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What is Indigenous Sacred Natural Sites?
“A sacred natural site is a natural feature or a large area of land or water having special spiritual significance to peoples and communities.[1] Sacred natural sites consist of all types of natural features including mountains, hills, forests, groves, trees, rivers, lakes, lagoons, caves, islands and springs. The interest in sacred natural sites, from the perspective of nature conservation, lies in the component of biological diversity that they harbor.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_natural_site)
Sacred natural sites have special subsistence, cultural and religious connotations for indigenous peoples. In the face of the impact of modernity, many of the world’s sacred indigenous sites face challenges of environmental destruction, overtourism, and cultural fragmentation, etc. In fact, there is a lack of public understanding and common knowledge about sacred sites. This lack has resulted in little public attention to the issue. In addition, there is a lack of discussion about sacred sites in the media and on various online platforms. In order to fill this gap, this forum is an important complement. It is hoped that through this platform, we will be able to discuss this topic together, thereby promoting the conservation and development of indigenous sacred sites. The “we” here includes not only scholars and the general public, but also indigenous people. Because listening to diverse voices is important for clarifying facts and promoting communication.
Sacred Sites and Biodiversity—Scenes from Standing on Sacred Ground
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4 Replies
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This is the first time I’ve heard of this concept and I’ve watched many documentaries as well as films about indigenous people. However, there seems to be very little discussion about Sacred Natural Sites. Thank you very much for opening my eyes to this forum and I hope to learn more about sacred nature sites. I have traveled to indigenous people’s settlements and found them to be so close to nature. However, the local elders told me that their natural environment has changed a lot compared to before. Once upon a time people were much closer to nature. We need to pay more attention to the indigenous people and listen to their voices.
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I was pondering a question about the difference between Indigenous natural sanctuaries and other natural resorts. At the moment, I have not found the answer. According to my personal opinion, indigenous sacred sites are an important part of other sacred natural sites. There are different sacred sites in the world, depending on how different societies and cultures understand sacred natural sites. Regardless of the sacred sites, we all call them Mother Earth. I believe that all nature is sacred and that we need to work together to protect it.
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There is a trend towards secularization in society today, and atheists are becoming more numerous in many European countries. I respect atheists, but this trend also shows that our sense of the sacred and our reverence for a supreme power are becoming increasingly absent. If, we are lacking in the worship of the divine power and thus, we also become alienated from nature. This is one of the reasons why many of nature’s sacred sites are being destroyed. How to regain a sense of the sacred as a mainstream value in our societies would go a long way towards the sustainability of the world as a whole.
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Humans love nature, which is why when it comes to holidays many people choose to travel to places close to nature. However, the paradox is why we are destroying nature. I think one of the main reasons is that we only see nature as an object to be consumed rather than as a part of humanity. If we have this sense of equality, the protection of sacred places of nature is just around the corner.
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