India’s sacred groves are being gradually altered due to ever-expanding human populations, pollution and removal of biomass; effective conservation is the need of the hour to maintain their functional values
A 500-year-old ‘Ceylon Iron Wood’ tree (Manikara hexandra) is protected as a sacred grove in Koratti village near Kundrakudi close to Karaikudi in Sivagangai district of Tamil Nadu. The goddess ‘Panachi Muniyamman’ or ‘Kaliyamman’ is represented only by a stone slab under this tree. Photo: V Sundararaju
Sacred groves are patches of natural vegetation preserved by ancient societies on religious and cultural grounds. These patches of vegetation are rich in biodiversity and act as habitats of many endangered and threatened plant species.
A sacred grove usually consists of a dense cover of vegetation including climbers, herbs, shrubs and trees, with the presence of a village deity and is mostly situated near a perennial water source.
Sacred groves are considered to be symbols of the primitive practice of nature worship and support nature conservation to a great extent.
These groves are, in general, maintained by rural communities. No governments have been involved in their maintenance so far.
Many are protected and maintained by the village community by evolving certain taboos and restrictions. Some of the groves are also maintained by individual families.
In some cases, individual and ancient trees also act as sacred groves, with the idol of a deity under the tree.
It is estimated that India may have about 100,000 such groves. The names of such groves vary depending upon the region and language of our country. They are called with different names in different states:
The extent of the grove also varies from small patches of less than a hectare to vast tracts of several hundred hectares.
In Tamil Nadu, these sacred groves are generally dedicated to Amman, the goddess of fertility and good health. The next most worshipped deities are Ayyanar and Karuppuswamy.
People believe that these deities have the power to protect them. Cutting and removal of any vegetation is strictly prohibited. Similarly, the killing of any animal is also banned.
Leaves, fruits or roots are permitted to be removed only for medicinal purposes in case of sickness. People are afraid of even removing any dry twig from the sacred grove. The dried twigs or broken branches are used during temple festivals.
People worship daily at a sacred grove and also offer special prayers on full moon and new moon days. There is a general belief among people that any damage to the sacred grove, harm to any living fauna there or cutting any tree or climber of the grove may cause diseases and failure of agricultural crops.
In certain districts of southern Tamil Nadu, there will be a guardian deity on the periphery of every village. One cannot miss observing a temple with the idol of Ayyanar or Sastha.
During festival time, the villagers offer an image of a crawling baby with the idea of fulfilling their vows. They strongly believe that the offering shall protect their children from evil forces.
People offer cut coins at the Vettudaiyar Kaliyamman temple in the state’s Sivagangai district, with the belief that the goddess will punish one’s enemy.
Many villages have set apart sanctified land to propitiate the Vanadevadas, or forest spirits. The entire grove is considered sacred in certain areas and worshipped.
During summer, an annual festival is celebrated in the month of Chithirai (April) and Adi (August). The deities are worshipped by locals with coconut, banana, lime and flowers, along with sweetened rice.
In some places, the deity is represented by a few bricks or even a stone slab. The brick or the stone slab is smeared with saffron and sandal paste and adorned with garlands.
The deity is first washed with lime juice, tender coconut water and milk, and then decorated with flower garlands. In certain cases, domestic animals like goats and poultry are sacrificed occasionally as offerings to the deity.
Save these groves
So far, these sacred groves have been protected through social fencing with the involvement of the local community.
But of late, some groves have been cleared for the construction of buildings and other modernisation works in connection with temple activities.
Certain sacred groves have been reduced to small patches due to encroachments. In some places, old trees have been felled and fruit orchards and fruit gardens have been established.
The groves are being gradually altered due to the increasing needs of the ever-expanding human population, pollution and removal of biomass.
Effective conservation and management practices are thus the need of the hour in order to maintain the groves’ functional values. The groves have great research value in in situ conservation of rare, endangered and threatened plant species.
It is high time that public awareness is created about the importance of these sacred groves, developmental activities are banned and the felling of trees or removal of any other vegetation is completely stopped.
This is possible only by way of enacting a special law for the protection and management of sacred groves.
As the management practices and other rituals vary from state to state, the concerned state governments may promulgate such an act as suitable for the state. The idea should be to protect certain rare, endangered and threatened plant species in the era of global warming and climate change.
Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth
We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.
.png)
Comments are moderated and will be published only after the site moderator’s approval. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name. Selected comments may also be used in the ‘Letters’ section of the Down To Earth print edition.