Census of Sacred Groves in Cape Comorin, Peninsular India
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36808/if/2019/v145i2/144283Keywords:
Biodiversity, Conservation, Kanyakumari, Spiritual, Sacred Groves.Abstract
Sacred groves are tracts of virgin forest that are left untouched by the local communities, harbours rich biodiversity and are protected by the local people for their spiritual and religious significance. They are the immaculate patches of native biodiversity that are preserved in their original state. They are the sites to conserve habitats and serve as sanctuaries for endemic species. During the field survey, 289 sacred groves were identified from Kanyakumari district in which Vilavancode taluk possess 155 (54%), followed by Kalkulam 101 (35%), Thovalai 19 (6%) and Agateeswaram 14 (5%) taluks of the district. Totally 614 plant species were recorded from the studied groves. Most of the sacred groves are governed by a single family (Thani Kaavu). Nagaraja was worshiped commonly as main deity or along with other deities. Ficus benghalensis and Ficus religiosa were the dominating sacred trees. These conservation pockets of biodiversity are on the verge of extinction. So we should take necessary steps to conserve biodiversity by conserving these precious groves.References
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