Dissertation

An African Ecotheology of the Zaramo Ethnic Group in Pugu Hills

Gomba, Zolani Armede

2020

Overview

My project will engage in the process of understanding animism through exploring an African ecotheological theory that speaks to the Zaramo ethnic group in Pugu Hills, and the way they relate to the landscape. The Zaramo is the largest ethnic group in Dar es Salaam. I was attracted by the origins of the Zaramo that can be traced back to a sacred spiritual cave known as ‘Mwenembago’ meaning “the lord of the forest” of the Wazaramo found in Tanganyika, known and believed as human ghost/s. Using principles of daily rituals and custom practices of the Zaramo, and in parallel with understanding the Shinto ethnic group (who practice shamanism) as a case study, I aim to create informed urban landscape spaces that speak to African ecotheology.Bozdogan (1999) in her paper Architectural History in Professional Education: Reflections on Postcolonial Challenges to the Modern Survey refers to Sir Bannister Fletcher’s (1896) “Tree of Architecture” as evidence of progress. Bozdogan describes how classical Greek architecture is shown in the ‘Tree’ as evolving through modernism, influenced by western attributes. The various non-European and non-western cultures were represented as nonhistorical styles, leading nowhere. This aligns with Amilcar Cabral’s assertion that in the process of colonialism, only Europe was thought to have a ‘history’ and to ‘progress’ (Bozdogan, 1999:208).To go back to tradition is the first step forward” – African Proverb.I believe It is important to scrutinize architecture, history and theory, and the education thereof and its relevance in contemporary culture. Most especially because it is historically dominated by western Eurocentric ideals and myths and would tend to exclude or marginalise indigenous non-western knowledge. African history determines the future of the spaces we enter and engage with. Irving Hallowell, an anthropologist who explored ‘the new animism’, emphasized the need to challenge the modernist, Western perspectives of what a person is by entering into a dialogue with different worldwide-views (Hallowell, 1955). How would space making be explored with African mythologies of a respective region in Africa? What would this mean for us? What tools are needed in architecture for us to further explore these?Sir Edward Tylor developed the idea of animism and describes it as “the general doctrine of souls and other spiritual beings in general” (Jong, 2017 after Taylor, 1958). Taylor initially wanted to describe the phenomenon as “spiritualism” but realised that would cause confusion with the modern religion of Spiritualism that was then prevalent across Western nations (Jong: 2017, 48).Ecotheology is a form of constructive theology that focuses on the interrelationships of religion and nature, particularly in the light of environmental concerns (Pihkala, 2013). It has been applied to various ethnic groups such as the Jewish, the Japanese and Hima where they believe that the concept of ecotheology is how they relate with the landscape using their traditional ritual practices. However, an African ecotheology has not been explored. The continent is dominated by western ideals of ecotheology, albeit the vast knowledge found in indigenous group such as the Bushman in southern Africa, the Wachanga and Zaramo along the eastern coast of ritual practices linked to ecotheology.

• Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
• Subject: Architecture / Case Studies / Climate Change / Design / Divinity / Folklore / Mythology / Professional Education / Religion / Religious education / Spirituality / Theology
• ISBN: 9798494457431