The Meaning, Spiritual Foundation, and Mythology of African Sacred Landscapes: The Case of Sacred Forests among the Bena of Njombe, Tanzania

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dc.contributor.authorMgaya, Edward Simon
dc.date.accessioned2023-01-31T12:07:39Z
dc.date.available2023-01-31T12:07:39Z
dc.date.issued2023
dc.description.abstractIn various cultures around the world, past and present, many natural and cultural sites are deemed sacred. What are sacred landscapes? What are the spiritual foundations for their formation? How are they formed? How are they protected? The answers to these questions help frame a discussion of sacred landscapes within the context of their meaning, origin, and management processes as lived experiences of specific societies. In Tanzania, the linkages between biodiversity and the worldview of a society have partly been acknowledged but remain unexplored. This paper applies a mixed research approach to studying sacred forests among the Bena community of Njombe in Tanzania. Rather than looking exclusively at the sacred forests in themselves as places, the paper underscores the linkage of human-nature-spirituality as key in explaining the history of sacred forests. It establishes that, among the Bena, the sacredness of a place was founded on the relationship between the visible and the invisible worlds – relations that led to the formation of various mystical-religious homelands’ sacred places that are protected through mythologies.en_US
dc.identifier.citationMgaya, E.S. (2023). ‘Sacred landscape: Meaning, spiritual foundation and mythology in Africa: the case of sacred forest among the Bena of Njombe in Tanzania’. Journal of Religion in Africa, 53 (2), 1-28 .en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11810/5948
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherJournal of Religion in Africaen_US
dc.subjectsacred landscape – forest – folklore – Bena – Njombe – Tanzaniaen_US
dc.titleThe Meaning, Spiritual Foundation, and Mythology of African Sacred Landscapes: The Case of Sacred Forests among the Bena of Njombe, Tanzaniaen_US
dc.typeJournal Articleen_US
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