NeBIO An international journal of environment and biodiversity Vol. 8, No. 3, September 2017, 182-186 ISSN 2278-2281(Online Version) ☼ www.nebio.in GENERAL PAPER Role of totem trees in the conservation of biodiversity in sacred groves of Manipur: North East India Chongtham Sanjita, Th. Binoy Singh & Th. Rojen Singh Ecology Section, Center of Advanced Study in Life Sciences, Manipur University, Imphal West - 795003, Manipur ABSTRACT Sacred groves are small patches of land area which cover a certain area of forest or woodland preserving unique flora and fauna and having a very rich biodiversity. They are generally associated with strict socio-cultural and religious practices and social taboos. These inherited social taboos help in the conservation of biodiversity in the sacred grove of Manipur. In each and every sacred groves there must be some plants which are strictly associated with the natural beliefs of the deities resided and protected the grove. Each species has its own uniqueness including the resting place of the deity resided, an indicator of disaster, saviour of the place etc. These plants are strictly restricted from being cutting any branches and even felling. Besides these, the other tree species growing in the sacred groves are also strictly prohibited from felling down. Therefore the totem trees of the sacred groves play a significant role in the conservation of plant species and maintenance of the biodiversity in the region. KEYWORDS: Biodiversity, taboo, totem, woodland, socio-cultural religious practices Received 11 August 2017, Accepted 30 August 2017 I *Corresponding Author: me.
[email protected] Introduction The sacred site has been regarded as a unique place embodying was reported by Ramakrishnan, 1998: Ramakrishnan, 2002.