The forbidden and Sacred Landscape of the gods in Nigeria

Abstract:

Sacred forests are ecologically unique landscapes that play a significant role in the cultures of many traditional African societies, Nigeria included. Sacred forest refers to the designated specific areas seen as imbued with powers beyond those of humans: home to mighty spirits, sites linked to specific events, sites surrounding temples, burial grounds, or cemeteries housing the spirits of ancestors that ethnic minorities or indigenous peoples have preserved and protected to honor their gods, spirits, or ancestors. Considering this, the paper discusses the confluences of sacred forests in African traditions and the mediating role of practices (reverence for deities, sacredness, taboos, governance) related to the spiritual dimensions of sacred forests in the human-ecological environment interaction sustainability. It examines the relevance of “Sacred Forests” in Nigeria and the spiritual ecology of sacred landscape mythology. Based on ethnographic research design, data was generated by oral sources, textual analysis of Nollywood movies, interviews, and an inventory of sacred forests in South-South Nigeria. Findings about ancestors, myths, beliefs, sanctions, and taboos (forbidden) were vital strategies used to preserve the ecosystem (forest, species, animals) in South-South Nigeria. Findings suggest that traditional authorities used taboos to regulate the ethical and sustainable use of the environment and its resources. Notably, activities that most African communities considered taboo are clearing of sacred forests/bush, felling of forbidden trees(based on the belief that blood would ooze out of the tree), hunting of animals, eating totem animals (turtles, parrots, and eagles, fish or sacred animals); excavating graves for burial without traditional authorities’ permission; washing clothes in streams and collecting water with silverware; and fishing during forbidden seasons and sacred days. The paper argues that sacred forests have historically been connected to sacrifices, initiation rites, and deity worship. Sacred forests are deeply spiritualized, indicating human-environment relationships where visitors seek supernatural solutions to their predicaments. South-South eco-spirituality is a manifestation of the consciousness and experience of the sacredness in the ecology,’ and the community’s practical struggles for restoring the earth’s ecology and for humanity’s sustainable living from its resources. Fear of the gods, cultural significance, and places of worship kept sacred forests intact.

Bio:

Samuel Umoh is an assistant professor in the Political Science Department at the University of Hradec Kralove. He holds a Ph.D. in international relations and a master’s in history and strategic studies. Before his appointment at UHK, he taught colonial History, History Education, and cultural heritage at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He has a strong interest in the culture and heritage of the indigenous people. He is a recipient of the Coimbra Scholarship Program for Young African Researchers and a funded research visit to the University of Duisburg. Samuel is also a member of the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, the United States Institute of Peace, the International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM), and the Institute of Security Studies (ISS).