IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Athreva, V.R.; Pimpale, S.; Borkar, A.S.; Surve, N.; Chakravarty, S.; Ghosalkar, M.; Patwardhan, A.; Linnell, J.D.C. | |
| Monsters or Gods? Narratives of large cat worship in western India | |
| 2018 Cat News (67): 23-26 | |
In this article we describe the belief in the presence of a large cat diety; Waghoba, which appears to be geographically widespread in western India and is still revered today. It is a very old cultural institution which according to many interviewees was at least many centuries old. The people had a deep belief that the large cat; a leopard _Panthera pardus_ or a tiger _Panthera tigris _or both, protected them. This ancient cultural connection between people and large cats is little studied or understood. Believers also have an understanding of the ecology of the animal as well as their own myths surrounding the animals. We address the rarely acknowledged, but probably deeply relevant, cultural context where groups of people have a radically different relationship with large cats which is largely ignored by conservationists. These relationships could provide the basis for co-adaptations that allow for coexistence in shared landscapes, therefore, it is very important that we document and study these institutions before they die out. |
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