Environmental Activism in Akinwumi Is̩o̩la’s "S̩aworo Idẹ" (The Brass Drum): A Study in Ecocriticism

Abstract

Critics of indigenous literature have over the years examined the relationship between literature and various forms of social consciousness, including morality, politics, religion, economy, culture, migration, wars, gender, health, crime, and globalization. However, environmental activism has not received adequate attention in Yorùbá literature. Although many traditional Yorùbá hunters and chanters were very close to nature and composed numerous ìjálá chants and other poetic forms reflecting the divine relationship between humanity and the environment, a more conscious insertion of environmental studies in Yorùbá literary criticism is very recent. This study examines the theme of environmental activism through the literary lens of Akinwumi Is̩o̩la’s “S̩aworo Idẹ”. The novel was purposively selected because no other contemporary Yorùbá novel engages environmental activism as effectively as” S̩aworo Ìde̩”. The study employs a qualitative research methodology and the theoretical framework of ecocriticism for contextual analysis of themes in the novel. Findings show that economic determinism and climate change lead to deforestation and the suffering of the people as consequences of environmental crisis, ultimately resulting in violent activism. The study concludes that environmental crises and the resultant activism should be blamed on humans due to their violations of cosmic order. It recommends traditional methods of managing environmental crisis, such as afforestation and the preservation of heritage sites, as portrayed in the selected text, to mitigate environmental disasters in contemporary societies.