Asian Geographic - April 2018

(singke) #1

God said to


set the screaming


monkey free –


Text and Photos Ram Paudel


at least, that’s what the Raute hunters believe.


Though the men have gone to great lengths


to capture the day’s hard-won dinner, it is


customary (and arguably rather forward-


thinking) to release a male-female pair to


ensure the langur population’s sustainability.


After all, it is to Dade Masto, the Raute’s pagan


god, that they owe the success of their hunt,


and to whom they sacrifice a chick to pacify


him for their primate hunting lest he let the


sky fall down upon the Earth.


“If we don’t keep God happy, he will say


that monkeys are like our own children, and


we can’t kill and eat them,” says Raute leader


Mahin Bahadur Shahi. “That would be a


disaster. If we can’t hunt langurs, what will our


people eat?”


Deity satisfied, the hunters walk the


long route back to camp at the foot of the


Himalayas. In the evening, they will distribute


the pickings equally among the villagers. If a


stranger arrives at mealtime, they hide their


dinner: Outsiders must never lay eyes on it –


nor see the Raute hunting – or it will mean


immense bad luck on everyone’s heads.


feature | raute


RighT Young Raute
cut trees to make
woodcrafts like bowls
and trays. Males in the
tribe learn to use tools
and hunt monkeys,
skills passed down
the generations

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