Honey Hunting Festival to be Held in Khotang

Khotang. A 'Honey Hunting' festival is to be organized in the first week of Jestha in Kepilasgadhi Rural Municipality of Khotang. The rural municipality is organizing the festival on Jestha 8 in Fedi in coordination with the Ministry of Tourism, Forest and Environment, Province No. 1, with the objective of conserving cliff bees, which are on the verge of extinction, and promoting tourism.

The festival, to be held in Fedi, which is connected to 'Mundum Trail', one of the 100 tourist destinations determined by the Government of Nepal, is expected to greatly help in the conservation and promotion of cliff bees, said Rural Municipality Chief Samir Rai.

"There are bees in many cliffs of the rural municipality. This year, in coordination with the provincial government, the 'Honey Hunting' festival has been organized to conserve cliff bees, which are on the verge of extinction, and connect them with tourism," he said, "Local community's traditional food is used in the festival. Various personalities related to biodiversity, as well as domestic and foreign tourists, will participate in the festival organized in the Terawa area of Fedi."

It has been found that cliff bees have been living in more than a dozen cliffs in the community forest areas of Fedi, Ward No. 1 of Kepilasgadhi Rural Municipality, located in the northern part of the district, for many years. Local Laxman Sampang of Fedi said that cliff bees have been living in cliffs such as Ripdaula's Kuhire Chhango cliff in Fungallung Community Forest, Makhamla's Mahbhir waterfall in Chilimlahure Community Forest, and Terawa cliff in Terawa for many years.

Local residents of Fedi hunt cliff bee honey twice a year, in Jestha-Ashadh during Ubhauli and in Kartik-Mangsir during Udhauli. Local honey hunters said that at least Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh worth of honey is hunted from a single cliff in one season.

Local honey hunter Hastaram Rai said that honey hunting from cliffs has been practiced as a Kirat ritual in Fedi for generations. "I started this profession in 2035 BS, and now the younger generation is attracted to it," he said, "We taught them. We are happy that the younger generation is becoming professional."

Honey hunting from cliffs is traditionally done with the help of materials such as a ladder made from Maliga's vine, safety equipment, ropes, baskets, and Maliga's poles and tools. Climbing is done using the ladder, and honey is extracted using ropes, baskets, and poles.

In the local language, the person who goes to the cliff to extract honey is called 'Paryange', while the person who transports materials like ladders, poles, and baskets to the 'Paryange' using ropes is called 'Sutare'. The person who extracts honey from the cliff, strains it, pours it into vessels, and applies smoke is called a helper.

On the day of cliff bee honey hunting, local residents living in areas such as Terawa, Makhamla, and Pipi in Fedi gather from their homes with Jaand, Raksi, and Khaja to celebrate and have fun. Honey from cliff bees produced in Fedi is exported to major trading centers of the district like Diktel Bazaar, Dharan, Biratnagar, Kathmandu, as well as to countries like the UK, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

The Kirat Rai (Sampang) community of Fedi also connects the practice of hunting cliff bee honey with their traditional rituals. After bringing the hunted honey from the cliff home, they offer it to their three hearths, i.e., ancestors (deceased persons), and only then consume it as prasad.

Cliff bee honey is considered to have medicinal properties because cliff bees make honey from medicinal flowers.