Local Food

Unlike most of the other tribes of Arunachal, the Monpas are quite fond of milk and products.‘Sueja’ or butter tea is the chief beverage of the Monpa people. The Monpa are also quite fond of alcoholic beverages, which are prepared by them at their houses. Chang is the common word used by the Monpa for alcohol.It is used for all social occasions like birth, death,housewarming or festivals.The key ingredients used for making chang are rice,maize, barley and millets.The Monpa brew the following kinds of chang: Baang-chang: It is mostly prepared from rice.However, it can also be made by combining millets and barley. Shin-chang: It is only prepared during Losar-the Monpa New Year festival. It is a sweet beer like concoction prepared by mixing together Millet, buckwheat and barley. Aarak it is made by the distillation of maize,millet, rice or barley.It is quite strong and is usually served hot in a small cup.