INDIGENOUS PERSPECTIVE AND ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE IN THE CONSERVATION OF THE ECOSYSTEM: EXPLORING SHADRACH AMBANASOM’S FOREST OF THE GODS

Abstract

Abstract This study examines the significance of groves and sanctuaries within the Dudum society of the Grassfields, as illustrated in Shadrach Ambanasom’s Forest of the Gods. It looks at how these holy places are depicted and stresses Ambanasom’s plea for their preservation. Though are reserved for cultural rituals and revert cultural practices, present-day tendencies of excessive and geocentricism endanger their conservation. The paper points out the Forest of the Gods’s connection to various Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their benefits to the Dudum community and the Grassfield society at large. These SDGs are healthy lives for communities (SDG 3), sustainable human settlements (SDG 11), climate change mitigation (SDG 13), biodiversity conservation (SDG 15), and Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions (SDG 16). Methodologically, the researcher reads and textual analyses the Forest of the Gods to identify themes and symbols related to sacred groves and sanctuaries. Also, the researcher uses articles, cultural studies, and a brief historical accounts of the Grassfields and Dudum people at length to contextualise and enhance the analyses. Ecocriticism serves as a key conceptual framework. It is one of the enabling theory for an examination of the relationship between the Dudum people and their natural environment. It highlights ecological myths and the cultural imperative of protecting these sacred spaces. Moreover, New Historicism offers insights into the historical and cultural contexts of the selected poem to reveal the deeper message of environmental protected as highlighted by the poet. The study concludes that while the protection of sacred trees and groves is an innate cultural practice among the Dudum people, contemporary challenges such as greed and selfishness undermine these efforts. This leads to environmental degradation and the potential wrath of the gods as forewarned in Ambanasom’s literary work. Thus, the research underscores the unbreakable link between humanity and the earth, and emphasises the need for renewed commitment to environmental protection in the face of modern pressures.