Conservation of resources by religious and social prohibitions by Santal communities in South West Bengal, India

ABSTRACT

Sacred groves are generally considered as socio-culturally preserved patches of plants primarily managed by tribal groups. Such groves are usually believed to be as the abodes of gods, goddesses, spirits or supernatural artefacts. Generally, they are predominantly worshipped, managed and protected by the tribal groups with religious zeal. Such groves mainly serve as the benchmarks of less disturbed vegetation. Taboos and social prohibitions shield the sacred groves from the destruction caused by human activity. Several relicts, endemic and endangered species have been reported from sacred groves. Depending on such assumption, this paper highlights the conservation and cultural values of the Santal community surrounding the sacred groves of Binpur II block under Jhargram District in West Bengal. The study shows that, in addition to the conservation of 191 species of angiosperms, these groves have certain direct and indirect socio-economic impacts. Therefore, there is an urgent need not only preserve the sacred forest but also revive and reinvent some traditional form of plant conservation.

KEYWORDS:

• Biodiversity
• conservation
• ethnomedicine
• ritual
• sacred grove
• West Bengal

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to all informants who generously shared their knowledge about rituals and traditional uses of plants. We are grateful for the proper field identification of plant species by Dr G. G. Maity, ex-Professor of Kalyani University and S. Ghosh, Teacher of Digri Sanatorium High School, for manuscript preparation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Uday Kumar Sen

Uday Kumar Sen is an ethnobotanist who was awarded a Doctoral degree by The Botany and Forestry Department, Vidyasagar University, West Bengal, India. Currently, he is continuing his research work at the same University.

Ram Kumar Bhakat

Ram Kumar Bhakat, an ethnobotanist, is the Assistant Professor of The Department of Botany and Forestry, Vidyasagar University, West Bengal, India.