The World Bee Day was previously known as Honey Bee Awareness Day. This day was started by the beekeepers in the USA, who petitioned the USDA in 2009 for an official day to honor honey bees and beekeeping. Today people across the globe observe this day every year. This is a day to celebrate honey bees play an important role in sustainable agriculture.
What Exactly Is Honey Hunting?
Honey hunting or honey harvesting as it is also called is the gathering of honey from wild bee colonies. It is an ancient human activity and is still practiced by aboriginal societies in different parts of the world like Asia, Africa, South America and Australia. Gathering honey from wild bee colonies is usually done by subduing the bees with smoke and breaking open the tree or rocks where the colony is located. Each area has its own distinctive style of honey hunting, however, the universal method seems to be the method of lighting fire under the bee cliffs to smoke the bees from the combs.
The Honey Hunters Of Nepal
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Among the most famous Honey Hunters are the Honey Hunters of Nepal. Since Nepal is very rich in honeybee diversity, there are at least five different honeybee species in Nepal. These Himalayan honeybees make several types of honey depending on the season and the elevation of the flowers that produce the nectar they eat. It’s the Gurung and Magar Community in Bhujung and Pasgaon in Nepal who are known as the Honey Hunters. This activity also gets them their daily bread and butter. Honey Hunting here is an ancestral job which still continues in many remote villages of Nepal. Generally, about a dozen men at a time are involved in honey hunting. The Honey Hunters in Nepal use locally made tools to collect honey from the cliffs where colonies of wild honey bees build their nests. What is interesting is that before the hunt begins t a worship and sacrifice is performed and the cliff god is offered flowers, fruits, and rice grains. They light a fire at the base of the rock so that the smoke rises and the bees disperse from their combs. The honey hunters of Nepal believe that honey hunting should not be done on a Wednesday, but on Tuesday as it is an auspicious day to do so. Mornings and evenings are said to be the best time for honey hunting. Honey hunting is also forbidden on the 8th, 11th, 23rd, 26th, and 30th day of the moon cycle. The Gurung tribesmen of Nepal usually put their lives in danger to collect honey. Many documentary films have been made on this tribe.
In India too there are Honey Hunters in some parts of the country:
The Honey Hunters Of Wayanad Forest, Kerala
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In Kerala the Kattunayakan tribesmen also known as the Honey Hunters as they are master honey hunters. This tribe too makes a living by collecting wild honey. But unlike the dangerous cliffs of Nepal, here they collect the wild honey from the hives of rock bees on the branches of tall trees. These Honey Hunters venture into the forests in groups of four or five members and gather honey by climbing the tall trees. Like the method that is widely used all across the world, these men too drive the bees away with the help of a fire and smoke, and the honey part of the hive is cut off and the honey is collected.
The Honey Hunters Of Nilgiri Hills, Tamil Nadu
Image Credit: Pollinators.keystone-foundation.org
In the Nilgiri Hills in Tamil Nadu, it is the Toda tribe in Bikkapathimund who are the Honey Hunters. The Todas are basically Adivasis who live in there. The Todas are nature lovers and they even walk barefoot as a mark respect for the spirits of the Earth. They collect honey from the cavity of the trees. The Todas don’t use fire or smoke to draw out the bees when collecting wild honey, unlike other Honey Hunters. When they find a hive, they place a stone at the opening of the hive to keep away the bears that roam these hills. When the honey is ready to be collected, they move the stone, put their face close to the cavity and blow softly. This helps to push the bees out gently and makes it easier for them to reach in and pull out the honey from the hive. Surprisingly these people do not get stung! The Todas believe this is because the bees know if the person is pure of heart. The Todas collect the honey for their own use or for sharing with the village and whatever is left over and extra is sold.
Unfortunately, in recent years bees have been facing increasing threats and it is important to raise public awareness of the importance of bees in our everyday life. It’s time we protect them and their habitats!
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