Law Lyngdoh - the ‘forest of the priests’
Sacred groves are tracts of undisturbed forests, conserved from ancient times by indigenous communities influenced by their animistic religious belief and practices. These are rich in bio-diversity of plants and animals, are sources for water, and laid down practices enable the community to exploit its resources only to the extent required - for food, timber and medicinal herbs, for example - and not more.
"...The guiding principle behind all these people's forests is the supremacy and control of the community, not only over the forests and the environment, but also over the individual. The community designates a forest area as protected and to enforce the protection, declares it sacred, usually by dedicating it to a deity. In such groves, all forms of vegetation, including shrubs and climbers, belong to the deity. Grazing and hunting are prohibited and only the removal of dead wood is allowed.
Says Madhav Gadgil of the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, who has studied sacred groves in Maharashtra for two decades, 'The stronger and more malevolent a deity, the greater its protection.'..."
- www.downtoearth.org.in/coverage/the-spirit-of-the-sanctua...
However, beliefs and practices change - mainly from influences outside the community, decline of faith in local deities - and in this modern era sacred groves are under as much pressure as are forests to make way for modernisation.
Therefore to visit one that is relatively undisturbed, is somewhat of a novelty.
The Law Lyngdoh -‘forest of the priests’- is a sacred grove at Mawphlang in the state of Meghalaya, India. It's spread over 75 hectares, and is home to more than 450 species of plants/trees, wild cats, snakes, foxes, toads and frogs, flying squirrels and many birds species.
'Labasa' is the reigning deity here.
Tradition prohibits you from taking anything from outside into the grove, and taking anything from within outside. Any produce of the grove - fruits, nuts, herbs, honey - these are all your's to consume freely, but cannot be taken out of the grove. Violations are severely punished by the diety, by some accounts 'by twisting the head back'.
Law Lyngdoh - the ‘forest of the priests’
Sacred groves are tracts of undisturbed forests, conserved from ancient times by indigenous communities influenced by their animistic religious belief and practices. These are rich in bio-diversity of plants and animals, are sources for water, and laid down practices enable the community to exploit its resources only to the extent required - for food, timber and medicinal herbs, for example - and not more.
"...The guiding principle behind all these people's forests is the supremacy and control of the community, not only over the forests and the environment, but also over the individual. The community designates a forest area as protected and to enforce the protection, declares it sacred, usually by dedicating it to a deity. In such groves, all forms of vegetation, including shrubs and climbers, belong to the deity. Grazing and hunting are prohibited and only the removal of dead wood is allowed.
Says Madhav Gadgil of the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, who has studied sacred groves in Maharashtra for two decades, 'The stronger and more malevolent a deity, the greater its protection.'..."
- www.downtoearth.org.in/coverage/the-spirit-of-the-sanctua...
However, beliefs and practices change - mainly from influences outside the community, decline of faith in local deities - and in this modern era sacred groves are under as much pressure as are forests to make way for modernisation.
Therefore to visit one that is relatively undisturbed, is somewhat of a novelty.
The Law Lyngdoh -‘forest of the priests’- is a sacred grove at Mawphlang in the state of Meghalaya, India. It's spread over 75 hectares, and is home to more than 450 species of plants/trees, wild cats, snakes, foxes, toads and frogs, flying squirrels and many birds species.
'Labasa' is the reigning deity here.
Tradition prohibits you from taking anything from outside into the grove, and taking anything from within outside. Any produce of the grove - fruits, nuts, herbs, honey - these are all your's to consume freely, but cannot be taken out of the grove. Violations are severely punished by the diety, by some accounts 'by twisting the head back'.