Chepangs without Chiuri and Chamero

There were days when Chepangs used to hunt bats, and it was a tradition in winter for all Chepang relatives to gather around and feast on tasty barbecued bats. I can romanticize the feast with flowery words. Sadly, many bat species around the world are vulnerable or endangered due to the loss of habitat, food, or roosts, pollution, disease, hunting, and killing.

The Chepangs, the most marginalized indigenous community of Nepal, have a special connection with bats (known as Chamero in Nepali) and Chiuri trees. According to their traditional stories, each of these three—Chepangs, bats, and Chiuri trees—depends on the other for survival.

Firstly, Chiuri trees are important for Chepangs because they provide things like butter, timber (wood for building), and fuelwood (for cooking and heating). The Chepangs take care of these trees, ensuring they thrive. On the other hand, bats play a crucial role in this ecosystem. They help Chiuri trees by pollinating their flowers, which is necessary for the trees to produce more Chiuri fruits.

Besides that, bats are also a part of Chepangs’ diet, serving as a traditional delicacy. It’s like a circle of dependency. Chiuri trees support the Chepangs, Chepangs take care of the trees, and bats contribute to the health of the Chiuri trees while also being a source of food for the Chepangs. This interdependence has likely developed over generations and is deeply rooted in the cultural and ecological practices of the Chepang community.

The Chepangs have a meaningful tradition where they gift a Chiuri tree during their daughter’s marriage, symbolizing their strong connection with the forests and a commitment to conservation. This tradition reflects their view of the Chiuri trees as vital resources, and they care for these trees like they take care of their children. Every part of the Chiuri tree is valuable to them, from its fruit and wood to its leaves and seeds.

They use the leaves ingeniously, turning them into makeshift bowls and plates. The forest of Chiuri trees also creates a suitable environment for beekeeping, leading to honey production that contributes to their income diversification.

However, in the present, the bats are gone, and the Chiuri trees are disappearing. This loss leaves many Chepangs without the support system of Chiuri and Chamero. Now, the question arises, how are the 84,366 Chepangs across 26 districts (as per the 2021 Nepal census) surviving without these essential elements?

My first experience with Chepangs is not one I can glorify. On a chilly January morning, a half-naked man was fishing in the Trishuli River, near Sital Bazar in Malekhu. I inquired about him, and the answer was ‘poor little Chepang.’ After finishing my SLC exam, I was ordered to go to Sital Bazar of Dhading to develop some property, which later became our home. I have interacted with many Chepangs, poor and malnourished, who were exploited by the ‘civilized’ Sahujis of the ‘developed’ area. I have a huge sympathy for them not only because many Chepang men and women have helped my mother survive in Sital Bazar but also because I feel that they were and still are cheated by the ‘civilized’ Sahujis and the system.

Chepangs were originally nomads and, with no knowledge of the land registration system, were forced to become landless farmers or slash-and-burn farmers. Their original land in the Mahabharat sub-Himalayan belt is now either with the government or inside protected areas or community forests.

Tagging the Chepang people only with Chamero and Chiuri is not fair to their vast knowledge of the forest. They have depended enormously on forest resources for food, fodder, fiber, medicine, housing, and various other needs. A close look into the traditional food culture of Chepang communities shows that wild edible and underutilized plant species play a special and important role in their food security. Further, it shows their enormous dependency on rich natural resources, especially forests.

One noteworthy work I have seen about Chepang knowledge is ‘Chepang Food Culture: Contribution of Wild Edible and Neglected Plant Species’ by Prakash Limbu and Keshab Thapa of LI-BIRD. In that 12-year-old book, the writers describe their relationship with some 30 natural resources.

In one chapter, they describe the use of Bharlang (Intoxicating yam-Dioscorea hispida Dennst) as follows: Though the tubers are poisonous, they are used as vegetables after detoxification of the poisonous chemicals during food deficit times. The rind of the tuber is removed, cut into thin slices, and then boiled for one or two hours, changing the water three to four times. Then, they are kept for about 20-24 hours in a flowing stream to remove the poisonous chemicals.

The writers Prakash Limbu and Keshab Thapa further say that before consumption, a slice is tasted by an expert, and then they are consumed as a staple food or made into vegetables. Due to the poisonous effects, these tubers are mostly used for preparing the local alcoholic drink. The process shows their hardships.

So, we must stop romanticizing their hard life. Instead, we need to document their knowledge and make it intersect with ‘scientific’ knowledge. The federal, provincial, and municipal authorities need to invest in practical and business-oriented knowledge so that the future of Chepang children is good and secure. Romanticizing their hardships will lead to further marginalization of the Chepang people and their knowledge.

The author is a UK-based R&D chef