JOURNALS

ABSTRACT

The study investigated African Traditional Religious Taboos and the Eco-system with reference to the Tiv people of North Central Nigeria. Although the value of Tiv traditional religious practices in natural resources management were previously regarded as inferior especially with the advent of Christianity, they are now receiving recognition as an important complement to existing conservation strategies. The eco-system has faced the challenge of degradation recently. The effects of globalization and human activities such as urbanization, mechanized agriculture, deforestation and infrastructural development have caused a lot of harm to the environment. The aim of this paper was to further re-emphasize the key role taboos play in the conservation of the eco-system. This paper argues that, the role of traditional beliefs in the protection of the environment and the ecosystem has been great. This fact is reflected in a variety of religious practices including taboos. Among the Tiv, there is hardly any community without a sacred groove, forest, sacred pond, stream, or forbidden forest where some parts of the environment are delineated for the worship of the gods and to offer sacrifices. It is valuable, therefore, to declare that some of the remaining natural forest areas and water sources in Tivland are being conserved consciously or unconsciously through the role of religious customs and beliefs. This paper calls for improvement by educating the people on the importance of preserving these natural resources and traditional knowledge-based systems of conservation.