Ecoculture and Spirituality in the Poetry of Nol Alembong and Bongasu Tanla-Kishani

Abstract

This study set out to demonstrate how spirituality is declining in African ecoculture, and how Nol Alembong and Bongasu Tanla-Kishani have handled the problem in their collections of poems entitled, The Passing Wind and Konglanjo! Spears of Love without Ill-Fortune respectively. The study employs the tenets of Ecocriticism and Afrocentricity to argue that, the poetics of Alembong and Kishani reposition the ecological, cultural and spiritual links that have been distorted by the New World Order accentuated by capitalist greed, and the evolution and advancement of modern technology. The study revealed that a thorough study from the Romantic through the Transcendental eras shows that there has been a decline in the link between humans and nature as humans are systematically shifting away from nature. Given that Africa is spiritually tied to nature as Mazisi Kunene, Chinua Achebe, Kashim Ibrahim Tala, Nol Alembong etc. have argued, it becomes problematic when human/nature link begins to wane. Analyzing some selected poems from Alembong and Kishani’s collections against the backdrop of Ecocriticism and Afrocentricity, this study revealed that: African spirituality is earth-centered and this makes Alembong and Kishani to reaffirm the interconnectedness among nature, humans and spirituality. The poor treatment of nature thus leads to a decline in African spirituality. The second main finding of this study is that, the continuous decline in African spirituality persists because when it comes to mores and ethos governing nature and spirituality, focus is largely on Western notions which are capitalistic and individualistic in nature. The ultimate revelation of this study is that, man’s search for spiritual meaning has contributed to the physical destruction of the earth, thereby causing the disruption of the order of the universe and the essence of beings The study recommends the need to include African communalistic approach in the fight against human destruction of nature and spirituality.