pusa, bihar, india
Rajendra Agricultural University
Antiquity of maize in India
--M. Kumar and J. K. S. Sachan
Post-Columbian introduction of maize into India by the Portuguese in the 16th century or later has
been accepted by most of the maize workers. However, the peculiar features of maize being grown in
remote northeastern Himalayan tracts adjoining Burma and Tibet have stimulated an interesting
discussion among maize workers on the possible pre-Columbian introduction of maize in these hilly
tracts of the Himalayas. This curiosity has led to extensive work on various aspects of the NEH maize.
Some observations on ethno-botany (Stonor and Anderson, 1949; Marszewski, 1968, 1978),
plant type (Mukherjee et al., 1971; Singh, 1977, 1989; Sachan and Sarkar, 1982),
pachytene analysis (Gupta and Jain, 1971; Dash et al.; 1986, Pande et al., 1988; Kumar
and Sachan, 1992), chromosome banding (Mohan and Raut, 1980; Sachan et al., 1982;
Pande et al., 1983) and biochemical assays (Pereira et al., 1983) have been reported.
Jeffreys (1965) has suggested that maize had been introduced by the Arabs and not by the
Portuguese, in the pre-Columbian era. The Indian names for maize, like Makka jouri (Mecca
sorghum), Makka jola (Mecca sorghum), Makkai (grain of Mecca), Mukka Cholam (Mecca sorghum)
etc. provide evidence for such a hypothesis. Kuleshov (1928) reported that varieties similar to
those described from the Naga tribes are widespread in Central Asia from Persia and Turkestan to Tibet
and Siberia. However, Ashraf (1990, personal communication) has discounted such a diffusion of
maize in India by the Arabs, and instead cited the mention of maize as "Markataka" in ancient Sanskrit
religious texts, 'Vishnu Purana' and 'Apasthamba Saruta Sutra'. Etymology of this terminology and
subsequent derivation of the term "Mak" or "Maka" appears to be convincing (Ashraf, 1990).
Further depiction of so-called maize "ears" in Indian sculptures in Somnathpur and other Hoysala
temples of 12-13 century A.D. as well as some other older Hindu and Buddhist temples has been cited
(Johannessen and Parker, 1989) as evidence of pre-Columbian diffusion of maize in India.
However, depiction of maize "ears" in Hoysala temples was refuted by Sachan and Payak (Nature,
1989).
Stonor and Anderson's (1949) contention of uniqueness of maize grown by various ethnic
groups of erstwhile greater Assam is further supported by the presence of four new knob forming
positions at 1Lb, 2Lt, and 9Lb in these NEH strains (Kumar, MNL60, 1992) which are hitherto
unknown in maize of the West Hemisphere. It is interesting to note that these knob positions, though
absent in maize, are present in Mexican teosinte. Similarly, some new knob positions in two Sikkim
Primitive strains, SP1 and SP2, have been identified earlier also (Gupta and Jain, 1971). These
knob positions, 7L, 8S, 8L and 10La, were not present in evolved varieties. Hence, it can be concluded
that there were two sets of maize introductions in NEH (a) in prehistoric times through a sea/land
route much before the discovery of America by Columbus in 1492, and (b) in the post-Columbian era
by Christian missionaries, material which essentially resembles Caribbean germplasm. Presence of
both low and high knob number groups of maize strains in the NEH region of India further suggests two
possible lineages (a) Nal-Tel-Chapalote complex, (b) Confite Morocho and to some extent Palomero
Toluqueno.
The pre-Columbian introduction must have taken place through trans-Pacific routes. Otherwise,
there would have been traces of this kind of maize along the trade routes during the post-Columbian
era. The absence of such traces suggests that pre-Columbian introduction of maize into the Himalayan
region might have taken place through routes across southeast Asia and the Pacific islands (Sachan et
al., 1978; Ashraf, 1985, 1987).
Deep involvement of maize in the customs, tradition and economy of tribal people in the centre NEH
further supports the prehistoric introduction of maize in these areas (Thapa, 1966). Also two
written records, namely Tien, non Pen tS'ao (Chinese) and Vamsavali (Nepalese) support the view that
maize was cultivated in the Arunanchal, Bhutan, Sikkim and North Burma in the pre-Columbian time
(Marszewski, 1978).
Please Note: Notes submitted to the Maize Genetics Cooperation Newsletter may be cited only with consent of the authors
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