African Totems: Cultural Heritage for Sustainable Environmental Conservation
Sustainable development, a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, has eluded most developing nations in the world today. The world’s countries inlude the developed and developing nations where most African nat...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Bologna
2018-12-01
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| Series: | Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage |
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| Online Access: | https://conservation-science.unibo.it/article/view/9235 |
| _version_ | 1819110974414651392 |
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| author | K.L. Lucy Mandillah Georges-Ivo Ekosse |
| author_facet | K.L. Lucy Mandillah Georges-Ivo Ekosse |
| author_sort | K.L. Lucy Mandillah |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Sustainable development, a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, has eluded most developing nations in the world today. The world’s countries inlude the developed and developing nations where most African nations fit into the latter category. Attempts have been made to explain the circumstances under which African countries are striving to develop, but the role of Indigenous Knowledge System (IKS) in the entire process has not been exhaustively explored. Indigenous people have responded to ecological and development challenges by using the cultures and knowledge systems transmitted through their indigenous languages. The aim of this paper was to investigate how totems, as cultural belief systems, have been used in Africa to promote the conservation of natural resources. Qualitative methods (based on literature) were used to explore the values and perceptions that underlie the use of totems. The information was collected by reviewing some literature on African culture and totems from Kenya and South Africa. The literature reviewed concentrated on the cultural symbolism attached to totems among different tribes which were randomly selected from the two countries. Data was analyzed through content analysis and presented thematically. It was found that animal, plant and insect totems in Kenya and South Africa have symbolic meanings attached to them. The symbolic meanings are usually accompanied by taboos believed to have special spiritual and cultural associations. Due to these cultural associations and taboos, totems are protected against harm by the respective tribes, conserving species diversity and ecosystem diversity. The study recommends that there is a need to appreciate the cultural values and beliefs that help in sustainable development. Findings of the study could add value to the existing body of knowledge on Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) relating to the management and preservation of indigenous knowledge produced in Africa for sustainable development. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T03:50:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ea444d2942d143c5acd599610ac9d30f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1974-4951 1973-9494 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T03:50:14Z |
| publishDate | 2018-12-01 |
| publisher | University of Bologna |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage |
| spelling | doaj.art-ea444d2942d143c5acd599610ac9d30f2022-12-21T18:40:01ZengUniversity of BolognaConservation Science in Cultural Heritage1974-49511973-94942018-12-0118120121810.6092/issn.1973-9494/92357982African Totems: Cultural Heritage for Sustainable Environmental ConservationK.L. Lucy Mandillah0Georges-Ivo Ekosse1Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, KakamegaUniversity of Venda, ThohoyandouSustainable development, a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, has eluded most developing nations in the world today. The world’s countries inlude the developed and developing nations where most African nations fit into the latter category. Attempts have been made to explain the circumstances under which African countries are striving to develop, but the role of Indigenous Knowledge System (IKS) in the entire process has not been exhaustively explored. Indigenous people have responded to ecological and development challenges by using the cultures and knowledge systems transmitted through their indigenous languages. The aim of this paper was to investigate how totems, as cultural belief systems, have been used in Africa to promote the conservation of natural resources. Qualitative methods (based on literature) were used to explore the values and perceptions that underlie the use of totems. The information was collected by reviewing some literature on African culture and totems from Kenya and South Africa. The literature reviewed concentrated on the cultural symbolism attached to totems among different tribes which were randomly selected from the two countries. Data was analyzed through content analysis and presented thematically. It was found that animal, plant and insect totems in Kenya and South Africa have symbolic meanings attached to them. The symbolic meanings are usually accompanied by taboos believed to have special spiritual and cultural associations. Due to these cultural associations and taboos, totems are protected against harm by the respective tribes, conserving species diversity and ecosystem diversity. The study recommends that there is a need to appreciate the cultural values and beliefs that help in sustainable development. Findings of the study could add value to the existing body of knowledge on Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) relating to the management and preservation of indigenous knowledge produced in Africa for sustainable development.https://conservation-science.unibo.it/article/view/9235conservationenvironmentnatural resourcessymbolismtotem |
| spellingShingle | K.L. Lucy Mandillah Georges-Ivo Ekosse African Totems: Cultural Heritage for Sustainable Environmental Conservation Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage conservation environment natural resources symbolism totem |
| title | African Totems: Cultural Heritage for Sustainable Environmental Conservation |
| title_full | African Totems: Cultural Heritage for Sustainable Environmental Conservation |
| title_fullStr | African Totems: Cultural Heritage for Sustainable Environmental Conservation |
| title_full_unstemmed | African Totems: Cultural Heritage for Sustainable Environmental Conservation |
| title_short | African Totems: Cultural Heritage for Sustainable Environmental Conservation |
| title_sort | african totems cultural heritage for sustainable environmental conservation |
| topic | conservation environment natural resources symbolism totem |
| url | https://conservation-science.unibo.it/article/view/9235 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kllucymandillah africantotemsculturalheritageforsustainableenvironmentalconservation AT georgesivoekosse africantotemsculturalheritageforsustainableenvironmentalconservation |