Which of the following activities can be termed as naturalisation of humans?
A. Remembering Loi-Lugi (Spirit of the forest) before quenching the thirst.
B. The idea of mother nature.
C. Controlled temperature in a room.
D. Shifting cultivation.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → A, B and D only
A. Remembering Loi-Lugi (Spirit of the forest) before quenching the thirst. Correct. In the chapter’s story, Benda thanks Loi-Lugi, the spirit of the forest, before drinking from a stream. A naturalised human listens to nature, fears its fury and worships it.
B. The idea of mother nature. Correct. Societies that depend directly on nature for the resources that sustain them see the physical environment as “Mother Nature”.
C. Controlled temperature in a room. Incorrect. Controlling the temperature with technology is people changing nature to suit themselves. That is the humanisation of nature, the opposite idea.
D. Shifting cultivation. Correct. Benda’s tribe practises shifting cultivation, a primitive form of farming in which small patches of forest are burnt and the ash makes the soil fertile. It depends wholly on nature.
NCERT (2025-26): “Naturalisation of Humans and Humanisation of Nature … In the early stages of their interaction with their natural environment humans were greatly influenced by it. They adapted to the dictates of Nature. This is so because the level of technology was very low and the stage of human social development was also primitive. This type of interaction between primitive human society and strong forces of nature was termed as environmental determinism. At that stage of very low technological development we can imagine the presence of a naturalised human, who listened to Nature, was afraid of its fury and worshipped it. The physical environment for such societies becomes the ‘Mother Nature’.… Benda and his friends burn small patches of forest to clear them for cultivation. The ash is used for making the soil fertile. Benda is happy that the Mahua trees around him are in bloom. How lucky I am to be a part of this beautiful universe, he thinks as he looks up to see the Mahua, Palash and Sal trees that have sheltered him since childhood. Crossing the penda in a gliding motion, Benda makes his way to a stream. As he bends down to scoop up a palmful of water, he remembers to thank Loi-Lugi, the spirit of the forest for allowing him to quench his thirst.…” |