Preserving tradition: Why bats are harvested and eaten in this Naga village

Mimi, Kiphire: At Mimi village in Nagaland’s Kiphire district, the indigenous people of the Bomrr clan from the Yimkhiung Naga tribe have been keeping alive an ancient and extraordinary practice. Here, an ancient ritual unfolds each year that few outsiders have ever witnessed: the bat harvest.

For the Bomrr clan from the Mimi circle comprising eight villages, namely Mimi, Mutingkhong, Khongka, Hakkomute, Lopfukhong, Khongjiri, Khaha, and Betang, under the Pungro sub-division, this is no ordinary hunt. It is a celebration, a gathering of generations bound by tradition, belief, and the rhythms of nature. 

To reach Mimi village is a journey in itself. A gruelling thirteen-hour ride from Kohima through rugged terrain and across the Kerüke River. From the village, a steep trek through dense forest leads to Bomrr Lapkhyn (Bomrr clan’s Bat Cave), the revered cave where the community gathers to keep their centuries-old ritual alive.

While entry to the cave is restricted for most of the year, it comes alive each October during the annual bat-harvesting festival, when the Bomrr clansmen gather to honour their centuries-old tradition. On October 8 this year, the cave buzzed with activity as men and women from the clan united to celebrate the unique ritual.

The festival began with a prayer, followed by a time-honoured routine: men chopped wood cut during the previous year’s harvest, while women carried the logs in bamboo baskets to the cave. It is during this time that trees are also cut and felled for the next year’s harvest, continuing a ritual cycle that has endured for generations.

Inside, the firewood was carefully piled at two locations, one near the entrance and another deep within, accessible only after a steep, 150-foot climb over slippery rock. As the clansmen carried out their preparations under the flickering torchlight, the cave echoed with the sounds of bats, many of them huddled in the shadowy corners. 

“The bonfires are then lit to trap the bats inside. While some try to escape, many who cling to the walls are smoked, and are collected the next day,” explained Nuheymong Yimkhiung, owner of the cave, to EastMojo.

As the fires were lit and the crackle of burning wood echoed through the cave, the clansmen stepped outside, and the cave’s entry and exit points were closed with mesh nets and tree branches to prevent the bats from escaping. At the main entrance, villagers stood ready with branches in hand. Bats that attempted to flee were struck down and collected for consumption.

As the men took their positions around the cave openings, the women collected the bats. Thin strips of bamboo were then fashioned into short ropes to bundle the bats, each group containing ten, locally known as ‘preifo’, meaning a bundle. These bundles are subsequently distributed among all male members of the clan. 

On the second day, the clansmen collected the bats that had been trapped inside. An approximately 200-foot bamboo ladder was placed at one end of the cave, allowing the locals to climb up with poles to reach the bats clinging to the walls. 

“This is a unique practice of the Longfürr dialect-speaking community of the Yimkhiung tribe. This cave belongs to the Bomrr clan, and traditionally, only a male child of the Bomrr clan is entitled to a share of the harvest. However, over time, we realised that since bat-harvesting involves the efforts of many, we also include our in-laws. There are years when the harvest is small, but by listening to the sounds inside, this year will see a bountiful yield,” Nuheymong explained to EastMojo as he walked through the process inside the cave.

As on the first day, the collected bats were then distributed, with each male member receiving a share of about ten bundles this year. Currently, nearly 100 men are registered with the clan.

On the third and final day of the festival, only married men of the clan are entitled to receive a share. As part of tradition, a special share is still reserved for the owner of the cave, meaning that Nuheymong receives an extra share each year.  This year saw a harvest of over 10,000 bats.

Pointing to a timber tree, locally known as ‘lal khuri,’ that towers over the cave, Y Lentsüba Bomrr, an elder of the clan, explained that the harvest was usually bountiful when the tree shed its leaves. This year, however, he noted, “This is puzzling to me. We usually predict the harvest based on the tree, but despite the leaves not shedding this year, the harvest has been bountiful.”

For the locals, a bountiful harvest means catching around 10,000 to 15,000 bats, while a minimal harvest yields only 4,000 to 5,000. To ensure the bats return, the community also allows some to escape from the cave before the festival officially begins.

“During ancient times, our ancestors would soak a live bat in local rice beer and release it as a symbolic gesture to ensure more bats returned to the cave the following year. However, with the coming of Christianity, this practice is no longer observed. Today, we harvest bats each year, and they naturally return to the cave,” he shared. 

Lentsüba explained that newborn male children are given a share, and a deceased male member of the clan receives a share a year after his demise as a sign of respect.

While another practice is no longer relevant, he recalled an intriguing ancient custom: when a Bomrr male member passed away, a smoked piece of bat meat, harvested and set aside, would be placed in the hands of the deceased, symbolising their acceptance by the ancestors in the afterlife. He indicated that smoked bats were stored and consumed gradually until the next harvest.

As clansmen from neighboring villages pitched their tents and spent days near the Bomrr Lapkhyn to take part in the festival, the elder recounted an old lore that other residents of the village who ventured out hunting during the Bat Harvest Festival often returned empty-handed, a tale passed down through generations.

‘Nothing wrong with eating bats’

Lentsüba chuckled softly as he addressed concerns over the consumption of bats, saying that they never contract any diseases from consuming bats. “Our forefathers believed that eating bats cures diarrhea,” he said. His words carried the weight of tradition, dismissing modern claims about health risks with quiet confidence.

Nuheymong’s mother, Narola, shared that when bats are brought home, the wings are cut off and set aside. The unwinged bats are then cleaned and smoked over low heat using thin sticks before being cooked and dried. She recalled that in ancient times, the water used to boil the bats was stored and reused for cooking, though this tradition is no longer practiced.

The mother shared that nowadays, bats are prepared in a variety of ways, cooked in modern styles using oil and pan-fried, roasted with sauces, or prepared traditionally with axone (fermented soybean), ginger, and garlic.

Narola fondly remembered first observing the festival in 1994, when her son was just a year old. The mother of five recalled that the gatherings were smaller back then and the physical strain of carrying firewood to the cave was considerable. Today, with the passing of Nuheymong’s father and grandfather, he now heads the clan and takes the first share of the bats before his clansmen. 

She reiterated that, to this day, residents believe that consuming bats treats diarrhoea, adding that none have ever fallen ill from doing so.

Supporting this statement, Nuheymong shared that researchers once collected blood samples from Bomrr clansmen who consume bats, and the results showed no indications of any adverse health effects.

While the celebration is unique to the Bomrr clan, Nuheymong shared his vision for developing the cave for tourism. “The inside of the cave is very difficult to climb,” he explained. “Even the women have to carry baskets filled with firewood up to the spot where the fire is made. I appeal to the government to provide some infrastructure, like a ladder, to make it easier for both men and women to climb the rock cliff inside the cave”. 

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