Sacred landscapes in The River Between: Ecological significance and conservation

Abstract

The intersection of sacred natural sites and indigenous environmental stewardship has garnered significant scholarly attention, challenging conventional conservation paradigms and highlighting the intrinsic link between cultural and ecological preservation. While extant literature has explored the role of traditional ecological knowledge in biodiversity conservation, the potential of postcolonial literature as a medium for address ing global environmental crises remains underexplored. This paper investigates how literary representations of sacred landscapes can foster environmental consciousness and redirect human reverence towards nature, using Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s The River Between. Employing postcolonial ecocriticism as a theoretical framework, the study critically analyses the novel’s portrayal of sacred sites asrepositories of traditional ecological knowledge and nexus points between human and divine realms. The analysis reveals that the novel’s depiction of the Honia River and sacred groves serves as a powerful critique of colonial environmental exploitation while simultaneously advocating for an indigenous environmental ethic rooted in spiritual reverence for nature. However, the novel’s exploration of the tensions between traditional and colonial worldviews illuminates the complex challenges facing indigenous conservation practices in postcolonial contexts. This paper argues that the novel’s portrayal of sacred landscapes critiques colonial exploitation and models an indigenous environmental ethic thereby demonstrating how postcolonial literature can reframe global conservation paradigms.