Mapping Memory, Mapping Meals: A Deep-Mapped 3D WebGIS Archive of Indigenous Foodways and Cultural Heritage in West Bengal

Mapping Memory, Mapping Meals is an interactive 3D WebGIS archive documenting the food knowledge, culinary memory, and cultural heritage of tribal and indigenous communities in West Bengal, India. The archive holds 97 geocoded food entries across communities including the Santal, Toto, Rajbangshi, Mech, Lodha, Rabha, Garo, Kheria Sabar, Oraon, Gorkha, Limbu, Bhutia, and Birhor. Each entry is structured across 14 knowledge layers: ecological setting, community affiliation, ethnobotanical and ingredient data, culinary technology, scarcity and seasonal context, oral tradition and cultural memory, archival sources, erased food practices, sacred and ritual foods, medicinal knowledge, cultural significance, geo-location, image references, and historical origins. Tribal food knowledge in West Bengal has rarely been documented beyond nutritional surveys; this archive treats it as a cultural and historical record. Built on MapLibre GL JS with React over a 3D terrain map with satellite imagery, users can filter and cross-reference entries by community, layer, or region. The project is hosted at the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), Thiruvananthapuram.