SACRED TREES/PLANTS: THE GREENING OF IGBO-AFRICAN RELIGION

Ecological issues as a matter of concern have gradually moved beyond the parameters of the public domain, in terms of issues for the government to handle to matters of religious concerns. This development is evident in the writings and teachings of the Popes over recent years; the writings of various religious groups and bodies such as the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology, Alliance of Religions and Conservation, etc. These have emerged because the environmental challenges are far beyond what should be left alone to the government to respond to. This development has been of help in terms of the achievement of results given that four persons out of every five in the world have some religious affiliation. This paper begins by pointing out the seriousness of ecological crisis in the world and how it connects to every religion for the finding of ways for the sustainability of the universe. While there are a few papers written on sacred trees in Igbo traditional societies, there is hardly literature that discusses its relationship with the eco-system or its ecological relevance. This article, therefore, distinguishes itself as it focused on African religious reality, which are sacred trees. Discussions on the connection between the environment and religion have focused on the other religions with little or no connection with the African religion. Sacred trees in African traditional religious world are a fundamental religious reality which shows how the traditional African has attended to the care that his or her immediate environment requires. 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 were used for the evaluation of the data at hand. This paper shows that the Igbo-African indigenous beliefs, taboos, sanctions and knowledge have contributed hugely to the preservation of the ecosystem.

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