Asian Agri-History

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access
Open Access Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Restricted Access Subscription Access

Ancient Practices for Water and Forest Conservation followed by Women in Lesser Himalayan Region of Nainital, Uttarakhand, India


Affiliations
1 Department of Agricultural Communication, College of Agriculture, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar 263145, Uttarakhand, India
     

   Subscribe/Renew Journal


An attempt has been made to document the traditional practices followed by women of lesser Himalayan region for the management of water and forest. The area selected for the study was Oakhalkanda and Dhari blocks of district Nainital, Uttarakhand. A sample of 150 respondents from eight villages was interviewed regarding their folk beliefs and traditional practices followed for water and forest conservation. It was observed that the women in the region managed the water and forest resources through folk beliefs like Ganga Dusshera, Basant Panchmi, Kumbh Vivah, Naula Pujan, and throwing coin in river for water management and Sacred groves, Bat savitri, Tulsi pooja, Harela, Cheer bandhana, Phool dei, Mango leaves, Khatarua Sawan ke somvar, and Lut for forest management. Also they had ancient views on water and forest management. The traditional practices like devoting forest to the Gods and Godesses, ceremonies like Maiti movement, Vriksha Abhishek Divas, and Tiladi Divas were prevalent in the area and found to be very effective in conserving forest. The ancient knowledge seems to be the excellent and most effective way in protecting water and forest in lesser Himalayan region.
User
Subscription Login to verify subscription
Notifications
Font Size

  • Agarwal A and Narain S. 1997. Dying Wisdom: Rise, Fall and Potential of India's Traditional Water Harvesting Systems. Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi.

  • Agrawal DP, Shah M, and Jamal S. 2008. Traditional Knowledge sys tems and archaeology: with special reference to Uttarakhand. Pub. Aryan Books International, New Delhi. pp. 31-40.

  • Anonymous. 2004. Annual Report of the Minor Irrigation Department, Government of Uttarakhand.

  • Arora V. 2006. The forest of symbols embodied in the Tholung sacred landscape of North Sikkim, India. Conservation and Society 4(1): 55-83.

  • Banwari OP. 1992. Panchvati: An Indian Approach to Environment. Shri Vinayak Publications, Delhi, India.

  • Best IW and Khan JV. 2010. Research in education. Pub by PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi. pp. 17-18.

  • Dandekar A. 1998. The Warlis and the Dhangars-The Context of the Commons. The Cultural Dimension of Ecology. Edt. Baidyanath Saraswati (ed). Pub by IGNCA and D. K. Printworld Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi. pp 75-89.

  • Das AK. 1998. The Brahmaputra's Changing River Ecology. The Cultural Dimension of Ecology. (Saraswati Baidyanath ed). IGNCA and D K Printworld Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi. pp. 71-74.

  • Fracchia EM. 2006. Colonialism and Development: Reinventing 'Tradition' and Gendered Work In Kumaun, India. B.A. Thesis. University of Oregon. Retrieved from: https : //scholars bank . uor egon . edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1794/2801/fracch ia.pdf. On April 9, 2013.

  • Gururani S. 2002. Forests of Pleasure and Pain: Gendered Practices of Labor And Livelihood in the Forests of the Kumaun Himalayas, India. Gender, Place & Culture. Journal of Feminist Geography 9:229-243.

  • Haddad F, Al Zoubi R, Alaween M, and Shraideh F. 2007. Local Community Participation for Sustainable Water Resource Management. Paper presented at MEDA

  • WATER International Conference on Sustainable Water Management, Tunis, Tunisia . Retrieved from : from http://www.zer0-m.org/medawaterconf/index. htm. On November 11, 2011.

  • Manasi S and Raju KV. 2012. 'Water'-A Heritage Perspective. Identifying the elements of Development Thinking in India-final paper. Presented in ISEC - DF workshop on 25. 1 . 2012 . Retrieved from : http://www.devf.org/Documents/papers/Wate %20Heritage%20Perspective.pdf on May 24, 2013.

  • Sharma KN. 2000. Environmental Protection and Water Reverence in ancient Indian Culture Secretary, International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) 48, Nyaya Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi - 110021, India asin http : //www.scribd.com/ doc/16813661/Environmental Protection and Water Reverence in Vedic Culture by KN Sharma, Secretary ICID.


Abstract Views: 557

PDF Views: 0




  • Ancient Practices for Water and Forest Conservation followed by Women in Lesser Himalayan Region of Nainital, Uttarakhand, India

Abstract Views: 557  |  PDF Views: 0

Authors

Karuna Joshi
Department of Agricultural Communication, College of Agriculture, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar 263145, Uttarakhand, India
Neelam Bhardwaj
Department of Agricultural Communication, College of Agriculture, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar 263145, Uttarakhand, India

Abstract


An attempt has been made to document the traditional practices followed by women of lesser Himalayan region for the management of water and forest. The area selected for the study was Oakhalkanda and Dhari blocks of district Nainital, Uttarakhand. A sample of 150 respondents from eight villages was interviewed regarding their folk beliefs and traditional practices followed for water and forest conservation. It was observed that the women in the region managed the water and forest resources through folk beliefs like Ganga Dusshera, Basant Panchmi, Kumbh Vivah, Naula Pujan, and throwing coin in river for water management and Sacred groves, Bat savitri, Tulsi pooja, Harela, Cheer bandhana, Phool dei, Mango leaves, Khatarua Sawan ke somvar, and Lut for forest management. Also they had ancient views on water and forest management. The traditional practices like devoting forest to the Gods and Godesses, ceremonies like Maiti movement, Vriksha Abhishek Divas, and Tiladi Divas were prevalent in the area and found to be very effective in conserving forest. The ancient knowledge seems to be the excellent and most effective way in protecting water and forest in lesser Himalayan region.

References