Macchakanta

Description

THE CULTURAL & ECOLOGICAL LIFE OF THIS RICE

Macchakanta gets its name from the grain’s awn or spine attached to one end, which is long, bent, and strong like a fish bone. Grown in Southern and Western parts of Odisha, this rice is culturally important as it is a part of numerous festivals in its raw form, and may even be cultivated for this ceremonial use. The “Jeypore tract” of Southern Odisha, so-named by the Suryavanshi kings, we may note, is a region of considerable ecological and cultural significance—a “splendid blending of the tribal, Brahmanical, Jaina and Buddhist ideas, an exquisite amalgamation” (Mohanty 2013), inhabited by ancient and traditional farming communities, and an “independent center of origin of cultivated rice that was seconded subsequently by many others,” in which some 1750 cultivars existed even in up to the 1950s. “Jeypore rices” could be seen as “forms intermediate between cultivated and wild types ‘still staying in the midst of differentiation’” (Arunachalam et al., 2006; see also Ramiah 1953, Oka and Chang 1962). Macchakanta is one of these types—and this background explains also why the rices from this region are of such profound ecological, historical, and cultural significance.

Late-maturing white rice varieties like Macchakanta are especially sought for Pus Puni celebrations which mark the end of the agricultural cycle. Apart from Pusa Parab (Pus Puni), Macchakanta rice is consumed during Magha Jatra, Chaitra Parab, and Chitalagi Amabasya by the tribal communities of Odisha. During Chaita parab, tribal families would depend more on late-maturing rice varieties such as Umuriachudi, Machhakanta and (recently) Kalajeera, because of the strength these varietals provided to walk long distances [Mishra et al. 2013]. The rice may not be needed for this any longer, but it remains ceremonially important nonetheless, and strength-imparting.

The long and dense panicles of Macchakanta are also sought for aesthetic reasons by the tribal artisans for creating the paddy hangings/garlands or “torana” that are hung in the doorways during the harvest festivals [Mishra et al. 2013]. Such hangings or crafts are also an integral part of the decoration during the mainstream festivals of Odisha like Manabasa Gurubar.

Arunachalam et al. [2006] report on the efforts of the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation’s initiatives among marginal and small rice farmers in Koraput, to make conservation and commercialization mutually reinforcing. The efforts have aimed at helping tribal farmers have a stake in the conservation of desirable rice landraces such as Kalajeera, Haldichudi, and Machakanta.

Macchakanta is one of the indigenous rice varieties being researched by the Central University of Odisha for resistance to adverse weather conditions like drought, rising salinity, and flooding. And it has shown promising results so far outperforming some of the drought resistant varieties developed in the lab.

This lowland variety has a growing period is about 145-155 days beginning with the monsoon.

Other names for this rice: Macchakaata, Machakanta, Machakantha, Macchakaata (sound varies with dialects)

NUTRITIONAL AND MEDICINAL PROPERTIES

• A pleasant tasting slender rice that produces discrete grains. Though non-aromatic in the parboiled form, it imbibes flavours well.
• Tribals value this rice for its strength giving properties and hence they consume it during festivals like Chaitra Parab when they need to walk long distances.

CULINARY USES

• It is one of the few rice varieties of Odisha that are equally popular for consumption in the raw and parboiled form.
• The communities growing Macchakanta prefer it for making: Pulao (raw full grains),
  Khiri (raw, broken portion during milling), or serve it as table rice (parboiled).
• As it ages, the slender grains of the Macchakanta lend themselves to wedding pulaos.

WHO GROWS THIS RICE & WHERE CAN I BUY?

The sources that will likely have the best Macchakanta:

1. Rice is available in the tribal markets after the harvest and in the annual fairs like  Adivasi Mela organised by Odisha government.
2. Other Possible Sources

SOURCES & FURTHER READING

1. Arunachalam VA, Chaudhury SS, Sarangi SK, Ray T, Mohanty BP, Nambi VA, and Mishra S. 2006. Rising on Rice: The Story of Jeypore. A manual published by MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
2. Mishra, Smita, Susanta Sekhar Chaudhury, and VA Nambi. “Sustaining Rice Landraces In-situ and on Farm through Biocultural Diversity in Koraput, Odisha, India.” Asian Agri-History Vol. 17, No. 2, 2013 (123–139)
3. Mohanty, Indrajeet. 2013. “Jeypore—A historical perspective.” Odisha Review, June 2013.
4. Taranisen Panda, Nirlipta Mishra, and Raj B. Mohanty. Diversity of Some Threatened Indigenous Rice Varieties Cultivated in Odisha, India. Environment and natural Resources J. Vol 11, No.2, December 2013:41-57
5. Oka, H. I. and W. T. Chang (1962). Rice varieties intermediate between wild and cultivated forms and the origin of the japonica type. Bot. Bull. Acad.Sinica 3(1): 109-131.
6. Behera, Prafulla & Kumar, Vajinder & Sharma, Shyam & Lenka, Sangram & Panda, Debabrata. (2022). Genotypic diversity and abiotic stress response profiling of short-grain aromatic landraces of rice (Oryza sativa L. Indica). Current Plant Biology. 33. 100269. 10.1016/j.cpb.2022.100269.
7. Ramiah, K. (1953). Rice Breeding and Genetics Scientific Monograph No. 19, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi.
8. Panda, Debabrata & Mishra, Swati & Mohanty, Sangram & Behera, Prafulla & Lenka, Sangram. (2019). Data on genetic potentiality of folk rice (Oryza sativa L.) genotypes from Koraput, India in reference to drought tolerance traits. Data in Brief. 25. 104363. 10.1016/j.dib.2019.104363.
9. Yadav, Anumeha. “Grains of Life: How Chotanagpur’s Adivasis Are Reviving Native Varieties of Rice” The Wire, March 3, 2024