Eco-Critical Literature: Regreening African Landscapes Edited by Ogaga Okuyade (cid:1) AFRICAN HERITAGE PRESS (cid:32)(cid:105)(cid:220)(cid:202)(cid:57)(cid:156)(cid:192)(cid:142)(cid:202)(cid:202)(cid:202)(cid:85)(cid:202)(cid:202)(cid:202)(cid:29)(cid:62)(cid:125)(cid:156)(cid:195)(cid:202)(cid:202)(cid:202)(cid:85)(cid:202)(cid:202)(cid:202)(cid:29)(cid:156)(cid:152)(cid:96)(cid:156)(cid:152) 2013 (cid:1) AFRICAN HERITAGE PRESS NEW YORK LAGOS PO BOX 1433 PO BOX 14452 NEW ROCHELLE, NY 10802 IKEJA, LAGOS USA NIGERIA TEL: (Toll Free) 855-247-7737; 914-481-8488 FAX: 914-481-8489 [email protected] www.africanheritagepress.com First Edition, African Heritage Press, 2013 Copyright © African Heritage Press, 2013 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the publisher. Library of Congress catalog number: 2013932982 Okuyade, Ogaga Cover Design: Dapo Ojoade Distributors: African Books Collective, www.africanbookscollective.com ISBN: 978-0-9790858-8-8 Contents Foreword v (cid:47)(cid:62)(cid:152)(cid:213)(cid:192)(cid:105)(cid:202)(cid:34)(cid:141)(cid:62)(cid:136)(cid:96)(cid:105)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:47)(cid:133)(cid:105)(cid:202)(cid:49)(cid:152)(cid:136)(cid:219)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:195)(cid:136)(cid:204)(cid:222)(cid:202)(cid:156)(cid:118)(cid:202)(cid:32)(cid:156)(cid:192)(cid:204)(cid:133)(cid:202)(cid:10)(cid:62)(cid:192)(cid:156)(cid:143)(cid:136)(cid:152)(cid:62)(cid:202)(cid:62)(cid:204)(cid:202)(cid:10)(cid:133)(cid:62)(cid:192)(cid:143)(cid:156)(cid:204)(cid:204)(cid:105) Introduction: African Cultural Art Forms, Eco-activism, and (Eco)-logical Consciousness ix (cid:34)(cid:125)(cid:62)(cid:125)(cid:62)(cid:202)(cid:34)(cid:142)(cid:213)(cid:222)(cid:62)(cid:96)(cid:105)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:32)(cid:136)(cid:125)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:202)(cid:12)(cid:105)(cid:143)(cid:204)(cid:62)(cid:202)(cid:49)(cid:152)(cid:136)(cid:219)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:195)(cid:136)(cid:204)(cid:222)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:55)(cid:136)(cid:143)(cid:76)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:118)(cid:156)(cid:192)(cid:86)(cid:105)(cid:202)(cid:22)(cid:195)(cid:143)(cid:62)(cid:152)(cid:96)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:9)(cid:62)(cid:222)(cid:105)(cid:143)(cid:195)(cid:62)(cid:202)(cid:45)(cid:204)(cid:62)(cid:204)(cid:105) 1: Representations of the Effects of Colonial Land Policies in Two Zimbabwean Novels 1 (cid:31)(cid:62)(cid:213)(cid:192)(cid:136)(cid:86)(cid:105)(cid:202)(cid:47)(cid:62)(cid:156)(cid:152)(cid:105)(cid:226)(cid:219)(cid:136)(cid:202)(cid:54)(cid:62)(cid:147)(cid:76)(cid:105)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:49)(cid:152)(cid:136)(cid:219)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:195)(cid:136)(cid:204)(cid:222)(cid:202)(cid:156)(cid:118)(cid:202)(cid:45)(cid:156)(cid:213)(cid:204)(cid:133)(cid:202)(cid:1)(cid:118)(cid:192)(cid:136)(cid:86)(cid:62) 2: Landscaping as a Plot and Character Development Medium in Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s Wizard of the Crow 15 (cid:22)(cid:118)(cid:105)(cid:222)(cid:136)(cid:152)(cid:220)(cid:62)(cid:202)(cid:34)(cid:142)(cid:156)(cid:143)(cid:156)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:49)(cid:152)(cid:136)(cid:219)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:195)(cid:136)(cid:204)(cid:222)(cid:202)(cid:156)(cid:118)(cid:202)(cid:22)(cid:76)(cid:62)(cid:96)(cid:62)(cid:152) 3: Eco-activism in Contemporary African Literature: Zakes Mda’s Heart of Redness and Tanure Ojaide’s The Activist 31 (cid:13)(cid:152)(cid:62)(cid:141)(cid:136)(cid:204)(cid:105)(cid:202)(cid:34)(cid:141)(cid:62)(cid:192)(cid:213)(cid:105)(cid:125)(cid:62)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:12)(cid:105)(cid:143)(cid:204)(cid:62)(cid:202)(cid:45)(cid:204)(cid:62)(cid:204)(cid:105)(cid:202)(cid:49)(cid:152)(cid:136)(cid:219)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:195)(cid:136)(cid:204)(cid:222)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:1)(cid:76)(cid:192)(cid:62)(cid:142)(cid:62) 4: Isidore Okpewho’s Tides and Ken Saro-Wiwa’s A Month and A Day: A Kinesis of Eco-activism From Theory To Praxis 47 (cid:10)(cid:133)(cid:62)(cid:192)(cid:143)(cid:105)(cid:195)(cid:202)(cid:10)(cid:143)(cid:136)(cid:118)(cid:118)(cid:202)(cid:19)(cid:105)(cid:125)(cid:133)(cid:62)(cid:76)(cid:156)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:32)(cid:136)(cid:125)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:202)(cid:12)(cid:105)(cid:143)(cid:204)(cid:62)(cid:202)(cid:49)(cid:152)(cid:136)(cid:219)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:195)(cid:136)(cid:204)(cid:222)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:55)(cid:136)(cid:143)(cid:76)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:118)(cid:156)(cid:192)(cid:86)(cid:105)(cid:202)(cid:22)(cid:195)(cid:143)(cid:62)(cid:152)(cid:96) 5: Nature and Environment in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God 75 (cid:20)(cid:143)(cid:156)(cid:192)(cid:136)(cid:62)(cid:202)(cid:13)(cid:192)(cid:152)(cid:105)(cid:195)(cid:204)(cid:135)(cid:45)(cid:62)(cid:147)(cid:213)(cid:105)(cid:143)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:22)(cid:147)(cid:156)(cid:202)(cid:45)(cid:204)(cid:62)(cid:204)(cid:105)(cid:202)(cid:49)(cid:152)(cid:136)(cid:219)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:195)(cid:136)(cid:204)(cid:222) 6: Degraded Environment and Destabilized Women in Kaine Agary’s Yellow-Yellow 95 (cid:45)(cid:213)(cid:152)(cid:152)(cid:222)(cid:202)(cid:1)(cid:220)(cid:133)(cid:105)(cid:118)(cid:105)(cid:62)(cid:96)(cid:62)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:12)(cid:105)(cid:143)(cid:204)(cid:62)(cid:202)(cid:45)(cid:204)(cid:62)(cid:204)(cid:105)(cid:202)(cid:49)(cid:152)(cid:136)(cid:219)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:195)(cid:136)(cid:204)(cid:222)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:1)(cid:76)(cid:192)(cid:62)(cid:142)(cid:62) 7: The Niger Delta, Environment, Women and the Politics of Survival in Kaine Agary’s Yellow-Yellow 109 (cid:32)(cid:125)(cid:156)(cid:226)(cid:136)(cid:202)(cid:10)(cid:133)(cid:213)(cid:147)(cid:62)(cid:135)(cid:49)(cid:96)(cid:105)(cid:133)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:12)(cid:105)(cid:171)(cid:62)(cid:192)(cid:204)(cid:147)(cid:105)(cid:152)(cid:204)(cid:202)(cid:156)(cid:118)(cid:202)(cid:13)(cid:152)(cid:125)(cid:143)(cid:136)(cid:195)(cid:133)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:1)(cid:152)(cid:62)(cid:147)(cid:76)(cid:192)(cid:62)(cid:202)(cid:45)(cid:204)(cid:62)(cid:204)(cid:105)(cid:202)(cid:49)(cid:152)(cid:136)(cid:219)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:195)(cid:136)(cid:204)(cid:222)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:32)(cid:136)(cid:125)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:136)(cid:62)(cid:202) 8: Women as Victims, Environmentalists and Eco-activists in Vincent Egbuson’s Love My Planet 123 (cid:34)(cid:219)(cid:220)(cid:156)(cid:142)(cid:105)(cid:202)(cid:12)(cid:156)(cid:192)(cid:86)(cid:62)(cid:195)(cid:202)(cid:34)(cid:220)(cid:133)(cid:156)(cid:118)(cid:62)(cid:195)(cid:62)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:49)(cid:152)(cid:136)(cid:219)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:195)(cid:136)(cid:204)(cid:222)(cid:202)(cid:156)(cid:118)(cid:202)(cid:22)(cid:76)(cid:62)(cid:96)(cid:62)(cid:152) 9: Can the Earth Be Belted? Rethinking Eco-literacy and Ecological Justice in Wangari Maathai’s Unbowed: A Memoir 139 (cid:34)(cid:125)(cid:62)(cid:125)(cid:62)(cid:202)(cid:34)(cid:142)(cid:213)(cid:222)(cid:62)(cid:96)(cid:105)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:32)(cid:136)(cid:125)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:202)(cid:12)(cid:105)(cid:143)(cid:204)(cid:62)(cid:202)(cid:49)(cid:152)(cid:136)(cid:219)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:195)(cid:136)(cid:204)(cid:222)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:55)(cid:136)(cid:143)(cid:76)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:118)(cid:156)(cid:192)(cid:86)(cid:105)(cid:202)(cid:22)(cid:195)(cid:143)(cid:62)(cid:152)(cid:96) 10: Nature and Social Responsibility in Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring and Tanure Ojaide’s The Tale of the Harmattan: Cross-Border Studies in Social Responsibility 161 (cid:44)(cid:156)(cid:195)(cid:105)(cid:143)(cid:222)(cid:152)(cid:105)(cid:202)(cid:31)(cid:176)(cid:202)(cid:27)(cid:213)(cid:62)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:12)(cid:105)(cid:171)(cid:62)(cid:192)(cid:204)(cid:147)(cid:105)(cid:152)(cid:204)(cid:202)(cid:156)(cid:118)(cid:202)(cid:13)(cid:152)(cid:125)(cid:143)(cid:136)(cid:195)(cid:133)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:49)(cid:152)(cid:136)(cid:219)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:195)(cid:136)(cid:204)(cid:222)(cid:202)(cid:156)(cid:118)(cid:202)(cid:9)(cid:213)(cid:105)(cid:62)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:10)(cid:62)(cid:147)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:156)(cid:156)(cid:152) 11: Poetic Rites, Minority Rights, and the Politics of Otherness in Tanure Ojaide’s Delta Blues and Home Songs 175 (cid:27)(cid:62)(cid:147)(cid:105)(cid:195)(cid:202)(cid:47)(cid:195)(cid:62)(cid:62)(cid:136)(cid:156)(cid:192)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:42)(cid:62)(cid:152)(cid:135)(cid:1)(cid:118)(cid:192)(cid:136)(cid:86)(cid:62)(cid:152)(cid:202)(cid:49)(cid:152)(cid:136)(cid:219)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:195)(cid:136)(cid:204)(cid:222)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:29)(cid:62)(cid:125)(cid:156)(cid:195) 12: Transcending the Discontents of Global Capitalism: Toward the Dialectics of De-commodified Environment in Tanure Ojaide’s Daydream of Ants and Niyi Osundare The Eye of the Earth 191 (cid:49)(cid:226)(cid:156)(cid:105)(cid:86)(cid:133)(cid:136)(cid:202)(cid:32)(cid:220)(cid:62)(cid:125)(cid:76)(cid:62)(cid:192)(cid:62)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:20)(cid:192)(cid:105)(cid:105)(cid:152)(cid:220)(cid:136)(cid:86)(cid:133)(cid:202)(cid:45)(cid:86)(cid:133)(cid:156)(cid:156)(cid:143)(cid:202)(cid:156)(cid:118)(cid:202)(cid:31)(cid:62)(cid:152)(cid:62)(cid:125)(cid:105)(cid:147)(cid:105)(cid:152)(cid:204)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:29)(cid:156)(cid:152)(cid:96)(cid:156)(cid:152)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:49)(cid:28) 13: Poetics of Environmental Agitation: A Stylistic Reading of Hope Eghagha’s Rhythms of the Last Testament and The Governor’s Lodge and Other Poems 215 (cid:31)(cid:62)(cid:86)(cid:62)(cid:213)(cid:143)(cid:62)(cid:222)(cid:202)(cid:31)(cid:156)(cid:220)(cid:62)(cid:192)(cid:136)(cid:152)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:12)(cid:105)(cid:143)(cid:204)(cid:62)(cid:202)(cid:45)(cid:204)(cid:62)(cid:204)(cid:105)(cid:202)(cid:49)(cid:152)(cid:136)(cid:219)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:195)(cid:136)(cid:204)(cid:222)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:1)(cid:76)(cid:192)(cid:62)(cid:142)(cid:62)(cid:202) 14: Niger Delta Dystopia and Environmental Despoliation in Tanure Ojaide’s Poetry 239 (cid:34)(cid:76)(cid:62)(cid:192)(cid:136)(cid:202)(cid:20)(cid:156)(cid:147)(cid:76)(cid:62)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:49)(cid:152)(cid:136)(cid:219)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:195)(cid:136)(cid:204)(cid:222)(cid:202)(cid:156)(cid:118)(cid:202)(cid:42)(cid:156)(cid:192)(cid:204)(cid:202)(cid:21)(cid:62)(cid:192)(cid:86)(cid:156)(cid:213)(cid:192)(cid:204) 15: Eco-survival in the Poetry of G. ‘Ebinyo Ogbowei 259 (cid:9)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:152)(cid:62)(cid:192)(cid:96)(cid:202)(cid:45)(cid:204)(cid:105)(cid:171)(cid:133)(cid:105)(cid:152)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:32)(cid:136)(cid:125)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:202)(cid:12)(cid:105)(cid:143)(cid:204)(cid:62)(cid:202)(cid:49)(cid:152)(cid:136)(cid:219)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:195)(cid:136)(cid:204)(cid:222)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:55)(cid:136)(cid:143)(cid:76)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:118)(cid:156)(cid:192)(cid:86)(cid:105)(cid:202)(cid:22)(cid:195)(cid:143)(cid:62)(cid:152)(cid:96) 16: Poetics of Environmental Degradation in Tanure Ojaide’s Delta Blues 273 (cid:34)(cid:143)(cid:213)(cid:195)(cid:105)(cid:125)(cid:213)(cid:152)(cid:202)(cid:1)(cid:96)(cid:105)(cid:142)(cid:156)(cid:222)(cid:62)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:34)(cid:76)(cid:62)(cid:118)(cid:105)(cid:147)(cid:136)(cid:202)(cid:1)(cid:220)(cid:156)(cid:143)(cid:156)(cid:220)(cid:156)(cid:202)(cid:49)(cid:152)(cid:136)(cid:219)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:195)(cid:136)(cid:204)(cid:222)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:22)(cid:143)(cid:105)(cid:135)(cid:22)(cid:118)(cid:105) 17: For Common Corn: Eco-ing Bole Butake’s Concerns in Lake God, The Survivors, and And Palm-Wine Will Flow 303 (cid:27)(cid:156)(cid:222)(cid:86)(cid:105)(cid:202)(cid:1)(cid:195)(cid:133)(cid:213)(cid:152)(cid:204)(cid:62)(cid:152)(cid:204)(cid:62)(cid:152)(cid:125) 18: Destabilizing the Images of the African Forest as a Conceptual Space for Renegotiating African Identities during the Zimbabwean Armed Liberation Struggle in the Film Flame (1996) 319 (cid:49)(cid:192)(cid:204)(cid:133)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:202)(cid:44)(cid:220)(cid:62)(cid:118)(cid:62)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:31)(cid:136)(cid:96)(cid:143)(cid:62)(cid:152)(cid:96)(cid:195)(cid:202)(cid:45)(cid:204)(cid:62)(cid:204)(cid:105)(cid:202)(cid:49)(cid:152)(cid:136)(cid:219)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:195)(cid:136)(cid:204)(cid:222)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:60)(cid:136)(cid:147)(cid:76)(cid:62)(cid:76)(cid:220)(cid:105) Notes on Editor and Contributors 337 Index 343 Foreword Tanure Ojaide, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (cid:13)(cid:86)(cid:156)(cid:135)(cid:86)(cid:192)(cid:136)(cid:204)(cid:136)(cid:86)(cid:62)(cid:143)(cid:202)(cid:29)(cid:136)(cid:204)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:62)(cid:204)(cid:213)(cid:192)(cid:105)(cid:92)(cid:202)(cid:44)(cid:105)(cid:125)(cid:192)(cid:105)(cid:105)(cid:152)(cid:136)(cid:152)(cid:125)(cid:202)(cid:1)(cid:118)(cid:192)(cid:136)(cid:86)(cid:62)(cid:152)(cid:202)(cid:29)(cid:62)(cid:152)(cid:96)(cid:195)(cid:86)(cid:62)(cid:171)(cid:105)(cid:195) is perhaps the first major book project to date on eco-criticism written or edited by an African lit- erary scholar. I congratulate the intellectually indefatigable Dr. Ogaga Okuyade for his foresight, intellectual acumen, industry, and determina- tion to pioneer this field of study in contemporary African literature and other fields in a purposeful way. While there are articles here and there on the relationship between African literature and environment, one hardly finds a book-length project dealing with different authors covering all the genres of literature and other cultural art forms. (Under)Graduate stu- dents in Africa and elsewhere working on different authors and books with eco-critical topics will find this book fascinating because it brings together eco-critical approaches to the entire African literature in one volume. A coordinated approach to African literature focusing on the environment has been long overdue. In this work, the editor and contributors take African literature and criticism to their functional role of addressing important issues of the so- ciety to draw attention to them so as to generate ideas and actions toward the solution of problems. This book thus carries African scholarship fur- ther than mere analyses of themes and style to ethical and activist roles of literature having an impact on readers and the public. It is a scholarship geared toward rectifying ecological imbalance that is prevalent in many parts of the continent that form the setting, context, and thematic dis- course of the works or authors studied in this book. This work hopes to sensitize the African readership to the need for the restoration of harmony between man and the environment. What is eco-criticism? It has to do with ecologically sensitive creative writing and criticism, which, according to Michael Branch, is meant to promote “ecological literacy” (viii). As I wrote elsewhere: v vi FOREWORD It is meant to make readers not only aware of the global environmental crisis but also for literature to “suggest[s] means by which we might read literary texts with a new appreciation for what they reveal about the com- plex of relationships that mediate interactions between humans and their environments” (xiii). It is a call for a change in culture towards a more “biocentric worldview, an extension of ethics, a broadening of human conception of global community to include nonhuman life forms and the physical environment” (xiii). With awareness of ecocriticism, what Cheryll Burgess Glotfelty calls “the relationship between human culture and the environment,” literature will lead towards “an ecologically sus- tainable human society” (qtd. in Branch 29). The environment has always played a significant role in African life and society. As Ali Mazrui says in the first part of his series of documenta- ries “The Africans,” there existed in traditional society a partnership be- tween humans and nature. Some animals were domesticated while others roamed the wild. Humans relied on animals and plants for sustenance— food in crops and fruits, fish and animals, firewood for cooking, timber for building, and more. Man held aspects of nature sacred—mountains, rocks, rivers, trees. The forest was the home of ancestors. In the religions of Africans, nature became an integral aspect of their spirituality in the form of groves, thus giving the environment a spiritual dimension. But with the coming of Christianity and Islam to Africa, the natural world be- came a servant of man rather than a partner because of an aloof God, leaving man to control and exploit nature. The result of the Western and Islamic intrusion into Africa and the superstitious and other practices of Africans led to the massive environmental degradation of the continent. A specific case in point that has attracted creative writing and criticism is the Niger Delta area of Nigeria where multinational oil corporations have done massive environmental damage through oil spills, blowouts, gas flares, and other forms of ecological despoliation. While oil exploration and exploitation are meant to bring wealth to the region, this has not happened in the Niger Delta, which remains not just one of the poorest parts of Nigeria but also of the entire world. As the multinational oil com- panies have done in other parts of the world (as in Ecuador), little of the oil wealth filters to the local communities whose traditional occupa- tions of farming and fishing are destroyed. The health hazards are enor- mous and go unchecked, such as the methane and other chemicals that poison the people from the air they breathe, the land they farm, and the water they drink. Even chemicals used by the oil companies to service (cid:19)(cid:156)(cid:192)(cid:105)(cid:220)(cid:156)(cid:192)(cid:96) vii their equipment percolate from wells and bore holes, while the rivers are clogged with crude oil in unchecked spills and blowouts. This is one of the contexts in which eco-criticism is set in Africa. What happens to the environment intersects with a multiplicity of is- sues. Again, as I once wrote, “The study of the environment inevitably leads to issues of land, culture, agriculture, politics, and economy, among others. These issues are related to ownership of land, oppression, and exploita- tion. These issues and the environment call for an “ecology of justice” or human rights that will bring harmony to the relationship between humans and their environment for their respective wellbeing in the interconnected cycles of life” (Ojaide 66). In recent times, the actions of multinational oil companies out for profit for Western shareholders at the expense of local communities have drawn attention to the relationship between the North and South as far as globalization is concerned. In the Niger Delta, this has given rise to what Al Gedicks calls “resource resources” in youths of local communities fighting the multinational oil companies and the Nigerian Government for resource control (qtd. In Ojaide 77). The African envi- ronment and its resources have engaged sensitive writers and scholars in multiple and interdisciplinary discourses. Before concluding the Foreword, I want to draw attention to Emmanuel Obiechina’s seminal book, (cid:10)(cid:213)(cid:143)(cid:204)(cid:213)(cid:192)(cid:105)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:47)(cid:192)(cid:62)(cid:96)(cid:136)(cid:204)(cid:136)(cid:156)(cid:152)(cid:202)(cid:62)(cid:152)(cid:96)(cid:202)(cid:45)(cid:156)(cid:86)(cid:136)(cid:105)(cid:204)(cid:222)(cid:202)(cid:136)(cid:152)(cid:202)(cid:204)(cid:133)(cid:105)(cid:202)(cid:55)(cid:105)(cid:195)(cid:204)(cid:202)(cid:1)(cid:118)(cid:192)(cid:136)(cid:86)(cid:62)(cid:152)(cid:202) (cid:32)(cid:156)(cid:219)(cid:105)(cid:143), published in 1975. There has been some form of eco-criticism in African scholarship long before it became vogue in the Western academy. Also, traditional African literature has always been sensitive to nature and the environment in many ways. Obiechina should be applauded for his eco-critical concern far back at a time when most critics had no awareness of the environment. He writes in his book: The traditional world view has an important bearing on attitudes to na- ture and this in turn is reflected in the novels. It implies a mystical yet utilitarian outlook on nature instead of an externalized appreciation of it in forms like fine landscapes, beautiful flowers, cascading waters or the colours of the rainbow. In this tradition the beauty of the particular tree comes to be inseparable from its “vital” property, demonstrable in pharmaceutical or magical efficacy or the shade it provides from the heat of the sun. The uniqueness of a particular stream or wooded landscape resides in some supernatural manifestation, either as the abode of a communal deity or a local spirit identifiable with the destiny of the com- munity. The rainbow is apprehended first and foremost as an externaliza- tion of an internal force portending good or ill for an entire community. viii FOREWORD Nature is not “other” as in the industrialized and urbanized West, but is apprehended by the traditional West African as an integral part of his world order [emphasis mine]. (Obiechina 42) I end this Foreword by emphasizing the importance and sense of ur- gency of this work in the form of the creative works and the critical discus- sion engendered by them. The book adds to the effort to fight the global environmental crisis. The contributors of these essays, as the authors studied, all promote what Michael Branch describes as the “ethics of cau- tion and reciprocity” (xix) in the interactions of humans with nonhuman nature. (cid:13)(cid:86)(cid:156)(cid:135)(cid:86)(cid:192)(cid:136)(cid:204)(cid:136)(cid:86)(cid:62)(cid:143)(cid:202)(cid:29)(cid:136)(cid:204)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:62)(cid:204)(cid:213)(cid:192)(cid:105)(cid:92)(cid:202)(cid:44)(cid:105)(cid:125)(cid:192)(cid:105)(cid:105)(cid:152)(cid:136)(cid:152)(cid:125)(cid:202)(cid:1)(cid:118)(cid:192)(cid:136)(cid:86)(cid:62)(cid:152)(cid:202)(cid:29)(cid:62)(cid:152)(cid:96)(cid:195)(cid:86)(cid:62)(cid:171)(cid:105)(cid:195) is a ground- breaking contribution to African literary scholarship, and I applaud the editor and the many contributors to this book project. Works Cited Branch, Michael, Rochelle Johnson, Daniel Patterson, and Scott Slovic. (cid:44)(cid:105)(cid:62)(cid:96)(cid:136)(cid:152)(cid:125)(cid:202)(cid:204)(cid:133)(cid:105)(cid:202) (cid:13)(cid:62)(cid:192)(cid:204)(cid:133)(cid:92)(cid:202)(cid:32)(cid:105)(cid:220)(cid:202)(cid:12)(cid:136)(cid:192)(cid:105)(cid:86)(cid:204)(cid:136)(cid:156)(cid:152)(cid:195)(cid:202)(cid:136)(cid:152)(cid:202)(cid:204)(cid:133)(cid:105)(cid:202)(cid:45)(cid:204)(cid:213)(cid:96)(cid:222)(cid:202)(cid:156)(cid:118)(cid:202)(cid:29)(cid:136)(cid:204)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:62)(cid:204)(cid:213)(cid:192)(cid:105)(cid:202)(cid:62)(cid:152)(cid:96)(cid:202)(cid:204)(cid:133)(cid:105)(cid:202)(cid:13)(cid:152)(cid:219)(cid:136)(cid:192)(cid:156)(cid:152)(cid:147)(cid:105)(cid:152)(cid:204). Moscow: U of Idaho P, 1998. Print. Gedicks, Al. (cid:44)(cid:105)(cid:195)(cid:156)(cid:213)(cid:192)(cid:86)(cid:105)(cid:202) (cid:44)(cid:105)(cid:76)(cid:105)(cid:143)(cid:195)(cid:92)(cid:202) (cid:32)(cid:62)(cid:204)(cid:136)(cid:219)(cid:105)(cid:202) (cid:10)(cid:133)(cid:62)(cid:143)(cid:143)(cid:105)(cid:152)(cid:125)(cid:105)(cid:195)(cid:202) (cid:204)(cid:156)(cid:202) (cid:31)(cid:136)(cid:152)(cid:136)(cid:152)(cid:125)(cid:202) (cid:62)(cid:152)(cid:96)(cid:202) (cid:34)(cid:136)(cid:143)(cid:202) (cid:10)(cid:156)(cid:192)(cid:171)(cid:156)(cid:192)(cid:62)(cid:204)(cid:136)(cid:156)(cid:152)(cid:195). Cambridge: South End, 2001. Print. Obiechina, Emmanuel. (cid:10)(cid:213)(cid:143)(cid:204)(cid:213)(cid:192)(cid:105)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:47)(cid:192)(cid:62)(cid:96)(cid:136)(cid:204)(cid:136)(cid:156)(cid:152)(cid:202)(cid:62)(cid:152)(cid:96)(cid:202)(cid:45)(cid:156)(cid:86)(cid:136)(cid:105)(cid:204)(cid:222)(cid:202)(cid:136)(cid:152)(cid:202)(cid:204)(cid:133)(cid:105)(cid:202)(cid:55)(cid:105)(cid:195)(cid:204)(cid:202)(cid:1)(cid:118)(cid:192)(cid:136)(cid:86)(cid:62)(cid:152)(cid:202)(cid:32)(cid:156)(cid:219)(cid:105)(cid:143). Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1975. Print. Ojaide, Tanure. (cid:10)(cid:156)(cid:152)(cid:204)(cid:105)(cid:147)(cid:171)(cid:156)(cid:192)(cid:62)(cid:192)(cid:222)(cid:202)(cid:1)(cid:118)(cid:192)(cid:136)(cid:86)(cid:62)(cid:152)(cid:202)(cid:29)(cid:136)(cid:204)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:62)(cid:204)(cid:213)(cid:192)(cid:105)(cid:92)(cid:202)(cid:32)(cid:105)(cid:220)(cid:202)(cid:1)(cid:171)(cid:171)(cid:192)(cid:156)(cid:62)(cid:86)(cid:133)(cid:105)(cid:195). Durham: Carolina Academic, 2012. Print. Introduction: African Cultural Art Forms, Eco-activism, and (Eco)-logical Consciousness (cid:34)(cid:125)(cid:62)(cid:125)(cid:62)(cid:202)(cid:34)(cid:142)(cid:213)(cid:222)(cid:62)(cid:96)(cid:105)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:32)(cid:136)(cid:125)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:202)(cid:12)(cid:105)(cid:143)(cid:204)(cid:62)(cid:202)(cid:49)(cid:152)(cid:136)(cid:219)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:195)(cid:136)(cid:204)(cid:222)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:55)(cid:136)(cid:143)(cid:76)(cid:105)(cid:192)(cid:118)(cid:156)(cid:192)(cid:86)(cid:105)(cid:202)(cid:22)(cid:195)(cid:143)(cid:62)(cid:152)(cid:96)(cid:93)(cid:202)(cid:9)(cid:62)(cid:222)(cid:105)(cid:143)(cid:195)(cid:62)(cid:202)(cid:45)(cid:204)(cid:62)(cid:204)(cid:105) One of the most problematic issues the world continues to contend with even beyond the close of the twentieth century is the unimaginable disap- pearance of the nonhuman world. Mankind continues to make concerted efforts to ensure that the other worlds are kept alive since the human world solely depends on them for sustenance and existence. Interestingly therefore, the nonhuman world appears to be more important than the human since it provides the material support base for the latter. Summits of different kinds with the environment forming the basis for such ensem- bles are organized across the world in order to draw man’s attention to his inordinate exploitation of natural resources, which in turn continues to make human existence precarious. However, as world leaders continue to advocate the need for an eco-friendly universe, there appears to be a basic problem with fashioning pragmatic policies that will ensure the preservation and sustenance of the environment. This may be viewed as a moot point, but the absence of a pragmatic and proactive eco-policy and its strict implementation essentialize the need to protect these worlds that cannot fight for themselves, but can only draw attention to the debilitating and devastating blows (un)consciously and constantly thrown at them by man’s sense of capitalist industrialism and consumerism through their vis- ible disappearance. Africa appears to be the only continent that hardly participates in any form of mercantile-based revolution that powers the economy of the world. Africa was visibly absent during the industrial revolution, even if it actually oiled the process. The technological and scientific revolution which most Western countries launched in the twentieth century seems to be too complex for the African peoples, and as such, they appear to be mere observers and consumers of whatever projects or products emanating from this ever present and evolving revolution. If there is any one thing Africa has in abundance, it is, without doubt, natural resources. Invariably, nature-cum-environment becomes the base of the new revolution. As ix