1.5 Rituals and sacred places

In indigenous societies, rituals mark seasonal events, like celebrating the new harvest, or are performed to engage with the elements, like rainmaking rituals. Rituals are essential to involve communities in a reciprocal and emotional relationship with their environment, to celebrate or ask for support.

Rituals and the idea of sacredness connected to specific places are also crucial for preserving habitats. Sinthunule (2023, p. 7) stated:

Among the Zigi communities in Tanzania, Lake Nanthondu is used to treat infertile women. Infertile women are taken to the lake and bathed to ask the gods to enable them to conceive and bear children. Kyala, which is the source of the Zigi River, was and still is respected for this purpose. This has contributed to the conservation of the lake and no other activities are carried out in the area.

Similarly, the preservation of the Gosaikunda Lake in Nepal is strictly connected to the lake being one of the important religious sites in Nepal. As per Hindu mythology, Gosaikunda is considered the abode of the Hindu deities Lord Shiva and Gauri (Thakuri et al., 2021).

The potential of rituals for ecosystem preservation and restoration is immense and promotes the ideas of reciprocity, reverence, relationship and responsibility mentioned above. Creating new rituals and promoting a ritualistic approach to local trees, waters, and natural environments may help people develop that idea of sacredness that would help lead to respect, emotional connection and the desire for preservation.

Activity 7.2  Re-engaging with the natural world?

Timing: Allow around 60 minutes

Reflecting on the experiential nature of TEK may help us consider the importance of observing nature and engaging with it to acquire knowledge. A simple question you may want to consider as a starting point is:

  • How do you know the sun rises and sets every day?

Before starting this activity remind yourself of your reactions to Unit 5 Activity 5.2 [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]   (especially Question 2 and Question 3 – Activity 5.2 forum discussion).

Task 1

By signing in and enrolling on this course you can view and complete all activities within the course, track your progress in My OpenLearn Create. and when you have completed a course, you can download and print a free Statement of Participation - which you can use to demonstrate your learning.

Task 2

2. Share your visuals, notes and thoughts in the Activity 7.2 forum discussion, along with a reflection on how physical engagement with your local environment made you feel.

Note: There is a file size upload limit of 110 MB, so check and reduce size if necessary.

1.4 What can be learned from TEK for a sustainable pedagogy?

2 What would nature do? Permaculture principles for a sustainable pedagogy