The documentary follows Raphael Treza as he travels to Nepal to meet the Gurung tribe, who are known for their expertise in harvesting a rare and highly sought-after honey from the Himalayan bees. The honey, known as "mad honey," has medicinal, aphrodisiac, and hallucinogenic properties, but can also be highly toxic if consumed in excess.
Treza joins the tribe on a honey-hunting expedition, where they use ancient rituals and techniques to harvest the honey from cliff-side hives. The process is fraught with danger, and Treza witnesses the tribe's skill and bravery firsthand.
After the harvest, Treza is invited to taste the honey, which has an immediate and intense effect. However, one of his companions, Deepak, consumes too much of the honey and suffers from a severe overdose, experiencing convulsions, nausea, and loss of consciousness.
The tribe's knowledge of the honey's toxicity and their traditional remedies ultimately help Deepak recover, and the documentary ends with a deeper appreciation for the Gurung tribe's unique culture and traditions.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The Gurungs are a tribe of honey hunters living in the heart of Nepal.
2. They live in a village surrounded by a thick jungle, near an 8,000-meter mountain peak.
3. The village is home to 150 people, including elderly and children.
4. The Gurungs are almost entirely self-sufficient, growing their own vegetables, corn, and rice.
5. They raise goats, cows, and sheep, and use their wool to make clothes.
6. The villagers fish and hunt deer using rifles loaded with a ramrod.
7. The Gurungs are Buddhists but have retained a form of animism in their relations with nature.
8. They perform a ritual called "pujah" before hunting, which involves burning incense and offering prayers.
9. The ritual is performed to avoid problems and misfortune during the honey harvest.
10. The Gurungs hunt for honey from giant Himalayan bees, which are the biggest bees in the world.
11. The honey has medicinal, aphrodisiac, and hallucinogenic properties.
12. The Gurungs take risks to collect the honey, but have developed a mystical rapport with the bees.
13. The honey is collected from cliff-side hives using ropes and ladders.
14. The hunters perform a final ritual before harvesting the honey, which involves laying out leaves on the ground.
15. The honey is harvested by cutting holes in the wax using sharpened bamboo spatulas.
16. The honey is filtered using a wicker basket to remove impurities.
17. The Gurungs consume a spoonful of honey every morning, which they believe helps their immunity systems.
18. A higher dose of the honey can affect vision and induce hallucinations.
19. The honey is also known as "honey for a long life" or "immortality."
20. Deepak, a translator, consumes too much honey and suffers from nausea, convulsions, and loss of consciousness.
21. An analysis of the honey reveals it contains "grayanotoxins" from the "ponticum" rhododendron flowers.
22. The bees themselves are not affected by the toxins.
23. Deepak suffers from paresthesia, unusual sensations in his fingertips, due to the honey overdose.
24. A woman from a nearby village, Yamu, helps Deepak and administers medicinal plants to treat him.
25. In ancient times, Greek and Roman armies suffered the same fate as Deepak after stealing honey from a Turkish village surrounded by rhododendron.
26. The honey was known as "red honey" or "mad honey" due to its intoxicating effects.