Honey Hunter's bird

Honey Hunter's Bird

Honey hunting is a history in Wampiti and neighboring communities. But before it became a history, honey hunting was practiced in March massively by a group of youth and adults.

Honey hunting was carried out as a side activity by wild animal hunters or by honey lovers who would go into the jungle specifically looking for wild bees.

Of course honey hunting stopped because there limited forests left and many people keep bees today.

A match box was something shouldn't be left behind and an axe, a hoe and a panga (Machete).

A match box for starting fire

Axe/ machete for clearing and cutting the tree down and open the hive

Hoe for digging the termite hill in case bees are found in the termite hill.

Surprise! Just after 10 minutes of walking in the jungle, there appears a bird (Nyamalyayi is the name in the local language).

This bird is wonderful, it comes and sit on a branch of a tree close to the honey hunters and it starts whistling to honey hunters. Immediately when the honey hunters hear the bird, they also (usually one) start whistling back while the bird flies from one tree to the next tree in a distance of about 50-100metres. The honey hunters will keep following until the bird lands on a branch of a tree where bees are or on a termite hill where bees are.

Thank you, thank you says the honey hunters and then they begin to make fire near the tree and there after they begin cutting to fall it down. When it falls down, now the warriors (guys who don't fear bees) come and start opening/ cutting the hive area to open it and access the combs. The rest are adding green leaves to fire to make it produce a lot of smoke.

The most dangerous act was; if they couldn't find honey, they would put pieces of firewood into the nest and set it on fire. And the whole hive and branch burn into ashes.

The honey hunting would sometimes go up to midnight especially when there is moon light at night. But the bird never work at night. During the night hours, the honey hunters would go to hives which one found or knows about. During honey hunting seasons, a lot of swarms would be seen hunging on branches of trees.

Myth.

The birds which helped honey hunters are believed to be a honey/ brood eating bird. Therefore since they couldn't break open the hives, they instead help honey hunters to locate the bees with high hopes that when the honey hunters open the hive, they will keep some honey for them.

But it was believed that when you don't leave anything (honey or brood) for the bird, next time the bird would direct you to snake. Therefore if they are careful, the snake might bite them.

From my experience, sometimes the bird would be precise and sometimes we couldn't see the bees!

Well these birds are becoming less and less in Nakasongola and I wish you would come and enjoy the honey hunting experience with help of the birds. Please come before the birds are extinct.

See you there.

Keep buzzing the bees.