Contesting Values of Brewing “Chang” in a National Park of Bhutan

Abstract

Many commonalities can be seen in people’s eating habits in the Himalayas, and home brewing and distillation of liquor have constituted an indispensable part of these. Home brew or so-called chang in Bhutanese is made from a variety of staples. Chang is deeply incorporated into people’s everyday lives through daily offerings to deities, receiving guests, showing appreciation for family and neighbors’ labors, and occasional events and religious ceremonies. The recent attempts of the Bhutanese government to restrain people from brewing and distilling chang have been justified mainly on the grounds of national health and social issues. However, they are also connected to the environmental policies regarding swidden agriculture, which produces grain for brewing in rural areas. By restraining themselves from making alcohol and drinking, people choose to restrain themselves from conducting conventional shifting cultivation, which the government intends to end. This study examines how those governmental policies have transformed people’s value systems, and how people interpret them in rural areas in relation to their everyday practices.