Intorduction of Nomadic People Rautes
Nepal is a country of ethnic, religious and cultural diversity of which Rautes are one of the most typical ethnic groups of people. They are the few of the last remaining hunters and gatherers, probably the only in South Asia.
Rautes are the nomads, very much confident in their forest-based lifestyle. So far, they have been successful in maintaining the privacy of their indigenous knowledge and in giving continuity to their tradition. With their group oriented lifestyle, concern for their tradition and recluse nature, the Rautes are adamant in their current set of lifestyle and they are ready to take any sort of risk for this.
The tradition and lifestyles of Rautes have been transferred by means of stories said and through oral literacy. Rautes hate the idea of permanent settlement, education and agriculture. The reason for this dislike and such ignorance is the fact that then they would have to quit their nomadic tradition and hunting.
At the time when acculturation has been visible around the world with the diminishing diversity, Rautes have been very much successful in sustaining their tradition. There are many things to learn from Rautes who have been very successful in preserving their tradition in the present world. In this context, they should be conserved as one of the precious national treasures of Nepal. And this nomadic lifestyle of Rautes could contribute in the study of socio-economic evolution of mankind.
Apart from the ethnic culture and the religious aspect of the Rautes, there are three special features that sustain their Raute tradition. Those include carpentry (wood work), hunting, monkey hunting, and their ethnic dance. Hunting fulfills their nutritional requirements, carpentry (wood work) provides them with the opportunity to barter and purchase food supplies and their dance represent their ethnic idiosyncrasy and it is also their mode of entertainment.
Monkey Hunting
Killing monkey is one of the fundamental sides of giving the cultural continuity to the hunting life of the Rautes. Villagers acknowledge Rautes for killing those monkeys who are a menace to the village and thus the solidarity between the Rautes and the villagers improves as the Rautes do not cause any harm to any other animal species. Their hunting technique is also very courageous in the sense that around 8-30 young and middle aged Rautes members go for hunt in a group. The net is kept at a deep-set land as they set a perimeter in the forest. Monkeys are the only wild animals hunted by Rautes. They do not kill any birds or eat any animals killed by other. In fact, they consider killing the species of dear as a great sin.
The culture of the Rautes is that of the culture of the forest. Woods are an integral part of the Raute life: from their birth, growth and till their death. These forests provide them with woods as a means for their livelihood and monkeys as their hunt for food. Rautes believe that a longer stay in a particular place will contribute to deforestation. Hence to conserve the ecosystem of that particular place in the jungle, they shift from place to place. This controls excessive forest degradation. They sell their wooden product in the local market. But with the popularity of the plastic and silver materials in the local market, the demands for wooden products have gone down. Since the Rautes products are long lasting, the people of the village are also not interested in buying the same product again. However, the Rautes have always been successful in selling their products although they have got a lesser price for their products.
Raute dance symbolizes their cultural continuation and is a mode of their entertainment. For a last few years, they have been showing this dance outside their settlement to reveal their identity and provide entertainment to villagers. This dance has also been an important source of income for the Rautes. The Rautes have special commitment in their ethnic dance. They are very spontaneous and passionate about their dance and get lost in it as soon as it starts with the beats of the madal.
As 2-3 madals are beaten, the Rautes dance in different nature, sometimes being round, sometimes in rows or sometimes in line. They dance with feelings in colorful dresses and large jewelries that also include a long white skirts (jhagla) and bangles in feet (kalli).
The Rautes have traditional knowledge of living in a community. The heredity of the Rautes is categorized into three types as kalyaal, raskoti and samaal. It is therefore very important to collect these various aspects of the Rautes such as their specialties, values and norms, birth, growth and death, marriage and lifestyle. Documenting their knowledge and culture provides an opportunity for the people interested in the cultural and the anthropology of this community. Women make a special contribution in sustaining the nomadic culture of the Rautes. They are more committed to their culture and tradition. They take the full responsibility at the decision making level in the family and house hold chorus.
- Contemporary Vision
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