Photographer Jan Moller Hansen is the Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this social documentary photography. From his project ‘The Last Hunters & Gatherers of the Himalayas‘. To see Jan’s body of work click on any image.
The nomadic Rautes are the last hunters-gatherers of the Himalayas. The Rautes, who call themselves Kings of Forests, subsist on langur and macaque monkeys, wild yams, rice and a few kinds of vegetables traded from local farmers. Their main occupation is to trade and exchange of wooden items in nearby villages and bazaars. They migrate from river valleys up to middle hills in the Western parts of Nepal living in temporary camps hidden away from the villages in remote parts of the forests.
“The Rautes have managed to avoid forcible assimilation and have not settled in villages and adopted Hindu beliefs and practices.”
The nomadic Rautes belong nowhere and everywhere, and they have their own language, culture and beliefs. The Rautes believe in the sun God Berh that represents eternity. The Rautes have managed to avoid forcible assimilation and have not settled in villages and adopted Hindu beliefs and practices. Instead, they continue their traditional life travelling through the forests of Western Nepal.
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By Jan Moller Hansen
