Jon Beel Mela
Topic: International Trade: Patterns, Ports and the WTO · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 8 "International Trade"
Meaning
Jon Beel Mela is a yearly fair in Assam where the barter system is still used. Barter is the oldest form of trade: goods are swapped directly, and no money changes hands. The fair is held every January, after the harvest. The Tiwa community organises it. It may be the only fair in India where barter still survives, so it shows how trade worked before money.
Example
The fair takes place at Jagiroad, about 35 km from Guwahati in Assam. Tribes and communities come there and swap their produce directly with each other.
Don't confuse with
- Commodity money: at a barter fair, goods are swapped for goods. With commodity money, one valued object such as salt or cowrie shells is used to pay for other goods.