Sacred grove
Sacred groves or sacred woods are groves of trees that have special religious importance within a particular culture. Sacred groves feature in various cultures throughout the world.
They were important features of the mythological
During the Northern Crusades of the Middle Ages, conquering Christians commonly built churches on the sites of sacred groves. The Lakota and various other North American tribes regard particular forests or other natural landmarks as sacred places. Singular trees which a community deems to hold religious significance are known as sacred trees.
In history
Ancient Greece and Rome
The most famous sacred grove in mainland Greece was the oak grove at Dodona. Outside the walls of Athens, the site of the Platonic Academy was a sacred grove of olive trees, still recalled in the phrase "the groves of Academe".
In central Italy, the town of
A sacred grove behind the House of the
In the town of Spoleto, Umbria, two stones from the late third century BCE, inscribed in archaic Latin, that established punishments for the profanation of the woods dedicated to Jupiter (Lex Luci Spoletina) have survived; they are preserved in the National Archeological Museum of Spoleto.[4]
The Bosco Sacro (literally sacred grove) in the garden of Bomarzo, Italy, lends its associations to the uncanny atmosphere.
Lucus Pisaurensis,
The city of
Ancient Near East
There are two mentions on this tradition in the Bible:
And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of God.
- —Genesis 21:33
and
where the women wove hangings for the grove.
- —II Kings 23:7
Excavations at
.Baltic polytheism
A sacred grove is known as alka(s) in Lithuanian and elks in Latvian, however, the terms are also sometimes used to refer to natural holy places in general.[10]
The first mention of Baltic sacred groves dates back to 1075 when
For
I first reached Mummel and then passed through Courland, reaching the Curonian king, where we had to watch his pagan superstitions. Since Christmas was approaching, they went hunting in their holy forest, where they do no hunting and do not cut a single rod throughout the rest of the year. All that they now hunted there: roe deer, red deer and hares, they skinned, cooked and placed on a long table. They fastened a large number of wax candles to the table, for the souls of their parents, children and relatives. After this, standing and walking to and fro, they ate and drank, and forced us to do likewise. Later, they brought an empty beer keg and beat on it with two sticks, and the men and women, as well as the children, danced around the table, something that continued for the whole night. When they went to bed one after another, they invited us to eat and take with us what we would, since they would not eat what was left over, but would give it to the dogs. Neither did they want to take any payment from us for what we had eaten.
— Reinhold Lubenau (20 December 1585)[12]
Celtic polytheism
The Celts used sacred groves, called nemeton in
Nemetons were often fenced off by enclosures, as indicated by the German term Viereckschanze – meaning a quadrangular space surrounded by a ditch enclosed by wooden palisades.
Many of these groves, like the sacred grove at Didyma, Turkey are thought to be nemetons, sacred groves protected by druids based on Celtic mythology. In fact, according to Strabo, the central shrine at Galatia was called Drunemeton.[15] Some of these were also sacred groves in Greek times (as in the case of Didyma), but were based on a different or slightly changed mythology.
Germanic paganism
Trees hold a particular role in Germanic paganism and Germanic mythology, both as individuals (sacred trees) and in groups (sacred groves). The central role of trees in Germanic religion is noted in the earliest written reports about the Germanic peoples, with the Roman historian Tacitus stating that Germanic cult practices took place exclusively in groves rather than temples. Scholars consider that reverence for and rites performed at individual trees are derived from the mythological role of the world tree, Yggdrasil; onomastic and some historical evidence also connects individual deities to both groves and individual trees. After Christianization, trees continue to play a significant role in the folk beliefs of the Germanic peoples.
Today
Africa
Benin and Togo
Across Benin and Togo (Dahomey Gap, West Africa), sacred forests form islands of biodiversity in the middle of overgrazed, woody, semiarid savannahs and croplands.[16] Due to their tendency to be maintained over long periods of time, the sacred forests contain valuable remnants of ecological communities from the once extensive forests.[17] Soils in these forests store significant amounts soil carbon as both soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil inorganic carbon (SIC).[18] Soil inorganic carbon is an important carbon sink because it preserved over a longer time frame than the soil organic carbon.[18] There is a high potential for development of the soils for potential carbon sequestration.[18]
Ghana
Sacred groves are also present in
The
Kenya
There are many groups of trees and groves that remain sacred to local indigenous populations, such as the Kikuyu, the Maasai, and the Mbeere tribe of central Kenya.[23] In 2008, the Kaya forests, a group of 10 forest sites spread over 200 km (124 mi), were made a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. They are a series of forests located along the coast of Kenya, accompanied by fortified villages known as kayas. These kayas were originally built in the 16th century but have uninhabited since the 1940s. They are now regarded as sacred sites.[24]
Mount Kenya is a mountain of volcanic origin that stands 5,199 metres (17,057 feet) tall. It has a unique forest and plant ecosystem that holds significant biological and cultural importance, and is home to over 882 plant species.[25] In 1949, it was designated a national park, and in 1978, the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme named it a Biosphere Reserve. It is considered a sacred site by the Kikuyu, who believed that the top of the mountain was the ‘house’ of God.[23]
Ramogi hill is located in the Siaya County of western Kenya. The hill and forest cover a distance of 283 hectares (699 acres) and is home to rich flora including trees, shrubs, flowers, over 100 plant species in total.[26] It is an important historical site for the Luo people of western Kenya, and is said to be the first site they established after migrating from South Sudan. The hill is named after Ramogi, a notable Luo leader. The hill and forests are considered holy and sacred, and the Luo people use the hill for cultural and religious practices, including as a source of herbal medicine and a place of meditation. According to the Luo people, the medicinal plants that grow in the forests of Ramogi hill are considered to have strong healing powers.[23]
Nigeria
The concept of sacred groves is present in
Asia
India
In India, sacred groves are scattered all over the country, and do enjoy protection. Prior to 2002, these forest regions were not recognized under any of the existing laws. But in 2002 an amendment was brought in
The district of Uttara Kannada in Karnataka also harbours a large number of sacred groves.[30]
Around 14,000 sacred groves have been reported from all over India, which act as reservoirs of rare fauna, and more often rare flora, amid rural and even urban settings. Experts believe that the total number of sacred groves could be as high as 100,000. Threats to the groves include urbanization, and
Ritualistic dances and dramatizations based on the local deities that protect the groves are called Theyyam in Kerala and Nagmandalam, among other names, in Karnataka. There are sacred groves in Ernakulam region in a place named Mangatoor in Kerala. Sacred groves are being destroyed as a part of urbanization. The family "Nalukettil Puthenpurayil" still protects sacred groves.
Japan
Sacred groves in Japan are typically associated with Shinto shrines and are located all over Japan. They have existed since ancient times and shrines are often built in the midst of preexisting groves. The Cryptomeria tree is venerated in Shinto practice, and considered sacred.
Among the sacred groves associated with such jinjas or Shinto shrines is the 20-hectare wooded area associated with Atsuta Shrine (熱田神宮, Atsuta-jingū) at Atsuta-ku, Nagoya. The 1500-hectare forest associated with Kashima Shrine was declared a "protected area" in 1953.[33] Today it is part of the Kashima Wildlife Preservation Area. The woods include over 800 kinds of trees and varied animal and plant life.[34]
Okinawa
The
Malaysia
Much of the ways of the ancient inhabitants of
There is a practice of tree planting around houses to the extent that the walls and wooden structures are allowed to give way to the roots of creeping plants, purposely sown at the bases of these structures. With increased migration towards the larger cities, these houses are abandoned and allowed to return to nature. As most traditional Orang Asli and Malay houses are made of only wood, bamboo, rattan and woven palm leaves (being built without using a single nail), the remains of those houses crumble easily into its surrounding.
Besides that, a practice of creating arches of
However, one of the most striking examples of the tree reverence among them can be seen in the
The Malays regard visiting the graves from between sunset to sunrise as a taboo as it is believed that as sunrise is the beginning of the day to mankind, sunset is perceived as the beginning of day to those who dwell in the grave area. Burials are almost always postponed until the next day except in certain cases where it is allowed, provided that additional rules are observed, such as, women and children are not allowed at the night time burial ceremony.
An ancient ritual of renaming the deceased as she or he is laid into the earth is also practiced. The Orang Asli and Malay (see Malaysian names) naming system has a living name and a spirit name, which is given during the ritual of burial. This name is known as nama arwah (spirit name). The living name is usually the given name plus the word 'anak' which means 'son/daughter of' or 'bin' and 'binti' which mean 'son of' or 'daughter of' respectively; followed by the name of the father. When a person dies, the father's name is replaced with his or her mother's name and this is made known during the reading of burial sentences.
Nepal
Granted
is located at Lumbini.Philippines
In the
Thailand
Sacred groves, mostly connected to Thai folk belief, are known to have existed in Thailand since medieval times. Recently, new areas are being marked off as sacred as an environmental movement.
Europe
Estonia
Based on historical data, it is estimated that there are around 2500 sacred natural sites in Estonia, the largest of them covering up to 100 hectares. Although rather exceptional among most of the technologically developed countries, in Estonia both the sacred natural sites and indigenous customs connected to them are still in use. Therefore, the heritage that is connected to sacred natural sites has great importance to the national identity and environment of Estonians.
In a collaboration between followers of Estonian native religion (
The Conservation Plan foresees creating a database which supports researching and managing natural sanctuaries. The database would consist of folkloric, archaeological, natural, historical and other data on sacred natural sites and provide information on the exact location, condition and form of ownership of each site.[52] In 2011 a scandal occurred when a company started clearcutting Rebala's sacred grove nearby Maardu manor due to a misunderstanding between the Environmental Board and the National Heritage Board.[53]
Russia
Both the prechristian Slavic pagans and some Siberian pagans of the modern era considered trees or forests themselves sacred. Throughout the boreal forests of siberia, there are upwards of 600 known sacred groves and over twice that number are estimated to exist. These are most prominent in Komi, Buryatia, Irktusk, and the Sakha Republic.[54]
Finland
Finnish hiisi sites are locations where the dead and spirits of ancestors are worshipped and respected. While the exact definition of the word hiisi is still unclear, they are often describes as situated on the top of stony mountains or hills and are often close to water.[55] Hiisi sites are considered holy groves.[56] In 1967, the linguist Mauno Koski produced a list of hiisi sites in his doctoral thesis. In list, he mentions 14 possible hiisi sites, mostly from the provinces of Southwest Finland, Satakunta, and Häme.[57] The word hiisi is used in archaeological literature as denoting a pre-Christian burial site or sacred grove, and the negative connotations of the word (devil, demon) probably developed during Christian times.[55]
Latvia
There are three known sacred groves associated with the seven
Lithuania
There are around 40 known sacred groves and forests in Lithuania. Lithuanian archaeologist Vykintas Vaitkevičius has grouped some of the sacred forests and groves according to the components šventas (13), alka (11) and gojus (more than 520) in their name.[11]
Poland
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2021) |
United States
The Lakota and various other North American tribes consider particular forests or other natural landmarks to be sacred. This is one of the reasons that there has been recent dispute over the nullification of acknowledgment of Native American reservation land by the US government and an attempt to compensate Native Americans for the reacquisition of this sacred space.[58][circular reference]
Ecology
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2024) |
Sacred groves have been found to harbor more biodiversity than surrounding areas.[59][60]
In fiction
- J. R. R. Tolkien included many magical trees and woods in his fictional writings which he based on English and Norse mythology.
- George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire features "godswoods", sacred groves containing sacred trees, notably "weirwood" trees but also oaks, et al.
- In The Legend of Zelda video game series there is a location called the Sacred Grove in Hyrule, usually depicted as a gateway to the Temple of Time and thus the Sacred Realm, one of the most important locations in the series' backstory.[citation needed]
- In MTV's Teen Wolf, a sacred tree known as a nemeton serves as a beacon for supernatural creatures and retained some of its power even after being cut down.
- In the Hayao Miyazaki animated film My Neighbor Totoro the large tree in which the Totoros live is modeled after a 2000-year-old sacred camphor tree in Japan.
- James Cameron's Avatar, the natives of Pandora, the Na'vi, live in a massive tree called Hometree and at the center of their sacred grove is the Tree of Souls.
See also
- Sacred related
- Sacred trees
- Sacred mountain
- Sacred natural site
- Sacred space
- Sacred waters
- General
References
Citations
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- ^ "See the incredible "church forests" of Ethiopia". Environment. 2019-01-18. Archived from the original on March 4, 2021. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
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- ^ National Archeological Museum of Spoleto Archived 2006-05-08 at the Wayback Machine website entry for the exhibit of the inscribed stones
- ^ a b "Lucus Pisaurensis". Agriturismo nelle Marche - Il Pignocco Country House.
- ^ "History of Pesaro, Italy". www.italythisway.com.
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- ^ Herodotus, v.119. Herodotus adds that "the Carians are indeed the only people we know of to conduct sacrifices to Zeus Stratios"; the connection of the presiding deity at Labraunda to Hellene Zeus is simply interpretatio graeca.
- ^ . Retrieved January 20, 2020.
- ^ a b Vaitkevičius, Vykintas (2003). "Alkai: A study on Baltic sacred places" (PDF). Retrieved January 20, 2020.
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- ^ Horace L. Jones, ed. and tr. The Geography of Strabo. Vols 1-8, containing Books 1-17. Harvard University Press and Heinemann, 1917–32
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- ^ Entry at the United Nations Division of Sustainable Development
- ^ Michael O'Neal Campbell, Traditional forest protection and woodlots in the coastal savannah of Ghana, Environmental Conservation (2004), 31: 225-232 Cambridge University Press
- ^ Boakye Amoako-Atta, Preservation of Sacred Groves in Ghana: Esukawkaw Forest Reserve and its Anweam Sacred Grove, Working Papers, South-South Co-operation Programme for Environmentally Sound Socio-Economic Development in the Humid Tropics, UNESCO
- ^ C. Dorm-Adzobu, O. Ampadu-Agyei, and P. Veit; Religious Beliefs and Environmental Protection: The Malshegu Sacred Grove in Northern Ghana; World Resources Institute and African Centre for Technology Studies, Washington, D.C., 1991
- ^ a b c Muhando, Jacob (2005). "Sacred sites and environmental conservation: a case study of Kenya". African Journal of Indigenous Knowledge Systems. 4 (1) – via Kenya Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge.
- ^ Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
- ^ UNEP-WCMC (2017-05-22). "MOUNT KENYA NATIONAL PARK / NATURAL FOREST". World Heritage Datasheet. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
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- ^ Entry at the UNESCO website
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- ^ A series of articles in the journal Down to Earth on sacred groves
- ^ Gadgil, Madhav. "Sacred Groves and Sacred Trees of Uttara Kannada".
- ^ Malhotra, K. C., Ghokhale, Y., Chatterjee, S. and Srivastava, S., Cultural and Ecological Dimensions of Sacred Groves in India, INSA, New Delhi, 2001
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- ^ Secretariat of the Convention on Biodiversity: "Protected Areas in Today's World: Their Values and Benefits for the Welfare of the Planet," CBC technical Series No. 36.
- ^ A guide Archived 2007-01-24 at the Wayback Machine to Japan's sacred forests at kateigaho.com
- ^ Terry, Philip. (1914). Terry's Japanese empire, p. 479.
- ^ Shimogamo-jinja: "Tadasu-no-mori (Forest of justice)"
- ^ Asato Susumu, From Gusuku to Utaki : Okinawa’s Sacred Areas from an Archeological Perspective Archived 2007-06-28 at the Wayback Machine, Board of Education of Urasoe
- ^ Wonder Okinawa: World Heritage site inclusion
- ^ a b Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "World Heritage Committee Inscribes 46 New Sites on World Heritage List". UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
- ^ a b "Lumbini, the Birthplace of the Lord Buddha". UNESCO. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
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- ^ "Lumbini, the Birthplace of the Lord Buddha – UNESCO World Heritage Centre". Whc.unesco.org. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
- ^ ""Gautama Buddha (B.C. 623-543)" by T.W. Rhys-Davids, The World's Great Events, B.C. 4004-A.D. 70 (1908) by Esther Singleton, pp. 124–35".
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- ^ Gocuyo, Raquel C. "Experiencing Healing Rituals of the Philippines". Windows to ICH. Vol. 26. Intangible Cultural Heritage Courier of Asia and the Pacific, United Nations. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
- ^ A. L. Kroeber (1918). "The History of Philippine Civilization as Reflected in Religious Nomenclature". Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History. XXI (Part II): 35–37.
- ^ Ferdinand Blumentritt (1894). "Alphabetisches Verzeichnis der bei den philippinischen Eingeborenen üblichen Eigennamen, welche auf Religion, Opfer und priesterliche Titel und Amtsverrichtungen sich beziehen. (Fortsetzung.)". Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes. Vol. 8. Orientalisches Institut, Universität Wien. p. 147.
- ^ Walker, Timothy (9 June 2017). "How the 'sacred forests' of Palawan maintain balance between man and nature". Philippine Lifestyle News. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
- ^ "Forests of Apo now sacred grounds". SunStar Philippines. 22 March 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
- ^ Ahto Kaasik (2012) Conserving Sacred Natural sites in Estonia, in J-M Mallarach; T. Papayannis & R. Väisänen, editors. the Diversity of Sacred Lands in Europe. Proceedings of the Third Workshop of the Delos Initiative – Inari/Aanaar 2010, pages 61-74. IUCN, WCPA & Metsähallitus.
- ^ Tammik, Ott (8 April 2011). "Heritage Board Halts Clearcutting of Sacred Grove". Eesti Rahvusringhääling. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- ^ "Sacred Groves: How the Spiritual Connection Helps Protect Nature".
- ^ .
- ^ "Sights and History of Hiidenportti". Nationalparks.fi. Retrieved 2024-02-17.
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Further reading
- Taylor, Isaac (1864). Words and places: or, etymological illustrations of history, ethnology, and geography. New York: Macmillan. OCLC 13735328.
External links
Media related to Sacred groves at Wikimedia Commons