Tamil Nadu’s disappearing sacred groves host some of the last remaining patches of critically endangered tropical dry evergreen forests, which - though guarded by the gods - need human help restoring them.
For centuries many forests across India were seen to be guarded by fierce gods – local deities whose statues overlooked these sacred groves.
In Tamil Nadu open-air shrines to gods from local folklore, like Ayyanar, Karrupusami, Veeran, Nalla Thangal, Kannimargal, can be found amidst the woods on the outskirts of villages.
The power of these rural gods meant villagers would not dare desecrate their temples or sacred groves lest they unleash their wrath.
This fear has protected the sacred groves and their rich biodiversity for centuries.
But as beliefs and social systems are changing, these sacred groves are dwindling.
Now some human help is needed in reviving them before all the benefits they provide to local ecosystems are lost forever.
“There are currently 1,262 officially recorded sacred groves in Tamil Nadu. Many remain undocumented,” said S Elamuhil, project coordinator at DHAN Foundation, a development organisation that documented Tamil Nadu’s sacred groves.
Faith and belief systems safeguarded these groves, known as koil kaadu in Tamil, according to N Balachandran, senior researcher at French Institute of Pondicherry.
“Once upon a time a whole grove was replaced with a sacred tree. Then came a stone beneath a tree, where an idol was built. With a small roof over it, it transformed into a small temple,” said Balachandran.
There are usually a lot of social regulations around the sacred groves from preventing cattle grazing to stopping people picking up logs, drinking alcohol or even planting new trees.
“However, the social system protecting these groves disappeared over time. When farmers took up other livelihoods, they didn’t find the need to protect the lands or the groves,” Elamuhil told Village Square.
There was also another reason that communities protected the groves in earlier times. Plants and trees that were used in traditional medicine were found in these groves.
“For instance, maavilagam is used to combat menstrual issues. Nannari is a coolant. Thaneer vittan kizhangu improves sperm production,” said Vimal Raj, a naturalist conserving native TDEF species.
Karungali, or ebony, found in these forests is said to have immunity-boosting properties.
But that is not all.
The sacred groves along the Coromandel coast host the tropical dry evergreen forest (TDEF) – one of the last three remaining dry evergreen forests in the world.
“The tropical dry evergreen forest species vary in height from only 9 to 12 m. So people assume these are wasteland shrubs and raze them,” said Vimal Raj.
But the forests offer ecosystem services like rain water harvesting, combating pollution and carbon sequestration.
Most of the TDEF species are hardwood trees and store a lot of carbon in their trunk, according to Raj.
Balachandran, along with his team, created bio-shelters in Cuddalore by planting TDEF species after the massive tsunami of 2004. He believes that this forest type could be used to study climate too.
“The same species found in Eastern and Western Ghats display different flowering and fruiting patterns according to climate. This could be used as an indicator to understand climate change,” he told Village Square.
The TDEF hosts several endemic and endangered species too. So Balachandran believes this treasure trove of biodiversity should be protected.
But protecting them is not that easy in these changing times.
Only 0.1% of the original TDEF survives, according to conservationists.
South India’s coastal zone – the only place where TDEF is found – has been subject to large scale real estate development.
The conservationists claim that it is this human interference that has led to its destruction.
“The forest department finds it difficult to conserve these TDEF forests as they exist in patches. Often the rights remain with some families or communities. Even in reserve forests, TDEF have been replaced with commercially viable species, like eucalyptus,” said Vimal Raj.
He suggested that the government could revive the native TDEF species for their ecosystem benefits.
Raj and his friend K Raman promote TDEF species in the southeast coast of India through their Indigenous Biodiversity Foundation.
Behind his home in Puducherry, Raman has a nursery where he nurtures 88 rare, endemic and near threatened species.
From agil maram (Drypetes Porter) that has been unscrupulously axed to craft wooden combs to malai poovarasu that finds difficulty in germinating naturally – every threatened TDEF finds a safe space here.
He and his wife, A. Parkavi, meticulously collect their seeds from remnant sacred groves. He then studies their lifecycle and nurtures them till they are planted around water bodies or village commons, temples or institutions. (ALSO READ: Villagers conserve sacred groves as cultural and religious symbols)
“The challenge with TDEF species is its slow growth. But once rooted, its survival is very easy and requires very little maintenance,” Raman told Village Square.
In large scale plantations he suggests that making contour bunds and using mulching could prevent water evaporation and enable germination.
With dark, dense and evergreen foliage, TDEF species have also recently found patronage amongst urban gardeners.
Vimal rues that there is not much data on TDEF.
“We need to map and protect the remaining patches. The government should also take steps to promote native TDEF in the coastal nurseries across the Coromandel coast,” he said.
Once guarded by village deities, these sacred groves now need human help to thrive again.
The lead image at the top of this page shows a sacred grove guarded by an Ayyanar deity (Photo by Balasubramaniam. N)
Catherine Gilon is a journalist based at Chennai.
