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African Traditional Religious-Ecotopian Visions: Problems and Promise

African Traditional Religious-Ecotopian Visions: Problems and Promise. Paper presented at the 3 rd ACLARS Conference, 17-20 May 2015, Windhoek, Namibia By Nisbert Taisekwa Taringa Associate Professor, University of Zimbabwe, Department of Religious Studies, Classics and Philosophy.

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African Traditional Religious-Ecotopian Visions: Problems and Promise

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  1. African Traditional Religious-Ecotopian Visions: Problems and Promise Paper presented at the 3rd ACLARS Conference, 17-20 May 2015, Windhoek, Namibia By Nisbert Taisekwa Taringa Associate Professor, University of Zimbabwe, Department of Religious Studies, Classics and Philosophy

  2. Introduction • global recognition for a need for a new, more environmentally friendly/benign imagination of nature, • seeing it as active, meaningful, subjective and spiritual, re-evaluating it, devaluing humanity somewhat recognizing it as part of nature, encouraging caring human action towards it. • religion a possible influential source of new recognition of nature, linking humanity to a wider environmental reality and providing the existential support, moral authority and institutional organization able to address environmental issues.(Watling, 2009:2-3).

  3. Ecotopia: Definition/Assumption • idealized(utopian) religious imaginations of nature and the human place in it, envisaging a more environmentally oriented humanity in a cooperative, harmonic, interdependent, sacred, relationship with nature( Watling, 2009) • Ecotopia imagines a more environmentally friendly, cooperative, humble and spiritual, humanity in tune with nature, • Visions of humanity in harmony with nature • Key assumption: the social construction of nature, nature is always an idea, an imagination, and the way it is imagined leads to the way humanity interacts with it, dominating or liberating , degrading or protecting it,. • Analysing the role of myth and religious beliefs in creating an ecological reimagination of nature • Reviewing the myth and religious beliefs in the Shona religious ecotopian visions • Ecological genocide is underpinned by a visions of nature

  4. Western Worldview • Dominant modern western worldview • the social construction of nature, • what is known as nature in the modern context, limited , based particular cultural assumptions • ontological dualism-a mechanical imagination, creating a view of nature as separate from, and lower than humanity • Counter imaginations of nature and humanity are needed • based on African relational personhood, relational ontology, and relational epistemology

  5. Shona Ecotopian Visions • Shona myth of creation: The mwedzi(moon) myth • Mwari making the first human called Mwedzi (moon) bottom of the pool (dziva). • Mwedzi asked to go out to the dry land. Mwari gave him a wife called Masasi to accompany him. The two lived in a cave. They gave birth to grass, bushes and trees. • Masasi went back to the pool. Mwari gave Mwedzi another wife called Morongo. Morongo gave birth to all kinds of animals. • Eventually she bore boys and girls.

  6. Analysis and Discussion • RELATIONAL ONTOLOGY: • develop an awareness and sense of self and others; • a sense of belonging, coming to know our responsibilities and ways to relate to the self and others • focus our attention on our interrelatedness and our interdependence with each other and our greater surroundings • NYIKA(COUNTRY), is not only the land and the people, • also the entities water bodies, animals, plants, climate, skies, spirits. One entity not be raised above another entity as these live in close relationship with one another. • All things recognised for their place on the overall system. TOTEMISM, MASHURA(OMENS) • relationships are not oppositional, nor binary, • relations serve to define and unite, not oppose or alienate

  7. Conclusion:african traditional religious visions • how one relates with nature, part of Hunhu/ubuntu • worldview , a seamless interconnection between the divine, human and natural worlds. An anthropocosmic worldview. • Nature is not of secondary importance • heart =an animistic relational epistemology. • Divine human relations not more important than relationship between humans and the natural, =dark green; • turns attention to we-ness. • against materialistic framing of the environment as discrete things , fosters a relationality which frames the environment as “nested relatedness.” • not premised on the dichotomous opposition of culture and nature. • privileges knowing how to behave within relations in order to nourish these relations more than knowing things in and for themselves as objects separate from the knower. • Based on relational ontology, relational personhood and relational epistemology • fosters a relational perception of the environment.

  8. Thank You

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