Tribes of Chhotanagpur:

Oraons, Mundas, Kharias and Santhals are the main tribes of Chhotanagpur plateau. Chhota Nagpur today consists of the modern day Jharkhand state, the northern districts of Odisha, the northern part of Chhatishgarh, the Purulia district of West Bengal. These tribes migrated in large numbers to the tea estates of north Bengal and Assam in search of employment and livelihood during the British rule. They are found in south India and Punjab as farm laborers. They also traveled across the Bay of Bengal to reach Andamans. Today, well populated colonies of these tribes are found in the island state. This author found them in the Himalayan nation Nepal as well. Wherever they migrated they carried along their culture and customs, languages and traditions.

Many of the customs have deviated from their original form but one thing that has remained with them is the typical “rice beer”. This beer is prepared from rice fermented in clay pots.This alcoholic drink is better known as “handi” or “handia”, because it is fermented in clay pots (handi). 

The process of preparation:

Like other things in life the process of preparing handia has variations. Here, I give the basic recipe.

Materials required:

1. Rice -1 kg need not be the first class rice. Ordinary rice unusable for meals works well.

2. Fermenting agent - 8 to 10 balls or 2 cakes.

The fermenting balls or cakes are prepared with powdered rice mixed with certain herbs and roots. They are sold in the markets where the tribals flock. Ordinarily, this fermenting agent is known as “handi dawai” or “ranu”. “Ranu” literally means medicine.

First, the rice is boiled and spread on a wide circular drying bamboo tray. Then, “ranu” is crushed in to powder and spread upon the rice. Ranu is mixed well with the rice by turning it about ten times. Next, the rice is put into clay jars. The jars are tightly closed with pieces of rag and then they are placed in some dark but warm place. Warmth helps in fermentation of the rice. In summer the fermentation is complete in three and a half days or four. In winter, the fermentation may take even five or six days. So, in winter the clay pots are kept in the dark corners of kitchens. 

Preparation of Handia:

There are more than one ways of preparing the beer.

1. Pour about 2 litres of clean water into the rice beer pot. Shake the pot to and fro for 10 to 15 minutes. Pour out the beer into a bowl. The beverage is ready to be served. The first tumblers may be quite intoxicating. Two glasses of this beer can send the drinker flying into stratosphere. This way the fermented rice can be kept for later use for three more days.

2. Another way of preparing rice beer can be as follows. Pour four litres of jar in 2 kg of fermented rice. Shake the jar briskly for about 15 minutes. Take out the rice and press it between your palms, a handful at a time. The liquid collected in a bowl is the beer. In this process the fermented rice has to be disposed of after one use. 

Social Use of Handia:

Among the tribals of Chhota Nagpur no social function can be held without handia. Be it a birth of a child or wedding in the family, handia is an essential commodity to be served to the guests. Even in the “gami” (Shradh) after a death in a family, the ceremonies are not said to be complete without handia. It also serves as an alternative of wages if you have to transplant paddy or harvest your crop from your fields. You need not pay any money to the workers. People will turn up to help you in repairing your house or mending your fence just for a handia party in the evening. 

Medicinal Value of Handia:

Handia is good for curing ailments of the digestive system. In years of my medical practice among the tribals, I have rarely found a person suffering from stomach ulcer or gastritis. It is an effective remedy for diarrhea and dysentery.  

Conclusion:I don’t wish to go to more details. I am afraid, if you go to a tribal family and get hooked to drinking handia, I will be blamed for your inebriated condition. Incidentally, I must add that more and more non-tribals have been seen drinking handia.  So much so that this form of beer has become the favorite of wild elephants, but that can be the topic for another article.