The Hunt for the Nectar of the Gods

by Madeline Fox

As Mauli Dhan swings from a cliffside in Nepal, the Kulung people wait for their stock of “mad honey” to descend from the Himalayan forests. This ancient community is cut off from the rest of Nepal, surrounded by the density of the jungle as well as the Hongu River. The people of this remote area count on the hallucinogenic “mad honey” for cough syrup, antiseptic, bronze molding and for profit on Asian black markets, for it has a soothing and intoxicating effect when consumed. This rare commodity can also be bought online. However, a mere 100 grams costs $99. The hallucinogenic properties of mad honey draw people from around the world wanting to experiment with its magical qualities.

Mad honey is a type of honey made from the pollen and nectar of plants called grayanotoxins. It is mainly used in Nepal and Turkey, since the type of Rhododendron that produces it can be found in the mountains of both countries. However, most is collected in Nepal. Grayanotoxin products can also be found in labrador tea, cigarettes and herbal medicine. This honey does much more in Nepal than just provide its people with a few types of medicine; it is deeply ingrained into their culture.

But if this mad honey can also be found in other places around the world, then why is it so particularly important to the Nepalese culture and people? Among the Nepalese deities is a god called “Rangkemi,” the god of bees and monkeys. Mauli, the last honey hunter for the Kulung people, prays to the spirit of Rangkemi as he inches closer and closer to the bee hive swarming with large Himalayan bees, chanting, “You are Rangkemi. You are of the bee spirits. We are not thieves. We are not bandits. We are with our ancestors. Please fly. Please leave.” As a man of deep faith and tradition, Mauli fearlessly climbs three hundred feet in the air to provide this honey for his community.

His assistant, Asdhan Kulung, helps Mauli just as Mauli helped his father with the hunt in the past. Mauli recalls honey hunting with his father, which sparked a dream of becoming a honey hunter himself. In an interview with National Geographic, he explains a vision that he once had on the hunt when he was young, “I saw two beautiful women. Suddenly I found myself trapped in a spiderweb on the side of a cliff. I was struggling to get free when I saw a large white monkey above me. It dropped its tail down, and the women helped me grab it. Then the monkey lifted me up, and I escaped.” National Geographic elaborates on the story further by explaining, “The elders, one of them his father, told him that the monkey was Rangkemi, the guardian spirit of bees and monkeys – a sometimes wrathful energy that inhabits dangerous places where few humans dare to go. They assured him that he would be guaranteed safe passage onto the cliffs, that the spirit would not retaliate against him and his family when he took the precious honey.” It was on that day that Mauli decided to dedicate his life to honey hunting.

Now, Mauli is 57. He must consider retirement, for this arduous task only gets harder with age. However, he is unsure if his son will have the same dream of following in his father’s footsteps and continuing the hunt. In the same interview, Mauli laments, “Children these days don’t value the culture. If this continues, our culture is going to disappear.” Most children that belong to the Kulung community have dreams of living up to their aspirations and moving out into the world, leaving their small, indigenous community behind. As Mauli worries and this culture dwindles, so does the supply of one of the world’s rarest commodities.

Mauli’s fading culture is not the only factor putting the world’s supply of mad honey in jeopardy. Because of climate change, honeybee populations are shrinking, and so is their supply of honey. Habitat loss, as well as shifting temperatures and disease are affecting honeybees negatively and pose a threat to them as a species. Human Nature, a conservation blog, also explains the impact of shifting temperatures: “As average monthly temperatures rise, flowers bloom earlier in the spring, creating a potential mismatch in season timing between when flowers produce pollen and when bees are ready to feed on that pollen. Even a small mismatch of three to six days could negatively affect bees’ health, making them less likely to reproduce and less resistant to predators and parasites.”

While both habitat loss and shifting temperature affect honeybees around the world, disease is something that was originally found in Asian honeybees, similar to the ones that produce Mad Honey. According to Human Nature, “Honeybees are susceptible to parasites such as Varroa mites and the gut parasite Nosema ceranae, and environmental stresses may increase infections. Scientists first discovered the Nosema ceranae in the early 1990s in Asian honeybees.” This parasite has been affecting these Asian honeybees for almost 30 years, weakening their population.

With all of these factors coming into play, the honeybee population is taking a large hit, and it is only getting worse with time. But what does this mean for the production of mad honey?

Unfortunately, with the producers and the harvesters of mad honey at risk, this rare commodity is getting ever rarer. Human culture and the environment are closely intertwined, so when one falls short, so does the other, leaving the future of mad honey production in jeopardy.