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The Institution of Taboo and the Local Resource Management and Conservation Surrounding Sacred Natural Sites in Uttarakhand, Central Himalaya

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The Institution of Taboo and the Local Resource Management and Conservation Surrounding Sacred Natural Sites in Uttarakhand, Central Himalaya International Journal of Biodiversity and Conservation Vol. 2(8), pp. 186-195, August 2010 Available online http://www.academicjournals.org/ijbc ISSN 2141-243X ©2010 Academic Journal Full Length Research Paper The institution of taboo and the local resource management and conservation surrounding sacred natural sites in Uttarakhand, Central Himalaya Chandra Singh Negi Department of Zoology, L. S. M. Government Post Graduate College, Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand –262502, India. E-mail: [email protected]. Accepted 31 May, 2010 Social taboos exist in invariably all cultures throughout the world, and represent a class of informal institutions, where traditional, religiously governed norms or taboo system define the human behaviour. These taboos remain the prime factor guiding their conduct towards the exploitation of the natural resources. However, the singular role played by these informal systems of taboo in conservation of biodiversity has not been given its due importance. The present paper attempts to render forth the salient aspect of conservation borne out of the taboo system in practice surrounding the sacred natural sites, principally the sacred forests, in the state of Uttarakhand, central Himalaya. The study brings forth the fact that although the potential of traditional natural resources management for biodiversity conservation vis a vis the institution of taboo within the state remains enormous, the sustainability of these practices however is seriously threatened. In fact, the dilution of the traditional beliefs and associated taboos, principally borne out of the western type education, along with social and economic factors, underpinning traditional natural resources management practices were found to be the greatest threat to the sustainability of these practices. There is thus an urgent need to investigate local perceptions of forest space and landscape, biodiversity conservation and traditional beliefs, and their significance for natural resources management, towards understanding the changing values of local people in relation to traditional protected areas, such as sacred forests. Key words: Conservation, culture, informal institutions, sacred forests, social taboos, traditional knowledge- based systems. INTRODUCTION The term ‘Taboo’ is derived from the Polynesian word are rules that human beings devise, such as written rules, ‘tapu’ , and is defined as a ‘prohibition or a ban’. Social laws and constitutions and are highly associated with the taboos represent good examples of informal institutions structural complexity of industrialized nations and their (North, 1990), which are based on cultural norms that do division of labour (North, 1990). The traditional natural not depend on government for either promulgation or resources management are infact shaped around the enforcement (Posner and Rasmusen, 1999). Institutions local rules and regulations (Ntiamoa-Baidu, 1995; Abayie, are here defined as the rules and norms that structure 1998), most often enshrined in religious or cultural beliefs human interaction, including their enforcement charac- and superstitions, and enforced by taboos, which dare teristics and sanctioning mechanisms (North, 1990), and not be infringed upon, and thus making the whole include any form of shared constraint that human beings exercise, an effective one. devise to shape their daily interactions and transactions. Informal institutions, such as taboos, have largely been Such institutions are decentralized and self-enforced by a neglected in conservation designs, where park protection community, where no external authority is available to has been the major approach for protecting biodiversity guarantee that social actors will abide to rules and (McNeely, 1993), and thus it is strongly believed that the procedures (Knight, 1992). Formal institutions, in contrast, same could play an active role in nature conservation Negi 187 (Murphree, 1994). In fact, very often, it has been resource use from the sacred forests. observed that social taboos may be highly adaptive from an ecological perspective and which contributes to biodiversity conservation (Colding and Folke, 2001); that MATERIALS AND METHODS it often applies to certain sets of natural resources that are particularly vulnerable to overexploitation (Colding The knowledge based-systems methodology for acquisition of local ecological knowledge suggested by Sinclair and Walker (1999) was and Folke, 2001). adapted, involving knowledge collection from a small sample of Anthropologists have ascribed various social functions deliberately chosen individuals, thought to be knowledgeable by to taboos: (i) They function to distinguish between sacred other villagers about the domain of interest. The knowledge was and profane entities in a culture (Durkheim, 1915); (ii) collected through repeated, structured (questionnaire-based) Relate to animist and magical belief systems (Frazer, interviews, with information being sought as regards the location of sacred natural sites (SNS), features related, local perception about 1922); (iii) Serve psychological ends (Malinowski, 1922); the sacredness of the SNS, and management (inclusive of caste and even (iv) Serve ecological adaptations (Rappaport, dynamics). Priorly, the informants were given a brief background of 1968). Infact, it may be difficult to distinguish among the subject area of interest (viz., the concept of the sacred natural ecological, social, or religious origins and functions of sites), in their native tongues, as and when required, so that the taboos (Colding and Folke, 2001). Taboo often apply to requisite information could be gathered. Since the domain of study, certain sets of natural resources, which are particularly that is taboo system surrounding the sacred sites was governed by dominant castes, principally Brahmins and the Rajputs, with lower vulnerable to overexploitation, and thus the imposition of castes relegated to carrying out profunctionary functions/tasks, it temporal taboos regulates access to resource(s) on was inevitable that interviews be conducted across the different either a sporadic, weekly, monthly or even seasonal class of people, so that an overall picture of the taboo system could basis (Colding and Folke, 2001). emerge, and hence, efforts were made to interview a minimum of 6 The efficacy of the social taboos becomes all the more - 8 persons across the class/caste divide per site/village, and thus, conspicuous, when one encounters yet another tradi- altogether 168 sacred natural sites (henceforth SNS), including 75 sacred forests, 74 sacred groves, 10 water bodies and 9 pastures, tional institution, the institution of sacred natural sites. and extending across the nine hilly districts of the state were For example, when a sacred forest cover located above covered for the study of existent taboo system (Figures 1 and 2), the precincts of the village, is zealously guarded, with and a total of 1262 informants interviewed. However, for myriad taboo not to infringe upon or make resource use from it, reasons (say, in most of the sites, the population was wholly and thus the perennial water flow (with its source being constituted of one, or at times only two castes-Brahmins and the Rajputs, and hence, in such cases, the resource management the conspicuous sacred forest lying above) and its specialists-the leaders and the wise people, that is, mostly the associated benefits for the very sustenance of the village elderly folks were consulted. folks, need not be exemplified further. In fact, amongst most ethnic groups, there exist beliefs that regard the majority of water bodies as abode of deities, and thus RESULTS AND DISCUSSION taboo against making recurrent visits to the source of the same (read the sacred forests) were effective in Traditional natural resources management system in protecting these sources, especially those that served as practice in Uttarakhand, can be classified into the potable water sources for a community or group of following broad categories: (i) Protection of particular communities, with major examples being offered by the ecosystems or habitats (such as sacred groves and sacred forests of Hariyali Devi, Madhkeshwar, forests); (ii) Protection of particular animals or plant Maanthaat, Shyama Devi, Jal Devi, etc (Table 1). Infact, species (as totem or tabooed species); and (iii) defilement of the water remains one of the greatest sins, Regulation of the exploitation of particular natural as per the religious scripts, brought forth by the natives. resource (such as a closed season for resource And hence, the present study delves into the social taboo harvesting). However, the taboo system surrounding the system in practice surrounding the sacred natural sites. sacred natural sites has been dealt as per classification The ‘sacred natural site’ here is defined as a reserved of social taboos (Colding and Folke, 2001), principally space, established by a community, a group of people or into (i) Segment taboos, (ii) Temporal taboos, (iii) Method an individual, following the conventions based on specific taboos, (iv) Life history taboos, (v) Specific-species phenomena and requiring the respect of engagements taboos. taken at this place in order to satisfy the spiritual, cultural and socio-political needs while focusing on the harmony and wellbeing of the native community, as well as of the Segment taboos whole humanity (Kamga-Kamdem, 2008) . The above definition most appropriately brings forth the salient The following group of taboo
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