“Do Not Even Think about Giving Me Less Chang”

Notes on Fermented and Distilled Beverages in Tibetan Societies

Abstract

In the Himalayas every household has a still. Fermented and distilled beverages are integral to community rituals and gatherings, and play a central role in economies of labor exchange and systems of local taxation that go back centuries. In this paper we outline the history of these practices across Tibetan cultural areas to contextualize our ethnographic work learning the process of brewing and distilling from a local matriarch in Nubri, Nepal. While pointing out some of the ways alcohol consumption has been contested in Tibetan culture, we examine its use as a social lubricant and its function in maintaining socioeconomic relationships, as well as breaking down the process of distillation itself. The first part of this paper provides a cursory overview of chang in historical perspective. The next parts are dedicated to production, gender, and sociality before turning to the role of alcohol in Nubri’s ritual life. The overall objective is to highlight the role alcoholic beverages occupy in some, but certainly not all, Tibetan societies.