SACRED ANIMALS AND IGBOAFRICAN ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE SYSTEM

A cursory glance at the developments in ecological studies reveal that a wide range of environmental problems have emerged in Africa and beyond with huge physical manifestations. These problems include global warming, the depletion of stratospheric ozone, the acidification of surface waters, often referred to as acid rain, the destruction of tropical forests, the depletion and extinction of species, and the precipitous decline of biodiversity. While these manifestations are physical in the main, the solutions to them does not entirely depend on the physical. This is where religion comes in given that a good number of human persons are bound up with beliefs among other factors. While there are a few papers written on sacred animals in Igbo traditional societies, there is hardly literature that discusses its relationship with the eco-system or their ecological relevance. It is, therefore, from this background that this work discusses the place of sacred animals in IgboAfrican religious context in the entire project of preserving the environment, especially in traditional African societies. Sacred animals occupy a fundamental place in African traditional religion. If they are not considered the symbol of the ancestors and deities, they are considered more suitable for the offering of sacrifice, etc. The scope of this study is the Igbo of Eastern Nigeria and Western Africa. The phenomenological approach was employed for the collection of data, while the hermeneutical and analytical methods of investigation will used for the evaluation of the data at hand. The Conservation of Resources Theory would be employed for the purpose of this study. This paper shows that the Igbo-African indigenous beliefs, taboos, sanctions and knowledge have contributed hugely to the checking of the abuse of the environment.

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