African Spirituality and the Environment: Case of the Agĩkũyũ

Abstract

This article describes how the Agĩkũyũ religious beliefs, cultural practices, peasant farming at the turn of the 19th century enabled them to conserve and live in harmony with their environment. The affinity of the Agĩkũyũ with the environment permeated every area of their ecosystem resulting to a harmonious coexistence of people, animals and plants. The paper further illustrates how under the British rule destruction of the environment was first initiated. With the introduction of new culture, laws, religion, policies and system of Government, the Agĩkũyũ eventually abandoned their religious beliefs and practices leading to the destruction of the environment. The paper ends with a critic of the Agĩkũyũ traditional religious beliefs for their inability to replenish a destroyed environment. The paper recommends a re-reading of the Biblical texts that are claimed to sanction destruction of the environment