Without a cold to the bone, the plum blossoms are fragrant.
When we were young, we could often see a lot of beekeepers on the side of the road, they lived in a small house, next to the dense beehives, all around them were bees flying around them. Nowadays, with the progress of the times and the development of science and technology, modern technology has gradually been applied to the breeding of bees and the collection of honey, which can not only reduce the consumption of manpower, but also relatively safer.
However, no matter how much science progresses, there are some traditional things that modern tools and technologies can never replace, such as at the junction of China and Nepal, there is a very old honey picking technique called cliff honey picking, which must be done by people themselves. When you hear the name, I believe you can imagine how dangerous this work is, but over the years, this work has been passed down from generation to generation, and honey is still specially supplied to the Nepalese royal family.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > cliff honey picking has a long history, and the ferocious honey of bees is precious</h1>
Modern people always think that boiled water is too boring, so they want to add something to it, some people are used to making tea, and some people are more inclined to add honey. However, the act of eating honey is not pioneered by modern people, according to historical records, as early as 13,000 years ago, human beings have begun to supplement their physical strength by eating honey. Of course, honey picking is a very critical link, and the cliff honey picking we are going to talk about today is the world's oldest way of honey picking.
According to records, cliff honey harvesting originated probably 7,000 or 8,000 years ago, although the history is very long, but in fact, the geographical range of cliff honey harvesting is very narrow, and currently only exists at the junction of China and Nepal. Everyone knows that there is a very famous mountain range between China and Nepal, the Himalayas, which is the highest mountain range in the world. Because of the complex terrain and unique environment, very precious honey has been bred here.
Those who can survive in such a harsh environment are certainly not ordinary bees, the scientific name of the bees here is the black bee, also known as the Himalayan row bee, which is the largest species in the bee family. These bees are generally gregarious and very aggressive, because they are not only large, but also fierce. At the same time, because it is adapted to the environment of the plateau area, the resistance to stress is still very strong. And unlike ordinary bees, they also have the habit of migrating seasonally.
The black bee lives in such a special environment as the Himalayas, and the nectar collected is naturally very special, and this flower has very high medicinal value and can help people quickly recover their physical strength. When this nectar was adopted, the honey produced by the black bee was even more peculiar, known as snow mountain rock honey, and of course, there was a more understandable name, "crazy honey". Because after eating this honey, people may hallucinate, which is very similar to the effect of marijuana.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > rock climbing and honey mining, complex and dangerous</h1>
Although the value of the flowers growing on the plateau is very high, but because of the harsh climatic conditions of the plateau, the yield of this flower is very low, and if the nectar that the black bee can collect is small, the honey produced is naturally very small. At the same time, the number of black bees is not very large, when they encounter a special natural environment, they will choose to migrate en masse, and the location of the hive is constantly changing. Therefore, for the collectors, there are only two opportunities to collect honey a year, that is, in the spring and autumn.
So whenever there is such a good opportunity, the whole family and even the tribe of the honey picker will all go out, and they will find the location of the hive together, and the most important thing is the process of honey picking. Two very important tools are used to collect honey, one is rope and the other is ebony. The women of the clan have mastered the unique skill of weaving these special ropes, and they will not easily tell others.
Ebony wood, on the other hand, is a process that soaks the branches that fall after heavy rain in oil and then ignites them. The main role of ebony wood is to drive away the big black bees, and when the big black bees have escaped, they climb up the cliff to collect honey. Since large black bees generally build their hives on very steep slopes, honey pickers are very dangerous when climbing, and may have to climb cliffs of up to 500 meters.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > use life to collect honey, the production process is long</h1>
In the process of honey picking, honey pickers often face many threats. First of all, the big black bee is extremely aggressive, and if it is not completely driven away, it will cause harm to people. Secondly, because of the special geographical environment here, the temperature is very low. The most important point is that honey collecting requires climbing the cliff and stepping on it, which is undoubtedly risking their lives, because many people have fallen off the cliff and will undoubtedly die.
In order to avoid honey picking, many young people in the village have chosen to leave the mountain village to go out to work. But just collecting honey is not the end, because there is a longer process after that, that is, making. Because the newly collected honey has a toxin, this honey has a similar effect to anesthetics, which can alleviate people's pain, but if taken for a long time, it is very easy to poison.
Therefore, after the collection, the honey needs to be precipitated, a special herb is added, and after 6 to 9 months, the toxins inside will decompose. Although unmade honey sells 3 to 5 times more than regular honey, for safety, locals still sell precipitated honey, which has reached $3,500 per kilogram and was once only supplied to Nepal's royal family.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > concluding remarks:</h1>
Some people may think that cliff honey picking is too dangerous and should be abandoned, but for honey pickers, it is not only a means of making a living, but also a cultural inheritance. Since the technology of cliff honey picking was invented by the ancestors, it has gone through thousands of years, for the locals, this is a cultural pursuit and belief in their bones, so even if it is difficult, they will not forget their original intentions and stick to it.
The inspiration brought to us by cliff honey harvesting is not only the importance of cultural inheritance, but also our feelings about nature. This rare honey is undoubtedly a generous gift from nature, and we must maintain due respect for this. Although advanced technology can bring us more convenience and enjoyment now, no matter how the times develop, inheriting the fine tradition is our eternal task.