Did you know that Nya-Dosem is not a fish sandwiched between stone slabs. It is just a misunderstanding attached with its name. It is beyond the stone and the fish. It carries the hardship of catching the fish where they have to camp in the middle of the river and wait for the fish to get in their trap. It is an asset passed from their fore-fathers, the identity of belonging to their village and pride shown to other people, giving value to the worth of Nya-Dosem.
The story of Nya-Dosem dates back to the times of fore-fathers when the people of Lawa-Lamgang and Rukha-Samthang relied upon fishing to make their livelihood. The remoteness of their village and lack of sources for income generation were some of the reasons why they relied upon fishing. Realising this, in 2010 it was legalised to fish for a stretch of 7kms from Haracchu for the people of these two Chiwogs. It was a gift from the throne.
Fishing season
Fishing is allowed for only 6 months, September to December and February to March. It is not allowed to fish during Bhutanese month of Saga Daw and during the breeding season.
Fishing technique
What makes Nya-Dosem special? Its speciality starts from the way it is fished. They neither use a fishing net nor a fishing hook to catch the fishes. They use bamboo and wooden sticks with which they make a diversion in the river to trap the fishes.
Drying/baking technique
The fish is then washed, cleaned and bent in a bow shape with the help of bamboo which is then dried on a low flame. The stove is made from stones on either side and wooden sticks are kept in the centre like a bridge. The fish is then kept on the stick bridge and dried where it needs to be flipped around occasionally to avoid burning. These sticks are changed every day to maintain the hygiene of the fish. They say for the best premium quality it takes around 15 days for a fish to be dried.
Cooking technique
Well most of the time we cook this fish in the wrong way and fail to obtain the actual flavour of it. Since it is smoke dried the smell of smoke is bound to be with it so before cooking it has to be soaked in warm water for 5 mins to remove the smoke smell and stains. Wash properly and need not really remove the scale as the people here there say even the scales carry the taste. After washing, cook with some water, dried chilli, salt and cooking oil can be added at the same time. When it is almost cooked add cottage cheese and fresh butter. This is the traditional way of preparing Nya-Dosem but it can be prepared in various methods. However, I feel it would taste the best when it is prepared in the traditional method.
Concerns
Things have changed over the time and the people are now questioning the sustainability of this earning as the number of fishes has decreased over the years. They say there was a time when they caught 60-70 fishes in a night and now they hardly catch 2-3 in a night. Hence, the group is looking for other means of rearing the fishes and not just depending on the fishes from the river. This way they will be able to keep their tradition alive and pass on from generations to generations.
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| Chairman of the group with packed Nya-Dosem |
