In the heart of Nepal, lives a tribe of honey hunters, the Gurungs
They are the last humans before a Eight thousand meters mountain peak,
and their village is surrounded by a thick jungle, its secrets is a mistery to all but the locals
One month a year, giant hymalayan bees , the biggest bees in the world,
forage poisonous flowers, giving to honey medicinal, aphrodisiac and hallucinogen properties.
the Gurungs take outrageous risks to collect the honey from the cliff side hives ,
but they've developed an almost mystical rapport with the bees, wich enable them to work without any protective clothing.
The precious liquid has to be eaten with great care to avoid serious intoxication
my name is Raphael Treza, i'm going to meet the tribe to try to find out more about this magic honey
the Gurungs sell the honey at a little market, they've told me how to find their village.
On the way, I met Deepak and Kumar, two friends who are in contact with the tribe.
They've proposed to come with me to act as translators.
The gurungs are almost cut off from the outside world,
they live two days walk from the nearest road
originally from Tibet,
in the middle ages, they came to this valley, dominated by one the highest mountains in the world
150 villagers live here
including elderly but very healthy people
and a good number of children who attend the village school
hives of domesticated bees, which are more docile
and twice as small as the wild bees are built into the walls.
the honey can be collected from inside the houses.
the bees have even colonised some rather unusual places.
the Gurungs are almost entirely self sufficient , they cultivate vegetables, corn and rice.
the village mill turns the cereals into flour
various wooden objects are carved and sculpted with a kukri, the emblematic Nepali's knife.
The villagers raise goats, cows and sheep, who's wool is used to make clothes
some of which will be sold at the market
Some also fish and hunt for dear using riffle loaded with a ramrod
and they stay on the look out for bears which could attack their flocks or the village children
Men and women of all ages regularly work on communal tasks
like here for the building of a new path.
maoist dissidents who took control of the valley make sure everyone takes part in the work necessary for the developing the community
The gurungs are reserved and discrete but their good humour and joie de vivre is infectious
At dawn, the village gets ready for a honey hunting trip
two men prepare the ropes required for climbing the cliffs
They set out to join the rest of the team
The hunters meet up:
Noba
Kershing, the oldest hunter
Nandala
and Dale
as they leave the village, a surprise guest shows up
A member of the maoist guerilla from a neighboring village
who says he comes to ensure we're not going to take honey from comunal hives
at first he wants to stop us from going
his presence here is also a publicity exercise
he wants to be sure the young nepali's communist logo on his t-shirt appears in the film
discussions are a little tense but calm
Finally, the young maoist agrees to let us leave
Kershing cuts some young bamboo stems which will be use to make a ladder.
At midday, we arrive at the bottom of the cliff
The men prepare a camp
And a team sets out on reconaissance
on the cliff face, a black mass can be made out, and so the honey hunt can begin
Deepak: - how old were you when you started hunting for honey?
Kershing:- i began when I was twenty and I do it every year,
today I'm sixty today so It has been forty years, my father and my grand-father did it before me
so I was always curious about it
d: - And what's the first thing to be done?
k: First of all, there's a ritual called the pujah
pujah is a Hindu term, refering to a religious ritual,
where incense is burned and prayers are offered
The Gurungs are Buddhists, but have retained a form of animism in their relations with nature
they invoke certain spirits, in this case a forest spirit
to whom they offer the life of a cock ,a sacrifice
that will guarantee a successfull honey harvest
Kershing: we do this ritual to avoid problems
misfortune and accidents
We have to summon the spirit of the forest, because it has a soul
and we don't want to offend it
We pray twice, once here and once down below
we've had the same traditions for a long time
everywhere we go, the traditions are the same
When we hunt the honey the bees don't give in easily, it's a real combat
it's a bit like we were taking their children
We make this offering to be protected and so that no one falls
Deepak: so what effect does this honey have?
Kershing: The effect of the honey? [laughs] you'll see
The sacrificed cock will also serve as a meal
Noba prepares it, while the others make the rope ladder
rungs fitted into ropes made from braided bamboo
they're then fixed using bamboo shoots
the hunters prepare bundles of green leaves
which they will light to smoke out the bees
The ladder is drenched with water so it's not damaged by the flames
The meal is ready, a cock curry
and the team is soon ready to begin hunting
Nandala has choosen a solid root to fix the ladder
a safety mecanism is connected too
A wooden structure is installed, to hold a wicker basket for filtering the honey
The hunters will split up
Kershing will climb the ladder and cut holes in the wax using sharpened bamboo spatulas
Lukba, Nandalal and Dale will stay on the top,
and will ensure the coming and going of the honey baskets.
They have to light a fire to protect themselves from attacks by the bees
Noba will descend to the cliff base to smoke out the hives
Kershing performs a final ritual as he lays out leaves on the ground
We follow Noba
when we arrive, the bees adopt a very specific behaviour:
defense waves: raising their wings in turn, they create a kind of wave around the hive
a visual alarm signal to any predator or imprudent invader
Before they attack, Noba lights a fire , the smoke rise along the cliff face
despite the smoke, the bees were aggressive and tried to get into our clothes.
Their legs's are unbelievly powerfull
As we have neither gloves nor a mask, the hunters has warned us:
in the case of an attack, we must not move, the slightest gesture only provoques the bees
Kershing climbs up just wearing shorts and a t-shirts, his confidence is astounding
his mystical rapport with the bees is clear
as he finds himself facing a furious swarm
A flamming bundle of leaves is lowered
and Kershing is trying to divert the bees attentions
The bees see the smoke as a sign of fire
and the hunter's presence becomes for them a secondary problem for them
Deepak is being stung on the head , and decides to move away
According to him , being stung by a Himalayan bee
"Apis Dorsata Laboriosa" is no more painful than an ordinary bee's sting
Kershing would sometimes remain immobile for several minutes to make the bees less agressive
to keep his hands free, he has attached bamboo stakes to his arms
A basket is lowered on a rope
he pushes it under the holes in the wax , and using the stakes
cuts out several kilos of honey, which fall into the basket
then the team members simply haul the basket to the cliff top
the harvest demands perfect coordination
but the tribe history has been marked by several fatal accidents
each cliff bears the name of a dead hunter, inscribed on the rock
Kershing drops a block of honey, it falls on my feet
surprised, I slip and fall, but fortunately
the vegetation breaks my fall
Kershing climbs back up, he hasn't been stung
We try to climb back up too
It's a good harvest
And Everyone is safe and sound
A shepherdess has joined the group. She carefully tastes a peace of wax filled with honey
she knows the toxicity varies according to the seasons.
I'm invited to taste it too
The innitial effects are immediate, the honey contains diterpenic alcohol
a toxin that causes inebriety, similar to the effect of absynth
Deepak seems to appreciate it
And invites me to take a second taste
but I'm too busy filming and decline, plus the dose suggested by the hunters is only 3 teaspoons
The honey has soothing qualities, and the Gurungs use it as an aphrodisiac
They consume a spoonfull every morning as it helps for their immunity systems
hence the name of "honey for a long life" or "immortality"
although a higher dose can affect the vision and even induce hallucinations
the filter enables impurities such as dead bees to be removed
A few blocks of dried wax are taken to feed the animals
others are left in place
when they reach a waterhole, the men wash off the sticky honey
it's a moment of respite before the long walk back to the village
The hunters can't delay any longer as evening is approaching rapidly
Dale brings up the rear, when there's a problem
Deepak feels ill, and can't walk any further
Dale: What's going on?
kumar: He doesn't feel well, he can't walk
Dale: how come?
kumar: because of the honey
Dale: How much has he eaten?
k: A good handful
D: that's too much, I'm going to get the others
Deepak is nauseous and cannot longer stand up
Suddenly, he has convulsions and loses consciousness
Kumar decides to carry him, to try rejoin the group
an analysis of the honey, reveals it comes from a «ponticum» rhododendron
who's red flowers contains "grayanotoxins"
these gives the honey it's toxicity.
although the bees themselves are not affected
Deepak: "everything spinning"
a honey overdose can cause Cardiac and Respiratory irregularities,
some of which are proved fatal
Deepak is suffering from paresthesia, unusual sensations in his fingertips,
a woman from a village arrives and learns what has happened
her name is Yamu
Nandalal and Noba gave their material to shepherds
and come back to help Deepak
Nandalal: "I will carry you on my back"
the men don't appear to be worried, and take the situation with good humour
Deepak starts vomiting again
the men have to leave, as at night the forest becomes a hunting ground for bears and tigers
in ancient times, Greek and Roman armies suffered the same fate as Deepak
After stealing honey from a Turkish village surrounded by rhododendron
they became drunk, and some fell over and lost their minds
the honey became known as "red honey" or "mad honey"
We reach the village
Deepak will be treated with medicinal plants
The next day, Deepak is better, and gets away with just a nasty headache
before leaving we eat local dried and braised game meat
We leave the gurungs, filled with respect for these simple discrete heroes
Deepak and kumar take some honey, which they have promise to consume with moderation
English version by Daniel Narolewski