Mysterious ‘Crazy Honey’ in the Himalayas
Honey has been used worldwide for its medicinal properties for over five thousand years. Whether it is an allergy or an injury, the use of honey in medicine is unmatched by any other food. The use of honey as the companion of the pharaohs of Egypt in the afterlife or the first food of a newborn child seems to be omnipresent.
But you will be surprised to know that there is honey found in the remote mountainous region of Nepal, which feels strange intoxication when played. You can lose if you eat more than a certain amount of real-unreal knowledge!
Everyone sees Nepal, the daughter of the Himalayas, as a bridge between spirituality and the mysterious world. Amidst Nepal’s rugged terrain and unique biodiversity, some things are not found anywhere else in the world. One such thing is ‘crazy honey’!
The largest bee in the world, Apis dorsata laboriosa, lives in a remote mountain valley in the Himalayas. These bees are found in the Himalayan mountains of Nepal, Bhutan, India and China’s Yunnan Province at altitudes of 8,200 to 9,800 feet. However, Nepal has the largest species of bees, up to three centimeters long. But not the size, the specialty of these bees is actually elsewhere!
These bees collect honey from the flowers of a plant called rhododendron, which contains a toxic compound called grayanotoxin. Granotoxin can cause hallucinations. Therefore, this grayanotoxin mixed honey has been used for thousands of years in various regions as a medical product. And this honey is collected only by the people of the Kulung tribe of Nepal, even twice a year.
The Kulung tribe lives in the foothills of the Annapurna Range, a remote mountainous region in the Himalayas of Nepal. Only members of this tribe risk their lives to climb thousands of feet to collect honey. This honey collection is part of their culture. This is not the only way to make a living. They do so out of some folklore and religious beliefs.
External connections with this isolated town began more than a decade ago. Since then, the region’s honey has become popular in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. However, honey from this region has long been used medicinally in China, Japan, and Korea.
This sweet mention is found in the writings of Zenfone, Aristotle and Strabo. In his famous book Anubis, Xenophon mentions a Greek soldier who fell ill after drinking such honey in present-day Turkey and recovered a few hours later. It was as if they were in a trance. As a result, the army thought it was magical honey.
When Pompeii, the Roman army chief, invaded the territory of King Mithridates in Asia Minor in 69 BC, King Mithridates tricked the Roman army into drinking and attacking the honey.
In many western countries, this honey is considered as a medicinal product. Many also drink a small amount mixed with warm milk before eating in the morning.
Drinking this honey causes different reactions in the body. Although no one has been seen to be sick with Nepali honey-like Turkish honey, it causes drowsiness, increased saliva in the mouth and slowed heartbeat. In addition, many people say that something unreal happens in front of their eyes when they drink too much.
A reporter for the HBO channel’s Vice Documentary commented that drinking this honey gives the feeling of a lot of drug use but much slower. Many believe that this honey also increases sexual energy. Although Nepali honey is grown based on this myth, no research has been done on this special use of honey to date.
Himalayan bees collect many kinds of honey. What kind of honey will it be? It depends on which season the bees are collecting honey from which flower. In spring, blue and pink flowers of rhododendrons (the national flower of Nepal) spread to the foothills of the Himalayas in Nepal. The pollen and honey of this flower attract the giant bees here. The bees collect the honey and pollen from the flowers. Then he collects the honey from the bee hanging on the hill.
Collecting this honey is a very difficult task. The villagers collect honey in groups, but only twice a year. There are about 30 people on the team. Everyone prays to the goddess Rankemi before going to collect honey. They believe he will save them. Then a journey of about four hours up steep hills. Then the desired place, from where the preparation for honey collection will begin.
This tradition of collecting honey is as ancient as the clothing of the ancient honey collectors. They have no protective clothing to protect themselves from such large bee attacks. The one who gets such clothes at hand works with it. Even in the heat of summer, after wearing winter sweaters and trousers, some people use helmets and mosquito nets to protect their heads and eyes.
Nesting in the hills, bees collect honey from hanging bees. Collecting honey from here is risky. However, some fearless people collect honey at the risk of their lives due to thousands of years of tradition and faith. At first, they made hanging ladders with wild vines and bamboo. At present, however, the use of fiber rope is increasing in making ladders.
They hang the ladder close to the mountain, where there are bees. Then, under the direction of a team leader, the team members begin to descend the ladder slowly. Some have a 25-foot-long bamboo in their hand, with a knife tied to their head to cut the beehive.
Someone has a bamboo basket on his back and a few handfuls of burning straw in his hand. Everyone wears heavy and thick clothes. In the heat of the day, on the one hand, and on the other hand, handling baskets and bamboo, they reach the hive in such a risky situation. But the real problem starts from here.
The closer they get to the hive, the more aggressive the bees become. They get lost in the hay smoke. These three-centimeter-long bees attack everyone with their venomous stings. Although it is impossible for an ordinary person to hold a bamboo and rope ladder in one hand thousands of feet above sea level in this situation, the people of the Kulung tribe do the work with difficulty. The honey-filled beehive came in the sting of the knife attached to the bamboo and fell into the basket held down.
With each bite, thousands of bees begin to attack. The bee attack can’t stop their patchwork. Even so, owning one is still beyond the average person’s reach. When everyone climbs the mountain with life, everyone is exhausted. Everyone has at least four or five bee stings. Everyone then goes to the river and cleans themselves. However, all the fatigue-suffering is removed by drinking this nectar!
About 100 to 200 gallons of honey are collected in just three days in one season. The honey is then filtered to separate it from the remains of bees and dead bees. At the end of three days of busyness, the journey started towards the village with this honey.
The only way to sell this honey abroad is through the only educated person in their village – Jangi. He is the one who sells and buys honey. He has his only permanent home in the town among the people of this village. How much is his income – no one knows. No one cares how much money he sells this honey. The villagers only need edible oil, batteries, noodles and beer!
However, this ‘crazy honey’ does not drive the tribals crazy. While this honey collection may seem crazy at the risk of their lives, they are not as addicted to it as ordinary people. Maybe drinking year after year has less effect on them. But it is understandable that they are in a trance.
To the outside world, this honey is like a natural form of LSD. The demand for herbal medicine is not low. However, due to the risk of life and lack of financial security compared to that, the people of the Kulung tribe are gradually trying to give up this profession. As a result, it will be difficult to sustain this ancient tradition without the sincere patronage of honey importers and exporters.