Page 165 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 8

Forum

Creation
Holistic personhood in traditional Africa was defined by how well the
individual cared for the environment. Will Smith once noted: Africa is
“really beautiful. It feels like God visits everywhere else but lives in Afri-
ca.“ And, from time immemorial, Africans have known that they live in
an amazing Continent and owe it to the Creator to take care of it. Creati-
on includes animals and plants, dry land and the sea, the heavens above
and the earth below, and that the human being is to exercise stewardship
over his world. We cannot remain holistically fit in a broken toxic envi-
ronment.
Africans traditionally believed the reality that the living had the respon-
sibility to conserve the environment for future generations and were ac-
countable for this stewardship to their ancestors. This belief and practice
was inbuilt into traditional religion and taboos attached to any attempts
at environmental degradation. Indeed, wetlands and lakes were said to
be the abode of spirits and forests were said to be haunted. It is only now
that many African communities know that the reason was to ensure that
these areas were conserved. Holistic balanced living calls for creation
care – planting of trees, flowers, grass; conserving of wild life and forests;
protecting water catchment areas; giving thanks for harvest; rejecting
overuse of pesticides and fertilizer to conserve the soil; growing and ea-
ting organic foods as much as we can. Holistic personhood and balanced
living also calls for maintaining a clean toxic free environment; minimi-
zing use of pesticides; protecting our lakes, rivers, conserving rainwater;
ensuring that trash is collected and keeping the air we breathe clean.
Why such commitment to environmental conservation? A Nigerian El-
der Okyenhene, Nana Ofori Atta said: I conceive of land (and the whole
environment) as belonging to a large family of which many are dead, a
few are living and countless are yet to be born. This awareness was con-
tained in traditional education and passing on of knowledge from one
generation to another. However, Western education and main religions
coming to Africa disconnected the environment from education as well
as from worship. Stewardship of life systems ensures that life flows back
to us because nature is cyclic. The desire for more and more has led to
environmental degradation, toxicity and pollution of both water and air,
and using up land set aside for Recreation Parks and family relaxation for
development especially in cities. Thank God that several African nations
have at least conserved wild life, and Africa remains one of the last fron-
tiers for animals to run wild and free in National Parks. Every African
should be a conservationist by nature – faithfully making a difference
right where they are.

Conclusion
Whether marred and broken or healthy and vibrant, each human being
possesses the innate ability to live out as a whole person maintaining a
balanced system. Africans believe that the center of this balance is spiri-
tuality and meaning. These link us to the compass of life, reminding us
that: “The best things in life are not things.”
A person is a system of body, mind, spirit and relationships within

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