Judima the Traditional Rice Wine and Dimasa Community: a Geographical Review of Dima Hasao

Abstract

Judima is a traditional rice beer/wine prepared by the Dimasa tribe especially the women of the Dima Hasao district of Assam. The consumption of rice beer/wine brewed from different varieties of rice is a routine practice among different tribal communities of Assam including Dimasa. The making of Judima wine has become an integral part of their cultural and social life for generations. Though the drink fulfills the criteria for the Geographical Indications (GI) tag, it is still waiting for its GI status. The main objective of the study is to identify and analyse the challenges faced in achieving GI for the Judima traditional rice wine of Dima Hasao and its cultural uniqueness. A household survey was conducted through snowball sampling in 2019 in the Dima Hasao district of Assam, India. After the analysis, it was concluded that if Judima can achieve Geographical Indications status, the Dimasa tribe will get a new identity.