Ritual in Igbo Tradition and Sustainable Environment

Abstract

The study attempts to explore the relevance of rituals in Igbo tradition towards sustaining the environment in Igboland. It further argues that ritual elements embedded in Igbo attitude to the environment can be used in the efforts at mitigating the current crisis in the environment. Using Interpretive Retrieval method, the paper establishes that the idea of Igbo worldview, relationship between ritual and environment, ritual activities involving animate and inanimate objects, natural objects and phenomenon, cycles of nature and agricultural activities can be used to guide human attitudes and relationships with the environment. The paper found that ritual underlies most aspects of traditional Igbo beliefs and practices, and contributed significantly to sustainable environment in traditional Igbo society. Its practical application to relationships with nature in contemporary society will help in checking anthropogenic activities responsible for the degradation in the environment