10%

Beyond Blue Carbon

The spiritual importance of mangroves

By Blue Forests Project

October 9^th, 2018

by Alicia Medina Villanueva & Juliane Vatter

When talking about mangroves, the funny looking trees with entangled roots living in the coasts of tropical and subtropical regions, there is so much you can say! First of all, there are around 80 described species of these incredibly versatile and tough plants. Some of them can handle tidal soakings and grow in the open sea, in sheltered bays, and on fringe islands. Other species of trees are adapted to drier, saltier soil and can be found farther from the shoreline, whereas some other mangroves thrive along riverbanks far inland, as long as the freshwater current is met by ocean tides. One of the features that make mangroves unique is that they can live in water up to 100 times saltier than most other plants can tolerate. They do this by filtering out the salt of the seawater that surrounds them in their routes and storing water in their leaves.

Lembongan, Indonesia // Steven Lutz CC BY Flickr 2.0

However, when examining the value of mangroves one might easily overlook their spiritual significance for neighbouring communities, which can be expressed through festivals, religious rites, taboos and the establishment of sacred areas. People living closely with mangroves have many traditional beliefs about the spiritual importance of these forests and the supernatural forces and agents which inhabit them. The strong presence of traditional culture and religion could contribute to a sustainable management of mangrove forests and ultimately to their conservation. The following will give some examples about the spiritual values of mangroves.

Kenya

Many sites in East Africa were considered sacred, with severe restrictions on the harvesting of trees and other resources. People offending against these restrictions were liable to a wide range of supernatural punishments, including beating by sticks by angry spirits, miscarriage and chronic illness. At our site in Gazi Bay, there are a number of shrines dedicated to local spirits, ‘Mr Kipepeo’, a butterfly spirit, located and ‘Mr Zidi’, an enormous fish spirit. Both of these spirits can be petitioned for help, often with small gifts of rose water and with payments to the shaman who will intercede on behalf of the petitioner. shrines built in the mangrove forests are worshiped by the local people, who believe spirits of the shrine will bring death to those who cut the surrounding trees.

Sundarban (Bangladesh/India)

Tradition conservation in India has been practiced for a long time through sacred groves - forest patches which are protected by the community for their religious beliefs. Strict regulations are being enforced through the villagers which prohibit any kind of exploitation, except for temple purposes. Bonbibi, a saint familiar to both Muslim and Hindu, represents the power and resources of the mangroves. The vow to the goddess promises that not more is taken from the forests than actually needed. Bonbibi reminds the people to live within the ecological boundaries of this habitat to sustain and conserve it for current and future generations.

Indonesia

The Asmat, an ethnic group in New Guinea, inhabit an area in the Papua province of Indonesia consisting of mangrove, tidal swamp, freshwater swamp, and lowland rainforest. The term "Asmat" is used to refer both to the people and the region they inhabit. This ethnic group has one of the most well-known woodcarving traditions in the Pacific. Legends tell that the creator carved human-like figurines in one piece from a single mangrove tree, which come to life when he played a drum. This remarkable art form, called bis (usually “beezh”) pole, is held in high esteem in communities.

References

UNEP (2007). Mangroves of Western and Central Africa. UNEP-Regional Seas Programme/UNEP-WCMC.

UNEP (2014). The Importance of Mangroves to People: A Call to Action. van Bochove, J., Sullivan, E., Nakamura, T. (Eds). United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Cambridge. 128 pp.

Sahu SC, Suresh HS, Murthy IK, Ravindranath NH (2015). Mangrove Area Assessment in India: Implications of Loss of Mangroves. J Earth Sci Clim Change 6:280. doi: 10.4172/2157-7617.1000280