jagomart
digital resources
picture1_Secret Societies Pdf 159926 | 0738849083d429dcf7df1b335add972c18dc


 106x       Filetype PDF       File size 1.46 MB       Source: pdfs.semanticscholar.org


File: Secret Societies Pdf 159926 | 0738849083d429dcf7df1b335add972c18dc
bois et forets des tropiques 2011 n 310 4 forets sacrees le point sur 43 the role of secret societies in the conservation of sacred forests in sierra leone 1 ...

icon picture PDF Filetype PDF | Posted on 21 Jan 2023 | 2 years ago
Partial capture of text on file.
                                                                                       BOIS ET FORÊTS DES TROPIQUES, 2011, N° 310 (4)    
                                                                                                FORÊTS SACRÉES / LE POINT SUR… 43
                                              The role of secret societies 
                                                       in the conservation 
                                        of sacred forests in Sierra Leone
                                1
             Aurora Martín Martín
             Pablo Martínez de Anguita2
                            1
             Juan Vicente Pérez
                          3
             Joseph Lanzana
             1 Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
             Department of chemical and
             environmental technology
             Tulipán street, 28933 Móstoles
             Madrid
             Spain
             2 Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
             Spain and Oxford centre for tropical
             forests
             Martin School, Oxford University
             United Kingdom
             3 University of Makeni
             Makeni
             Sierra Leone
                               Photograph 1.
                               The entrance of a sacred forest in Makeni.
                               Photograph J. V. Pérez.
    44   BOIS ET FORÊTS DES TROPIQUES, 2011, N° 310 (4)
          FOCUS / SACRED FORESTS                                                                                   A. Martín Martín, 
                                                                                                                   P. Martínez de Anguita, 
                                                                                                                   J. Vicente Pérez, J. Lanzana
                               RÉSUMÉ                                       ABSTRACT                                        RESUMEN
                LE RÔLE DES SOCIÉTÉS SECRÈTES                  THE ROLE OF SECRET SOCIETIES                    EL PAPEL DE LAS SOCIEDADES SECRETAS
                DANS LA CONSERVATION DES FORÊTS                IN THE CONSERVATION OF SACRED                   EN LA CONSERVACIÓN DE LOS BOSQUES
                SACRÉES EN SIERRA LEONE                        FORESTS IN SIERRA LEONE                         SAGRADOS DE SIERRA LEONA
                Les forêts sacrées de Sierra Leone n’ont       Sacred forests hold the last remaining          Los bosques sagrados son los últimos
                pratiquement pas fait l’objet d’études         primary forest in many parts of Sierra          fragmentos de bosques primarios en
                scientifiques malgré le fait qu’elles          Leone, but they have been relatively little     Sierra Leona, pero prácticamente no han
                constituent les derniers fragments de          studied. Believed to be inhabited by spir-      sido objeto de estudios científicos. Gran
                forêts vierges dans diverses régions du        its, they are home to the ceremonies of         parte de la sociedad sierraleonesa consi-
                pays. Une bonne partie de la société de        secret societies. Therefore, they are usu-      dera que los bosques sagrados están
                Sierra Leone croit que ces forêts sont         ally highly protected and very well pre-        habitados por espíritus, siendo estos
                habitées par des esprits et elles sont les     served, but current socio-economic              lugares donde las sociedades secretas
                lieux choisis par les sociétés secrètes        changes are a threat to their conserva-         realizan sus ceremonias. Este carácter
                pour leurs cérémonies. Leur caractère          tion. This paper describes some of the          sagrado garantiza una elevada protec-
                sacré garantit ainsi une assez bonne pro-      main characteristics of four sacred             ción y una buena conservación de estos
                tection et une certaine conservation à ce      forests studied in the northern Bombali         hábitats. La presente investigación está
                genre d’habitat. Cet article porte sur         district and examines the links between         basada en el estudio de cuatro bosques
                l’étude de quatre forêts sacrées dans le       their conservation and the protection           sagrados en el distrito de Bombali y
                district de Bombali et a trait au lien entre   offered by secret societies. Socio-cul-         aborda la relación existente entre su con-
                la conservation des forêts sacrées et le       tural, ecological and botanical research        servación y el papel de las sociedades
                rôle que les sociétés secrètes jouent          methods were combined in order to               secretas en su protección. Los bosques
                dans leur préservation. Les forêts ont été     understand these sacred groves and to           se estudiaron desde una perspectiva
                étudiées sous l’angle socioculturel, éco-      suggest improvements for their conser-          sociocultural, ecológica y botánica con el
                logique et botanique, afin de mieux com-       vation and management.                          fin de comprender mejor su carácter
                prendre leur caractère sacré et de pouvoir                                                     sagrado y proponer estrategias futuras
                proposer des stratégies devant assurer         Keywords: sacred forest, secret society,        para su conservación y mantenimiento. 
                leur future conservation.                      payment for ecosystem services, biodi-
                                                               versity conservation and management,            Palabras clave: bosque sagrado, socie-
                Mots-clés : bois sacré, société secrète,       Sierra Leone.                                   dad secreta, pago por servicio ambiental,
                paiement pour service environnemental,                                                         gestión y conservación de la biodiversi-
                aménagement et conservation de la bio-                                                         dad, Sierra Leona.
                diversité, Sierra Leone.
                                                                                                         BOIS ET FORÊTS DES TROPIQUES, 2011, N° 310 (4)    
                                                                                                                       FORÊTS SACRÉES / LE POINT SUR… 45
                                   Introduction
                                                                                war (Malone, 2008). As villages need more land for agricul-
                     Sacred sites are recognized by indigenous and tradi-       ture to fund the social changes, sacred forests are compet-
                tional peoples as places of particular cultural, historical,    ing against agricultural expansion. Simultaneously, changes
                spiritual and religious significance, or as sites established   in traditions of rural society diminish the importance of
                by institutionalized religions and faiths as places for wor-    sacred and threaten the motivation for their protection.
                ship and remembrance (Metcalfe et al., 2010).                        Sacred forests are the last remaining primary forest in
                     This study focuses on four sacred forests in Sierra        many parts of Sierra Leone. They are very beneficial to the
                Leone. The aim of this paper is to further understanding of     equilibrium of rural life in Sierra Leone by providing
                these areas in order to contribute to their preservation. A     resources for hunting, fishing and gathering medicinal
                social, ecological, botanical and management study was con-     plants. Chopping wood and lighting fires is usually forbid-
                ducted in four different sacred forests in the north of the     den, although in some cases the groves have also become
                country. At a sociological level, this work examined the rela-  an important source of wood for rural communities. They
                tionship between sacred forests, their traditions and taboos,   have also acted natural water filters for many communities
                and the process of initiation in the Sierra Leonean society.    (Ceperley et al., 2010).
                The ecological study was based on a survey of the general            This article assesses the value of these sacred sites
                characteristics of the studied sacred forests. A herbarium was  from different perspectives in order to propose ideas for their
                compiled in order to classify the different tree species that   future conservation in cooperation with the native people.
                were found in these groves. Finally to identify weak points,
                the actual local management was observed leading to recom-                   Definition and types
                mend improvements for the protection of these forests.
                     Presently, there is an apparent socio-economical
                development trajectory which introduced into Sierra Leone            The definition of sacred forests described by Kokou
                (Conteh-Morgan, 2006). Along with this change, there is a       and Kokutse (2007) for nearby countries in West Africa cor-
                demand for more resources, such as minerals and wood, as        responds to those belonging to Sierra Leone. They are con-
                well as a change in the belief systems of rural Sierra          sidered as forest fragments where local people perform cer-
                Leonean society. Countries such as China, and big European      emonies in order to be in contact with and to pay homage to
                and American transnational companies, have settled and          their gods and spiritual protectors. Similarly to forests found
                started to exploit natural resources after the 1991-2002 civil  in Benin, it is believed that these groves are a home to spir-
                                                                                its and that disturbing them can have terrible conse-
                                                                                quences, such as floods, drought, infertility, diseases or
                                                                                death (Ceperley et al., 2010). 
                                                                                     A distinction can be made between three different
                                                                                types of sacred groves:
                                                                                ▪ Ancestral forests: these focus on the protection of the spir-
                                                                                its of ancestors.
                                                                                ▪ Forest cemeteries: these serve as cemeteries for people
                                                                                who died from natural hazards (lightning, fire, drowning…),
                                                                                children from sickness or women during pregnancy. 
                                                                                ▪ Forests of secret societies: Only secret societies are
                                                                                allowed to enter the forest where different traditions con-
                                                                                cerning the initiation of girls and boys are taught.
                                                                                     The forests studied fall in the second and third category
                                                                                described by Kokou and Kokutse (2007); ancestral forests
                                                                                and forests of secret societies. Only secret societies are
                                                                                allowed to enter the forest where different traditions con-
                                                                                cerning the initiation of girls and boys are taught, and mean-
                                                                                while they focus on the protection of the spirits of ancestors.
                                                                                     Sacred natural sites are almost certainly the world’s
                                                                                oldest form of habitat protection (Dudley et al., 2009).
                                                                                Sacred groves are protected, conserved and maintained
                                                                                through a combination of taboos, prohibitions, beliefs and
                                                                                restrictions (Sigu et al., 2000). They can be considered infor-
                                                                                mal or traditional institutions based on cultural norms that
                                                                                do not depend on government for promulgation or enforce-
                                                                                ment; they follow a self-imposed mechanism (Colding,
                                                                                Folke, 2001). This belief is handed down through genera-
                                                                                tions by cultural transmission and is successful because of
                                                                                sanctions such as punishing offenders by community exclu-
                                                                                sion, gossiping or the threat of supernatural forces.
                     Photograph 2.
                     The cotton tree or Ceiba pentandra, 
                     considered as a sacred species.
                     Photograph A. Martín Martín.
    46   BOIS ET FORÊTS DES TROPIQUES, 2011, N° 310 (4)
          FOCUS / SACRED FORESTS
                                         Study Site                                (Metcalfe et al., 2010). They protect specific species and, 
                                                                                   moreover, protect associated populations of symbiotic and
                         Sacred sites are found in all the continents except       parasitic species (Dudley et al., 2009). Tropical rainforests
                   Antarctica, and are most common in the tropical areas           harbour a high level of biodiversity. Many different species
                   (Bhagwat, Rutte, 2006). The site of this study is found in      are protected within the sacred groves; some of them are on
                   the North of Sierra Leone, in the Bombali district. The work    the IUCN red list (Dudley et al., 2009). Not only do different
                   was produced with the “Bombali Shebora chiefdom” and            habitats, species and ecological relationships survive in
                   the “Biriwa chiefdom” and entered into the sacred groves of     sacred forests, but these forests can ensure their survival by
                   Makeni, Kamabai and Kassasie (figure 1). Sierra Leone has       providing reservoirs. In fact, sacred groves play an important
                   different ethnic groups, each possessing distinct traditions,   role as a refuge for these species and hence become a tool
                   cultures and even dialects. Like the sacred forests described   for in situ conservation of flora and fauna (Decher, 1997). 
                   by Kokou andKokutse (2007), the places studied (Kamabai               From a cultural point of view, a distinction between spir-
                   and Kassasie) are forest fragments that belong to local peo-    itual and economic benefits must be made. Sacred forests are
                   ple of the Temne (Makeni) and Limba ethnic groups.              an important institution within Sierra Leonean society; many
                                                                                   traditions and ceremonies exist because of these groves. They
                                    Benefits of sacred forests                     can even be considered historical markers and archaeological
                                                                                   indicators due to their function as ancient elite burial grounds
                         The benefits of sacred forests can be ecological, cul-    or abandoned settlements (Chouin, 2002). 
                   tural and economical. Ecologically, they help to protect and          Sacred groves may also have economic value. In some
                   purify water resources and improve soil quality. They are       cases people are allowed to pick up medicinal plants or
                   important for riparian buffer conservation (Kokou, Kokutse,     dead wood which can be sold in local markets, bringing
                   2007) as they may function as buffer zones or corridors for     benefits to the families which are looking after these sacred
                   the dispersion of many species (Virtanen, 2002). These          sites (Kokou, Kokutse, 2007). On a global scale, sacred
                   forests are important for the conservation of flora and fauna   forests, like all conserved forests, sequester carbon dioxide
                   due to their widespread distribution and their role as reser-   (CO ) preventing it from being emitted into the atmosphere
                                                                                       2 ,
                   voirs for local biodiversity and threatened species             and contribute to global warming (Akacha Akoha, 2003).
                                                                                                            Methodology
                                                                                                    Two studies were done; a social research of
                                                                                               the role of secret societies in the conservation of
                                                                                               sacred forests and an ecological research with
                                                                                               botanical survey. 
                                                                                                    The social research employed the qualitative
                                                                                               triangle strategy of combining the three corners of
                                                                                               documentation, observation and interviews to
                                                                                               understand the socio-cultural aspects of sacred
                                                                                               forests. Specifically, two kinds of interviews, inves-
                                                                                               tigative  and  deep,  led  the  conversations.
                                                                                               Conversations were in English with 10 people
                                                                                               trusted (table I) and the information was analyzed.
                                                                                               Socio-cultural methods were limited because peo-
                                                                                               ple were very scared of consequences from secret
                                                                                               societies if they spoke too much. 
                                                                                                    Ecological methods were limited by the dif-
                                                                                               ficulty of entering sacred forests due to their pro-
                                                                                               tection by secret societies, thus ecological con-
                                                                                               clusions were drawn from previous observations.
                                                                                               Notes and samples were taking from the outside
                                                                                               to the inside of the grove after being entered the
                                                                                               forests. Botanical inventories were made from a
                                                                                               herbarium made from collected samples pro-
                                                                                               vided by local people. Species were identified in
                                                                                               the laboratory. First hand collection of samples
                                                                                               was not always possible because entry to the
                                                                                               sacred forests was strictly controlled. In some
                                                                                               cases, village chiefs were convinced of the rele-
                                                                                               vance of this study.  
                         Figure 1.
                         Localization of the sacred forests explored in Sierra Leone.
The words contained in this file might help you see if this file matches what you are looking for:

...Bois et forets des tropiques n sacrees le point sur the role of secret societies in conservation sacred forests sierra leone aurora martin pablo martinez de anguita juan vicente perez joseph lanzana universidad rey carlos department chemical and environmental technology tulipan street mostoles madrid spain oxford centre for tropical school university united kingdom makeni photograph entrance a forest j v focus p resume abstract resumen societes secretes el papel las sociedades secretas dans la en conservacion los bosques sagrados leona les ont hold last remaining son ultimos pratiquement pas fait l objet d etudes primary many parts fragmentos primarios scientifiques malgre qu elles but they have been relatively little pero practicamente no han constituent derniers fragments studied believed to be inhabited by spir sido objeto estudios cientificos gran vierges diverses regions du its are home ceremonies parte sociedad sierraleonesa consi pays une bonne partie societe therefore usu dera ...

no reviews yet
Please Login to review.