Sacred Groves
Article by Mr.M.Amritalingam
Amongst the many
interesting beliefs and customs that evolved in India
In 1857, Brandis first
described sacred groves. According to Fergusson (1971), sacred groves are
believed to be pre-Vedic in origin. More recently, scientists like Gadgil
and Vartak (1981) reviewed the presence of sacred groves in different
states. There are about 13,270 sacred groves intact in the country, though
certain estimates suggest that the total number of groves may be as high as one
lakh. In Tamilnadu, nearly five hundred sacred groves have been reported.
Sacred groves are called by
different names in different parts of India: Deorali in Darjeeling, Law
Lyngdoh in Khasi Hills, Sarna
in Central India, Mawphlong and
Gomphas in North-East, Gamkhal, Nagvan in Manipur, Pengada
in Gond, Jaher in Santal, Oran and Jogmaya in Rajasthan, Aravalli Hills, Van, Deovani, Deorai
in Maharashtra, Sharanas, Dev, Samas
in Madhya Pradesh, Kan, Dev Vana,
Devara kade in Karnataka, Kaavu
and Sarpa kaavu in Kerala and Koil kaadu and Sami solai in Tamilnadu 6
.
In the Hot Plains
It
appears that the ancient deities of Tamil Nadu are the present deities
worshipped in villages under different names, most found in intimate
association with at least a small grove of plants. These are the sacred
groves, dedicated to local deities and/or ancestral spirits. Thousands of these
groves have been documented, storehouses of remarkable biodiversity,
repositories of unique and rare plants and home to myriad birds, reptiles and
other animal species. Sacred groves probably represent the single most
important ecological tradition of ancient Indian culture.
Each
grove is dedicated to the local folk deities and spirits (vanadevathai) and has folklore
associated with either the deity or the grove. The commonly found
deities are Aiyanar (the guardian deity), Sastha, Muniyappa, Karuppuswami,
Veeran (Kaaval Teivam or p
rotective deity), Andavar (a powerful wish-fulfilling deity) and goddesses
Selliyamman, Kali, Ellaikali, Ellaipidari, Sapta Kannis, Pechiyamman,
Rakkachiyamman and Nagadevadhai (fertility and good health). Among these,
Aiyanar is the most worshipped deity. He is worshipped every Friday and
also offered special pooja on
special occasions.
The
sacred groves are apparently distributed around almost all the villages, and
about 500 such groves dedicated to various male and female deities have been
identified. Of these, 343 are dedicated to 93 male deities and the rest to
77 female deities. Among the 77 female deities, Mariamman is common and
worshipped in 14 sacred groves while Aiyanar is the common male deity,
worshipped in 86 sacred groves. Most sacred groves are seen in Dharmapuri,
Perambalur, Pudukkottai, Tirunelveli and Tiruvannamalai districts, the most
number being in the Perambalur district.
For
biodiversity conservation: Sacred groves protect several valuable plant and animal species that
may have vanished elsewhere in the surrounding environment, often including
wild crop relatives and endemic and endangered species .
In 1986, Meher-Homji first reported a grove in Puthupet near Pondicherry,
a lush grove spread over 20 hectares that is a relic of a forest, housing 104
plant species belonging to 44 families; it is also a refuge of rare species
like a cucurbit Stychnos lentiecellata, the insectivorous plant
Drosera burmanii and a rare bone-setting plant Ormocarpum cochinchinensis. The sacred groves in the
Kanchipuram district protect rare species like Amorphophallus sylvaticus, Kedrostis foetidissima
and an enormous banyan tree, while those in other parts of Tamilnadu are home
to many other vanishing and uncommon species of flora and fauna.
The
Kandanur sacred grove in Sivagangai district supports a rare rattan species (Calamus sp.) which might otherwise
have vanished from the local landscape while sacred groves in Kanyakumari
district harbour many of the rare endemic plants of the Western
Ghats . Sacred
groves in remote areas do not usually shelter major mammalian wildlife species.
However, sacred groves that form part of a continuous stretch of reserved
forest, as in the hills, are home to several wild species. Apart from primates
and minor mammals, sacred groves also have numerous bird, butterfly and bat
species. However, there are as yet no detailed accounts or inventories of
biodiversity in the sacred groves.
Taboos,
rituals and beliefs: The
taboos, rituals and beliefs associated with the groves, supported by mystic
folklore, have been the prime motivating factors for preserving them in
pristine condition. People believe that any damage to the sacred grove, harm to
the fauna residing in it or felling of any tree may invite the fury of the
local deity, causing diseases and failure of agricultural crops. Even taking a
dry twig is forbidden in some. Therefore, many people will not even take dead
wood out of sacred groves.
Folklore
plays an important role in conservation of sacred groves. Not only tribal
people, the rural people also preserved the sacred groves by their traditional
customs, rituals, ceremonies and folk-beliefs. Several stories depict various
facets of life and culture of the people. The annual festival is celebrated in
all the groves of all districts accompanied by community offerings of pongal and
animal sacrifice. As against the animal sacrifice, Aiyanar who lives in a temple is happy with the offering of a
coconut and pongal.
In all districts, offering pongal to the associated deity is
either by individuals or by the community. Sacrifice of fowl, goat and sheep is
offered to all the deities except Aiyanar
. Pig is sacrificed to Karuppuswami
in certain groves. In certain sacred groves, people fulfil their vows by
tonsuring (shaving the head to make a ceremonial offering of hair to the god)
or offerings of terracotta horses of various sizes are lined up in front of the
deity within the sacred grove in the hope of a good harvest. During the
festival, the villagers organise a form of folk-art called terukoothu at night.
Managementof sacred groves: In
the Western and Eastern Ghats , most of the
groves are preserved by local communities or tribes, managed either by an
individual family or trustees or community or a village head. The management
decisions are taken collectively at a gathering of the entire village during
the annual festivals in the sacred grove. The majority of them are maintained
by the village communities under hereditary trustees.
Present threats to sacred groves: Our ancestors were well aware of the role played by sacred groves in
the maintenance of the nutrient and water table. Today, the fundamental
concept of sacred groves is the traditional belief systems which were mere
superstitions. Very few people of the older generations may be familiar with
the rituals and taboos related to sacred groves.
Recent
observations show that traditional rituals are still performed in accordance
with the customary beliefs in the larger groves, but in smaller groves the
traditional rituals are no longer performed or followed. Due to
modernization, urbanization and people's changing aspirations, the traditional
values appear to be disappearing. As a result, the violation of cultural
norms and taboos no longer carries heavy consequences, and the sacred groves
are becoming degraded.
Human
activities such as dead wood collection, biomass gathering, lopping of tender
branches and green leaves for goats, creation of footpaths, cattle grazing,
mining of sand and clay, brick-making and collection of wild fruits, vegetables
and collection of plant parts for medicine are affecting the ecology of many of
our sacred groves. In addition, invasion of exotic weeds become a serious
problem in the ecology of some sacred groves; the domination of alien species
such as Eupatorium odoratum, Lantana camara, Prosopis juliflora and Hyptis suaveolens often threatens
and depletes the local species. Conflicts among the sacred grove managers have
also resulted in the loss of biodiversity in certain sacred groves 1.
Local
people have conserved sacred groves out of religious sentiment. Humans and
nature have co-existed without disturbing the environment in the past.
Such traditional practices have to be strengthened with appropriate scientific
inputs for conservation
--
Nature is beautiful, always beautiful!
http://www.cpreecenvis.nic.in
(source : . M. Amrithalingam, 1998, Sacred groves of Tamil Nadu. A survey. CPR environmental education centre, The Ecological Traditions of Tamilnadu (Chennai : CPR environmental education centre, 1997)
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