The nomadic Rautes are the last hunters and 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.
Thenomadic Rautesbelong to nowhere and everywhere, and they have their own language, culture and beliefs. The Rautes believe in the sun god Berh that represents eternity. The Rauteshas managed to avoid forcible assimilation and have not settled in villages and adopted Hindu beliefs and practices. Rather they continue their traditional life travelling through the forests of Western Nepal.
The Rautes continue to maintain a certain degree of secrecy and avoidance towards assimilation in order to keep their identity and to survive as a distinct community. Today, the nomadic Rautes totalaround 156 people.
About Jan Møller Hansen
Jan Møller Hansen is a self-taught and international award-winning photographer, who works with visual story telling and social documentary. In 2015, he published the book “Images of Nepal,” Jagadamba Press Kathmandu, and was recognized as IPA People Photographer of Year 2015.
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Copyrights:
All the pictures in this post are copyrighted Jan Møller Hansen. Their reproduction, even in part, is forbidden without the explicit approval of the rightful owners.
2 comments
Very meaningful and powerful pics. Why there is so much poverty and hard living ?? When most of the people live a much better life,elsewhere. These people must also have a right to live a decent life, as least better then this.
Diese Menschen sind nicht arm. Es sind die letzten Nomaden, die sich immer wieder dem Zugriff der sogenannten zivilisierten Welt erfolgreich entziehen konnten, um ihre Identität, ihre Sprache, ihre Kultur und ihren Glauben zu behalten. Erst wenn die Zivilisation nach ihnen greift, dann sind sie wirklich arm. Wir dürfen diese Bilder nicht mit unseren Augen sehen und beurteilen, sondern mit den Augen dieser Nomaden. Ich hoffe, sie können noch lange ihr Leben leben, wie sie es sich wünschen.