| African Sacred Groves: Ecological Dynamics and Social Change Contributor(s): Sheridan, Michael J. (Editor), Nyamweru, Celia (Editor) |
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ISBN: 0821417894 ISBN-13: 9780821417898 Publisher: Ohio University Press OUR PRICE: $26.68 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: March 2008 Annotation: In western scholarship, Africa' s so-called sacred forests are often treated as the remains of primeval forests, ethnographic curiosities, or cultural relics from a static precolonial past. Their continuing importance in African societies, however, shows that this " relic theory" is inadequate for understanding current social and ecological dynamics. "African Sacred Groves "challenges dominant views of these landscape features by redefining the subject matter beyond the compelling yet uninformative term " sacred." The term " ethnoforests" incorporates the environmental, social-political, and symbolic aspects of these forests without giving undue primacy to their religious values. This interdisciplinary book by an international group of scholars and conservation practitioners provides a methodological framework for understanding these forests by examining their ecological characteristics, delineating how they relate to social dynamics and historical contexts, exploring their ideological aspects, and evaluating their strengths and weaknesses as sites for community-based resource management and the conservation of cultural and biological diversity. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Nature | Plants - Trees - Nature | Ecology |
| Dewey: 333.750 |
| Physical Information: 0.55" H x 6.11" W x 8.86" (0.77 lbs) 240 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: In western scholarship, Africa s so-called sacred forests are often treated as the remains of primeval forests, ethnographic curiosities, or cultural relics from a static precolonial past. Their continuing importance in African societies, however, shows that this relic theory is inadequate for understanding current social and ecological dynamics. "African Sacred Groves "challenges dominant views of these landscape features by redefining the subject matter beyond the compelling yet uninformative term sacred. The term ethnoforests incorporates the environmental, social-political, and symbolic aspects of these forests without giving undue primacy to their religious values. This interdisciplinary book by an international group of scholars and conservation practitioners provides a methodological framework for understanding these forests by examining their ecological characteristics, delineating how they relate to social dynamics and historical contexts, exploring their ideological aspects, and evaluating their strengths and weaknesses as sites for community-based resource management and the conservation of cultural and biological diversity." |