Year: 2013 | Month: December | Volume 2 | Issue 2
An Empirical Study on the Relationship Between Nature Worship and the Preservation of Environment in Some Parts of West Bengal in India
Abstract: <div>In India, especially in the state of West Bengal, there is a tradition of environment preservation in the form of nature worship. A study has been conducted, through primary level field survey, among the indigenous people and the villagers of several districts of West Bengal in India to find out whether there exists any relation between nature worship and the preservation of the environment. The author observed that some particular trees and animals are worshiped by the indigenous people and the villagers of this state. These trees and animals were identified as sacred and people started worshiping them from time immemorial. The author tried to identify the different components of nature that are worshipped by the people residing in different regions of the state. The purpose of the study was also</div><div>to find out whether the identification of sacred grooves had any relation with the beneficial qualities such as economic and medicinal values of that particular tree.The present study revealed that only those trees which have medicinal properties were identified as sacred grooves and incorporated within the religious activities of the indigenous people and villagers of the state. The author also observed that sometimes the religious practices in this region had evolved not out of scriptures but out of necessity and have an important role in the preservation of environment. The author argues that along with the Joint Forest Management programme of the Government, worship of trees has a significant role in preservation of forest in rural areas of Bengal.</div>
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