Chhaang or chhyang (, ne, छ्याङ, new, थो:) is a

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

ese and

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

an alcoholic beverage also popular in parts of the eastern

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

, Yakkha, Limbu, Dura, Newar, Sunuwar, Rai, Gurung, Magar, Sherpa, Tamang and Lepcha communities. Among the Lepcha, it is called Chi. It is also known as jaarh in Nepal.

Geographical prevalence

Chhaang is consumed by ethnically

an and

ese, and to a lesser degree, by the neighboring nations of India, Pakistan and Bhutan. It is usually drunk at room temperature in summer, but is often served piping-hot in brass bowls or wooden mugs when the weather is colder. The Limbu people of eastern Nepal call the drink

Tongba Tongba ( ne, तोङबा ) is a millet-based alcoholic beverage found in the eastern mountainous region of Nepal and neighbouring Indian regions of Sikkim and Darjeeling. It is the traditional drink of the Limbu people as well as people o ...

Ingredients and drinking

''Chhaang'' is a relative of

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

Barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...

, millet (finger-millet) or rice grains are used to brew the drink. Semi- fermented seeds of millet are served, stuffed in a barrel of

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

called a ''dhungro''. Boiling water is then poured in and sipped through a narrow-bore bamboo tube called a ''pipsing''. When the boiled barley has cooled, some

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constit ...

or dried barm is added and it is left to stand for two or three days after fermentation begins. This concoction is called ''glum''. The barm consists of flour and, in Balti, often has ginger and aconite added to it.Jaschke, H. Ä. ''A Tibetan-English Dictionary''. (1881). Reprint: (1987). Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi. . After fermentation is complete, water is added to the brew and it is then ready for consumption. In Lahaul the ''glum'' is pressed out by hand instead of by filtering, yielding a rather cloudy drink. The residue of malt can be pressed through a strainer and then mixed with water or milk and used in baking bread or cakes. Near

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow hei ...

, ''chhaang'' is made by passing hot water through fermenting barley, and is then served in a large pot and drunk through a wooden straw. This beverage is similar to the traditional drink of the Limbus, ''mandokpenaa thee''. Nepalese ''jand'' refers to the turbid liquor which is obtained by leaching out the extract with water from the fermented mash. Unlike ''chhang'' or ''tongba'', ''jand'' is served in large mugs. These alcoholic beverages are generated using a traditional starter called ''murcha''. ''Murcha'' itself is prepared by using

and mold flora of wild herbs in cereal flours.

Aconite and potential toxicity

The plant name Aconite may refer to two plant genera in the family

Ranunculaceae Ranunculaceae (buttercup or crowfoot family; Latin "little frog", from "frog") is a family of over 2,000 known species of flowering plants in 43 genera, distributed worldwide. The largest genera are ''Ranunculus'' (600 species), ''Delphinium' ...

, namely '' Aconitum'' and ''

Eranthis ''Eranthis'' is a genus of eight species of flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to southern Europe and east across Asia to Japan. The common name winter aconite comes from the early flowering time and the resemblance of ...

'', although Eranthis is known more usually as ''Winter Aconite''. The plants used in the brewing of ''Chhaang'' in Baltistan and Ladakh are, however, almost certainly referable to ''Aconitum'' species, which have a long history of use in the folk medicinal systems of Asia. Aconitum species are amongst the most virulently poisonous plants known, containing a variety of extremely toxic alkaloids, including aconitine and pseudaconitine. The use of ''Aconitum'' as an additive in beer-brewing is therefore a practice fraught with the danger of fatal poisoning and should on no account be undertaken by any individual attempting to replicate a traditional ''Chhaang'' recipe. Although individual ''Aconitum'' species vary somewhat in the degree of their toxicity, all are poisonous and, when used in traditional herbal medicine, are invariably pre-treated in various ways intended to minimise their toxicity, while retaining their assumed therapeutic properties. Nevertheless, numerous fatalities have occurred resulting from such medicinal use e.g. in certain Chinese medicinal soups consumed for their supposed tonic effects, which include augmenting physical strength, boosting the immune system, and dispelling 'wind' and 'dampness'.

Myth

Chhaang is said to be the best remedy to ward off the severe cold of the mountains. It reputedly has many healing properties for conditions like the common cold,

fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a temperature above the normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature set point. There is not a single agreed-upon upper limit for normal temperature with sources using val ...

allergic rhinitis Allergic rhinitis, of which the seasonal type is called hay fever, is a type of inflammation in the nose that occurs when the immune system overreacts to allergens in the air. Signs and symptoms include a runny or stuffy nose, sneezing, red, ...

, and

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...

among others. According to legend, chhaang is also popular with the Yeti, or Himalayan Snowmen, who often raid isolated mountain villages to drink it.

Social correlates

Drinking and making offerings of chhaang are part of many pan-Tibetan social and religious occasions, including settling disputes, welcoming guests, and wooing.

References