Indigenous Environmentalism through Dance: The Ohaji-Egbema Experiment in South-Eastern Nigeria

Abstract

Scholars in the environmental humanities have engaged critically in how literature and the performing arts have absorbed the spirit of environmentalism as other disciplines have done. The greening of the humanities has been a subject of discussion from the last quarter of the 20th century. Ecoliterary discourse, ecofilms and ecomusicology have become buzz concepts in the arena of the environmental discourse. However, we argue in this study, that there is a paucity of critical works on how indigenous dance art forms can be used to communicate environmental stability, ecological consciousness, and be used as a medium to resist anthropocentric ideals. The questions that this paper raises are: In what ways can indigenous dances in Nigeria communicate ecological consciousness in the country? How and to what extent can indigenous dances be employed to discuss culture-nature entanglements in degraded sites? The researchers relied on Indigenous Standpoint theory, existing literature, interviews, and focus group discussions with stakeholders (indigenes, ministry heads, and oil company employees) and visits to oil-degraded sites in Ohaji/Egbema for information on the taxonomy, politics, and conflicts of space and oil in the region. In line with data gathered, indigenous songs and dances were packaged and performed to provide the much-needed platform for stakeholders (indigenes, government and oil firms) to rethink environmentally oppressive actions in the region toward ensuring environmental stewardship. This study examines the ways in which indigenous dance in Igbo land, Nigeria, can embody indices of indigenous environmentalism. It can also be a path towards decolonizing colonial ecological frameworks and epistemologies.