0087-A1

Religious and Spiritual Values of Forest Plants in Nepal

K.P. Acharya^[1]

ABSTRACT

Forests provide food, medicine, energy, shelter, wood and non-wood products to sustain life on earth. Dependency on forests to support subsistence-farming systems has been of paramount importance in Nepal. In addition, there have been numerous essential uses of forest plants in the life system of the Nepalese. These are cultural and spiritual dimensions of forest plant uses. The paper examines how the socio-cultural and spiritual values in Nepal influence the way Nepalese communities perceive plants, and how religious beliefs and practices affect the way plants are understood, utilized and managed.

It was found that about 80 plant species are used in socio-cultural festivals. These plants are essential to start all religious festivals and one cannot imagine completing any religious rituals without them. It was observed that specific species are used for special purposes and festivals. The frequency of requirements varies from daily, seasonal, annual, and periodic to occasional. The nature of the plant species varies from annual herbs to big-sized trees. However, due to loss of species and migration to urban areas, some cultural changes have been occurred. The paper is a detailed investigation of the use of forest flora and fauna for social, cultural and spiritual purposes.

INTRODUCTION

The Hindu Kingdom of Nepal extends 800 km east to west along the southern slopes of the Himalayas in central Asia. It is a land-locked country located between 80 4' and 88 12' east longitude and 26 22' and 30 27' north latitude. Its total land area is 147,181 km2 and the borders are contiguous with India in the west, south and east and with the People's Republic of China in the north. More than 80 percent of the area is covered by rugged hills and mountains including Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) and seven other of the worlds highest peaks (HMG 1989). According to the 2001 population census, the total population of Nepal is 31million, with an annual growth rate of 2.10 percent (CBS 2002). The economy largely depends on the use of it’s natural resources base and is dominated by the agrarian sector. More than 80 percent of the people depend on subsistence farming and more than 80 percent of the economically active population is engaged in subsistence agriculture.

The forests in Nepal are very important from a socio-cultural and economic point of view. During the 1960’s only fuelwood was recognized as an important forest product (Eckholm 1976). However, a closer look in recent years has revealed that farm, forestry and livestock husbandry are three highly integrated constituents of the hill farming system and can not be separated from each other (Gilmour and Fisher 1991; Mahat 1987). The studies describing the use and importance of forest and plants in the area of medicinal values, tourism, agricultural tools and implements, households' uses such as furniture, timber, fuelwood energy, foods and beverages and other uses has been well documented (Acharya 2002; Gautam 2001; NBAP 2001; Malla 2000; Edwards 1996; HMG 1989; Gilmour and Fisher 1991; Mahat 1987). It can be said that forest plays a vital role to support food security situation of rural framers in Nepal. Aside from their values as source of energy, medicine and raw materials, plants are important to man in other ways. These are social, cultural and spiritual dimensions of forest uses, which have been less studied and documented in Nepal.

Rituals values of plants

All Hindu families in Nepal and in India have to perform pujas (religious rituals) on certain occasions and is itself partially responsible for procuring the ritual objects necessary for them (Pohle, 1990). These could be daily puja, seasonal, monthly, annual, periodic and occasional. There is no religious ritual, which does not require plants and their products. Traditions Hindu Books such as Ramayana, Mahabharata, Veds, all put intention to preserve forest as a part of the cultural heritage. An attempt has been made to return to the sources of traditional cultural value in order to record and document the treasure of knowledge that still exits with different caste and ethnic community. Recently, few ethno-botanical studies on some caste or tribes have been conducted. However, these attempts have ignored detailed study on spiritual and cultural values of plants in heterogeneous Hindu dominated Nepalese society that gives higher social recognition on it. Therefore, this paper attempts to investigate and document cultural and spiritual values of plants species in a Nepalese society from mid hills of Nepal.

Hindu religion and rituals

The recent census, in 2001 revealed that about 80.61 % of the populations were adherents of the Hindu religion followed by Buddhists (10.74%), Islam (4.19%), and remaining by Christians, Jains and animists (CBS 2002). The Hindu religion believes that the world is governed by supernatural beings that play various roles of construction (Brahma), continuation (Bishnu) and destruction (Shiva). Many of the major deities have a number of different forms, each requiring ritual worship at different times and in different ways (Deep 1982). According to traditional belief, sodash sanskar (Six in numbers) must be completed before acting as a human being and all activities in this sanskar demand the use of plants and their products for example all most all Hindus and ethnic groups cremate their dead in prescribed manner (Bista 1987), consuming a great deal of fuel each year.

Forest management and religious forest

The practices of maintaining and managing religious forest and its potential to incorporate to community forestry have been seen as an important way to manage forest in Nepal. Ingles (1994) argued that religious beliefs and practices affect the way forests are perceived and managed in Nepal. Forests are also affected by activities such as tree worship; establishment and maintenance of scares sites in forests, religious festivals and rituals conducted within the forest. Moreover, religious forests provide refugia for species, which may otherwise have become locally extinct. Religious forests are not harvested and there is a belief that it is devoted in the name of the god.

Hindus and their Dharma

Nepalese society places a high value on dharma. Gyawali (1987) defined dharma as correct lifestyles of living in harmony with one's nature in a world of perpetual change, a lifestyle in harmony in three spheres; the philosophical, the social and the environmental. Various religious rituals and social activities are carried out to observe dharma. During the religious rituals and ceremonies, one or more deities are worshipped using actions, process and products prescribed by texts or priests or local tradition (Ingles 1994). The social activities includes the construction of temples, schools, rest houses for pilgrims, construction of drinking water taps, donating to charity, constructing bridges, roads, chautara (resting place). All these activities require use of plants or plants products.

METHODOLOGY

The study was conducted in Kusma, Siwalaya Village Development Committee, Parbat of western development region of Nepal. It was selected based on the criteria such as familiarity (hometown) of researcher with the village and accessibility. The semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, informal discussions and key informants surveys were carried out in order to collect information from local people. The principle of triangulation was applied to verify the information.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Roles and values of plants and their products

Different pants and their products are essential with no replacement to perform various religious rituals. This practices is higher particularly in rural areas as the case study area. Some plants species are highly scared and worshipped such as Ficus religiosa, F. bengalensis, F. glomerata, Magnifera indica, and F. glaberrima, Dsemotachya bipinnata, Ocimum spp and Phyllanthus emblica. Appendix 1 presents the list of plants species and worshipped goddesses. Soon after 11 days of birth to death and all intermediate ritual and cultural functions require plants and their products. Appendix 2 presents glossary of Nepalese term and Appendix 3 includes detailed list of plant species and their uses in different rituals ceremonies.

Number and nature of species

It was found that more than 80 different plant species and their products are required to perform religious and cultural festivals in the study area. The nature of species varies from annual herbs, climber, palm trees, shrub to big sized trees and their parts. These are purely wild to domesticated. With increasing development different kinds of flowers are used than were traditional used. However, there are some plants products for which there is no substitute such as Dsemotachya bipinnata and bamboos used to transport dead body up to the cremate places. The most commonly used part in various ceremonies are leaf and flowers. Other parts used are branches, stems, fruits, bark and roots. These part(s) of individual plants are either used in individual basis or are used to produce composite products.

Tree worships and culture

In Hindu theology, specific plant and trees species are deemed to be incarnations, or symbols of deities and other supernatural forces and must be worshipped (Ingles 1994). Harvesting of worship tree was thought to be against worshipped god e.g. F. religiosa is not harvested easily and there is religious merit by planting such worshipped trees is still common.

Uses

The plants and their products must offer and are essential for the purpose of religious rituals or incense or decorative values or prayed for god. Some of the interesting and important uses and values are pointed below.

• The pancha bhallap is made of leaves of five tree species (Ficus religiosa, F. bengalensis, F. glomerata, Magnifera indica, and F. glaberrima) must be offered to start any ritual functions.

• The weaving of different kinds of leaves and flowers in a rope made of Eulaliopsis binnata is called toran, which must hanged, around the ritual performing place called Mandap or Jangya.

• 365 small stems of a shrub Solanum tubersum called datoon must be tooth brushed in tija by all adult women.

• The beds of Gompherna globasa flowers and fruits of Jungles regia must be offered to brothers by sisters in tihar as a symbol of long life.

• Trees marriage is practiced which involves the figurative marriage of one to another for example Ficus religiosa to a nearby F. bengalensis.

• The Ocimum spp is planted in special day and grown up for 4 months and is marriaged. The practice of everyday lightening in the evening at the Ocimum spp mandap is most common.

• In a Newar family, there is a culture called bel bibaha, where a daughter must be marriage with a Aegle marmelos before mensuration.

• Brahmin and Chhetri must hang threads made of cotton around their shoulders after bratabandha.

• The sticks made of Prunnus cerasoides and Butea monosperma are essentials for bratabandha.

• The sal leaves plates are essential for all ritual functions and is regarded as chokho (uncontaminated).

• The weeds made up of fruit of Elaeocarpus sphaericus seeds or Ocimum spp stem are used to pray the god.

• The Areca catechu fruits are essentials for all ritual functions.

• The firewood from Ficus benjamina is required to burn in fireworks at the centre of the Mandap.

• The death body must be transported in green bamboo up to the cremate places where it has to be burned with fuel wood.

Resources accessibility

The practices to access the different plants product varies from place to place and products to products. In rural areas plants and their products are easily accesses in private or communal or governmental forest and special arrangements have been made to obtain forest products from community forests. In urban areas some common products such as Sal leaves are available in market. Some difficult products are make accessible through governmental agencies such as District Forest Office provides firewood for burning the dead body in Kathmandu. The users collect most of the forest products from the forest area free of cost and as required all the time. Some plants products such as Dsemotachya bipinnata is delivered at home by the priest. Some products such as Aegle marmelos, Ficus religiosa are available from public places and are extracted in required amount. However, some plants such as Eulaliopsis binata is grown in private farm or is collected from the forest. In case of public managed forest known as community forestry, in general all plants products for such proposes are available free of cost and all the time if are available in the forest.

Community involvement and innovations

The trade of Shorea robusta leaves and its products has been identified as a source of income to the community forest user groups in mid hills region of Nepal (Gautam and Devkota, 1999). However, the detail process and approach, which needs to be adopted by the forest user groups, has not been identified. Therefore, there is a need to identify all potential products either in raw or semi-process that can be produced by the community with their potentiality at community level. Moreover, establishment of small processing plants at forest community level will create employment opportunity.

Ecological implications

The trees and plants are regarded to be incarnations or symbols of the gods or deities and therefore tree worship became more common. The increased realization of the importance of trees would be helpful to solve the problem of environmental imbalance. One of the approaches towards this direction could be tree worshipping in Nepal. The creation and maintenance of religious forest has positive impacts on ecological and biodiversity implications. The Nepal Biodiversity Action Plan (NBAP 2001) has emphasized to conduct biodiversity assessment in religious forest all over the country and has speculated that there could be few species, which are preserved only in such religious forest. There are 40 religious forests in Kathmandu valley only, (NBAP, 2001). The maintenance of religious forest especially in hilly regions has positive impacts on soil conservation and microclimate conservation.

Conclusion

The plants products of their parts are utilized for worshiping, essential requirements to prepare for mandap, toran, to present as a gift, decorative vales such as incense or flowers. All flowering plants may be used either as incense or as decorations for the house altar, so that documentation carried out in the various regions contains only a restricted number of plants, those used in particular rituals or serving customarily as incense. It is clear that without the use of plants and their products the religious rituals and cultural values are not completed. Without completing rituals and cultural values life of a Hindu is not completed. Hence a significant number of plants and their products are essential to sustain life system of a Hindu. The detailed investigation covering heterogeneous society with diverse cultural ceremonies, geographical variation will enhance knowledge and understanding of importance of forest trees in Nepalese society.

References

Acharya, K.P. 2002 Twenty-four years of community forestry in Nepal, The International Forestry Review 4(2) 151-156.

Bista, D.B. 1987 People of Nepal Ratna Pustak Bhandar, Kathmandu, Nepal

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Ingles, I.W. 1994. The influence of religious beliefs and rituals on forest conservation in Nepal. Nepal Australia Community Forestry Project, Kathmandu, Nepal.18 pp.

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Appendix 1: List of worshipped plants and their goddesses

Appendix 2 Glossary of Nepalese terms

Nwaran: A ritual ceremony carried out in 11 days of birth to named newborn.

Tija: The third day of the bright fortnight of Bhadra (Aug-Sept), is women's wish making day.

Shivaratri: The middle of the dark fortnight of Falgun (Feb-March) month paying tribute to Lord Shiva.

Tihar: Ritual in which sisters pray for long life of brothers and is also known as festivals of light.

Luto phalne: The first day of Shrawan (July-August) in which diseases like scabies is supposed to be thrown through the use of different plants.

Mandam/Jagnya: A special flat place prepared to conduct ritual functions.

Bratabandha: A ritual functions where a boy is supposed to enter in youth stages and is essential function to be a mankind. It is equivalent to conformation in Christianity.

Dashain: The greatest Hindu Festival and the celebration is centered around the worship of mother goddess, offering tika.

Tika: A mixture of rice grain, yogurts and Kesar placed in foreheads is a symbol of success.

Ratha jatra: It is the celebration for the god of rain and food grain.

Sodash sanskar: The six cultural festivals in the life of a Hindu to be a mankind.

Sanskar: Culture

Toran: The weaving of different kinds of leaves and flowers in a rope made of Eulaliopsis binnata.

Brahmin, Chhetri and Newar: Different castes in Hindu caste system.

Bel bibaha: A ritual function in Newar family where a girl must marry with fruits of Aegle marmelos before monthly period.

Appendix 3: List of plant species and plant products required.