Sacred Groves and Local Gods: Religion and Environmentalism in South India

Synopsis

Sacred Groves And Local Gods Traces A Journey Through Tamil Nadu, Exploring How The Localized Meanings Attached To Forested Shrines Are Changing Under The Impact Of Globalization And Economic Liberalization. Confounding Simplistic Representations Of Sacred Groves As Sites Of A Primitive Form Of Nature Worship, The Book Shows How Local Practices And Beliefs Regarding Sacred Groves Are At Once More Imaginative, Dynamic, And Pragmatic Than Previously Thought. Kent Argues That Rather Than Being Ancient In Origin, As Has Been Asserted By Other Scholars, The Religious Beliefs, Practices, And Iconography Found In Sacred Groves Suggest Origins In The Politically De-centered Eighteenth Century, When The Tamil Country Was Effectively Ruled By Local Chieftains. She Analyzes Two Projects Undertaken By Environmentalists That Seek To Harness The Traditions Surrounding Sacred Groves In The Service Of Forest Restoration And Environmental Education.--publisher's Description. Introduction: Sacred Groves And Local Gods: Religious Environmentalism In South India -- Fierce Gods And Dense Forest: Sacred Groves Near Madurai -- A Road Runs Through It: Changing Meanings In Malaiyali Sacred Groves In Tiruvannamalai District -- Mixing Botany And Belief: Guardian Deities And Their Forests In The Pondicherry Region -- Soteriology And Stake-holders: The Greening Of The Auroville Plateau 1973-2007 -- Sacrifice And Sacrality: Sacred Grove Restoration Projects Near Chennai. Eliza F. Kent. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [211]-221) And Index.