Moual
Moual Moual traditional honey hunters who earn their livelihood through collecting honey from the forest and then selling it. The name is derived from the word mou (honey) which they collect from the mouchak (hive or honeycomb). Bengal abounded in forests and nectar-generating plants in the past and mouals were then scattered all over the country. But now their abodes are concentrated in a few places of the sundarbans and chittagong hill tracts. Generally, mouals remain busy during late spring, when the weather becomes sufficiently warm to allow bees to gather pollen and when early blooming plants and flowers are rich in nectar.
Honey hunting in the country, especially in the Sundarbans area, often takes a festive character. At the onset, mouals from different localities come in bands through waterways, usually by boats, and then assemble in a place. Each band has nine members including a sardar (group leader) selected by them for overall supervision during the sojourn.
The beginning of this tour is marked by the observance of milad, a special religious ritual Muslims perform to seek God’s blessings. Both Muslim and Hindu mouals take part in this milad and pray for their safe return, especially since many of them die every year in the Sundarbans in their venture for honey hunting because of tigers. After the milad, the leaders stand in queue to get permits from forest offices. Immediately after receiving the permission, bands set out, often through boat races. The faster boats get the better spots to hunt honey. Once a group occupies a particular site, others honour its claim over it. After landing on the spot, mouals start tracing the honeycomb.
The forest hetal (tiger fern) is an obstacle in this operation and sometimes compel them to crawl. When a moual reaches a honeycomb he starts shouting in a loud voice to amass the scattered group mates. Then a burning kadu (bundle made of tiger fern leaves) is applied to generate smoke to drive bees away from the hives, leaving the mouals the opportunity to climb on trees and collect honey. Mouals suffer from bee bites but many of them are used to them. Many mouals do not feel the pain, while many others use herbal oil to reduce it. Development of commercial beekeeping, and more importantly, massive deforestation have made mouals a nearly extinct occupational group. Many members of the community are now engaged in agriculture, illegal collection of wood, or in hunting wild animals to trade in their skins, flesh, bones and teeth. [Gofran Faroqi]
