AFRICAN MYTHOLOGIES AND ECO-SPIRITUALITY

African myths are invented stories about the African gods in which they behave like human beings, however, with superhuman powers. Closely associated with this sense of the word is its usage to refer to the stories which may accompany and allegedly form the basis of religious rituals in African traditional religion. African myths are thus symbolic stories about the origins and destiny of human beings and their world. They relate human beings to whatever powers they believe ultimately govern their destiny, and explain to them what those powers expect of them. Unlike the contemporary English use of myth to indicate an untrue story, African myths convey the eventual truths of life. They not only provide the symbolic categories by which Africans understand the organization of their universe, but also suggest patterns by which they try to maintain the balance and the harmony of the world. They define the nature and the powers of beings in the universe and their relationships; they suggest rituals by which the human person tries to relate with them and the universe as a whole. While there are a few papers written on African mythologies, there is hardly literature that discusses its relationship with the eco-system or its ecological relevance. This understanding, therefore, formed the background of this work studying the following Africanmythologies in relation to African eco-spirituality: the Nri myth of the Igbo, Ife myth of the Yoruba, Efe myth of Congo, the Basare and Wassa myths of Ghana, Nyanweze myth of Tanzania and the Abaluyia myth of Kenya. The purpose is to study the relationship between these African mythologies and ecological spirituality as they form the basis or source for African eco- spirituality, with the aim of finding alternative solutions to the emerging ecological crisis in Africa and beyond. Its concern borders on how African mythology can contribute or have contributed to the understanding of the African environment and the preservation of the same. The phenomenological and analytical methods of inquiry were patronized for the achievement of the purpose of this study.

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