Hidden deep in the Himalayan forest is one of the world’s last enduring nomadic tribes who are resisting attempts to move them into permanent settlements.
The Raute tribe has no permanent home and frequently moves between camps.
They will vacate a camp whenever a member dies to avoid bad spirits, but not before burying their dead in an upright position and piercing their skull to allow their spirit to be released into heaven.
With the assistance of a local journalist, Danish photographer Jan Møller Hansen spent three days in January 2016 travelling from Nepal’s capital of Kathmandu into a remote forest in Accham District, Nepal to document the isolated group – who call themselves the Kings of the Forest.
The Copenhagen-based photographer said: ‘The Rautes want to get along with everybody, but they are afraid of attending school and settling in villages.
They have their own and completely distinct ethnic identity, but have also become part of a stigmatised underclass in the larger Nepalese society.
‘The Rautes themselves claim that they have royal ancestors and have high-caste status.
‘This is their way of dealing with the strong and persistent efforts of villagers to assimilate them.
‘Everything they obtain from the forests, villages and markets they will share in the large group.
‘The Rautes do not accumulate any kind of property or material wealthy.
‘They only own what they can carry on their back from one forest camp to another.’
Migrating between 300 and 3,000 metre altitudes, the Raute people move according to seasons, staying at high altitudes during the monsoon season and transitioning to lower subtropical forests during the dryer winters.
When Jan visited the group there were only 156 of the nomadic group left, as many other Rautes have been resettled by the Nepalese government.
Consequently the aborigines are extremely wary of outsiders and none are permitted to sleep inside the camp or accompany them on hunting trips, so accessing the camp at all involves long negotiations.
Firstly the photographer had some tense negotiations with the tribe Headman, Mayn Bahadur Kalyal and his wife, who asked him to buy them a large rooster in return for accessing their camp.
He said: ‘You cannot visit the Rautes without providing something to the community.
‘This is very much about reciprocity. You give and take.
‘I had also brought a book about the Rautes written by an American anthropologist.
‘It turned out that the man pictured on the front page of the book was the late father of the Headman’s wife.
‘She had never seen the photo and she was very moved seeing it.’
During his visit to the camp Jan was also escorted out to negotiate more offerings with the senior headman, which ultimately made the trip his most expensive photography expedition to date.
He parted ways with six packs of cigarettes, two large packets of tobacco, oranges, 55 caps, a big box of biscuits, a cockerel and money towards the purchase of five goats.
As the tribe is further exposed to the outside world they face a growing list of dangers, including the deforestation, environmental degradation, water insecurity, a decline in biodiversity, population encroachment by settlers and potential resettlement imposed by the Government of Nepal.
Despite the gradual encroachment of settlers, the Raute people have no interest in assimilating with the outside world or engaging in Nepal’s most common religion – Hinduism.
Jan said: ‘The Rautes respect other religions and beliefs but they insist on keeping their own.
‘They do not want to assimilate into the Nepalese society and despite being under great pressure for many years, they have managed to keep their own identity and culture.
‘They have no written history and claim to be unaware of their ancestral heritage more than four generations back.’
Instead the remote aborigines believe in a sun god known as Berh – who represents eternity – and regard themselves as children of the sun god and see the stars as God’s temples.
They also worship the moon and rely on their Shaman to reach out to deities, spirits and demands.
Jan said: ‘The Rautes respect the religions and beliefs but they insist on keeping their own.
‘They do not want to assimilate into the Nepalese society and despite being under great pressure for many years, they have managed to keep their own identity and culture.
‘They have no written history and claim to be unaware of their ancestral heritage more than four generations back.’
While befriending the Raute people with basic Nepali – the aborigines speak their own language called Kamchi – Jan was struck by their endurance and unwavering dedication to their lifestyle.
He said: ‘All over the world you see that indigenous people and their cultures are disappearing.
‘We are losing so much in terms of cultural diversity when unique and colourful people, religions, beliefs and traditions disappear.
‘I don’t think that we realise what’s going on with global development.
‘I just hope that people appreciate that people can be different and live different lives.
‘For some people this is still possible.
‘It is tough and harsh to live like the Rautes and I don’t want to romanticise or ignore the challenges that they face in their everyday life, but respect for people and different cultures is important.
‘That’s what I want to pass on to the viewers who see my images.’
By Gareth Davies
