Makeshift tents provide temporary shelter for Nepal’s final nomadic tribe, the Raute, in the dense forests of Girighat in the Surkhet district.
This small, secluded community clings to its traditional customs as urbanization sweeps across the nation. However, their population is rapidly declining, putting their distinctive way of life in jeopardy.
The Raute have been migrating over the course of generations, moving from the lowlands in the winter and returning to the hills in the summer.
They steadfastly reject agriculture, permanent settlements, and formal education, unlike other indigenous peoples. Their main means of subsistence are monkey hunting, collecting wild tubers, and trading handmade wooden goods for things like rice, tools, and clothing.
The Raute is a recognized indigenous group that is threatened by the Nepalese government. The population of Nepal was 566 according to the national census for 2021.
However, a group that collaborates closely with the community, the Social Service Centre (SOSEC) Nepal, reports that their number has decreased.
32 children have been born over the past six years, but 42 have passed away, according to Lal Bahadur Khatri, a SOSEC teacher who works with the Raute community. This indicates that there are only 137 people left, which indicates that their population is declining.
Women are responsible for daily tasks like cooking, bringing in water, and gathering food in the Raute community. They are not, however, allowed to make decisions regarding education and healthcare.
Moving from one place to another is very difficult because moving is more difficult when you’re working there, according to 22-year-old Raute woman Gajali Sahi.
“The women’s jobs are to build new homes and prepare the new settlement,” she said. Additionally, women are responsible for cooking meals and bringing water in. The hardest part of moving to a new place isn’t it, though. I occasionally believe that being born outside the Raute community or the outside world would have made me happier. Being a Raute woman requires a lot of effort because we must carry heavy loads all day. It is very difficult.
Although getting an education would benefit our community, we are not permitted to study, Gajali continued. Even though I and other children in the neighborhood want to learn, the older generation does not allow us. Because we don’t feel happy here, Deepak, Nabin, and our group of younger people want to attend school. In the winter, it’s difficult to find warm clothing.
Khatri explained that he and others have started providing a secret education.
The children are very eager to learn, he said, despite the fact that parents do not allow them to study. So we’ve been secretly teaching them how to write their names and practice daily hygiene without the elders realizing it.
The Nepalese government provides a monthly social security allowance of 4, 000 Nepalese rupees ($29.5) per person to provide for the Raute’s food and healthcare needs.
However, many Raute elders are still hostile to change.
“Raute children don’t attend school,” the statement read. Raute children are already accustomed to eating frogs and wild roots, according to Surya Narayan Sahi, a 49-year-old leader of the Raute. “Our children have already been asked to attend school by the Nepal government.”
He continues to make a strong effort to preserve the Raute way of life.
We will vanish if the Rautes live in one place, which will cause unrest. The Rautes will not exist, he declared. Agriculture will also bring about the end of humanity.
Gajali, however, thinks that change is inevitable but will take time.
Source: Aljazeera
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