Sacred Groves:A Lasting Form of ForestConservation in Coorg, Karnataka

CYNTHIA CARON

TAMILNADU, India June 1995

Mr. Peter B. MartinInstitute of Current World Affairs4 West Wheelock StreetHanover, New Hampshire 03755

Dear Peter,

recently took a short jaunt into the sacred groves and temple fo-rests of Coorg, a small district in the South Indian state of Karnataka(Figure 1, page 2). Coorg is the anglicized version of the district’s Ka-nada name, Kodagu. Kodagu is wedged in the foothills of the WesternGhats and shares the tropical lushness of its southern neighbor, Ke-rala (Figure 2, page 2). learned of Coorg’s sacred groves from an in-ternationally-circulated forestry journal. The authors of the article, Dr.M.G. Chandrakanth, an agricultural economist, and his elder brother,M.G. Nagaraja, a mathematician-turned-historian, accompanied meand translated for me on this without-a-moment-to-waste, 22-hourjourney.

Coorg was formerly a small kingdom ruled by its own royal family.The Kodagas, or Coorgs, most likely migrated into what was to be-come their homeland in the third century AD. According to local loretheir founder was a member of the Kadamba dynasty, which took itsname from the sacred Kadamba bee (Anthocephalus cadama). Localentrepreneurs and merchants traded extensively with and were influ-enced by the Moors and the British. The Coorgs were known to be"fierce, irascible, superstitious and revengeful." They were constantlywaging war for their Rajah to protect their tiny kingdom. The last ofthe Coorg Rajahs fell to the British in 1834, opening up fertile groundto coffee planters and missionaries. Under Company (British East In-dia Co.) reign, local missionaries found the Coorgs’ character infectedby "drunkenness, sexual licentiousness and lying." Previously theRajah kept such behavior under control by chopping off appropriatebody parts. With the end of continuous war and killing ad libitum bythe Rajah, the native Coorg population increased by 25,000,000 withinthe first 10 years.

The British described the countryside as the "Scotland of India."One missionary wrote that Coorg "resembles the finest park sceneryin Europe" (Moegling, 1855). The kingdom was incorporated into In-dia and the state of Karnataka in 1956, nine years after Indianindependence.

The Cauvery River originates in the Brahmagiri Hills of Coorg.She, Cauvery, is the most important goddess to the Coorgs. Herspring is a sacred spot where an annual festival to celebrate her rein-carnation is held every October. The Hindu epic, Silappadikaram, gives

Cynthia Caron is a John Miller Musser Fellow of the Institute studyingforestconservation in South As&.

a description of the Cauvery in flood. She is coveredwith flowers fallen from the numerous trees on herbank. I noticed immediately that Coorg women tietheir saris differently than we do in Tamilnadu. Thepallu (tail end of the sari), which we carefully fold, pinto and drape over the left shoulder, is left loose byCoorg women, passed around the back and pinned tothe right shoulder. The fashion originates in a Cauverylegend. When she first gushed forth from her holyspring, Cauvery quickly had to maneuver around asharp right bend; "the violence of the stream turnedthe knots of the women’s dresses round to theirbacks." The women of Coorg clasp their saris to theright shoulder to represent this symbolic turn. How-ever, the worship of forest deities in Coorg andthroughout India is probably older than this fashionstatement.

Sacred groves are a form of nature worship datingback to the ancient civilizations of the Indus Valley.Excavated sculptures from 4000 B.C. show symbols ofdeities wearing fig leaves. Texts from the same erahave poems dedicated to the forest goddess, Aran-yani, worshipped as mother of forest flora, fauna andforest ecology (Chandrakanth and Nagaraja, 1994). To-day during Coorg’s annual kunda betta festival, devo-tees wear sacred tree leaves as they offer their prayers.

The Hindu epics glorified the forest. In these textsone finds the earliest references to sacred groves orentire sacred forests. The early Indo-Aryans wor-shipped nature, began to conserve plants with cura-tive properties, attributed divine powers to theseplants and finally provided each plant with a guar-

dian deity. Sanctions against the destruction of naturetook form from mysticism and magic.

Sages and saints lived in the forest leading simplebut rigorous lives in their search for truth and perfec-tion. Kings and their sons sought out sages for theirwisdom. They would spend weeks at a time in the for-est learning the Vedic truths under the sprawlingbranches of the forest’s largest trees. According tosages only beneath a tree could one find the properdiscipline to receive spiritual instruction from ateacher. Sages may be responsible for the initial trans-fer of medicinal knowledge to the general public.Through trial and error they studied and recorded themedicinal properties of the forest. Many trees are thesubject of Hindu prayers and poems describing theirspecial significance and the spirits dwelling withinthem (Prime, 1995). These early poems passed on in-formation about the relationship between humans andthe forest community. The forest was perceived as aplace of peace and contentment and a place to pursuea spiritual life. The first record of a sacred grove, writ-ten in those exact words, is found in ancient Sanskritliterature. In the Ramayaza the kidnapped Sita was hid-den in the sacred Ashoka grove.

According to Hindu tradition there are three typesof forest. Shrivan is the forest of prosperity. Tapovan isthe type of forest where the sages contemplated lifeand sought truth. The last type of forest is mahavana,the natural forest where all species of plant, animaland human life find shelter. People knew what type ofecosystem was necessary for survival. In ancient timesthe clearing of forest for agricultural settlements with-

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out establishing another type of forest was forbidden.It was not that trees should be in the village, but thatthe village should be among trees. Therefore villagersprotected much of the forest cover surrounding theirsettlements as a shrivan, a forest of wealth. A villagewas considered incomplete unless there was one of theabove-mentioned categories of forest in and around it(Prime, 1995). Shrivan is also referred to as a grove andwas often donated to and looked after by the temple.Many of the forests protected by temples are today’ssacred groves. It is also believed that early people un-derstood the role that forests play as carbon sinks andin maintaining air quality. The size of a sacred grovereflected the population of the village, its spatial distri-bution, the villagers’ fuelwood consumption and thedemands of livestock and wildlife populations (Yel-lappa Reddy, pers. comm.).

Tapovan was important to the spiritual well-being oflocal residents and was set aside for the practice of re-ligion. Tapa means penance and vana means forest.Sages and inspired individuals called rishis neededthese areas away from civilization. Anyone who de-sired spiritual comfort could enter the tapovan to liveand to study in the sages’ ashrams. The presence ofsages in the forest protected the plant and animal lifearound them. Violators were punished by the entirecommunity for their criminal acts.

One last natural community that every settlement,rural and urban, must have association with is the pn-javatti, a cluster of five trees that represents the forest.Each of the five trees (Ficus religiosa, Ficus bengalensis,Emblica officinalis, Aegle marmelos and Saraca indica)symbolizes one of the five essential elements: earth,water, air, ether and fire (Prime, 1995; Yellappa Reddypers. comm.). Cattle represent the totality of animallife. For this reason they are free to roam the busieststreets of contemporary Bombay and Madras.

The Coorgs’ religion was considered to be unlikemost Hindu worship (anti-Brahmanic). Ancestors anddemons were at the center of their ritual. Human sacri-fices were offered to Bhadrakali, the demonic form ofLord Siva’s wife, Parvati, to protect villages from evilinfluences. Human sacrifices were first replaced by agoat or a male buffalo during British rule. Duringthese pujas the buffalo was tied to a tree "in a gloomygrove near a temple." Coorgs would not perform norbe present at the slaughter. Instead a Meda, who is amember of a wandering tribe, would cut off the beast’shead. After the sacrifice the Meda was to spill the vic-tim’s blood over a rock under a sacred tree and con-sume its flesh. During the sacrifice the Coorgs wereperforming a dance near the temple wearing the hornsof spotted deer (Whitehead, 1921: 86-87).

There were forest sanctuaries to the tribal god, Iy-appa, with Brahmin priests. Iyappa, the forest-godand mighty hunter, was naturalized among theCoorgs. Coorgs also adopted the practice of offering

him earthen forms of dogs, tigers and horses duringhis festivals. They worshipped their ancestors withan annual offering of a cock two months after the be-ginning of the monsoon. The sacrifice took place,"somewhere in the jungle-land belonging to the fam-ily estate. Some have erected small temples at thesesites." Many temples were "consecrated" only for theworship of the dead. Monetary offerings to the pow-erful finale demon, Kuttadamma, were also a form ofancestor-worship. Every year a young man from eachfamily had to go to Kuttadamma’s sanctuary in theforest to worship her and donate Rs. 20,000 (todayequivalent to US$650) to the caretaker to engage herpowers to destroy the enemies of the sick anddeceased.

Trees with a milky sap were sacred to the Coorgs.During the annual sacrifice to Gulika, an invisible con-stellation belonging to the order of planets and to lu-nar mansions, the family consulted an astrologerabout its powers. Gulika, represented by a stoneplaced at the base of a tree exuding a milky sap, wasoffered a fowl, coconut and brandy on a plantain-lineddish. If the family suffered several deaths in themonths that followed, they performed a second offer-ing. Special ceremonies protected one’s cattle. An an-nual sacrifice of pork and cakes was made to the deity,Kadevaru (god watching over the cattle). If the sacri-fice was not given or was performed incorrectly, thegod withdrew his favor, resulting in sickness anddeath among the cattle.

The above "is but a very imperfect sketch of Coorg-superstition. It may serve, however, to show the char-acter of the monstrous beliefs (sit venia verbo), whichhave sprung up in the darkness of the Coorg-mind.The light of the truth, as it is in Christ, will cause allthese rites and imaginations, the offspring of heathendarkness, to vanish, to be forgotten as things of nought.May the sun hasten to rise!" (Moegling, 1855: 69).

The Reverend Moegling’s chronicle of distastefulCoorg ritual (as explained to him by new converts) fur-nishes us with a description of the nature-worship thatmany naturalists believe accounts for the 30 percentforest cover found in Coorg today (Only 10 percent ofIndia has "good" forest cover). Sacred groves and tem-ple forests might make a significant contribution topushing the district toward its target of 60 percent. Anestimated 346 sacred groves in Coorg cover an area of4,235 acres. The size of these groves, called Devara Kadu(DK, meaning "God’s forest" in the local language),ranges between five trees (as mentioned above) and140 acres (Chandrakanth and Nagaraja, 1994).

All DKs have elements in common: a temple hous-ing their namesake diety and a place to offer animalsacrifices. Normally they are located on slopes pro-tecting hydrology and enhancing soil stability. Thisreligious institution persists but is under constant fi-nancial and education pressure.

Institute of Current World Affairs 3

It was spring in the Ashoka g’ove.The earth, draped in a shower offlowers fallen J’om trees,

glittered like a bride adorned with jewelsThe Ramayana

must admit was stumped when saw the signabove along the Bangalore-Mysore Road as weheaded southwest toward Coorg. Plants on vacation?Earlier this month had the opportunity to meet withMr. Yellappa Reddy, the person responsible for thisreligious compound. Yellappa Reddy has worked forthe Forest Department for 35 years and has risen tothe position of State Secretary of Ecology and Envi-ronment. Over a few cups of coffee in a downtown-Bangalore restaurant we discussed the sacred plantsresort and the significance of nature in ancient andcontemporary Hindu India.

Planted behind the Sacred Plants Resort’s maingate are 150 tree species that have sacred uses duringdaily ritual and special occasions. During puja ser-vices the leaves and flowers of 24 different plants areoffered to the deity. Each flower and leaf has a partic-ular mantra associated with it that is recited as it is of-fered to the god. The combination of flower and leafofferings is different in each particular month and foreach season. Since deforestation and urbanizationhave intensified in India over the past century, it hasbecome increasingly difficult for worshipers to have aready and ample supply of the puja’s essential flow-ers and leaves. Today it is very common for worship-ers to chant mantras without the offerings becausethey are not available.

While these 24 tree parts have their significance asofferings to the Hindu gods and demigods, it is alsobelieved that they have positive side effects on thebearer. Chemical analyses of these leaves and flowersshow that they all contain essential oils. As they are of-

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Secular authoritySacred mission

fered to the deity, they are lightly pressed betweenthe thumb and fingers. The oils that are released stim-ulate the pineal and pituitary glands. The pituitarygland is important in the system of endocrine glands.Inhaling these oils enhances the cerebral experienceof the daily ritual and is a benefit unknown to the av-erage individual. Flowers and leaves are offered sys-tematically with respect to their order and the time al-lowed to pass between offerings as prescribed bySages in common prayers. Due to the extensive botan-ical knowledge acquired by Sages, it is rather likelythat they prescribed offerings with these benefits inmind. While modern scientific investigation can tellus which flower and leaf produces which oil and itscorresponding benefit, scientists have yet to study theeffects of an aggregation of these mingling oils as or-dered by the Sages.

A temple to Lord Shiva, or Shiva lingam, was builtat the far left-hand corner of the resort. It rises like awedding cake from a platter of trees. The bottom ofthe temple is a square platform with four entrances,each at a point of the compass. Next, two lotus-flower-shaped circles with petal-edges bloom out ofone another. Resting on top of the smaller lotus is astack of pastel-pink stars. Rising out of the small yel-low triangle, which rests on the smallest star, is thegranite lingam. The passage between the platform’sentrances and the bottom lotus flower is a tightsqueeze. It is meant to be. The difficult pass shouldmake one stop and ponder life. Contemplation opensone’s mind and heart like a lotus flower. As one con-tinues to bloom, the ascent begins. Upon reaching thehighest star, the individual has reached enlighten-

ment. The triangle illuminates life still further andone starts to become free from lower emotions andbeyond earthly matters. The lingam represents ec-stasy triggering the soul’s kinetic energy. Its shape-less form is the true point of self-actualization andoneness with god.

Within the resort there is also a demonstration plotof the nine-planet forest. Of all the religious foresttypes (others include star and zodiac forests) recog-nized by Hindus, the planet forest is the easiest to un-derstand and therefore the most common throughoutthe county (Chandrakanth et al., 1990). The sun,moon and planets, separately and working in combi-nation, control a person’s destiny. The placement ofthe planets at the time of one’s birth determines his orher astrological sign and is consulted later in life tofind a suitable marriage partner.

Of these nine planets five are represented by trees,two by shrubs and two by grasses. Planets also havean idol form (Figure 3). The average person can un-dertake a nine-planet forest as a personal project forthe simple design and planting of this forest necessi-tates only a small piece of land and capital invest-ment. Calotropis gigantea, representing the sun, isplanted in the center of the plot to correspond with itsheavenly position. In rural areas many people begintheir day with a short bow of respect to the sun. Sat-urn (Acacia ferruginea), both a son and an enemy ofthe sun, is planted in the sun’s setting, to the west.The economic well-being of an individual is ad-vanced by Venus (Ficus glomerata) and is planted inthe rising position of the east. To the sun’s north is Ju-

piter (Ficus religiosa) thought to exert positive influ-ences. The placement of Mars (Acacia catechu) whichis thought to cause misfortune, is planted to the sun’ssouth Perhaps its negative effects are counterbal-anced by the direct presence of Jupiter to the north.

Everyone has his or her own tree or group of treesassociated with his/her date of birth. People shouldplant the trees associated with this date in their imme-diate environment and avoid planting unaffiliatedspecies as these would be detrimental to their physicaland mental health. This is the beginning of the Hin-dus’ belief that there is a connection between the min-eral composition of humans and plants.

The Sages identified over 77,000 plants, butdeemed only 150 as sacred. All of these sacred specieshave medicinal properties; ten percent cure ailmentsand the remaining 90% are for prevention and healthpromotion. Animal products are prescribed by doc-tors practicing indigenous medicine in only 10-15% ofcases. Keeping with the tenet that animal life is sa-cred, meat and products derived from killing an ani-mal were and still are very rarely recommended.Goat, buffalo and cow milk, curd, buttermilk ghee,butter, and honey are the animal products usuallyprescribed. When meat is recommended it is nor-mally fox, goat or crocodile. Many organic tablets aremade by mixing melted gold, silver and copper withbotanical ingredients. By feeling the depth of thepulse, a doctor can identify a patient’s constitution,resistance, character traits, and 60-70% of his or hersocial and sexual behavior. Nardee shahtra, knowledgeof pulse, is still used today in herbal medicine.

Figure 3: Nineplanet templeforest. From: Chandrakanth andRomm, 1991Planet name, Idol, Direction ofIdol, Position ofIdol, Name ofPlant.

ag Jupiter, RectangleSouth. Norlahwest North. North2,.ccaharum s’pontaneum FZcu.s reltgtosa

Sattcn, Bow Sun, CircleWest, West East, Center.4cacm ferrugtnea C_.alotrops gtgantea var. albtflora

Mercury..arrowEast, NortheastAchyranthus a.rpera

Ftcugiorraerata

Rahu, Winnow Mars, Inverted Triangle Moon, SquarSourly, Southwest South, South West, SoutheastCynodon dactylon Acacia atechu Butea monosperrr

Institute of Current World Affairs 5

The Shiva Lingam at theSacred Plants Resort

The fig tree is associated with the Hindu goddessof fortune, Lakshmi, and is worshipped by barrenwomen in hopes of conceiving a child. There is an oldHindu custom that suggests women rise every morn-ing before 5:30A.M. (starting as early as 4:01A.M.). Be-fore sunrise every woman should walk 25 timesaround the sacred fig tree, Ficus bengalensis or Ficus re-ligiosa. Since these trees are sacred to both Lakshmiand Lord Vishnu, the creator of all beings, they arepresent in all villages. It is believed that daily fig-treerounds produce children who are wise and clever.

Most trees are triggered to switch from respirationto photosynthesis at daybreak with the first rays ofthe sun. In 1956 scientists discovered that during thisearly-morning process, the fig tree releases a hor-mone, called sterotonin, into the atmosphere. Accord-ing to Yellappa Reddy, sterotonin causes a change inhuman physiology influencing the mind, especiallythe pituitary gland. The hormone affects intelligenceand assists in controlling the glands responsible forexcitement and shock. The earlymorning release ofsterotonin enriches the natural environment and ben-efits early-risers. Inhaling the hormone counterbal-ances excitement and shock, restoring an individual’sinternal balance. The fig tree is another example ofplant-human chemistry demonstrating perfect toler-ance in the ecosystem. Furthermore sterotonin helpsto prevent headaches and is thought to influence thewomb, thus increasing fertility.

The Sacred Plants Resort was established and de-signed to fulfill several functions. First, to remind(and in today’s increasingly cosmopolitan India, toeducate) people about the sacred uses of nature.Every plant bears a description of its medicinal prop-erties and its Hindu deity association. Second, to pro-vide the plant material for pujas. Visitors may takehome tree seedlings free of charge or for a small do-

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nation to the Forest Department. Third, as sacredplants are associated with a deity they are protectedby religious sanctions. Reforestation efforts under-taken with sacred species are more likely to be suc-cessful in reforesting an area than more "ordinary"ones. Sacred plants are abundant in the natural envi-ronment, people benefit from the stimulating oils re-leased into the air without their knowledge. Finally,Yellappa Reddy hopes that this sacred resort adminis-tered by a secular authority will restore the impor-tance of plant-human chemistry and harmony.

"Holy one,This dark andfearful forest,

With crickets chirping and beasts roaming,And w,ltures and other birds screaming,

Filled with boars, lions, tigers, and elephants,With trees of all kinds

This is a forestOf insidious and shuddering enchantment

raThe Ramayana

Our arrival at the Kiratha Ishwara Devara Kadu wasa day too late for us to participate in one of the annualfestivals held at the end of May. A small canopy con-structed of banana leaves and decorated with mari-golds and other locally available flowers was standingin front of the two sacred trees in the temple complex’sforeground. The two sacred trees, Ficus bengalensis andMesua ferra, were surrounded by a three-foot-highstone enclosure. Red, yellow, blue and white triangu-lar pieces of plastic flagging strung on fish-line-thinstring were intertwined in their branches. Underneatheach tree were rows of ceramic dogs. Most were head-less. Small garlands of rose petals and marigolds hungon what remained of some of the dogs’ necks. Devo-tees had placed these dogs here during the previousfew days. They are symbolic of prehistoric worship in

a contemporary ceremony. It represents the huntingdog that the indigenous people depended on hun-dreds of years ago. Hunters would come to this groveto worship and ask for a plentiful hunt. Today, thegovernment forbids hunting but the importance of theritual to the ancestors has not been forgotten. Severalof Ishwara’s symbolic tridents are firmly planted be-neath the trees. They stick out at all sorts of anglesdefying any sort of systematic design.

Kiratha Ishwara is the hunter god worshipped bythe tribal group, Jenu Kuruba (honey shepherds). TheJenu Kuruba are a subdivision of the Kurumba shep-herd tribe that roamed the hills of Karnataka’s My-sore Province and farther south into the Nilgiri Hillsof Tamilnadu. In the 1891 Mysore Census, Jenu Kuru-bas are described as, "a darker, inferior race sub-sisting on wild bamboo seed, edible roots etc. foundin the jungle, often mixed with honey they are en-gaged chiefly in felling timber in the forests [and] areexpert in tracking wild animals." At other momentsthey were called Jenu Koyyo Shola Nayakas: honey-hunting Lords of the woods. They worshipped forestdeities as well as the Hindus’ Lord Shiva (who is rep-resented by the trident as is Kiratha Ishwara). Theyrepresented their important deceased communitymembers, such as centenarians, with a cluster ofstones under a peepal tree (Ficus religiosa) (Thurston,1909). This latter practice parallels the ancestor wor-ship of their Coorg neighbors.

This recently-completed festival to honor Ishwarais called Kunde. Prior to the festival, devotees collectfunds in a door-to-door campaign. The funds are di-vided equally: 50% for temple maintenance and 50%for funding festival activities. The priest said that dur-ing the festival, between 4,000 and 5,000 people visitthe temple from morning till night to insult Ishwara.They blame him for all of the things that have gone

wrong in the past year. The priest refused to disclosethe insults since, "it is very foul and sexy language."Nor does Ishwara become angry with this accusers."What do parents do when their children insultthem?" During the Kunde Festival there is no animalsacrifice, only the offering of coconut. No festival tohonor Ishwara’s wife, Bhadrakali is complete withoutthe sacrifice of a chicken.

Bhadrakali’s temple is approximately 800 metersbehind her husband’s in an opening in the forest, Onthe path leading to her shrine are the frames of threemakeshift doors that worshipers must pass throughbefore they perform her puja. Each Bhadrakali festi-val has a certain governing rule such as abstainingfrom meat or killing animals. Anyone who breaks therule must pay a small fine and pass through thesedoors to publicly display his or her mistakes. Coorgworship has a history of human sacrifice. Usually aperson who committed several serious errors was"volunteered to make up for them." Bhadrakali wor-ship is comparably friendlier. Today human sacrificeas part of religious ceremony is symbolized by ablood-drawing prick to the pinky finger.

In addition to the Kuruba tribals, Yeravas (formerslaves brought from nearby Kerala who were,"bought and sold at a rate much lower than the priceof cattle"), and scheduled caste members (Halijans)that include Coorg’s indigenous people, the Kem-batti, come to worship within the temple and the sa-cred trees at its entrance. Scheduled caste membersare not allowed inside the temple complex. Tribalsenter but do not perform puja. Before the presence ofa Brahmin priest (200 years ago), the Yeravas andKembattis worshipped in the temple without a priest.The square complex is a large open courtyard bor-dered by columned corridors. In the center of a care-fully swept courtyard is the temple sanctum. Inside

The tridents and huntingdogs of offered to KirathaIshwara during theKunde festival

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the sanctum sanctorum is a black pedestal that incor-porates the holy Hindu Trinity, Lord Vishnu, LordBrahma and Lord Shiva, into one solid form. The cur-rent temple complex construction cost the worshipersapproximately 3 lakhs (US$10,000).

The temple is surrounded by 60 acres of sacredgrove: 25 dedicated to Kiratha Ishwara and 35 acresdedicated to his wife, Bhadrakali. Much of the adjacentDevara Kadu Coffee Estate was once part of this sacredlandscape. The Forest Department is currently survey-ing and demarcating the boundaries of these groves.Once this inventory process is finished, the DKs will beconsidered by the government as Reserved Forestjointly managed by the Forest Department and localresidents. Until surveyed the groves are (and have al-ways been) managed as common property resourcesby the priest and local community members.

People do not cut trees for fear of God. The priest ex-plained local sanctions governing the two DKs. If peo-ple cut trees in either of the groves "some disturbance"will happen to their family, business or personalhealth. If the offender repents, the gods will usuallyforgive him, but only if he repents enough. The tabooon cutting trees in aDK is so strong that it is often com-pared to the sin of killing a woman or child or cow inthe holy Hindu city, Benares. Even forest officers abideby the sanctions. They rarely remove fallen trees fromthe roadside or branches that are hanging dangerouslyclose to electricity and telephone wires. (Perhaps theyare too lazy. Whether out of sanction or sluggishness,residents currently view the government as cooperat-ing with and being sensitive to their beliefs.) The onlytrees harvested from these forests are for temple repair.

Community members decided that residents maycollect leaf litter for green manure, may graze livestockand may collect fallen branches and dead wood forfirewood from the two DKs. People may transportthese materials only by headload. Even though thenearby coffee estate has constructed several paths intothe forest, transport by bullock carts is forbidden. Thisrestriction limits the quantity of the resource that canbe exploited by any one individual at any one time.Otherwise access to leaf litter and firewood would beunequal, determined by ownership of or access to abullock cart, and would hasten resource depletion.

A man reaps what he sowsOnly the absolutefool does deeds

Without thinking of the consequences.A man who cuts down a mango groveAnd waters palashaflowers insteadWill repent his deed at harvest time.

raThe Ramayana

The Hole Iyappa Devara Kadu Temple is a pile ofstones underneath a mango tree in the sacred grove ofKembatti Colony. The mango, with branches perform-ing a sweeping arabesque into the sky, is the sacred

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tree of worship for all 11 Kembatti households. As weapproached the sacred site, we were asked to removeour shoes and finish the last 300 meters barefoot. Thesymbolic tridents and offerings of fruit were present.The Kembatti community has instituted its own set ofrules and regulations. No high-caste Brahmin is al-lowed to enter the area. Firewood and leaf litter collec-tion is forbidden. Eating mango fruits is allowed butonly on the premises. People regularly use only onemedicinal plant. The resin of Carnarium strictun isburned. The incense is inhaled for curing cough andcold. Resin sale is forbidden.

The DK has been reduced to half an acre from itsoriginal two. Several members complained to the localforestry officials about the encroachments by coffeeplanters. They followed up this verbal complaint witha written one. This latter move is considered a bold un-dertaking from such a low-caste community. The en-croachment occurred over twenty years ago, but theForest Department has not acted against theperpetrators.

If they could have spared the expense, the Kembat-tis would have fenced off the grove all those yearsago to keep away grazing animals and perhaps evendeterred encroachers. Today the people still worryabout threats from coffee planters. Once they thoughtthey would build a proper home for their god. Nowthe need to keep whatever area they can intact is amore pressing concern. "We need a place to keep ourgod because he gives us solace." Their next festivalwill commence next week with the coming of themonsoon rains. The rain will wash away the blood ofthe animal sacrifices and keep their temple clean.

"... they took a raft across the dancing-waved,tree-necklaced Yamuna3

on its other bank was a giant cool-leaved banyan,called Shyama.

Sita4 did namaste5 to the sacred tree:"I bow to you great banyan!"

The Ramayana

The Iyappa Ishwara Devara Kadu (DK) in Kumtooris surrounded by coffee plantations and paddy fields.The grove was once as large as 20 acres but has been re-duced to twelve by coffee planters. The priest and care-taker of this grove dedicated to Bortakadu Iyappa is anon-Brahmin Coorg named K.C. Ramesh. Ramesh,who calls himself by the nickname "Jackie," inheritedthe caretaker position from his father. His father put upa great fight against coffee planters who encroachedupon the forest and constantly filed petitions andbrought up charges to the Forest Department withoutany success. When his father was alive the temple wasfree of the weeds that now wind around the lingamand surround the lingam’s square stone platform.

Jackie has given up his father’s fight. Given the con-

dition of the temple, he obviously neglects the sacredclearing in the woods. I asked him if other communitymembers did not get upset with him for not fulfillinghis responsibilities. He answered me without anyemotion, "I have my own fields, why should botherabout it? have no time. Everyone has lost interest inthe grove. People are interested in their own agricul-ture." The harvest festival in December and the annualoil-lamp lighting in February no longer have theirgrandeur. Educated people now say that festivals areall superstition. Such talk dissuades their neighborsfrom donating money to perform pujas. Maybe intwenty years there will no longer be festivals. Only acrumbling shrine will remain to remind people ofwhat once existed.

The site is open for worship to all except Harijans.Five or six headless ceramic dogs from the last festivalare piled together underneath a bush. Jackie is uncer-tain about the future of Kumtoor’s sacred grove. chal-lenged him by saying that if no one shows any interestin the grove there will be no incentive to protect itfrom coffee planters. Jackie claims that his childrenhave shown some interest. Such an interest must becultivated. Children need an adult to guide them andreinforce the grove’s value. Before we left and slippedon our shoes, Jackie gave us a detailed list of the birdsthat live in the grove and the tree fruits and seeds thatthey are responsible for digesting and dispersingJackie has this knowledge that can only be learnedfrom spending time in and observing life within thegrove. Maybe he does not yet realize he could be theone to instill others with awe and respect.

The immediate surroundings of the Kiratla IshwaraDK, Kembatti colony and the Iyappa Ishwara DK re-flect some elements of the environmental balance ofthe traditional Indian village pattern, the ecological re-lationship between human settlements, forests andwater resources. In these locations there is a sacredgrove and at the two larger DK sites there is densewoodland and forest sanctuary. The traditional ecol-ogy of the Hindu village also includes a water "tank",or reservoir of rainwater. The monsoon rains collect inthese depressions, storing a permanent supply of wa-ter. The stone tank located below the two twin sacredtrees at Kiratha Ishwara’s temple has dried up and hasnot been well maintained. The stones are almost com-pletely covered with weeds and moss. The tank is sur-rounded by shaded footpaths indicating the tank wasonce a refreshing, resting spot. Paddy fields are an-other ecological component. These ripening fields re-flect the merger of water and land resources. They alsocomplete the identity of the Hindu village as a self-sufficient entity, both spiritually and physicallynourishing.

Rama6 entered the denseforestHe saw a mandata ofashrams...

Ashrams abundant in fTuits and delicious roots,Surrounded by towering treesLaden with lusciousfruits

raThe Ramayana

The Devara Kadu surrounding the Sri RameshwaraTemple at Irpu is one of the largest contiguous grovesin southern Coorg approximately 125 acres. Cas-cading behind the temple is the Lakshmana ThirthaHoly Falls. In 1892 several families decided to enhanceboth their karma and position in society by donating120 acres to the god Rama. Another family donated anadditional 3.5 acres in 1903. Behind the temple com-plex the trees extend up to the hilltops. A Brahminfamily maintains the temple and performs daily pujas.The priest’s family and ten other families have builtsmall mud houses to the left of the temple at the baseof a slope.

The Forest Department allows the collection of fire-wood, fallen branches and green lops and tops fromthe forest and has ignored recent encroachments. Thepriest earns Rs.150 per month (US$ 5.00) plus one kilo-gram of rice for his family of five per day. Since this sti-pend is insufficient to support his family, he took overfive acres of forest to plant coffee and plantains. Thepriest claims that Forest Department officers arefriendly enough to the local Coorgs in the area, but notoverly friendly to local plantation owners who havemigrated from Kerala. Then again, the Coorgs are notnice to migrants either. Local people cooperate withthe Forest Department to catch and arrest migrants il-legally cutting trees in the grove. Coorgs who commitsimilar acts receive only a verbal warning.

thought migrants might be committing "illegal"acts because they did not respect or were not aware ofthe local sanctions and the forest’s sanctity. This is notnecessarily the case. As with any set of rules and regu-lations, some migrants abide by them and some do not.However, the most clever individuals clear areas in thegrove and then build a small temple to consecrate thespot and thereby protect themselves from eviction.

The priest complains that people do not come toIrpu to worship at the temple, but to take familysnapshots in front of the waterfalls. Very few peoplepay for the ritual offerings. To defray the cost of sup-plies and temple maintenance, the priest now chargesa one-rupee entrance fee (three cents) to the falls. Inless than a year entrance fees have generated morethan enough for annual upkeep.

Villagers near Irpu have seen evidence of deer,wild boar, wolf, tiger, panther, cheetah and bison inthe grove. One person claims to have seen a pythoneating a small deer three years ago. A grove as largeas this and undisturbed by roads has excellent poten-tial as a wildlife refuge. It probably is. A local non-governmental organization called Unification ofCoorg is fighting to maintain sacred groves as theyare, and to reclaim areas that have been illegally con-verted into coffee and exotic-timber-species planta-tions. The contribution of sacred groves in sustainingCoorg’s indigenous flora and fauna has no "scien-tific" basis. Could Coorg forest history be recreatedfrom serious studies of large contiguous groves like

Institute of Current World Affairs 9

The h’pu Sri RameshwaraDevara Kadu Temple

the one found in Irpu? The presence of groves in thisone tiny district is a pilot study of the contribution ofreligious culture in the preservation of biodiversitywaiting to happen. Without studies comparing the bi-ological wealth of sacred groves, "natural" forest andperhaps Coorg’s Nagarhole National Park we willnever know the groves’ true ecological value.

Economic forces are chipping away at the DevaraKadus. Since the Indian government liberalized itseconomy in 1991, coffee farmers have been requiredto sell only 50 percent of their produce to the Indiangovernment. The remaining 50 percent can be sold onthe international market (M.G. Chandrakanth, pers.comm.). With a shortfall in production from Brazilthe price of coffee on the international market hassoared, and so has land grabbing in Coorg

Twelve-months in the darksome forest by hertrue and chosen lord,

Sweet Savitri served his parents by herthought and deed and word,

Bark of tree supplied her garments drapedupon her bosom faiT;

Or the red cloth as in ashrams holy women love to weaT;

Round her sylvan greenwoods blossomed"neath a cloudless Indian sky,

Flocks of pea-fowls gorgeous plumagedjqew before her wondering eye...

around these pillars. These have been retained for dec-oration. This visit is a courtesy call; Bachrariyan is agood friend of Nagaraja. solicit this lifelong-Coorgresident’s opinion concerning the area’s sacred groves.

"Sacred groves are meant to maintain trees, animalsand birds. The trees grow because their seeds are dis-persed by the birds. Now, of course, all hunting is

prohibited, but back then traditional hunting was pro-hibited only in these groves. Elsewhere we huntedwild cat and boar, monitor lizards, pygmy hog, por-cupine, squirrel and deer. All animals with four legs."

He confirmed Jackie’s prediction of the sacredgroves’ fate. "Before people feared the gods and andthe Forest Department. Now people take the law intotheir own hands. Since independence all the ruleshave floated away. Civilization and education are theproblems. Earlier there were leaders and people fol-lowed. Now the son does not listen to the father andthe wife does not listen to the husband. People workless and consume more. People drink, cut down theDevara Kadu, plant coffee and drink some more. Thenext ten years could seal the fate of our sacredgroves." The future of his ancestral village, he forseesas just as bleak: anarchy, and the strong people willtake over this weak government. The British govern-ment was very strong. Their policy was, "Do as said,not according to your whims and fancies."

Book V; The Mahabharata

After the setting of the sun we reached our final des-tination: the home of a nearly toothless, seventy-year-old Coorg coffee farmer. Bachrariyan lives in a tradi-tional Coorg structure with a sloping tile roof and anopen verandah. In his front courtyard stand two or-nately-carved stone pillars. Before the advent of mod-ern technology Coorg women would thresh rice

When asked about the role of sacred groves in edu-cating today’s youth he craned his neck towards Naga-raja and Chandrakanth and said, "The only peoplewho do education with these sacred groves are thesetwo. You came all the way from America, didn’t you?"

Best regards,

Cynthia

10 CMC-14

SOURCESChandrakanth, M.G. et al. 1990. Temple forests in India’s forest de-velopment. Agroforeshy systems 11: 199-211.

Chandrakanth, M.G. and Jeff Romm. 1991. Sacred Forests, SecularForest Policies and People’s Actions. Natural Resomces Join hal 31:741-756.

Chandrakanth M.G. and M.G. Nagaraja. 1994. Letter to the Editor.Forest, Trees and People Newsletter. No 23

Chinnappa, J. Coorg, the land of Kodavas. The Hindu. 6 May 1995.

Dutt, R.C. 1995. The Maha-bharata: Epic of the Bharatas. Delhi: CrestPublishing House. 150 pp.

Moegling, Rev. H. 1855. Coog Memoirs: An account of Coog and theCoorg Mission. Bangalore: Wesleyan Mission Press. 219 pp.

Lal, P. 1989. The Ramayana of Valmiki. Delhi: Vikas PublishingHouse. 185 pp.

Prime, R. 1995. Hinduism and Ecology: Seeds of huth. Delhi: MotilalBanarsidass Publishers. 118 pp.

Thurston, E. 1909. Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Volume IV.Madras: Government Press.

Whitehead, Rev. H. 1921. The Village Gods of South Indh. 2nd ed.London: Oxford University Press. 164 pp.

Yellappa Reddy, A.N. Personal Communication. 6 June 1995.

ENDNOTES1. Saraca indica, a small tree with red flowers. The birth of Buddhatook place under this, an Ashoka tree. The bark is bitter and usedas an herbal remedy for ulcers, indigestion and vaginal infections.

2. The rich orange-red flowers of the Curcuma zedomia tree com-monly known as the flame-of-the-forest tree.

3. One of the sacred rivers of India joining the Ganges River atAllahabad.

4. Wife of Rama. The goddess of agricultural fertility. Unearthed byher father when he was plowing a field.

5. The traditional Hindu greeting in India. It consists of pressingthe palms together and raising them to one’s chest or head, whilesimultaneously bowing one’s head.

6. Hero of the Ramayana.Institute of Current World Affairs

Author: Institute of Current World AffairsTitle: ICWA Letters South AsiaISSN: 1083-4257

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