Politics of Cultural Commons: A Case Study of Sacred Groves in Central Kerala

[vinay]

Sacred groves or sacred natural sites (SNS) are defined areas of land and bodies of water with considerable socio-cultural and ecological value. This study attempts to analyse SNS using the framework of commons or common-pool resources and understand the implications regarding the access to and ecological sustainability of these sacred spaces. A set of ten groves from an inventory of sacred groves reported by the Institute of Foresters Kerala were chosen using purposive sampling to cover various types of custodianship and communities in the district of Thrissur. This district houses the most famous sacred grove in Kerala and is known for consecrating sacred groves and expunging spirits. A field survey employing an observation schedule and semi-structured interviews were undertaken focusing on the biophysical, socio-cultural, and institutional aspects of the SNS. Understanding the relationship between grove ecosystems and stakeholder communities was the objective of the study. The management of SNS in the study sites does not show much evidence of collective action. There is a tendency of SNS to become ‘club goods’ over a period of time. Regardless of types of custodianship, SNS exhibit properties of common-pool resources from an ecological point of view. Even when customarily managed along caste lines, access was not physically restricted. Recent constructions of concrete boundaries around SNS, conversion of groves to temples, and increasing intensity and frequency of rituals have changed the socio-cultural and ecological character of these spaces. The study shows that the perspective of the commons is inadequate to capture the underlying power dynamics of institutions of SNS. Understanding the transformation of SNS from being ‘open’ and inclusive to closed and elitist temple spaces need a different language of political ecology.

[Khanjan]

This is very insightful. The general perspective around sacred groves is that the biophysical components like certain trees are protected for their sanctity. Their conversion to ‘elitist temple spaces’ is indeed a new phenomenon.

[Purnendu Kavoori]

There is some evidence of tendencies of this sort in the case of Orans in western Rajasthan. I mean the process of enclosure that seemingly accompanies the building of larger temple structures. Our assumption frequently is that the presence of a sacred character lends itself automatically to a sense or culture of commoning. This is true in many cases but not always. once communities invest in elaborating the physical infrastructure of these spaces it is often accompaned by processes of enclosure and indirect exclusion.

By way of example we have seen this pattern in the case of an oran and pond or nadi by the name Sial mata ka Oran. Here is a fairly old nadi and Oran (indicated by age of trees) which has an annual mela or fair. The increasing popularity of the mela has now lead to the construction of a larger temple premises and facilities for devotees. This has been accompanied by an extensive mesh fencing of the sacred grove that forms part of the catchment (or angor) of the nadi. This process of enclosure will probably have consequences of exclusion (most directly for animals) although we have not studied this outcome in particular.

We have seen this sort of pattern happening in other cases in western Rajasthan also. I would not however go to the extent of questioning the relevance or usefulness of a commons framework to understand these processes as suggested by the OP.

[Author]

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