By Knut-Erik Helle
(Text and photos)

The drumbeats reach us as we are closing in on the Raute camp, along the bank of the Bheri river. In the forest we pass the fireplaces where the much favoured monkey meat have been prepared. The strong odour of the toasted primates fills the air. At a distance the small huts of the forest people, made out of leafs, branches and pieces of old cloths, seem to melt in with the dense semi tropical jungle. At the beach naked children with a black cloud of uncombed hair around their heads are playing. As we get closer the playing children leave at a blink of the eye. The Raute people don’t trust strangers, and their children and women are strictly instructed to avoid contact. Also, strangers are not allowed within their camp. This is the only Raute tribe still practicing the ancient nomadic way of hunting and gathering - a way of life they have practiced for more than 900 years. Now there are only about 130 nomadic Raute left still roaming the forests. They are on the brink of extinction and have made their last stand in the mid-west forested hill-region of Nepal - a stand against acute deforestation, influence of modern civilization and depletion of the natural resources they depend on. If the Raute succumb, the modern world will have lost one more source of knowledge that could help us rediscover our natural roots and a way of life in ecological balance with the endangered forests of the planet.

The king of the trees

“Who is he to come here and visit the King. Does he know my name?” Man Bahadur Shahi does not look like a king, with his raggedy appearance, but for sure he acts like one. He has dedicated his life to the preservation and fierce protection of his nomadic Raute tribe. Man Bahadur is in unquestionable command of the tribe and deals with outsiders to protect the interests of his subjects. He is guardian of the forest and the king of the trees. In his mind, the state and government are only the masters of the “fortress” and have no rights over the forest of the Raute.

After a brief introduction and presenting our wish to learn about the Raute way of life, we leave to give the forest people time to figure out what to do with us. We know this will be difficult, and that we are facing some rather tough negotiations. There is nothing
called a free lunch in the Raute jungle. The life of the nomads are governed by strong taboos and to challenge them would call on the wrath of their forest gods. Allowing counting of the members of the tribe, inviting strangers along for the monkey hunt or give access to the inner area of the camp are all covered by the taboos. Photographing is also not an easy issue to agree on and to make inquiries about their cosmology is far out of the question, Man Bahadur told us. They are willing to talk with us, but not too much. The Raute thinks too much talking is like “chewing the rice too much”. At least the king of the trees assured us that the little they do say could be trusted.

“Our mouths always tell the truth. But our feet are very treacherous”, the smiling king told us. No one knows where the Raute will settle down in a week or two. The local people say “Rothe’s talk” to indicate a promise that must be fulfilled. I can’t but thank the gods of the forest that I’m not a social anthropologist or an ethno biologist. Then things would be really difficult.


Tough negotiations

When we return to the forest people later the same day the negotiations begin. At first Man Bahadur, his “prime minister” Main Bahadur Shahi and Bir Bahadur demand three goats for limited photography, a traditional dance performance and interviews. In addition we’ll have to buy quite some of their handicraft made of wood. Later the demands change to four goats. The Raute are very clever when it comes to negotiations and interacting with outsiders, an important skill they have obtained when bartering their handicraft for food. During the negotiations some of the tribesmen comes to have a closer look at us. We soon realize there is a party going on in the village. In fact, the whole village is intoxicated on their homemade liquor. Even a small girl who can’t be more than five years old is intoxicated. She is trying to stand on a big stone, but is swaying dangerously. Most of the adults also behave rather conspicuously. During our second brief visit we hand out chewing tobacco to the tribesmen that approach us. When we again leave everything is settled for a longer visit including their dance performance the next day. We just have to hound the neighbouring villages for the four goats we need to fulfill our part of the bargain. In a Maoist stronghold village close by, we have made our own camp, using the quarters of the official forest rangers that felt compelled to leave very fast after the start of the insurgency. The villagers claim to have no problems with their nomadic neighbours, and accept that the Raute use the wood they need. Though, the Raute have more problems with them, and when moving on to other areas they could face problems over rights to resources and conflicting interests.


Looming challenges

“We have many problems. The forests are degrading and it is getting very difficult to find both monkeys and nice trees. Life is getting harder and harder”, Man Bahadur Shahi tells us. Close to the Raute camp local people are logging, and the timber are floated down the river.

“Look at them. They are taking our source of food. We don’t want to destroy the forest. The forest is our home and we’ll always need it. We cannot survive without it. The forest is everything for us. She is our god. Every day we pray”, the about 70 years old king of the trees says. He has seen many changes during his long life, and most of them have made their traditional way of living more difficult.
Recently Man Bahadur Shahi was invited to meet His Majesty Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, the king of the fortress and the rest of Nepal. Man Bahadur enjoyed the first flight in his life - especially the view. Kathmandu was too busy for his liking.

“There are so many people and no place for them to walk. Everywhere there is houses, it’s like a crowded jungle”, he tells us. Man Bahadur enjoyed meeting the king of Nepal, leaving with some money and added pressure to leave their way of life. The king of the trees turned the offer down.
“The king asked if we wanted land for a permanent settlement. But we don’t want to change our lifestyle”, Man Bahadur explains. The last nomadic Raute tribe of Nepal would rather die before turning to farming and have quite strong opinions on the practice that made all the large civilizations possible many thousands of year ago.

“We don’t want farming. We don’t like it. We don’t want to wait a long time for simple food. First grow it, then wait and wait. It is a stupid thing. We don’t want stupid things”, Bir Bahadur, one of the clan leaders of the tribe explains. The Raute fiercely wants to keep their traditional way of life.
“Nobody knows what will happen tomorrow. We rather work today, hunt and gather food, make our handicraft and sell it”, Bir Bahadur explains. The Maoist insurgency has also added to the problems of the Raute, increasing the stress on the forest people. The Raute king went to the District Administration Office of Surkhet to request that the fighting parties stop shooting in the forest.


Urgent action needed

Ecologist Nanda Bahadur Singh has studied the Raute and written the book “The Endangered Raute Tribe: Ethnobiology and Biodiversity”, one of few works on the Raute.

“The Raute people are endangered. Their lands are encroached and occupied, customs are attacked, language are polluted and lost. Finally they are at risk of being removed from their own territory. Even the settled groups of Raute have not got sufficient land”, he explains. Especially the modernization of rural Nepal contributes to a considerable amount of pressure on the Raute. Singh thinks that the government of Nepal are not doing enough to protect indigenous groups, like the Raute, and urges the government to make new policies. According to the scientist the government doesn’t even have a clear idea on how many Raute that actually is left in Nepal.

“The latest National Population Census in 1991 showed that 1626 Raute lived in areas where the Raute have never lived”, Singh says. The whole population of Raute was estimated to 2878 by the authorities in 1991. According to Singh there are today only about 500 Raute in Nepal, including about 130 still practicing their traditional nomadic lifestyle. The rest have settled down. “There is need for a political commitment to protect the Raute. The tribe need sufficient large protected areas of forest where they can sustain their nomadic culture. The government should make plans and programs particular for the Rautes, and help to conserve the biological resources they depend on”, Nanda Bahadur Singh point out. There is an Non-Governmental Organisation working for the interests of the Raute, but the Raute themselves feel exploited by the people who are supposed to help them. Also in the villages in the Raute area people told us that this NGO who gets funding to help the Raute, actually took advantage of them.

Jungle Life

The nomadic Raute tribe has not changed their rigid way of life for decades. “There is no change in our life. We don’t want any changes in our lifestyle”, prime minister Main Bahadur Shahi tells us. The hunt for the rhesus monkey and Hanuman langur is an important part of Raute life, and their traditional hunting technique is spectacular. When a group of monkeys are spotted in the jungle the king and the hunters quickly go to the place. Then the king prey to their forest and hunting good, Bhuiyar, before the hunt can begin. To trap the monkeys the Raute put nets on the ground under the trees where the monkeys dwell, and the hunters surround the area. The Raute makes a laud sound to scare the monkeys, who leave their trees and get caught in the nets on the ground. Hunting takes about one third of their total time. Other male activities are the production of the wood utensils witch they barter in the neighbouring villages in exchange for food grains. They make wooden chests, trays and bowls. About 17 species of trees are used to make their wood handicraft. In the forest we can see some traces of how the Raute collect the wood they need for their handicraft. They just cut a part of the tree, and leave the rest of it alive.

The forest people also collect their favourite domesticated fruit, mango, in the surrounding villages. Much to the annoyance of the owner of the mango tree, but that doesn’t seem to bother the Raute. They just quickly climb the mango tree, and take what they want. The women spend quite some time gathering 29 wild species of fruits and ten wild vegetables, that the forest people depend on. Depending on the location and available resources they stay at one place between one week and one month before they leave. Upon departing they set fire to their huts, burning them to the ground. But they never set fire to the jungle itself, because they think this will destroy both animals and plants that the tribe depend on.


A hard life

The government has provided some health service to the Raute. Last year the children got the polio drop, and a provisional eye treatment camp was also set up for the Raute. Although sceptical towards strangers, they accept health treatment. Unlike many other indigenous groups in Nepal, the Raute has not extensive knowledge on the use of medical plants. We notice that there was very few old people among the Raute, something that tell a tale about their tough life on it’s own. A tough life that still may get even tougher.
2003 (c) Knut-Erik Helle /NEFEJ/FIVH