Sacred Forests of Asia

<p>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. </p><p>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 <em>karchall mabhuy</em> of the Katu people of Central Vietnam the <em>leuweng kolot</em> of the Baduy people of West Java the <em>fengshui</em> forests of southern China the groves to the goddess Sarna Mata worshiped by the Oraon people of Jharkhand India the <em>mauelsoop</em> and <em>bibosoop</em> 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. </p><p>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.</p>