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Photographer Documents the Incredible Tradition of Nepalese Honey Hunting
Photographer Documents the Incredible Tradition of Nepalese Honey Hunting
Nov 2, 2024 8:29 PM

A Gurung village lies among the steep foothills of the Himalayas. (Andrew Newey)

Gathering honey is always a difficult task, but the Gurung Tribe of the Nepalese Himalayas have kept their ancient tradition of honey hunting on cliffs alive for thousands of years, which requires balance, know-how and serious guts. Photographer Andrew Newey visited the Gurung people in a remote hilltop village in central Nepal’s Kaski district and documented a three-day autumn honey hunt.

Using rope ladders, tribal elders climb nearly 200 feet up a cliff face in order to collect honey from the hives of the largest bees in the world-- the Himalayan honey bees. The honey hunters use sharpened bamboo sticks to prod at the nest, while catching falling pieces inside a basket.

The Gurung honey hunting tradition dates back to around 11,000 B.C. It is now threatened by tourism, high demands of the honey due to medicinal popularity and climate change. The locals were concerned about the disclosure of their hunting site for these reasons.

“Despite my local contact arranging me to visit a village and honey hunting site well away from the popular Annapurna circuit, I was frequently asked by the hunters how I found out when and where the hunt would take place, because these responsible hunters were concerned about their cliffs suffering from this unwanted tourist activity if the location was disclosed,” Newey shared with weather.com.

Interest in honey hunting has increased in the Himalayan foothills. An influx of tourists in Annapurna has created a demand for staged honey hunting excursions, according to Newey. These events cost anywhere from $250 to $1500, very little of which goes to the indigenous communities in which the honey is being hunted. Newey also said that this tourism tempts honey hunters to take tourists to gather honey outside of the normal harvesting season. The tourists use climbing gear other than the rope ladders traditionally used, which often damages the cliff face and the bees’ nesting sites.

“Fortunately, with funding from the Austrian government, the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is addressing these problems on many fronts with environmental conservation and sustainable development through the Himalayan Honeybees Project,” Newey reported. “Coordinators of the project aim to work with traditional honey hunters to preserve their sustainable harvest techniques.” The coordinators also plan to regulate harvests by licensing only experienced honey hunters.

Newey plans to return to the tribe in a few years to check up on the honey hunters and their dying tradition. Perhaps with help from the ICIMOD and the hunters’ sense of secrecy, the photographer will see an improvement.

For more of Newey's photos, visit his website.

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