The Sacred Groves (Kaavu) of Kerala: Hinduisation of Kerala’s Indigenous Ecological Spaces

The sacred groves, or kaavus, of Kerala have historically functioned as spaces of deep ecological and religious significance, where nature worship and local deities played a central role in the Religious life of the region. These kaavus, many of which are associated with indigenous ecological practices and animist traditions, are increasingly being reshaped under the pressures of postcolonial transformations in India. Located at the intersection of conflicting ideologies—neocolonial economic policies, religious secularism, political and militant cultural nationalism, and changing ecological consciousness—the position of the kaavu is rapidly evolving in contemporary Kerala. This paper analyzes the ongoing Hinduisation of kaavus, where Kerala’s sacred groves, reinterpreting through the lens of mainstream Hindu religious practices. This transformation is part of a broader cultural project, where the once-diverse Religious landscape of Kerala is being subsumed into the larger Hindutva agenda. The kaavus are increasingly subjected to religious standardization, with local deities being replaced or merged with mainstream Hindu gods, and rituals restructured to align with Hindu orthodoxy. In this process, the local animist traditions and ecological significance of these sacred groves are being diminished or erased. Through fieldwork, ethnographic study of select kaavus, and analysis of public discourse surrounding their transformation, this study will explore how the Hindutva project appropriates indigenous ecological spaces, reconfiguring them into instruments of political and cultural power. It will also examine the responses from local communities, environmental activists. The findings of this study aim to contribute to the broader understanding of how sacred ecological spaces in postcolonial India are becoming sites of ideological contestation, shaped by both religious and economic forces.