-M. Lilla and C. Bishop Barry
This
essay is written by two American geographers, M. Lilla and C. Bishop Barry, who
spent 15 months in the Karnali region. It was published in the National
Geographic in 1971.
The
essay explains how Karnali is economically linked with the lowland regions to
the south, or Nepalgunj. The people of the hilly areas of Karnali bring local
products like medicinal herbs, hashish, hand-knit sweaters, and blankets to
sell in Nepalgunj. They buy other necessary items like clothes, aluminum and
iron wares, spices, jewelry, sweets, etc.
This
essay also describes other problems of the hill people. They met a Chhetri
woman who was left by her husband. Her husband had left the village 15 years
before in search of a job in Nepalgunj. Now, she wanted her husband back.
In a
forest at 9,000 feet, they met some people processing silajit. They were
going to sell it in Nepalgunj. They could not process silajit at home because they had left home hurriedly to avoid a bad
star.
The
writers found some women cutting the green branches of saal trees to
feed their animals. The trees were almost bare, but the villagers did not know
about the bad effects of deforestation. They had to feed their animals.
When
the writers arrived in Nepalgunj, they saw, smelt, and heard many things that
they had not in the hills. They also watched the hill people buying different
items. They bought cotton cloth, aluminum, ironware, spice, and jewelry items.
One of their porters bought distillery equipment. He wanted to earn a lot of
money preparing liquor in Jumla.
The
geographers returned to Jumla to finish their project. They learned a lot about
the hill people. Their land produces very little amount of crops which is
hardly enough to feed themselves. So, they need other activities besides
farming to survive. Therefore, the hill people are always ready for the
dangerous and unsafe journey.
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