Andrew Newey, an award-winning UK-based travel photographer, has captured gripping
photographs of central Nepalese Gurung tribe members engaged in a dangerous and
ancient tradition - honey hunting.
You Think Your Job Is Hard? Check This Out. Enjoy! :)
Twice a year, the Gurung honey hunters ascend to the base of cliffs in central Nepal
and ascend them to collect honey.
The Gurung people balance themselves on suspended rope ladders, and use the same tools
that their ancestors did - long sticks called "Tangos" to prod and push off wild
beehives along the cliffs of the Himalaya.
Besides the danger of falling, they also happen to be harvesting the honey of the largest honeybee in the world. The Himalayan
honey bee can grow to be up to 3 cm (1.2 in) in length.
After lighting smoke fires at the base of the cliff to smoke out
the bees, they climb their ladders and collect their honey.
The open cliff-face hives help protect the bees from predators and keeps
them warm by exposing them to sunlight.
The honeycombs eventually separate from the Cliffside and fall into special
hanging baskets the Gurung prepare in advance.
They don't use special safety gear and prefer to work barefoot.
What a job! Can you imagine balancing yourself on a plain rope ladder, trying
to knock a beehive off of a cliff, all the while surrounded by hundreds of
angry bees?
Sadly, the art of honey hunting might be gone soon. Despite having a rich history,
the younger generation doesn't seem to be interested in continuing it, following
in their ancestor's footsteps. Add to that the fact that climate change is causing
bees to decline.
It's possible that the greatest threat to honey hunting is the discovery of the
amazing medicinal properties of Himalayan honey. The Nepalese government gives
rights for harvesting local wild honey to foreign contractors rather than to the
indigenous population, in order to speed up harvesting and use the honey for export.
Honey hunting is among the oldest known human activities. There is an 8,000-year-old
cave painting in Spain that portrays a man climbing vines to collect honey.
Due to grayanotoxins from the white rhododendrons the bees feed on in the spring,
their spring honey can be intoxicating, and fetches high prices in Japan, Korea
and China.
The day the Gurung will have to change their way of life seem to be getting closer,
but these magnificent pictures are a testament to this amazing practice and the
unique way of life of the people of the Gurung tribe.
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