Presenting a thorough examination of the sacred forests of Asia, this volume engages with dynamic new scholarly dialogues on the nature of sacred space, place, landscape, and ecology in the context of the sharply contested ideas of the Anthropocene.
Given the vast geographic range of sacred groves in Asia, this volume discusses the diversity of associated cosmologies, ecologies, traditional local resource management practices, and environmental governance systems developed during the pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial periods. Adopting theoretical perspectives from political ecology, the book views ecology and polity as constitutive elements interacting within local, regional, and global networks. Readers will find the very first systematic comparative analysis of sacred forests that include the karchall mabhuy of the Katu people of Central Vietnam, the leuweng kolot of the Baduy people of West Java, the fengshui forests of southern China, the groves to the goddess Sarna Mata worshiped by the Oraon people of Jharkhand India, the mauelsoop and bibosoop of Korea, and many more. Comprising in-depth, field-based case studies, each chapter shows how the forest’s sacrality must not be conceptually delinked from its roles in common property regimes, resource security, spiritual matters of ultimate concern, and cultural identity.
This volume will be of great interest to students and scholars of indigenous studies, environmental anthropology, political ecology, geography, religion and heritage, nature conservation, environmental protection, and Asian studies.
Edited by:
Chris Coggins,
Bixia Chen
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 234mm,
Width: 156mm,
Weight: 453g
ISBN: 9780367698737
ISBN 10: 0367698730
Series: The Earthscan Forest Library
Pages: 330
Publication Date: 29 January 2024
Audience:
College/higher education
,
General/trade
,
Primary
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
"Introduction: Forests, Rivers, and Civilizations—The Oikos, Polis, and Cosmos of Asia’s Sacred Groves, Part 1 South Asia - Sacred Forests and Human-Environment Relations, 1. The Politics and Poetics of Forested Sacred Natural Sites in East-Central India, 2. ""Come Let Us All Play"": Sacred Groves, Sarna, and ""Green"" Politics in Jharkhand, India, 3. Forest Gods and Forest Conservation: Local Perceptions of Village Sacred Forests in the Bhimashankar Region, Western India, 4. Daikhos—Sacred Groves, Clan Rituals, and Gender Exclusion Among the Dimasas of Assam, 5. Muslim Graveyard Groves: Plant Diversity, Ecosystem Services, and Species Conservation in Northwest Pakistan, 6. Sacred Forests as Sites of Bio-Cultural Resistance and Resilience in Bhutan Can Tamil Sacred Groves Survive Neoliberalism?, Part 2 East Asia - Sacred Forests and Human-Environment Relations, 7. China’s Fengshui Forests: The Fate of Lineage Wind-Water Polities Under Ecological Civilization, 8. Korea’s Sacred Groves—The Maeulsoop: Forest Types, Ecosystem Services, and Current Distribution, 9. Utaki and Ashagi Sacred Forests in the Ryukyu Islands: Vegetation Structure and Conservation Management Challenges, 10. Nostalgia, Restoration, and Reinventions of Sacred Groves in Xishuangbanna, Southwest China Shrine Forests in Honshu, Japan, Part 3 Southeast Asia - Sacred Forests and Human-Environment Relations, 11. Stories of the Trees: Understanding Traditions and Transitions in the Katu Peoples’ Perceptions of Forests in Central Vietnam, 12. The Katu Spirit Landscape: Forests, Ecology, and Cosmology in the Central Annamites, 13. Roles and Importance of Sacred Forests for Biodiversity Conservation in Thailand, 14. The Role of Spirits in Indigenous Ontologies and Their Implications for Forest Conservation in Karen State, Myanmar, 15. Sacred Forests, Sacred Natural Sites, Territorial Ownership, and Indigenous Community Conservation in Indonesia, 16. Governance Must Evolve to Meet New Needs of Indonesian Forest Communities The Sacred Forest of the Orang Rimba Hunter-Gatherers of Sumatra, Part 4 Asian Sacred Forests in Global Perspective - Conclusions and Preludes: The Many Lives of Sacred Forests, Afterword"
Chris Coggins is Professor of Geography and Asian Studies at Bard College at Simon’s Rock, USA. He is editor and author of Mapping Shangrila: Contested Landscapes in the Sino-Tibetan Borderlands (2014, with Emily Ting Yeh); The Tiger and the Pangolin: Nature, Culture, and Conservation in China (2003); and The Primates of China: Biogeography and Conservation Status—Past, Present, and Future (2002). Bixia Chen is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of the Ryukyus, Japan. She is co-editor of Traditional Rural Landscapes in Island Topography in East Asia (2012, with Yuei Nakama).
