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– The menu for the Singpho food stall at the recent Dehing Patkai Festival held on northeast India’s Assam plain. The prices are in Indian rupees. As far as I am aware there are two well-known Singpho (or Kachin) restaurants in India (one in Assam and one in Goa).
Readers who come across any unusual menus in other parts of the region shouldn’t hesitate to get in touch. Here at New Mandala we are always on the look-out for new dining options.
Tsa pi? Is that the same word as would be used in Burma? What word do the Singpho use for drinking water?
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├С’chin for drinking water & Hka for water/river etc.
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Hi Aiontay,
Yes, I think it is the same word. My Myitkyina-sourced Kachin-English dictionary has “tsapi” and “tsahpa” both defined as “native beer”. “Tsahku” is “fermented liquor”. “Tsa” is simply “liquor, beer or whiskey”. All gels pretty closely with the usages I have heard in various Kachin areas (including Arunachal Pradesh). As for water, I think the word in Singpho lands is still “hka”, etc.
Stephen Morey’s Tai and Tibeto-Burman Languages of Assam website confirms my gut feeling on the water front.
I hope the Morey site is helpful.
Best wishes to all,
Nich
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The only reason I asked is that I can’t find it in my English/Jinghpaw dictionary, which like a lot of those dictionaries isn’t exactly the most accurate, and which has a different term listed under “beer”.
Nobody used “n-tsin” for drinking water? It’s kind of cool to look at all the dialect differences, and it really is good that you’re able to travel, research, and share this information with us.
The only thing better would be if you could bring us a plate of curry with some hpalap (sp?). I’m a tea drinker, not a beer drinker.
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Wow,i was amazed by your snap shot.cuz i never knew that there’ll be Kachin restaurants in India!
We use “n-tsin” or “lu hka” for drinkin’ water in Lashio(Shan state,Burma).Frankly sayin’ i never ever heard about “tsapi ot tsahku” words in my entire life till now.We just call beer down there.If i ain’t wrong,we use different usage in diffrent province yah.
FYI:My Pop (he really is a master in Kachin language tho’.any question,i can ask him for ya?)
Yea,hpalap hka is my fav drink too…we can say Cheers with hpalap hka instead of Beer.(Lol..)
sign off for now.
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hi ja san ra, your words
“Frankly sayin’ i never ever heard about “tsapi ot tsahku” words in my entire life till now.” make me amazed and shocked me yeah really.
i would like to ask you, have you ever spoken kachin dialect? if yes, then it will amazed me more regarding why you do not know the words ‘tsapi and tsakhu’.
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Thanks Ja San Ra,
I certainly appreciate your input. And it is interesting that “tsapi” isn’t a word you have ever heard used in the Shan State – even for the particularly pungent stuff that does the rounds at festivals, or other special occasions?
Happy to hear what your pop has to say, if you wouldn’t mind asking.
Aiontay and myself, and the other people who hang out on New Mandala with more than a passing interest in these places, are always keen to learn more.
Cheers, with hpalap, tsapi, n-tsin, or whatever takes your fancy,
Best wishes to all,
Nich
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yea,we called ‘a-tsa’ or ‘ chyaru’ for those alcoholic beverage but not ‘tsapi’.
My pop detests ‘chyaru’ and ‘hka yawm'(cigarette),so there’s no chances to see these stuff around his house even in special ocassions.
The funny thing is that my grandma (my pop’s mom) likes to drink a lot especially kachin rice wine.She always need to play hide and seek with my pop whenever she gotta drink that stuff till now i guess.
Matter of fact she’s in her 95 years of age now. Thanks to the Lord that she’s still as healty as ever.Seems like she doesn’t feel any age yet.That’s the good one yah.
Talking about my grandma, remind me of Kachin rice wine..OOooo that rice wine is just so great.My grandma,my mom and i used to have these rice wine and beef dishes w/o my pop.hahhaha..Have you ever tasted kachin rice wine before?I mean a genuine kachin rice wine tho’. 😛
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[…] But no matter how much we devote ourselves to issues in mainland Southeast Asia we all still need to eat. And on a day when Gordon Brown is telling those of us in Britain to stop wasting food it seems […]
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there are singpho (jingpaw) people here in india to as you know and there are resturent too….ther is one resturent at mergherita assam near borgolai …..you can taste indian singpho crusine there….
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