AFRICAN INDIGENOUS ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS: RELIGION, PHILOSOPHY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

EDITOR
Ikechukwu Anthony KANU, OSA, PhD

First Published in 2021

A Publication of The Association for the Promotion of African Studies

COPYRIGHT © 2021 by The Association for the Promotion of African Studies

ISBN: 978-978-997-555-6

 

INTRODUCTION

The search for alternative perspectives and approaches to the problem of ecological crisis is what has led to the emergence of the views in this book of readings titled: African Indigenous Ecological Knowledge Systems: Religion, Philosophy and the Environment. It is a collection of papers by distinguished African authors who have endeavored to explore the possibility of employing African indigenous knowledge systems in search for ‘the holy’ in the natural world or for the spiritual and moral response that the present ecological crisis requires. This work is very significant at this time as Africa as a continent is today begining to be united by the consciousness that our individual destinies are caught up with the health of natural systems at the national, regional and continental levels. This Book of Readings does not only focus on scholarly and indigenous perspectives regarding the issue of ecology in Africa but also attempts at providing answers to fundamental questions that have been looming at the horizon of thought for years, if not centuries. The beauty of these responses is that they take into congnizance the particular contexts or categories of the African people.

Interestingly, the perspectives in this book reveal how in African anthroposophy, earth-based spiritual traditions and innovative spiritual practices are already emerging in response to the painful realities of climate change, mass extinction, biodiversity loss, and the disruption of local and global ecosystems which have for long not received the attention that it duely deserves. This piece, therefore, will become one of the greatest ornaments and lights in the world of African eco-spiritulaity as it responds to questions that are long overdue.

BOOK CHAPTERS

Articles