Nomads of raute — how the primitive tribe lives, whose days are numbered

Despite the fact that there are fewer and fewer places untouched by civilization in the world, there are still peoples living the same way as their ancestors thousands of years ago. Gradually we are losing them, as it happened with the Yagans — the most frost-resistant tribe on the planet. Very soon there will be no Raute people — nomads who have been living in the mountains of Nepal since time immemorial. There are only 150 of them left and in a few decades only photos will remind of them.

British photographer and traveler Andrew Newey has been traveling to the most remote corners of our planet for many years. Its purpose is to capture representatives of peoples and tribes whose existence is under threat. Thanks to Newey, the world learned about how the nomadic Raute tribe - gatherers and hunters live according to the laws of the primitive communal system in the mountains of Nepal.

When we hear about primitive tribes, we imagine people in loincloths. They must certainly live in caves or in tree huts and cause awe with their ferocious appearance. But the people of the Raute tribe are not like that at all.

They dress in things made of fabric and live in tents made of textile materials. These benefits of the Raute civilization are obtained from local farmers in exchange for game and forest fruits. Nomads never stay in one place for long. Every few weeks the tribe gathers their belongings and goes to a new place. Raute prefer to set up their camps in the depths of the forest, away from large settlements and busy roads.

Raute's work is strictly divided into male and female. Representatives of the weaker sex are engaged in children, collect fruits and root crops, cook food and maintain order in the home. Men, as it should be, are the getters and defenders. They go hunting and are responsible for the safety of the camp. In the forest, the main enemies of these people have always been bears, from whose attacks children especially suffer.

Children of a nomadic tribe do not play all the time. Adults attract kids to work from 5-6 years old. They help to chop corn, peel vegetables, do cleaning. In the evenings, everyone gathers around big bonfires, shares problems, sings songs or just chat. The Routes do not drink alcohol, do not tolerate scandals and try to live in harmony with nature and with each other.

Routes don't like strangers and it's not about their bad character at all. The tribe lives in tension all the time, as the Nepalese authorities consider them strangers. We can say that the rout turned out to be illegal — for many years the government has been dreaming of evicting them from the forests, and ideally expelling them from the country altogether.

The tribe is considered pests and enemies of nature, although there is no reason for this. Raute does not sow fields and does not plant vegetable gardens. Their faith says it's a sin. They live by what the forest gives. Berries, root vegetables, mushrooms and fruits form the basis of the diet of this tribe. Men hunt monkeys, whose meat complements the simple table of forest dwellers.

Yes, raute cut down trees for bonfires and making the frames of their huts. Because of this, the authorities accuse them of destroying valuable trees. But no reason for such suspicions was given to Raute. The men of the tribe know the vegetation of the mountains well and choose only common trees for economic purposes.

In total, 650 representatives of the tribe now live in Nepal. But only 150 of them remain faithful to the way of life of their ancestors and live like thousands of years ago. The rest have not been wandering for a long time, settled in villages and cities and even forgot their language. Therefore, it is considered that only one and a half hundred of these routes have been preserved.

The main reason for all the troubles of the raute, because of which there are fewer and fewer of them, is the destruction of the habitat. The Government of Nepal considers nomads enemies of nature, but it issues permits for the destruction of unique mountain forests. Hundreds of companies are cutting down trees, so it is increasingly difficult for nomads to get food. Because of these difficulties, raute increasingly has to communicate and trade with other people.