particularly traditional old villages, the glutinous rice used for sacrifices and the first bowl of meat from the pig-killing meal will be handed to the village elders and male elders first. This does not mean that women will do anything if they touch them. It is just a matter of seniority. It is the same as the Han people in their hometowns who wait for the elders to use their chopsticks first when eating.

To be honest, you don’t need to memorize a lot of taboo guidelines in advance when you are a guest in the Dai family. Dai people are easy-going by nature. If you really need to pay attention to anything, the host will greet you in advance. If you accidentally commit some taboos, just apologize with a smile, and no one will take it seriously. After all, for them, the most important thing about eating is having fun. Sour bamboo shoots, glutinous rice, and friends sitting around chatting are more important than any rigid rules.