EDITORIAL: Homage to Earth

Author(s): B. K. ROY BURMAN

Source: India International Centre Quarterly, Vol. 19, No. 1/2, INDIGENOUS VISION: PEOPLES
OF INDIA ATTITUDES TO THE ENVIRONMENT (SPRING-SUMMER 1992), pp. 1-10
Published by: India International Centre
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 EDITORIAL
EDITORIAL

B. K. ROY BURMAN

Homage to Earth

the culture hero ofthe Rongmei Nagas, was

born of the union between a human mother and the
master of the world, who came to her in the form of a

charming python. But after begetting the son, the father

Gairemnong, shied away from his human companion and whiled

away his time in the pursuit of pleasures. The world was full of woes
and a noble agony dawned on the soul of the son of the human
mother. He searched and searched to find out who was responsible
for all the travails of the world. At last with the blessings of his
mother, he acquired the vision to recognise the source of all trouble.
It was his father, the master of the world, who, unableto cope with
the awakening which came to him as a sequel to his communion with
the daughter of man, who was trying to avoid his responsibility
towards creation.
The son of the human mother challenged the master of the
world to live up to his responsibility. But the master of the world, in
his arrogance of power, cursed the son. "You, who speak in the name
of humanity will be put to death by men, who are my minions." After

uttering this curse, compassion came forth from the father. He told
his son:

The hard rocks, the towering trees, the chirping birds, the roaring

tigers, the meandering streams are also my children. They are your
brothers and sisters. I cannot hold back what I have unleashed. But
when my minions in human form come to strike you, all these brothers
and sisters of yours will tell you how to *ake care of yourself. You may
beat death with your wisdom.

Gairemnong took leave of the master of the world. With his

guitar he went from hill to hill, valley to valley, village to village, and
sang his song of sonorous thunder "You are master of yourself. Do

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2 / B.K. ROY BURMAN

not invoke any master outside you for help. Know your brothers and
sisters around you in all their forms. The secret of your good life is to
live in harmony with them. "This was too much for the minions of the
master of the world, who himself was in remorseful coma. They

prowled towards Gairemnong with their hatchets. The rocks roared

their warning, the tigers rushed to protect the brothers, the birds
started crying but Gairemnong smiled them to a halt. The son

brought out his guitar and sang a song of the deathless cosmos. The
minions of the master came and severed his head with their hatchets;
but the song turned into a soundless muse of the cosmos. Gairemnong
had given a deathblow to death.
Even today, the people stand before the Gairemnong hill, even
now the sun conveys its homage to its peak; men and women weave
new stories around the core of the old myth in their quest for meeting
new challenges.
This archetypical myth is not bound by time and space, race and
culture. There are moments in the lives of all men and women,
alienated from the protective whisper of mother earth, when they are
akin to Gairemnong, a retriever of cosmic harmony through fearless
confrontation with the arrogance of power.
Marta Vannucci writes of man's partnership with nature, of
man's with the mysteries of life—an expression
fascination of man's

eagerness to participate in the cosmic drama. In the indigenous

thought-world "there is no distinction between sacred and profane".

This distinction is set against the postulate of the renaissance West:
that the measure of human fulfilment is the extent of conquest of
nature. In recognition of this basic incongruity Krishna Chaitanya
observes:

Instead of the social contract of Hobbes which is anchored in the

advantage of each, we should perhaps have a liberating contract with
nature which is inspired by the ideal of the good of the totality and can
realise it.

Krishna Chaitanya refers us to the Mahayana tradition which

relates among legends of the Buddha, the moving episode of Bhusparsa.
"Mara, the Enemy of God and man, came to the Buddha and said,
'You have no business to be sitting in that little square of earth where

you are seated, because the earth belongs to me.' The Buddha
touched the earth with his fingertips and called upon it to bear

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 Homage to Earth / 3

witness that it did not belong to Mara, because he had just attained
his enlightenment on it; whereupon the earth responded, thundering,
'I bear you witness' with a hundred, a thousand, a hundred thousand
affirmations."
The legend of Bhusparsa affirms, symbolically, the rights of the

indigenous peoples.
The indigenous are those whose livelihood and lifestyle are tied

up with the land in a system of mutual reinforcement—as a moral

contract where social living and negotiation with human and non
human, animate beings are basically attuned to the sonic and sensual

rhythms of the earth.

In the ancient world Mara was defeated in his attempt to snatch

away the rights of the indigenous, but in the modern world Mara
seems to have fared better. Pereira relates this in context of his
discussion on the sustainable lifestyle of the Warlis, a tribal

community of Maharashtra. Among the most revered deities of the

Warlis is Dhartari, the earth goddess. The conservation of many

plants and animalsin their jungles is a part of Warli culture,

perpetuated by customs and religious beliefs. Their traditional sacred

groves are among the few remaining areas in India where respect for
all life reaches down to all animate creatures and plants. But these are

likely to disappear according to Pereira:

The forest and other harmful laws enacted by the British are still in
force, with the Government claiming the jungles as its property, to be
exploited even at the cost of extensive marginalisation of the Adivasis.
Adivasis are being displaced by dams, power stations and other mega
projects as well as from wild life sanctuaries and biological parks.
Adivasis have ancient occupational rights which cannot be abrogated
by any laws that invaders make, even if they claim that they are in the
national interest.

Pereira is perhaps correct in his formulation. It is, however, to

be clarified that in the case of many indigenous populations of India,
the 'invasion' is not in the same manner as in the case of invasion of
the lands of the indigenous population in North and South America.
Here it is 'invasion' of ideas; the imposition of alien laws like the

concept of res nulles introduced by the colonial rulers as part and

parcel of legal epistemology, which is responsible for the large-scale

dispossession of the indigenous population.

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4 / B.K. ROYBURMAN

Invasion of ideas and ideologies has taken many forms. Gadgil

and Chandran define one aspect in regard to the sacred groves.

Another insidious threat resulting in clearance of sacred groves is the

identification of the wild woodland spirits and deities of the pre
Brahmanic societies with the gods of the Hindu pantheon. This has
resulted in the installation of idols of the Hindu gods in the groves or
the deities of the groves are made minions of the Hindu gods. Often
this is followed by temple construction after fully or partially clearing
the vegetation.

In the face of this aberration, Gadgil and Chandran observe

"time has come to carefully retrospect the course of Hindu religion
and cultural heritage and redefine what is sacred"
In Virginius Xaxa's appraisal of the Oraons, it seems that this
retrieval of the heritage started even among those who have been
converted to Christianity. Traditionally the ritual music and dance of
the Oraons are directly related to the nature cycle: the blossoming of

plants and the position

trees, of the moon and the seasons. For

example Khaddi/Sarhul, one of the most important festivals of the

Oraons, is celebrated when the Sal trees are in full blossom and
branches of white flowers dominate the rural landscape. In this
festivala symbolic marriage of Dharmesh symbolised by the Sun
with Khekhel, (the Earth) is enacted. A sacred grove of Sal trees acts as
the place of worship. But among the second generation of converts
to Christianity, a change of attitude took place. "The shift in faith led
them to view their role in relation to nature as masters of the earth
and of the creatures living therein." In recent
years, of a process

indigenisation of Christian rules and rituals has been taking place.

All the traditional Oraon festivals are celebrated in almost the same

way and manner or is done by the non-converts "but with a Christian

understanding".
Though not necessarily in this case, there is a danger, that the
role of rituals as an authentic expression of the concern for
environment may be over-rated. Krishna Chaitanya strikes a note of
caution in this regard. In his words,

We are to focus on the mindset. The greater possibility is that the mind
of the archaic man has been conditioned by inherited myth without
luminous remembrance of import. If we are willing to cling onto this
sort of conditioning, we might as well accept the Skinnerian behaviour

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 Homage to Earth / 5

programme for conditioning men into Sunday School robots. We

cannot accept myths that have persisted only by the sheer weight of
tradition but only those that can leap from heart to heart by way of
brain. This means not only that acceptable myth or poetry that is its
modern equivalent, should have a core content thought but also that
the thought should be able to stand th£ test of critical evaluation.
Santayana pointed out that traditional myth too often comes to us with
admixture of impurities and he preferred the creatively handled

myth. This is the task we have to undertake.

• Suresh
Singh has focused on such a myth which possesses both

power and relevance in today's context. In a crisp manner he has

outlined the Munda epic which narrates the iron-smelting Asurs and
their supreme deity, whom they defied because of the confidence
that they gained by being pioneers in their knowledge of iron

technology. In the Munda myth the Asurs perished; but Singh

introduces the Asur version also of the myth in a deft way and

suggests

this account is unique in that it refers probably for the first time and in
such a vivid way to environmental pollution. The Asurs degraded the
environment. Their furnaces belched smoke that endangered all life
and life support systems. It was a primitive man's perception of
environmental pollution, a pre-modern and a pre-industrial concept
and yet it is so modern.

The ancient myth of the churning of the ocean of milk is not

interpreted by Joanna Williams on the ontological realm. For her the

significance of the myth lies in the cognitive, empirical realm. Mother

Earth reveals her bounty when used prudently, as in the irrigation
systems in the ancient kingdoms of South and South-East Asia. In her
creative analyses, the myth of the churning of the ocean is a futuristic

anticipation of the ecological crisis of modern man.

But the myth also conveys something deeper. If amrita (nectar)
is turned into kalakuta (deadly poison) Siva renders it ineffective. He
embodies destruction to pave the ground for construction. He pulls
down the Daksha Yagna, the demonstrative splendours of the power
elite—to usher in an era of dignity.

Mahapatra refers to Gopinath Mohanty's classic work, Amrutar

Santan (Sons of Nectar). The Kondhs, whose practice of human
sacrifice in the past, has been subjected to not only misinterpretation

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6 / B.K. ROY BURMAN

by travellers and fellow scholars for almost two centuries, but was
used by colonial rulers to take over their land under the pretext of
humanism. It is no wonder that Sarabu, the hero of Amrutar Santan,

played out on his flute the blood of his soul on a honey coloured
afternoon, invoking Dharmu, the God of Justice and Dhartari, the
ancient Mother Goddess.
But it is not always that the children of nectar—the Kondh, the
Saora, the Gond, the Santal, the Oraon and the Munda, invoke the

gods above. It is not unoften that they ask for justice and survival, and
that their action manifests a different approach. Dunu Roy gives
examples of the same in respect of the Gonds, the Kol, and the
Bhumias of Shahdol. While protests and sometimes insurgency form

part of their survival strategy, not least important is their strategy for
a compatible environment. Ramakrishnan, through his persistent
publications for over two decades has demolished much of "scientific

myth" about the much-maligned shifting cultivation. As he has

described in the article, shifting cultivation does not mean one

homogenous technique. by others also which show

There are studies
that different techniques have different implications for the volume
of water and soil run, productivity, gender-based work potential and
so on. Yet, in the name of sustainable development, plans and
programmes are
implemented for stopping all types of shifting
cultivation.A closer look into many of these programmes show that
in the name of controlling shifting cultivation, the power elites really
want to take over the lands of the indigenous peoples to serve the
"national interest".
As a sequel to such perfidious actions, the whole question of
'sustainable development' has became suspect among the 'powerless
sections' particularly in the southern part of the globe and among the

indigenous peoples in the North. As Maurice Strong puts it,

"fundamental to sustainable development is the concept of inter

generational equity". Though he has not elaborated on the

descriptive account that he has given, it also means inter-regional

equity covering the whole planet. Strong aptly observes,

Asian and Pacific countries have developed patterns of agricultural

and rural life and effective methods of land and water management
that have been sustainable over many centuries. The experience and

knowledge of generations of their indigenous people are largely

responsible for this. Traditional peoples are the primary custodians of

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 Homage to Earth / 7

most of the evolutionary experience of mankind. They still hold vital

and rare wisdom based on their success at managing a sustainable

environment, as their ability to exist in harmony with ecosystems such

as the forest, that more 'developed' cultures are decimating, testifies.

Particularly, the forests, of which the inhabitants are mainly the

indigenous people, hold the key to the survival of life on the planet.
These are the most important repositories of biodiversity in the

variety of genes, species and ecosystems. There are well over 30

million different species in existence, clustered in particular ecological

regions, mainly the rain forests. Through deforestation, perpetrated

primarily to satisfy the insatiable lust and hegemonic power of the
countries possessing sophisticated technology but denuded of
humanist prudence, the biodiversity of the world is under threat as
never before.
As Vandana Shiva rightly points out, by a distorted projection
of the critical measure of biodiversity, attempts are made by influen
tial international agencies to pass on the responsibility to the third
world countries. Her paper states that while biological resources
have social, ethical, cultural and economic values, the economic
values have to be demonstrated to compete for the attention of
decision makers in government. The report divides economic values
of biological resources into three categories; consumptive value,
productive use value, and 'non-consumptive use value'. In this
framework the third world countries are perceived to be responsible
for the destruction of biological wealth, as the bulk of their population
(who derive their livelihood directly from nature) only 'consume';
and the trading and commercial interests only of the industrialised
countries, are the 'producers', and in that capacity only are they
capable of augmenting the economic value of the biological resources.
In the words of Vandana Shiva,

this ideologically constructed divide between consumption, pro

duction and conservation hides the political economy of the processes
which underlie the destruction of biological diversity.

Vandana Shiva suggests that along with the monopsonic

capitalist interest, the patriarchal world view of domination is also

responsible for reduction of biological diversity. On the other hand,

the invisible role of women, cutting across productive sectors, is a

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8 / B.K. ROYBUHMAN

persistent influence in the maintenance of diversity.

There is also a missing dimension which requires to be mentioned
here. Jack Kloppenburg (Cultural Survival Quarterly, Vol 15, no 3,
1991) observes that business interests in the developed nations have
worked hard over the past ten years to assemble a legal framework
that ensures that genetically engineered materials used in organising
tissue cultures, cells, DNA sequences can be owned by them. On the
other hand, these are based on genetic and cultural information
extracted by scientists from the indigenous and peasant communities
in the Third World Countries, without making any payment.
Kloppenburg describes this as scientific poaching. If there is common

heritage for mankind, this asymmetrical relation must end. In fact,

some people have
already claimed intellectual property rights in
respect of their cultural practices, knowledge about the endowments
of nature and systems of managing the same.
It is important to take note of the ecological crisis that has cast
its long shadow over the planet. But it is equally important to take
note of the struggle launched by the millions of men and women and
the disadvantaged social formations, including the indigenous

peoples all over the world, to establish their ecological rights, human
rights and rights of dignified living. Medha Patkar articulates in her
activism the spirit of this struggle.
If the flag of the new era is hoisted in the South, there are many
in the North who have the vision to see it and adopt it as their own.
There is no permanent dichotomy; there are only strategic vantage

points.
Maurice Strong's recommendations of the Brundland
Commission for integration of the environment
and the economy has

provided the basis

for holding the UN Conference on Environment
and Development in Brazil in June 1992. "The main challenge for the
Earth Summit is to translate the principles of sustainable development
from concept to action." Obviously, sustainable development requires
a holistic approach, and from the recent writings of leading
environmentalists including Goldsmith above all and others, there is

every reason to hope that the issue will not be seen primarily in
economic terms while projecting a broad humanist
platform.
Environmental concern must capture the cosmic rhythm, as

suggested by Swaminathan. The writer would like to take the liberty

of narrating an experience of his own, included in his presidential
address in the Social Science Congress in 1988.

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 Homage to Earth / 9

About eight years ago I was flying from Leh to Chandigarh. The
helicopter was making its way through massive bare rocks, whose
tops seemed to end nowhere in the sky. There was not a single patch
of green. There were only stony seams of various hues running miles

after miles. It was as if rainbowswere planted on the stones. This was

an unearthly sight. Time had stopped for us, our first sensation of awe
and wonder also ceased to be part of our paralysed selves. Rather it
was nature itself that was hurling awe and wonder on us; and the six
or seven of us in the helicopter became a silent forlorn one. Our
muscles stiff, faces had turned grim and our souls had
had become
frosted into a non-identity. And then we met our lost friends. As the
plane was nearing Kulu, suddenly, as if with an enchanted bounce the
green forests began to dance before us. They were part and parcel of

our own selves. We could hear the muse of our souls, and we started

to talk to one another.

This was the dawn of a realisation that it is in our response to

nature that we find a commonality of meaning and purpose in
human relations. The earth is our common mother.
As Geeti Senimplicitly suggests, ecological concern is a

pilgrimage to earth—with dignity and humility, with authentic

concern for the endowments of nature, and the products of man's

acquired skill and wisdom; with muse in the soul and thunder in

voicing the rights of man; with relentless dedication to poise and

harmony.
Kapila Vatsyayan has conveyed the spirit of this pilgrimage in
the invocation:

Pure and peaceful be the earth, peaceful ether,

peaceful heaven, peaceful water, peaceful herbs,
peaceful trees, may all gods and environs be
pure and in peace; may there be purity, non-pollution and peace.

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 Sen

Geeti

credit:

Photo

^ >£rte#r fer i
^ ^ ^ fiyqR tttff 11

Let What I dig from thee, O Earth, rapidly spring and grow again.
O Purifier, let me not pierce through thyvitals or thy heart.

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