At harvest time, farmers owning nearby
rice and corn fields offer a special deal to
their hunter neighbours: Every monkey
killed redeems a small sack of unhusked
rice as thanks for guarding against a pack of
plundering primates.
The success of securing such an
arrangement depends on a farmer’s luck, forbElow Young girls
pounding rice in
handmade mortars.
Rice is a major staple
for the Raute, which
they obtain from
farmers in exchange for
their woodcrafts
the Raute resettle every month or so along
monkey migration routes. This trek takes
them through a spectrum of terrain, from
subtropical lowlands during the winter to
mixed highlands in the monsoon season.
Regardless of weather, hidden forest meadows
and riverbanks are particularly favoured sites
to drop anchor for a while.feature | raute