Sanasam Yaiphaba Singh
“Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.” These words are from a widely publicised speech by a Suquamish and Duwanish Chief Seattle in 1854 arguing in favour of ecological responsibility.
Cumulative effects of the rapid growth of population and the process of economic development have brought rapid changes and degradation of environment and ecosystem in the world. Global warming is increasing at an alarming rate and the human activities are identified as the main cause. In Manipur many of the wetlands mostly in an around the Imphal city have been vanished mostly due to encroachment by human habitation. Forest covering and dense forests are also degrading at alarming rate besides losing the forest cover by 449 sq.m. during 2017-90. The rivers in the valley are polluted and found not fit for human use. The situation is in spite of several initiatives taken to maintain the sustainable ecosystem and environment. The UN Panel on Climate Change said that impacts of global climate change should be minimised by limiting it to 1.5°C by mobilising all actors across society. On the other hand, ecologists have started to discover Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) of the local communities to see how effectiveness of application of these knowledge in maintaining sustainable ecosystem. In Manipur as most of the traditional wisdoms were kept secret, there was every chance of forgetting them. As the secrecy has been forgotten and not preserved systematically, the wisdom may remain only in name without the logic, and may simply be considered as not relevant. It will be, thus forgotten and lost slowly in next generations. Timely studies of this knowledge and its preservation and popularisation have become all the more necessary.
In Manipur the secret of the maintaining ecology and environment has been found in our culture, traditions, Puyas (old scriptures), myth, religion, belief and oral stories etc. There were stories in which human beings were incarnated as trees, birds, animals and other species. Sangai the State animal, the Nongin the State bird, Yangou tree etc. are some of the examples. There are some locations in the Loktak Lake which are believed to have been the areas of certain local deities. There has been binding advices of the elders not to cut certain types of trees and not to kill certain animals etc. in certain situations. Till today elder people did not cut big trees without certain prayer and offering. It was same in the case of certain animals like snake, tiger etc.
More than 418 Sacred Groves known as Umang lai- khubams (the abode of the deities in forest) which are vast storehouse of biodiversity is listed in the Woking Plan document of Forest Department, Manipur. The indigenous communities of the adjoining localities believe that the groves belong to the deities of certain communities and as such the projection of the groves are considered as their responsibility. In fact, several species of trees are grown in the grove and some of them are Uyung, Nongleishang, Shileima, khongnang, Khongnangbot, Jam, Tairen, Heinouo, Theibong, Heibong and Uyum. The Sacred Groves are deeply related to the traditional and cultural heritages of the people, and a ritual festival is still continuing in its full sprit annually in the name of Lai Harouba though this tradition has been quite different from the culture and the tradition of Hinduism.
Certain leaves of plants has been using in the traditional method of chasing away of witchcraft (hingchabi changba) inflicted in human bodies. The secrecy of treating of such kind of health problem is still a mystery. The traditional art of diverting heavy rain from certain area has been practicing in Manipur. Amaiba and Amaibi (local priestess) also perform a very impressive ritual ceremony with dance and song during the time of drought for sufficient rain. The song is very familiar and popular in Meitei community. About 1200 medicinal plants have been listed in Manipur of which about 430 species have been identified as traditional medicinal uses.
The seven clans (Yek Salai) in Meitei community have specific tradition to protect certain types of species. They are restricted to destroy certain species. There are folk songs which describes the beauty and importance of fauna and flora. Traditional food habits of the people are much related to their physique and indigenous sports. There are some vegetables found in Manipur which are regarded as possessing a secrete value in developing arts, culture and sports.
Our forefathers were keeping the rivers and drainages with uninterrupted flow. Most of the drainages were considered as the routes of local deities in the forms of snake. The encroachment and the obstruction of the drainage systems were seriously considered that it would seriously affect the circulation of blood in the human bodies. If the diversion of drainage was essential, it was done with special prayers and offerings. This belief enabled to keep the drainages clean and always operational.
The ancestors of the state knew how to collect sand and stone from the river beds and maintain uninterrupted flow of rivers. The work has been doing mostly by womenfolk for earning their livelihood and also to provide materials needed for construction work using spade, shovel etc. which has been environmentally sustainable. The livelihood of the people living near the rivers has been largely depending on the resource of the rivers, and it is believed that the resources of these rivers belonged to their forefathers and the extraction of the resources has been doing from the time of their ancestors. They felt that their right to access to these resources was restricted by the authorities in the name of conservation of the river. Very recently the use of heavy machinery was started for extraction of the rivers resources beyond the capacity of the regeneration of the resources which degraded river to a considerable extent. The commercialisation of the resources for exuberant profit motive is not environmentally viable. The replacement of the traditional method by mechanised machines would adversely affect on resources, sustainable means of production and livelihood related to the knowledge systems.
Our forefathers have accumulated such knowledge from their past experience and knowledge and preserved without jeopardised for our future generation. They believed that their life and ecology are inseparable. They felt that the hills, the lakes, the animals, the rivers, the forest belongs to their ancestors and they don’t like to destroy them. It appears that this accumulated knowledge are being forgotten and some of them have been lost before being ascertaining as to how far it is relevant to the changing society and development of the state. The article is to suggest a research plan to collect the traditional wisdom of the people of Manipur, particularly Meitei community and see their relevance in the scenario of changing environment with necessary scientific intervention, and its need of protection, preservation and promotion under relevant acts and laws for the local and indigenous communities. A synthesis between the traditional knowledge and the modern scientific methods with active participation of the local communities is worth considering for evolving a mechanism for the effective conservation of environment.
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