By Abriti Moktan
Originally published by Pennsylvania State University Department of Ecosystem Science and Management

“In the sacred landscape—mountain, river, and land—of the eastern Himalayan region, the sacred groves braid the biodiversity and cultural diversity, contributing to the living bridges of the region’s biocultural conservation..”

“Jal Jangal Jamin”–translates as water forest land– rhetoric, quipped by one of the interviewees, is closely tied to the local communities’ understanding of the sacred groves in the Eastern Himalayan region. These biophysical aspects, along with biodiversity, intersect with local communities’ collective psychosocial imagination and belief systems, engendering sacred groves. These sacred groves are community-conserved sacred forests that are often found to coexist with water sources or springs or lakes. They are maintained and managed through an adaptive governance system, led by the intergenerational transmission of customs and practices that continually evolve. Sacred groves serve as an instrument for local communities to establish their autochthony and, therefore is closely associated with their identity. Additionally, they also serve as geographical spaces for the social anchorage of the traditional ecological knowledge system. In the sacred landscape—mountain, river, and land—of the eastern Himalayan region, the sacred groves braid the biodiversity and cultural diversity, contributing to the living bridges of the region’s biocultural conservation.

Figure1: Pathivara Mukkumlung, an open, natural sacred site, is one of the most revered in the Taplejung district, Nepal, attracting people from far and wide. The sacred Mt Khangchendzonga and Mt Phakthanglung in the backdrop.

In order to understand the tangible and intangible drivers for the continuance of sacred groves, the adaptive strategies adopted by the mountain communities in maintaining them, and the implications of water use patterns for the local water security, we conducted empirical research in the Eastern Himalayan region covering seven sites in the three eastern districts—Taplejung, Panchthar and Ilam—of Nepal and seven sites in the district of Darjeeling in India. This research study focused on transboundary villages and sampled 56 sacred groves in India and Nepal using a set of biophysical, biocultural, and administrative institutional criteria.

Figure 2: Study sites across the transboundary Eastern Himalayan region in India and Nepal.

The data collection instruments included 81 in-depth interviews, 56 structured interviews, 12 resource mappings, and focus group discussions with the local communities of different ethnicities—Rai, Limbu, Lepcha, Sherpa, Tamang, Gurung, Mangar, Thapa, Pradhan, Mukhia, and the Khas community. The nested case study approach helped us identify seven types of sacred groves—devithan, manghim, sacred lake, gumba, rongzibong, sakelathan, and yoga ashram—in the study sites, associated with different forest types from subtropical to temperate, with elevations ranging from 400 to 2500m.

Figure 3: In a conversation at Piple village, Nepal, that helped in understanding the Thebe Kipat, the Indigenous landholding system.

Figure 4: Fascinating conversations centering around the Mundhum—oral Indigenous Knowledge system of the Limbu Indigenous Peoples—that illuminated the interlaced mountains and rivers with the people of the sacred region.

Figure 5: Resource mappings provided an important avenue for exploring local communities’ perceptions of natural resource– Jal Jangal Jamin—management.

These different types of sacred groves, consisting of species such as Michelia sp., Ficus sp., Alnus nepaulensis, Schima wallichii, Bambusa sp., Castanopsis sp., Rhododendron sp., Pinus sp. (to name a few), share a common governing principle of conservation of the sacred trees and medicinal plants, and the local inhabitants can use the spring water if present at these sites. The reigning deities associated with these sacred spaces occupy the centre stage and are the true custodians of nature and culture. The wheel of faith, belief, and the Indigenous knowledge system propels the customs and rituals performed at these sites, which have been observed to evolve over time with the consensus of the local community members.

Figure 6: Sacred groves embodying the Jal Jangal Jamin, across different sites in Darjeeling, where the trees are conserved, and spring water, if present, is available for use.

Irrespective of the different land ownership regimes, prevailing forest management systems, and developmental activities in the region, these sacred spaces are oases safeguarding biocultural diversity. However, these oases are also not free of contestations, conflicts, and gendered practices. There are pluralistic values and meanings associated with them across different ethnic communities, and this study seeks to contribute to that without essentializing the Indigenous communities and recognizing intersectionality within them. Sacred groves in the eastern Himalayan region provide fertile ground for studying them as living social-ecological systems with complex dynamics shaped by the social, political, cultural, and ecological contexts of the study sites.

Acknowledgement

The research was funded by the Goddard chair endowment, the Institute of Energy and the Environment, and the Mountain Sentinels Fellowship. I extend my gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Christopher Scott, for playing an instrumental role in conducting the fieldwork. My doctoral committee members—Dr. Kathryn Braiser, Dr. Elizabeth Boyer, Dr. Stephanie Buechler, and Dr. Allyson Muth have played a crucial role in shaping this research. I am grateful for their unwavering support. The site selections and the contacts in the field were made possible with the help of my external committee member Dr. Sarala Khaling, Dr. Stephanie Lotter, Mr. Ram Rimal, Mr. Gobinda Chhantyal, Ms. Niranti Tumbapo, Mr. Saroj Kangliba, and Mr. Kamal Limbu in Nepal, and Mr. Dinesh Sharma, Mr. Sandeep Limbu, Mr. Thangsuanlian Naulak, Mr. Tenzing Sherpa, and Dr. Saibal Sengupta in Darjeeling. Special thanks to my mentors Dr. Dominique David-chavez, Dr. Mona Chettri, Dr. Duncan McDuie-Ra and Dr. Budhaditya Das, as well as Dr. Bhoj Kumar Acharya, Dr. Rinzi Lama, and Dr. Margarita Fernández for their valuable feedback on the proposal of this research project. Gratitude to the interns, Ms. Nirmita Sharma and Ms. Helina Gurung, who assisted with data collection. I will forever be indebted to all the interviewees, host families, and key resource persons at each study site for sharing the warmth of their hearths and for providing time, generosity, and support.

Huge shout-out to the translators- Mr. Vishnu Gurung, Mr. Birendra Chamling, Mr. Suksing Lepcha, Mr. Ambar Jang Limbu Tumyahang—for their time and excellent work.

Figure 7: Our team members from right, Dr. Christopher Scott, Helina Gurung, Abriti Moktan, and Nirmita Sharma at Ilam in Nepal.

Abriti Nidhirma Moktan is a PhD candidate at the Pennsylvania State University and a 2024 Mountain Sentinels Fellow. She is part of the Environmental Policy Goddard Chair Group, the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus cohort, the Mountain Sentinels fellows, and the Indigenous Land & Data Stewards Lab. Her research interests lie within Environment and Development, Water Security, Biocultural Conservation, and Traditional Ecological Knowledges. She is a native of Darjeeling, India, and belongs to the Tamang Indigenous community from the Himalayan region. For her doctoral thesis, she is studying the governance of community-conserved sacred groves (forests), their relationship to water security, and the adaptive strategies of local communities in conserving these sacred spaces within the complex social-ecological systems of the Khangchendzonga Eastern Himalayan region. Prior to this, she worked in Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Sikkim, India, as a research associate for more than four years on multiple projects. She is a qualitative researcher who firmly believes in the ethos of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary science and is driven to contribute to this realm. She is passionate about research in the mountain ecosystems and the local communities inhabiting the region.

Translation

Translated from English into Nepali by Vishnu Bahadur Gurung, retired In-charge translator and broadcaster, All India Radio, New Delhi, India

Translated from English into Yakthung (Limbu) by Ambar Jang Limbu Tumyahang, Assistant Professor English Education Department, Sanothimi Campus, Tribhuvan University

Translated from English into Chamling (Rai) by Birendra Chamling, Educator

Translated from English into Lepcha by Suksing Lepcha, Lepcha Bard, and Culture Conservator