Documentation of traditional chuhi: a nearly lost legacy of the Meitei in Manipur, Northeast India

Abstract

Background: Chuhi, a traditional product derived from Saccharum officinarum L., a C4 plant, exemplifies profound cultural associations with the Meitei community of Manipur (ꯃꯅꯤꯄꯨꯔ). Despite ancient cultivation practices, chuhi processing persists only in a few sites, signaling its near-lost legacy amid modernization pressures. This study documents chuhi production from two varieties of S. officinarum, Musori and Ngahing-nambi.

Methods: The study utilized purposive sampling across four valley districts of Manipur (ꯃꯅꯤꯄꯨꯔ). Data on sugarcane varieties, cultivation practices, harvest techniques, and chuhi processing methods were collected via interviews with skilled producers.

Results: Cultivation-harvest cycles include April planting, yielding four ratoon harvests through January, peaking at second/third cuts. Chuhi processing employs traditional apparatuses, including leirang, garai, kharai, khabei, and repurposed mustard oil tins for storage, with froth removal critical for quality. Sugarcane processing into chuhi involves washing and extraction via Kolu (traditionally bullock-powered, now mechanized), bagasse-fueled boiling in garai for 7–8 hours with khabei stirring and kharai froth removal through Hangoi-Chongba to Khoidou Inba stages, yielding akaangba or kaangdaba types stored traditionally in cool, stable conditions without preservatives. Chuhi serves as a versatile sweetener in traditional snacks like kabok, heingan, laaloo, and hei-thongba with Garcinia pedunculata Roxb. Ex Buch.-Ham. It is also used as a non-culinary agent, such as an insecticidal spray, binder during the construction of Kangla Fort by mixing with Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper.

Conclusion: By bridging ethnobotanical gaps amid modernization threats, this study safeguards chuhi as a symbol of Meitei resilience, providing a blueprint for conserving vanishing agro-cultural practices while promising nutritional resurgence, sustainable livelihoods, and intergenerational continuity.

Keywords: Chuhi, Cultivation, Legacy, Meitei, Processing, Saccharum, Traditional