Making “their” voices heard: In support of the Paniya community’s efforts to save their sacred groves – Tamil Nadu

A Voice Unheard : The Case of Paniya Sacred Groves | Read the full blog here >>

Is the ‘holiness’ of a century old Hindu temple in a city of Pakistan different from that of a Paniya sacred grove in a remote tribal village in the Gudalur valley? […]

Onan is a Paniya Karnavar (traditional elder) from Karkapalli. One of his Kaavus (sacred grove), he had described, was on top of a hill inside the forest. “It’s going to be a fair amount of walking”, he told us. This wasn’t a usual phenomenon. Typically, Paniya Kaavus are close to the village of the Karnavar. “Our grandparents used to live in that forest. When we move,we call our gods to come and live with us closer to our new settlements. We wanted to call this god (Bhagavathi) also and start a Kaavu for her there. But when we tried to do so, bad things started to happen. We realized that the Bhagavathi amma wants to stay only here and nowhere else.” […]

I turned to Onan and asked him where the forest he had mentioned was. “All of it was a forest when I was growing up”, was all he could say. His earliest memory of the Kaavu was one of it being in the forest. That was how he would always remember it. The forest (grassland in this case) was disappearing. To predict that in a few years this Kaavu will be surrounded entirely by tea does not seem too far-fetched.

Another surprise awaited us. As we moved closer, we saw that tea saplings had been planted in the Kaavu. This was being done by the same non tribal who owned the tea plantation surrounding the Kaavu. Was the non tribal aware that he was planting in the Kaavu? Yes. Was Onan’s permission sought? No.

Clearly, the Kaavu was being encroached.

As part of our study of sacred groves, we are mapping Kaavus using GPS. […]

Sometimes, we have heard and seen, the encroachment continues and continues until there is only a single tree left. […]

Where do his people sing and dance then? “Every year, fewer and fewer people come because there is no space for them to even sit. If people don’t come during the festival, this Kaavu becomes redundant. At this rate, it is a possibility.”

Onan knew, more than any of us, that this could happen here too. There was no anger; only helplessness. As is typical of most adivasi societies, Onan refused to take the decision alone. He has decided to consult the people from his clan. […]

Through their history of bonded labour, their tolerance of outsiders and in the absence of strong political leadership, they have lost much to mainstream communities.

Who will hear their voices?

Source: A Voice Unheard : The Case of Paniya Sacred Groves | At the Edge of Existence
Address : http://cultureandconservation.wordpress.com/2014/03/13/a-voice-unheard-the-case-of-paniya-sacred-groves-2/
Date Visited: Sun Apr 13 2014 19:19:34 GMT+0200 (CEST)

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