I am from Tamil Nadu in India and I was really thrilled to learn about the traditional wisdom of the Tamil Culture in environmental protection. Hope you enjoy reading it.

Various Tamil literatures such as Tholkappiyam, Silapadhikaram, Manimekhalai, Pattupattu, etc. are grouped under the name of Sangam literature. Sangam literature mentions about five ecozones that existed which were forests, hills, deserts, coastal regions and fertile plains - also known as thinai. The five thinai or the eco zones used to have a special tree, an animal, a bird, a flower and a deity of their own.

The thinai also meant behaviour or culture appropriate to each zone and it was believed that the environmental factors influenced the culture and behaviour. The worship of trees was widely prevalent among the Tamils. There are numerous references to the belief that trees were the abode of deities in the extensive Sangam literature. Trees worshipped in the temple and associated either with the village, temple or the deity are known as Sthalavrikshas or sacred trees. When temples were erected for the Gods who had originally existed in the shade of trees, people took special care not to remove those trees which had been preserved and worshipped.

Sacred groves represent the single most ecological tradition of ancient Tamil culture. Each grove is dedicated to the local folk deity and spirit and has folklore associated with either the deity or the grove. People believed that any damage to the sacred grove, harm to the fauna residing in it or felling of any tree or taking dead wood may incur the wrath of the local deity, causing diseases and failure of agricultural crops. Similarly funds were provided to temples for maintaining gardens and orchards. Special staff were employed for maintaining the gardens.

Sacred animals became the mounts of diverse Hindu gods and goddesses, representing the character of the deity and integrated with the iconography. There are flowers and leaves specifically used for worshipping the Gods and Goddesses, and grains used for preparing holy food for them. Thus, the Tamil tradition and culture have successfully preserved biodiversity through the ages.

The reference to so many eco-zones indicates that there were both developed regions and undeveloped regions. An attempt was made to integrate all these different eco zones utilizing different resources by the Tamils. An analysis of the man nature interactions in ancient traditional societies of Tamilnadu reveals that they have been able to live in harmony with their environment by adopting appropriate ethical positions. For instance, the ancient people believed that the destruction of forests in close proximity of villages will bring a loss of prosperity and disease outbreak. The killing of certain animals is taboo among certain groups. For instance, several ethnic groups in Tamilnadu, do not kill the crow, the owl, the vulture, the elephant and Cobra.

Sacred grove, sacred trees and sacred animals teach us the footprints to be learnt in the evolution of conservation system in the wider fabric of cultural pattern of India