It is important to study if religious beliefs and practices in using sacred plants by different
ethnic groups influence in the cultivation and protection of these plants. Such knowledge can
be used to formulate sustainable management strategies. In spite of that, the study of the role
of religious and cultural variation within indigenous groups of people in the use and
management of natural resources has been given limited attention. This research was
conducted on the major religious plants worshiped and used by the Bramhin and the Limbu
people of Mangalbare and Siddithumka villages of Ilam district in eastern Nepal. The
objective of this study is to explore if variation in religious beliefs and cultural practices
between the Brahmin and the Limbu people influence abundance and distribution of religious
plants. Sociocultural data of religious beliefs on sacred plants and their uses in the rituals
were analyzed on the basis of the interview with the Brahmin and the Limbu priests from
each village. The relative measure of the abundance and occurrence of religious plants in the
two different villages was calculated using common ecological approaches of sampling such
as quadrat, transect and relascope counts. The findings of the study reveal linkages between
the religious beliefs and cultural practices of Brahmin and Limbu with the cultivation and the
management practice of religious plants. These beliefs and practices are found effective in the
cultivation and protection of sacred plants in the gardens and villages of Brahmin and
Limbu. The most religious plants are strongly protected and actively planted by both Brahmin
and Limbu.