One of the major concerns experience by the tribal societies in North East India is regarding the preservation of their ethnic identity. There are nearly 100 tribal groups in this region. Their population is nearly 25% of the entire population of the region. Since the time India became independent country, different agitations have emerged in the tribal communities demanding exclusive or independent existence and in some cases even sovereignty. The traditional ethnic food of North East India has, of late, witnessed a boom as far as its availability is concerned. The ethnic delicacies of this region, with all its nutritional and culinary values, have started asserting itself as a better food choice, despite the over running impact of globalization. This perhaps has two reasons: It acts as one of the facets of the cultural identity of a community and secondly which is more, fulfilling, it really good and healthy. Since everyone must eat, what we eat becomes a most powerful symbol of who we are. There are as many kinds of food identification. More recently ethnic food is a marker of ethnic and religious identity for south-Asian and middle-eastern immigrant's community. The study of ethnicity and ethnic food is interdisciplinary and includes important historical, sociological and theoretical frame works. This paper try to explores ethnicity and ethnic identity of Mising community (the second largest tribal group of Assam) as they pertain to food.
Identity, Food habits, Mising community, Indigenous culture, Religious
