Abstract

Background

This paper discusses the social dimension of gastronomy, such as folk beliefs regarding avoidance and prescriptions during the stages of menstruation and pregnancy. Cooking and eating are imbued with special meanings, but how they are related to an individual’s multiple identities, such as menstruating and pregnant women, and how these idioms and ideologies affect food choice negotiated through folk beliefs are discussed. Do food prescriptions contribute to nutrition? Looking for these answers, the present study was undertaken in two blocks densely populated by Karbi tribe in Kamrup district of Assam, India. The objective of the study was to understand the values of folk beliefs scientifically.

Methods

The data was collected by conducting focus group discussion among adolescent girls and pregnant women.

Results

It can be concluded that the foods which are included during menstruation and pregnancy were nutrient rich and foods avoided during that period was somewhat scientific.

Details

Title
Folk beliefs of food avoidance and prescription among menstruating and pregnant Karbi women of Kamrup district, Assam
Author
Ritu Geu Goswami; Mini Bhattacharyya Thakur  VIAFID ORCID Logo 
Pages
1-7
Section
Original article
Publication year
2019
Publication date
2019
Publisher
Springer Nature B.V.
ISSN
23526181
e-ISSN
2352619X
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s42779-019-0013-7
ProQuest document ID
2546780179
Copyright
© 2019. This work is licensed under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.