Anthropo-entomophagy and ethno-entomology among the ethnic Mao-Naga and Poumai-Naga tribes of Manipur, Northeast India

Abstract

Entomophagy, the practice of eating insects, has a great deal of importance and history with many countries of the world however, its consumption species of insects and their value differ from community to community. Here, we aimed to study the ethnic traditional practices of entomophagy and its uses in traditional ethno-entomology practiced by the Mao-Naga tribe and the Poumai-Naga tribe from Senapati district of Manipur, Northeast India. We conducted individual semi-structured questionnaire surveys from different villages of both the tribes with ages varying from 22 to 70 years. The respondents comprise village elders, house makers and the youth. The study shows a total of 53 and 51 species of insects being consumed by the Mao-Naga and Poumai-Naga tribes respectively consisting of 9 orders and 18 families. The order Hymenoptera has the maximum number having 20 edible insect species from both the tribes. The order Diptera, Isoptera and Mantodea has the least edible insect of 1 species each from both the tribes. Besides entomophagy, some insect’s species were believed to have ethno-entomological uses.

Why socio-economic and attitudinal factors cannot predict entomophagy in rural areas of Madagascar

“…Moreover, even if this is more often studied and confirmed for Western societies, Pambo et al (2016b) also found that environmental responsibility is a main predictor of consumers' acceptance of edible insects in Western Kenya. Lastly, as illustrated by various scholars, perceived health benefits can constitute another important explanatory factor underlying food choice (Cox et al, 2020;Kapesa et al, 2020;Kisaka, 2018;Siegrist, 2008;Van Huis, 2013).…”

Potential of edible insects as source of functional foods: biotechnological approaches for improving functionality

“…However, entomophagy was and is still practiced as an important dietary behavior in many parts of the world, especially in Asia countries including Thailand, Japan, Laos, and Borneo [14]. Various ethnic communities of India, such as Orissa, Tamil Nadu and mostly from Northeast India prefer edible insects according to their traditional beliefs, taste, regional and seasonal availability [3,5,7].…”

“…There are some insects that are edible and consumed by human as food. Such practice of consumption of insects as food is known as entomophagy [3], which is derived from the Greek word éntomon (insect) and phagein (to eat). Globally, so far, it has been estimated that there are around 2111 known edible insect species that are currently consumed by humans [4].…”

“…Globally, so far, it has been estimated that there are around 2111 known edible insect species that are currently consumed by humans [4]. Many researchers from different region have made documentation on entomophagy of diverse ethnic community [3][4][5][6][7]. Insects are consumed in different metamorphosis stages depending upon the species, for instance, both nymph/larva and adult stages are consumed for dragonfly, bees, wasp, etc., grub or larva stages for longhorn beetles and silkworm moth, adult for water beetles and grasshopper.…”

Ethno-entomotherapeutic and metabolite profiling of Coridius chinensis (Dallas), a traditional edible insect species of North-East India

“…A very important feature of edible insects is their nutraceutical and therapeutic properties, and this is attributed to the presence of secondary or primary metabolites 7 . The purpose of entomophagy differs from community to community depending on the insect’s availability, nutritional, medicinal value, and social belief as well as on local tradition and customs 8 , 9 .…”