Lessons for Sustainability - Indigenous People and Forests go hand in hand

With the world reeling under the effects of the coronavirus, there has been a sudden and renewed focus on the vulnerabilities of indigenous communities to foreign diseases. At the same time, there have been calls to slow down and take a closer look at the lifestyles of the natural inhabitants of our country. Often painted as obstructions to industrial development on the one hand and wildlife conservation on the other, indigenous people have a number of lessons to offer to their more literate brethren in the cities. 

And among the more than 650 indigenous groups who reside or are dependent upon the forests of our country offer critical lessons to lead a symbiotic relationship with nature, few match the simple ecosystem based way of life as the Baigas of Central India. Derided for their cult of magic, bewar or shifting cultivation but acknowledged for their ancient customs of medicine, their formidable hunting prowess and famed story telling abilities, it is groups such as the Baiga (believed to be the first human on Earth) who may offer a few simple yet valuable lessons for citizens of a post corona world.

With an extremely low ecological footprint, the Baigas with their sharp features and delicate frame offer a lesson of understated elegance. A piece of cloth that serves as a turban and a dark half jacket makes them easily recognizable. Above all, it is the elaborate tattoos amongst the women and the magnificent, long hair that the men hold in a bum or a jura and so painstakingly take care of, that provides the Baigas with an allure that has charmed anthropologists over the years. However, even more than their simple attire, it is their choice of household items that offer valuable lessons. Leaves as plates, earthen pots for storing water, a few aluminum utensils and some fishing nets is usually what constitutes the physical capital of most families. This philosophy of less is more, hitherto dismissed as a sign of material poverty is often what Baigas choose to hold on to, even as their society continues to be peppered by developmental changes.

The second lesson is of land use management that India’s urban population needs to be desperately made aware of. A report published in the year 2019 by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem said that nature on indigenous people’s land is degrading less quickly than in other areas and pushed for the world to draw lessons from the environmental stewardship that such communities display. It is not surprising for Baigas have a millennia old relationship with their land, as a result of which, their ethno-botanical knowledge is immense and diversified. Traditionally they harvested species based on a time-tested schedule resulting in minimal harm to the forest flora. There is scarcely any produce that is over exploited. It is not surprising to note that the land use under Baiga hands is often richer in biodiversity as compared to adjoining lands, especially in regions where their reciprocal relationship with nature is still intact.

Thirdly, Baigas can teach us a bit or two about the complex inter-dependence of life. Often, city dwellers do not realize that forests mean many things to many people. It is a source for food for some, supply of medicinal plants for others and a valuable economic source of timber for many. All these are traditional demands that have been met by the forest since life began on earth. For the Baiga, the forest is the omnipresent philanthropist, always ready to give. In return, the Baiga takes care to seek permission from the forest gods before extracting plants and ensure that they never take more than what is required. Proficient in ancestral plant based ethobotanical knowledge, the Baiga can effortlessly point out numerous herbs used to eliminate the ill effects of magic. They used their knowledge of herbs and magical spells for a number of occasions such as growth of crops, marriage, death, and injury from wild animals, venereal diseases and protection from ill omens while protecting the rich biodiversity of the Maikal landscape.  

Perhaps relevant to these times of food wastage, is to take lessons from the food habits of this evolved group. Highly diverse, the Baiga agriculture revolved against ploughing as it was akin to hurting mother earth and tearing away at her breast. They preferred to sow a bewildering variety of pulses, coarse grains, vegetables, oilseeds while supplementing their diet with fishing, hunting and consume a complex array of leaves and tubers from the forest which reads like a veritable handbook for the modern day slow food movement. The traditional Baiga was rarely malnourished for even in the worst times, he would have access to some coarse grain such as kodo and kutki, wild tubers or liquid pej which was made from grounding millets. Baigas across several villages spread over the states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh testify that pej is more nutritionally wholesome than some of the super foods found in urban supermarkets. Their traditional food habit was enriched by the ethos of ek bita, jag jita, sanjh khay bihana rita which was inspired by their lifestyle of eating for today and not hoarding for tomorrow, quite unlike the current trends where hoarding is the norm.

Baigas can teach the modern world, currently under lockdown, a thing or two about community living and togetherness. Their deities live in the forests and the ensuing community based protection results in large tracts being nurtured as ‘sacred groves’. The rules for the use of such forests are strictly governed by the community. Herbs used for preparing medicines are never over-extracted to ensure sustainability. Festivals related to harvesting of forest resources or conservation of seeds is a social affair and the offerings are shared with all the members of the community.  

However, the Baigas find themselves in a piquant position today. From being regarded as the hitherto custodians of the forest to being frequently branded as a reason for resource degradation – members of the group wonder where they are going to end up in the coming few decades. Ecosystem people that they are, inspite of living in resource rich areas, they suffer from what can be termed material poverty. Surrounded by relatively prosperous communities of outsiders, they feel a deep sense of apathy at their present condition and often tend to blindly follow the ways of the dominant and richer communities. This has had an impact on their culture, food and overall way of life.

The vicious cycle including factors as loss of tenurial rights over forests, loss of food security and a high degree of dependency upon wage labour has led to a breakdown in their community governance systems and an increase in indebtedness to money lenders. Hemmed in by all sides, most Baigas continue to languish at the lowest strata of society. Their present skills leave them ill-equipped to compete with the mainstream and all they end up with in the name of work is wage labour. It is a catch 22 situation gone haywire for most members of the community. The tenuous links with ancient forests is weakening rapidly and they are ill at ease with the modern world.

The forest rights act which includes the community forest rights and habitat rights has been heralded as a step in the right direction by restoring rightfully to Baigas, their habitats and acknowledges them as custodians of forest resources. While the ground realities of the implementation of rights as well as post rights management of forest are far from ideal, one can only hope that the Baigas are able to sustain a way of life which if replicated by the mainstream will protect resources and cause least damage to the environment. The world needs to create the space and appreciation for the knowledge of the knowledgeable in order to save themselves today.