Biocultural Diversity of Folk Rice Variety Heritage of West Bengal

Traditional or folk rice varieties are important component of the biocultural heritage of any nation. Wherever the rice (Oryza sativa L.) crop has been planted, festivals, traditions, rituals and languages celebrate its importance. Traditional folk rice varieties play a dynamic role in the expression of biological and cultural diversity. Recent studies have asserted the need to understand the inter-connectedness of folkloric biocultural diversity and agro-biodiversity, including how farmers incorporate new crops and varieties in their current repertoire to meet cultural and environmental needs of society. Folk rice varieties are the farmers' varieties that are selected and maintained for one or more distinctive properties. These folk varieties meet local cultural practices and environmental constraints, and play an intrinsic role in cultural survival by constituting a living repository of ancestral customs. There are numerous traditional folk varieties of rice grown in West Bengal and also rice features in numerous traditions and rituals of West Bengal. This paper focuses on rich biocultural diversity of folk rice variety heritage of West Bengal.