The Forbidden Forests of Meghalaya
A social worker from Meghalaya’s Chiringmagre village shares how ancient traditions and tribal culture help preserve a patch of pristine biodiversity in Meghalaya’s South Garo Hills
Story by: Witerson M. Sangma
Hear audio snippets of this story
I live in a small village called Chiringmagre in Meghalaya’s South Garo Hills. You have to walk six hours through a river and jungle to reach my village from the nearest road. The path skirts around the densest part of the forest, a section we call the sacred forest or, in Garo, a song kosi.
This is a special place. Outsiders are forbidden from entering the sacred forest. It is a patch of pristine greenery where no one, not even a member of our tribe, can cause any harm to the trees, flowers, or animals there. It has been this way for as long as I can remember, and my forefathers before that. And like any ancient tradition, there is a story behind it.
One of the most unique beliefs of the ancient indigenous Garo people is their faith in the one supreme spirit, who is the creator of all universes and preserver of all living beings. It is believed that man is unworthy of calling him by his name, so he is known by his manifestations and his work. The avatar of the one supreme being that acts as the preserver and protector of humans is known as Kalkame. The Garo people offer sacrifice to him once a year, thanking him for his work and praying for his continued protection.
Listen to a song about the one supreme being’s manifestation as Kalkame, and Witerson’s translation of it:
Traditionally, the place where the sacrifice is offered is preserved as a forest. It is home for different kinds of animals and birds. It is a vast forest area where no one can hunt, kill or harm any living beings, including animals, birds, insects, and even the plants and trees. No one can even touch anything from that area, you cannot even spit there. It is a strong belief that if anyone disobeys, they will get sick, so everyone avoids making any mistakes in a sacred forest.
Chiringmagre’s sacred forest was established in the 17th century when Shri Wanding Ch. Marak, his wife Mejing M. Sangma and the villagers who bought our village land offered the first sacrifice here. It is located about 10 kilometres from Chokpot Block in South Garo Hills district, west of Rongmegre village, and covers an area of 97 bighas.
The practice of offering sacrifice continued till 1989, when it was stopped as most members of our tribe converted to Christianity. Though we no longer offer sacrifice to Kalkame, we have continued to preserve the forest as a village tradition, and will keep doing so in the future as well. Besides a variety of birds, animals and insects, more than 1,000 varieties of trees and plants are found in the sacred forest, including medicinal plants and wild fruit trees.
Hear Witerson talk about the trees of the sacred grove
Besides the fear of the taboo, the reason we’ve been able to continue to protect the forest as a village reserve is due to our tribal culture, which is being kept alive in the northeast of India. One thing that all tribes have in common is their respect for nature.
In our tribe, the elders make decisions for the community and we all abide by them. The forest is our inherited wealth, and everyone in the village must follow the rules made for its protection or face a fine. Lastly, I also try to conduct programs to inform the people of my village about global warming, the impact of cutting trees, and the need to preserve our biodiversity.
Our tribe has created a village group, of which I am the president, to maintain and protect this reserve. We want to look after the forest so it can be a home for a diversity of animals, birds and plants. The forest is also our water catchment area that helps us ensure we will have resources for the future. This way we can also preserve the stone monuments that were erected here by our forefathers.
Our tribes live in the forest and understand the value of using its resources wisely as our survival depends on it. I believe that ancient traditions can play a huge role in designing modern sustainability practices. From them, we can learn to live with nature.
Hear audio snippets of this story
Meet the storyteller
Witerson M. Sangma
Witerson M. Sangma is a social worker, teacher and Global Himalayan Expedition (GHE) project manager for village development projects in Meghalaya. His father was a farmer and he was the second of five children and grew up in poverty. He believes that God has a plan for each one of us, and it was his plan that a child with no money for books would grow up to become a headmaster in a college. And that a person who had no electricity in his own village has now helped to electrify 20 villages in the state.
Global Himalayan Expedition
Global Himalayan Expedition (GHE) is a social enterprise dedicated to development of remote Himalayan communities through sustainable tourism and technology. They focus on providing basic energy access through installation of solar microgrids, creating digital education access through setup of computation labs and generating livelihood opportunities through community tourism. GHE till date has electrified 115 villages in Ladakh and Meghalaya and setup over 50 homestays in the villages.
7 Comments
Divya
I completely agree with the ancient traditions playing a role in modern sustainability. Protecting our forests, the nature is the need of the hour. Happy to hear that that you have been actively conducting programs.
Hope, many people will join and we can all protect our Mother Nature.
Witerson Sangma
Thank you Divya Ji for your kind words.
Malika Virdi
Witerson ji, I am curious to know how you and your fellow villagers enforce the norms to both use and protect your forests. I am also the elected head of our forest commons or Van Panchayat of our village in Uttarakhand and we too try and live in a balanced way with nature. But as our lives and economy integrate with the market, it is becoming challenging. How is it in your region?
Witerson Sangma
Malika Ji, Thanks for asking this. It is a very important question, as it is very difficult to maintain and preserve forests in any area. It works for us as it is related to faith. We believe that whoever breaks the law is punished by God. This belief has helped us to preserve the forest areas.
Secondly, the community understands the requirement of the work and willingly participates. The community, in our villages, plays a vital role in maintaining a complete eco-system.
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Andrea Steell
Thank you for sharing your wonderful stories. It is so good to hear of your love and respect for the land.
Lovkush
Witerson ji, thank you for sharing the story. I have been in Shillong for 2 years now. Reading through your story I was wondering how wonderful it would be to be there in your village and experience it with you. It really fascinates me how you have helped conserve the forest cover and many stories that it has in reserve. I only wish if i could experience and contribute in any manner because I am myself from a small village in MP.
Thank you.
B John Khangnyu
Mr Witerson M Sangma the Great. Happy to learn and hear your stories of preserving forest in a very unique way.