Geographical Assessment of Sacred Groves in Bolpur Sub-division, India

Abstract

Human culture evolved around sporadic elements of nature. Our ancestors developed a special world view of nature around them. While receiving all the material benefits from nature, they in turn expressed their love & respect by worshiping elements in nature. One consequence of such nature worship is that different elements of bio-diversity are conserved and best exemplified in the initiation of ‘sacred groves’. Sacred groves are patches of natural vegetation dedicated by local communities to worship of ancestral spirits and deities. These groves may consist of a multi-species forestry, a clump of trees belonging to one species or even a single old tree depending on the history of the vegetation and local culture. Local communities because of their religious customary taboos and sanction with cultural and ecological implication protect these groves. These sacred groves have sporadic physical and non- physical dimensions in this study area. The regional peoples can easily conserve their fruitful environment through the preserve species of trees and also curtail the pollution impact from our society with the access of this indigenous model station.

Key words: Nature worship, Sacred Grove, indigenous model.