In pictures: The last nomadic people of Nepal
- Published
The Raute are the last nomadic people of Nepal. Now numbering fewer than 150, they live in the forests of Accham's middle hills, where photographer Andrew Newey caught up with them.
The Raute people live in temporary camps, hidden away from the villages, in remote parts of the forest. Their dwellings are basic tents made from wooden branches covered with leaves and cloth.
These hunter-gatherers move camp every few weeks through the steeply wooded hills and mountains
A Raute elder returns to camp with a monkey after a successful day's hunting. They are accomplished in the art of hunting monkeys, which they trap using a special net. Hunting is carried out only by males in the community
Division of labour is based on gender. Women mostly carry out daily tasks such as cooking, washing, collecting water and firewood and beating the grains.
A very typical scene in the Raute camp, with the whole family gathered around a fire. Despite immense pressure from the Nepalese government to conform, the Raute remain a secretive community deeply suspicious of outsiders.
A pot of leaves from the forest boils on the fire. The Raute have a strong attachment to the forest and shun agriculture because they believe it is a sin to sow seeds. Once their forest home allowed them to be self-sufficient, but now they rely on government handouts.
Young Raute girls grind corn using heavy wooden poles, while the infants help to tidy up.
The Raute live in an area known as the middle hills, between the flat land of Nepal's southern Terai region and the Himalayas, and cut only common species of trees.
Following two bear attacks in as many days, where one tribe member was killed and another seriously injured, the children are warned not to venture too deep into the forest.
The area has lost much of its forest. And, although the remaining areas are protected by government legislation, the loss of this habitat along with many of the animals and plants on which the Raute depended for survival has pushed them into direct contact with their settled counterparts.
All photographs by Andrew Newey, external.