Tiger in the Woods
The village Hulgol near Sirsi in Karnataka is among many hamlets located in the spice belt of the Western Ghats where black pepper, cardamom, coco, nutmeg, vanilla, betil and other crops are harvested. Here the wisdom of permaculture and sustainable farming is passed down from generation to generation; some of the spice gardens have been maintained for more than a thousand years. This area was the heart of the Appiko movement, tree-hugging protests of the ‘80’s inspired by the Chipko movement in northern India, which sought to protect sacred tree groves from industrial developments, such as nuclear power, railways and dams. I met Panduranga Hegde, eco-activist and Appiko’s former leader, and individuals whose forest lifestyle itself is conservation. The people’s work and traditions are inextricably bound to nature; the trees, wildlife, streams are considered sacred. Among the family of nature deities worshipped is Huliappa, the Tiger Father. Different villages maintain their own Huliappa shrines, which are not housed in a temple but are located at the base of a tree or other outdoor location. Sometimes the deity is in the form of a wooden statue, or it may be a centuries-old stone. Reverence is realized through ritual; communities gather in seasonal celebration to invoke the tiger for blessings and protection and share food, stories, prayers and songs.
