Felling Ficus: The Cultural Status of Fig Trees in a Rural Assamese Community, India

Abstract

Scattered fig (Ficus spp. Moraceae) trees are critically important for biodiversity conservation in tropical rural landscapes. By providing large fruit crops, they help maintain seed dispersal networks and facilitate forest restoration. The conservation of fig trees scattered across rural landscapes is therefore vital for the preservation of ecosystem services and biodiversity beyond the borders of protected areas. Given the threats to scattered fig trees, it is increasingly important to identify potentially effective local conservation strategies that accommodate existing perceptions of their value. We used ethnographic techniques to assess the attitudes of villagers towards fig trees in the village of Komargoan and its surroundings in Assam, India. As reported for other parts of South Asia, we found fig trees have significant sacred status, which included taboos against cutting them down. However, we discovered mixed and sometimes contradictory understandings of the religious attributes of fig trees, which were sometimes believed to be inhabited by gods or ancestral spirits. The benefits most commonly associated with fig trees by interviewees were their aesthetic beauty, large size, and shade during the daytime heat. When the presence of these trees incurred economic costs, their religious, aesthetic, and practical benefits were not sufficient reasons to prevent people from cutting them down, although often saplings would be planted in another place as compensation. Unexpectedly, figs were only planted by respected members of the community, usually older men, who had sufficient social status. Any conservation strategy aiming to sustain the abundance of figs in rural Assam is more likely to be successful if these cultural views are taken into account.

Ethnoecology of miriti (Mauritia flexuosa, L.f.) fruit extraction in the Brazilian Amazon: knowledge and practices of riverine peoples contribute to the biodiversity conservation

“…They have outlined strategies to ensure the reproduction of palm trees and, as a consequence, the maintenance of their way of life [ 6 ] because the practice of cutting fruits is a sustainable practice, satisfying the demand and preserving wild populations [ 41 ]. In Peru, climbing courses have been carried out to learn strategies of collecting miriti fruits in order to avoid felling palm trees [ 30 , 31 , 42 , 43 ].…”

What is sacred in sacred natural sites? A literature review from a conservation lens

“…In this regard, as Frascaroli (2016:274) posits, SNS are "manifestations of a deep emotional bond between people and nature," a form of "place attachment" (Mazumdar and Mazumdar 2004). Furthermore, both emotions and attitudes toward nature are driven and shaped by spiritual beliefs in a distinctive way (Dudley et al 2009, Cottee-Jones andWhittaker 2015). For instance, the different religious understandings of fig trees in India shape diverse attitudes toward their management (Cotte-Jones and Whittaker 2015).…”

“…Main research focuses on sacred nature sites (SNS) Colding and Folke 2001, Dudley et al 2009, Sarfo-Mensah 2009, Cottee-Jones and Whittaker 2015, Aniah and Yelfaanibe 2018, Shepheard-Walwyn and Bhagwat 2018, Talukdar and Gupta 2018, Mu et al 2019, Roba 2019, Kõiva et al 2020, Maru et al 2020. Emotions and attitudes toward conservationChandrashekara et al 2002, Dafni 2007, Dudley et al 2009, Cottee-Jones and Whittaker 2015, Frascaroli 2016, Niglio 2018a, Talukdar and Gupta 2018, Mu et al 2019, Sinthumule and Mashau 2020 Practices and behaviors (taboos and customary institutions)Kent 2010, Negi 2010, Bortolamiol et al 2018, Fernández-Llamazares et al 2018, Kent and Orlowska 2018, Shaygozova et al 2018, Kõiva et al 2020, Maru et al 2020 Mashau 2020 Underlying research interests Native wisdom and TEK Byers et al 2001, Colding and Folke 2001, Negi 2010, Skog 2017, Aniah and Yelfaanibe 2018, Cladis 2019, Roba 2019, Maru et al 2020, Sinthumule and Mashau 2020 Transformation processes undergoing sites Sarfo-Mensah 2009, Kent 2010, Nyamweru 2012, Ringvee 2015, Notermans et al 2016, Enongene and Griffin 2018,Shaygozova et al 2018, Sehnalova 2019 …”