Cosmovision and African conservation philosophy: indigenous knowledge system perspective

Abstract

Cosmovision is the worldview of a society that is deeply imbedded in the way in which that society is organized and evolves over time. It is a society’s attempt to explain and better understand all that surrounds it, including its place within the cosmos, or universe and how it conserves it environment. In Africa, like elsewhere, indigenous knowledge systems (IKSs) were used to administer peace, harmony, and order amongst the people and their physical environment. However, with the advent of colonialism in Africa, IKSs were not only marginalized, but demonized leaving their potentials for establishing and maintaining a moral, virtuous society, unexploited. It is in this light that this article argues for a correction to the vestiges of colonialism. The article adopts examples of IKS success stories in pre-colonial era showing the beauty of the undiluted African indigenous knowledge systems and their potential for establishing a moral, virtuous society. To this end, the article argues that Africa, today, is in the grips of high crime rates, serious moral decadence, and other calamities because of the marginalization, false, and pejorative label attached to the African IKSs. This article criticizes, pulls down, and challenges the inherited colonial legacies, which have morally and socially injured many African societies. Keywords: cosmovision, indigenous, knowledge, conservation, philosophy, taboos. JEL Classification: D83, O13, O15