Tribal Livelihood

Images Code:Baiga Tribe - Honey Collection - MadhyaPradesh - IMG_5174

This tribal boy is on the way to home from honey collection. This honey collection activity is awful as it is collected from the special trees. Finding these special trees is a cumbersome activity. To find such trees Tribals follow honey-bees. Once the tree found they worship it by following certain rituals. This right is always given to the knowledgeable amongst them. It is only after ritual completed they cut the bark. It is surprising that once they remove honey-comb none of them got stung by the bees as my personal experience as a photographer. He is carrying honey-comb in the tree leafs; to ensure that no honey should get drop or waste. The boy is minimum cloth that just wrapped his waist and covered his torso with a white cloth called ‘Gumcha.’ For generations baiga tribal people have been collecting wild honey .This is a one of the occupation for their livelihood .The honey gatherers travel through muddy saltwater rivers, creeks and narrow channels that criss-cross the forests.