ABSTRACT
This chapter embodies the concept of dormant ethnobotany (Leopold, 2011), defined as the study of relationships between people and plants that are inactive, but nonetheless still alive in memories, historical records, written folklore and a part of our ecology, thereby capable of re-emergence in support of the transition into a more sustainable society. Defending the sacred is about how we can draw from dormant ethnobotanical knowledge in a time when we have forgotten what it means to value sacred landscapes. It is important to frame the concept of dormancy with a wide spectrum of variation of plant knowledge in various states of use and memory. I am using this concept of dormancy to frame my personal process towards re-emergence of my relationship to the values of sacred landscapes.
