1. African Traditional Religious-Ecotopian Visions: Problems and Promise Paper presented at the 3 rd ACLARS Conference, 17-20 May 2015, Windhoek, Namibia By Nisbert Taisekwa Taringa Associate Professor, University of Zimbabwe, Department of Religious Studies, Classics and Philosophy

2. Introduction global recognition for a need for a new, more environmentally friendly/benign imagination of nature, seeing it as active, meaningful, subjective and spiritual, re-evaluating it, devaluing humanity somewhat recognizing it as part of nature, encouraging caring human action towards it. religion a possible influential source of new recognition of nature, linking humanity to a wider environmental reality and providing the existential support, moral authority and institutional organization able to address environmental issues.(Watling, 2009:2-3).

3. Ecotopia: Definition/Assumption idealized(utopian) religious imaginations of nature and the human place in it, envisaging a more environmentally oriented humanity in a cooperative, harmonic, interdependent, sacred, relationship with nature( Watling, 2009) Ecotopia imagines a more environmentally friendly, cooperative, humble and spiritual, humanity in tune with nature, Visions of humanity in harmony with nature Key assumption: the social construction of nature, nature is always an idea, an imagination, and the way it is imagined leads to the way humanity interacts with it, dominating or liberating, degrading or protecting it,. Analysing the role of myth and religious beliefs in creating an ecological reimagination of nature Reviewing the myth and religious beliefs in the Shona religious ecotopian visions Ecological genocide is underpinned by a visions of nature

4. Western Worldview Dominant modern western worldview the social construction of nature, what is known as nature in the modern context, limited, based particular cultural assumptions ontological dualism-a mechanical imagination, creating a view of nature as separate from, and lower than humanity Counter imaginations of nature and humanity are needed based on African relational personhood, relational ontology, and relational epistemology

5. Shona Ecotopian Visions Shona myth of creation: The mwedzi(moon) myth Mwari making the first human called Mwedzi (moon) bottom of the pool (dziva). Mwedzi asked to go out to the dry land. Mwari gave him a wife called Masasi to accompany him. The two lived in a cave. They gave birth to grass, bushes and trees. Masasi went back to the pool. Mwari gave Mwedzi another wife called Morongo. Morongo gave birth to all kinds of animals. Eventually she bore boys and girls.

6. Analysis and Discussion RELATIONAL ONTOLOGY: develop an awareness and sense of self and others; a sense of belonging, coming to know our responsibilities and ways to relate to the self and others focus our attention on our interrelatedness and our interdependence with each other and our greater surroundings NYIKA(COUNTRY), is not only the land and the people, also the entities water bodies, animals, plants, climate, skies, spirits. One entity not be raised above another entity as these live in close relationship with one another. All things recognised for their place on the overall system. TOTEMISM, MASHURA(OMENS) relationships are not oppositional, nor binary, relations serve to define and unite, not oppose or alienate

7. Conclusion:african traditional religious visions how one relates with nature, part of Hunhu/ubuntu worldview, a seamless interconnection between the divine, human and natural worlds. An anthropocosmic worldview. Nature is not of secondary importance heart =an animistic relational epistemology. Divine human relations not more important than relationship between humans and the natural, =dark green; turns attention to we-ness. against materialistic framing of the environment as discrete things, fosters a relationality which frames the environment as “nested relatedness.” not premised on the dichotomous opposition of culture and nature. privileges knowing how to behave within relations in order to nourish these relations more than knowing things in and for themselves as objects separate from the knower. Based on relational ontology, relational personhood and relational epistemology fosters a relational perception of the environment.

8. Thank You