The Hallucinating wild honey of Nepal

The Hallucinating Honey that we have heard of is the most sought after Himalayan honey in the world. This honey is so powerful that ingesting only a few drops of it can cause immediate psychedelic effects. Apis Laborisa, fondly known as the Himalayan cliff bee, is an indigenous species of gigantic honeybee that collects nectar from the Rhododendron pollen. To get maximum sunlight and to make them less vulnerable to predatory attacks, these giant honeybees make their nesting sites on the steep and inaccessible cliffs, close to the rivers. Honey hunting is a part of an age-old tradition much revered among the male members of the Gurung community, an ethnic community of Nepal, who use one of the oldest methods of harvesting honey in the world twice a year – once in spring (March/April) and autumn  (October/November).  But it is mostly the Gurungs from Kaski district that participate in this half-yearly ritual with much fervor and preparation. Every year, the local Shaman marks an auspicious day for harvesting honey, and a day prior to honey hunting, chicken is sacrificed as a part of a shamanic ritual they believe will protect them from any danger and injury. Honey hunting is a risky tradition and some hunters pay the price of their life while climbing the massive steep cliffs every year. But in spite of this, this works as a strong binding force amongst the community members in that the cliffs are named after honey hunters who had fallen off them. The men have their peculiar traditional equipment which is carved out of bamboo trees to make prang (ladder made from bamboo to scale the enormous cliffs), tango (strong bamboo stick with a sickle at the end to axe thick honeycombs), which (a bamboo fiber rope that is stuck to the ladder and pulled by men on the ground to maneuver the ladder) and korko/tokari (around bamboo basket that typically holds up to 20 liters of honey). 

The men have to walk for a few hours from their villages to reach the bottom of the cliffs. Before they start the hunt, a few men gather around to conduct a ceremony with flowers, rice, and incense to seek the permission of Thane Mane (local cliff God) to climb the cliff and pray for a safe and successful hunt.  The hunters first begin by lighting a fire and burning some local leaves under the cliffs to transfer the smoke to beehives. This makes honeybees leave their enormous bee combs. They silently tread on the bamboo ladder and with the help of tango, drop the exposed honeycomb into the bamboo basket. One can often see swollen hands and feet of the hunters as they are repeatedly stung by the honeybees. It is said that Apis Laborisa is so big and powerful that it can sting through modern suits too. But the locals believe that if the honeybee stings, the honey is potent. Once the hunting ritual is complete, the intoxicating honey is shared by all community members. They use it in their tea but not more than a spoonful of it, as this wild honey is known to have intoxicating properties. High nutrition and medicinal properties make it much coveted and it is due to this reason that this wild honey is often exported to countries such as Japan and Korea. The rapid rise of honey business has impacted not only the lives of the local people but has also affected the flora and fauna of the region. One has to be very careful about this tradition dying up fast. Several bee cliffs have been transferred to the government departments in the past and that has had a negative impact on the local population. On the other hand, the tourists also add up to the misery of the indigenous population in this area. Foreigners and government officials are spotted with modern, sophisticated equipment and tools, exploiting bee combs. This has resulted in a decreased population of the giant Apis Laborisa.