SACRED GROVES AS SITES OF ECO-RELIGIOUS LEARNING: A CASE STUDY OF THE GOND COMMUNITY IN JHARSUGUDA DISTRICT OF ODISHA

Abstract

Sacred groves are forest tracts of varying size, from a few trees to hectares, that are conserved by communities for religious reasons. In India, sacred groves represent one of the oldest existing forms of community conservation. In this paper, sacred groves are presented as places of eco-religious learning, whereby ecological knowledge, morality, ritual performance, and attachment are simultaneously passed down from generation to generation. The example of the Gond community of Jharsuguda district in western Odisha, the literature on sacred natural sites, indigenous religions, and situated learning and developed a framework to understand the grove as an outdoor classroom. The researcher discusses eco-religious learning in the context of four aspects: cosmological (the grove as the home of deities and ancestors), ethical (rules and prohibitions), practical (species ecology, water, soil, medicine), and social (festivals, kinship and multi-generational learning). The paper also examines pressures exerted on this teaching system by activities such as mining, industrial development, shifting land use patterns, migration of people, formal education and religious reforms, and looks at the impact that legal measures like the Forest Rights Act 2006 and the Biological Diversity Act 2002 have on the groves. The paper argues that the sacred groves need to be viewed not just as relics of conservation but also as live teaching institutions, and suggests that there is a need for community-based documentation, recognition of rights over community forests, and incorporation of grove-based knowledge into education. Empirical statements relating to individual villages are provided as the framework for analysis and research design.