Category Archives: Sacred grove

“Sacred groves are patches of forest, water bodies, grasslands considered to be inhabited by gods and hence, strictly prohibited from resource extraction. – “Role of Sacred Groves and their current status in adivasi society” (Adivasi.net Newsletters, No. 31 2011)
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=1987

“Sacred natural sites may well be some of the last strongholds for building resilient networks of connected landscapes.” – Manjusha Misra (School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal, International Journal of Environmental Studies), reviewing Sacred Natural Sites: Conserving Nature and Culture (Routledge, 2010)
https://www.routledge.com/Sacred-Natural-Sites-Conserving-Nature-and-Culture/Verschuuren-Wild-Mcneely-Oviedo/p/book/9781849711678
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=37222

“When women from the household would work at the loom, their designs would emerge from their world view, understanding of oral traditions, folktales, the surrounding sacred groves, and more.” – Meeta Deka (Professor and former Head, Dept. of History at Gauhati University), quoted by Avantika Bhuyan (livemint.com, 1 December 2017)
https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/FR23TDZqwz1hDYOlB5mRSN/Folklore-myths-and-handloom.html
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=23691

“Our kaavus (sacred grounds) are central to our culture. But many have been encroached upon and disappeared. AMS has done a survey of all Kaavus and burial grounds and is petitioning the government to officially recognize them.” – Adivasi Munnetra Sangam (photo caption, 2017 calendar)
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=21811

“One of the finest examples of traditional practices in India based on religious faith which has made a profound contribution to nature conservation has been the maintenance of certain patches of land or forests as ‘sacred groves’.” – Dr S.M. Nair (former Director of the National Museum of Natural History)
Report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel
https://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/archive/01092/wg-23052012_partI_1092699a.pdf
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=20948

“Many small towns across India also have sacred groves. The kaavus of Kerala are managed by the government, temple trusts, local community, or even privately. […] These kaavus are tiny oases rich in floral and faunal biodiversity, many less than an acre in area. They contain rare trees such as the south Indian kanak champa, which is categorized as vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. They also host a number of birds, bats, butterflies and insects. […] To stand amidst the towering trees draped with creepers, allowing little sunlight even at noon, lit by a lone lamp under the snake shrine, can leave anyone with a sense of awe. The character of these kaavus is, however, changing. Some are being used as garbage dumps by city dwellers, while others are converted to modern temple structures with the trees eventually surrounded by concrete or even cut down.” – Harini Nagendra & Seema Mundoli in Cities and Canopies: Trees in Indian Cities (Penguin Random House India 2019), p. 109
https://penguin.co.in/book/uncategorized/cities-and-canopies/
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=31803

Map | A virtual journey across time and space

Posted on 14/02/2021 by website administrator

Whatever our own cultural background, there are amazing discoveries to be made, for India’s youth just as for scholars and visitors from all over the world! Learn more about – and from – some of India’s tribal communities by clicking on the button … Continue reading →

Posted in Adivasi / Adibasi, Archaeology, Central region, Colonial policies, Crafts and visual arts, Cultural heritage, Eastern region, Fashion and design, Gandhian social movement, History, Homes and utensils, Modernity, Names and communities, Nature and wildlife, Nilgiri, Northern region, Press snippets, Quotes, Regions of India, Sacred grove, Seven Sister States, Southern region, Storytelling, Tips, Tourism, Trees, Western region, Worship and rituals | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Map | A virtual journey across time and space

ePub | Reviving native ecology as to restore the wealth of the people: Cultural continuity for the twenty-first century – Kerala

Posted on 28/01/2021 by website administrator

Places like Kerala where there were numerous sacred groves and related culture, are ecologically disturbed now due to ill conceived developments chartered out by those who did not have any knowledge or concern about nature/ecology. Modernists could not understand the … Continue reading →

Posted in Colonial policies, Community facilities, Customs, Ecology and environment, Economy and development, ePub & eJournal, Ethnobotany, Globalization, Health and nutrition, History, Literature and bibliographies, Modernity, Nature and wildlife, Organizations, Quotes, Revival of traditions, Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Sacred grove, Southern region, Storytelling, Tagore and rural culture, Trees, Tribal culture worldwide, Western Ghats - tribal heritage & ecology | Comments Off on ePub | Reviving native ecology as to restore the wealth of the people: Cultural continuity for the twenty-first century – Kerala

Resources for the classroom: Learning from and about India’s tribal communities, their culture and knowledge systems

Posted on 18/01/2021 by website administrator

“[I]t is some of the basic values and ideology imbibed in the traditional tribal socio-cultural milieus that should have been emulated and promoted amongst the non-tribal mainstream, not, as has been going on, the other way round.” Source: ’Who Is … Continue reading →

Posted in Assimilation, Audio resources - external, Bastar, Central region, Colonial policies, Crafts and visual arts, Cultural heritage, Customs, Democracy, Eastern region, Ecology and environment, Economy and development, Education and literacy, ePub & eJournal, Ethnobotany, Fashion and design, Film, Gadchiroli, Games and leisure time, Health and nutrition, History, Homes and utensils, Languages and linguistic heritage, Misconceptions, Multi-lingual education, Museum collections - India, Names and communities, Narmada, Nature and wildlife, Nilgiri, Northern region, Performing arts, Photos and slideshows, Puppetry, Quotes, Resources, Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Sacred grove, Seasons and festivals, Seven Sister States, Southern region, Storytelling, Success story, Tips, Tribal culture worldwide, Tribal identity, Video contents, Video resources - external, Western Ghats - tribal heritage & ecology, Western region, Worship and rituals | Comments Off on Resources for the classroom: Learning from and about India’s tribal communities, their culture and knowledge systems

Forest dwellers in early India – myths and ecology in historical perspective

Posted on 27/11/2020 by website administrator

By Romila Thapar, Emeritus Professor of History, Jawaharlal Nehru University  The hunt introduces us to the forest dwellers. These tended to be either creatures of the imagination such as the raksasas who are abundant, or else humans with supernatural faculties. Raksasas have … Continue reading →

Posted in Bees and honey, Customs, De- and re-tribalisation, Ecology and environment, Elephant, History, Literature and bibliographies, Misconceptions, Nature and wildlife, Quotes, Resources, Sacred grove, Storytelling, Trees, Women, Worship and rituals | Comments Off on Forest dwellers in early India – myths and ecology in historical perspective

ePub | Sugdi and Darjido (Dehwali) – A story from Gujarat

Posted on 10/08/2020 by website administrator

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Posted in Adivasi / Adibasi, Education and literacy, ePub & eJournal, Languages and linguistic heritage, Multi-lingual education, Names and communities, Nature and wildlife, Organizations, Resources, Sacred grove, Seasons and festivals, Storytelling, Tips, Western region | Tagged | Comments Off on ePub | Sugdi and Darjido (Dehwali) – A story from Gujarat