In a hamlet at Kovilmattam, near Kotagiri, in the Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu, a group of Kurumbar tribesmen prepare for an arduous trek to collect honey — a tradition honed into a livelihood by generations — deep inside the dense Shola forests. Setting out at noon, the men keep a constant watch on the forest canopy and peer into crags for signs of beehives.
The oldest among them is P. Lakshmanan (55). The youngest, S. Abhishek (20), is a student; he is on summer vacation from a B.Sc. course in catering science and hotel management in Coimbatore. April to June is the honey collection season, and the rest of the year, Lakshmanan and the others in the team, R. Sevanan, R. Lakshmanan, S. Abhishek, R. Durai and R. Ganapathy, work as daily wage labourers on coffee and tea estates.
Inside the forests, the men collect a plant they call Kozi which, when burnt, emits thick fumes believed to lull the bees and make their work easier. To rappel up and down the stubborn rocks, they break long and strong creepers and use them as rope. Today, they are on the lookout for a creeper they call biscuit kodi for the aroma of freshly baked biscuits it emits. The men return only late in the evening, trekking around 6 km for a few kg of sweetness.
Over a month, they collect anywhere between 50 kg and 300 kg, depending on the rainfall. One kg fetches them ₹300.
Text and photos: M. Periasamy
Into the forests: Tribesmen from a hamlet at Kovilmattam, near Kotagiri, in the Nilgiris set out at noon in search of honey in the dense Shola forests.
Smokescreen: A leaf the men call Kozi is gathered and lit, as the smoke is believed to pacify the bees.
Manna from the hive: The honey is collected in a bucket.
Fruits of labour: R. Ganapathy of the team with a portion of the hive.
Tasting session: The honey is now in the hand.
Cliffhanger: They gather vines inside the forests to use as rope to climb huge cliffs to get to the beehives. Only live vines are collected as only they can support heavy weights.
Rope trick: The men weave the vines together.
Hanging on to dear life: R. Sevanan, one of the men tasked with performing the dangerous task of collecting honey, descends the cliff.
Sting in the tail: The braveheart begins collecting honey, occasionally getting stung for his troubles.
Slow beginnings: With vine and sickle, the climb gets into gear.
Sweet spot: A sufficiently big beehive, spotted earlier during the trek, is marked for harvest.