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THE CHALLENGES FACING AFRICAN RELIGION IN CONSERVING NATURAL

ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES.A CASE OF THE SENGWER IN EMBOBUT


FOREST IN KENYA

Mamati Kingasia
Department of philosophy and religious studies
Moi University

Abstract
The article is about the the challenges facing African religion in conserving natural
environmental resources a case of the Sengwer community. The Sengwer are a Kalenjin sub
tribe found in Cherangany hills in the North Western part of Kenya. The Sengwer are rich in
indigenous religion which played a key role in ensuring the conservation of natural resources
during the pre-colonial period. The current environment situation in the area is worsening,
this prompted the research in order to identify the challenges that have hindered the Sengwer
in utilizing their indigenous religion to combat environment crisis. The findings of the study
identified the various challenges that the Sengwer face, it also revealed the various measures
that the Sengwer have taken to ensure that they utilize their religion to tackle the environment
crisis.

Introduction
The environment crisis the world is facing today threatens human existence. The wanton
destruction and indiscriminate over exploitation of the natural environment resource with
which man has depended upon since immemorial endangers the survival of human race. The
modern techniques put in place to conserve the natural environmental resources seem to be at
best a mirage because the desired outcome has not been yielded. African traditional religion
has been described as a friendly to the environment. The ascription of supernatural and
psychic powers to natural environmental resources is the backbone of African religion; this
has played a significant role in ensuring that the natural resources have been well conserved
through observance of taboos and totems related to natural environmental resources. This
belief has overtly or covertly promoted the conservation of natural environmental resources
such forests, animals, rocks snakes and birds. Traditional African religion permits all the
facets and spheres of the human life J. S. Mbiti has cogently described Africans as
notoriously religious and each people have its religious system with a set of beliefs and
practices. Religion permeates into all the department of life so fully that it is not easy or
possible always to isolate it. In African spirituality there is no dichotomy between the
spiritual world and the natural world this is further described by Mbiti when he writes
It is religion, more than anything else, which colours their understanding of the universe
and their empirical participation in that universe, making life a profoundly religious
phenomenon. To be is to be religious in a religious universe. That is the philosophical
understanding behind African myths, customs, traditions, beliefs, morals, actions and
social relationships.
African traditional religion has the ability to influence positively natural environmental
resources conservation. Despite the fact that African traditional religion is coherent with the
conservation of natural environmental resources, little attention has been given to African
traditional religion by the entire sundry involved in conservation of the environment. This has
negatively imparted the role of African traditional religion in playing an active role in the
conservation of natural resources. It is on this basis that the article seeks to ascertain the

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challenges facing African traditional religion by taking a case study of the Sengwer
traditional religion. The objectives of the study therefore are:
a) To determine challenges facing African religion in their attempt to conserve the
environment
b) To identify various ways of how African religion is coping up with the challenges
c) To recommend possible was ways of promoting African traditional religion in
conservation of natural resources.

The study area


Embobut forest is a forest located in Elgeyo Marakwet in Rift Valley, Kenya. It is the largest
reserve among the thirteen forest reserves that make up the Cherangany hills water
catchment
Embobut forest is located within an area defined by 1 16 North, 35 26 East, the altitude
ranges from 2,000 meters reaching 3,365 meters above sea level (asl) at Cheptoket Peak in
the north-central section. The forest forms the largest part of the Cherangany Hills forest, it
is one of the Kenya five water catchment areas. It covers approximately 120,000 hectares and
rises about 3500 meters Cherangany hills receive 1200 millimeters of rainfall, the rainy
season is March to September with maximum in May and August and minimum in January.
The forest is characterized by indigenous species and afro alpine vegetation above 3300
meters. It is home to endangered species such as the De brazza Monkey.

The Sengwer indigenous people are an ethnic minority who are traditionally hunter-
gatherer/forest people, whose ancestral lands are located in the Rift Valley province in
western Kenya, in and around the forests of the Cherangany Hills. Currently they are
characterized as an indigenous marginalized, oppressed, mal represent, not well educated,
poor, powerless and discriminated. This is evident through the recent forced displacements
and evictions from the forest by Government of Kenya to this community therefore
disregarding their basic human rights as enshrined in the constitution(Yator, 28/08/2016).
The Sengwer are part of the Kalenjin sub tribes such as the Nandi and Kipsigis who trace
their migratory route from Egypt (Sambu 2007).The Sengwer people are also believed to
have originated from Misri which is believed to be Egypt. During their migration they
followed the river Nile and first settled on the slopes of Mount Elgon and later on the plains
of Uasin Gishu.
The Sengwer people had a robust religious system before the advent of Christianity and
agents of colonization. Unlike major world religion such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism
etc. that traces their origin to a founder. The Sengwer religion has neither known founder nor
written scriptures. It is native and indigenous religion of the Sengwer people. The Sengwer
belief system is handed down from one generation to another orally. The Sengwer religion
formed the basis of their worldview on natural resource conservation.

Methodology

This section presents how data was collected, interpreted and analyzed. The study is
descriptive and explorative in nature as it seeks to identify the challenges African religion
face in conserving the natural environmental resources.

Study design

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This study was a descriptive qualitative study, therefore the target population for the study
involved all the elders, religious specialist found within and around Embobut forest.

Sampling procedure

Purposive sampling technique was used to get informants for the study. Snowball sampling
was also used as the researcher was referred by the locals to people whom they considered to
be knowledgeable about the Sengwer people and their natural environment. After getting the
initial participants who were interviewed, they referred the researcher to more participants
who were also deemed useful for the study.

A total of 10 key participants provided meaningful insights into the subject under study. An
interview guide was used to guide the interview process. Field assistant helped the researcher
to translate and conduct the interview process in situations where the informants lacked
competence in English or Kiswahili.

Methods of data collection

Data for this study was drawn from both secondary and primary sources. Method of data
collection for this article included personal interviews, focus group discussion .archival
documents, internet publications books articles, and journal.

Data analysis

Qualitative techniques of data analysis were used to analyze data collected from the field.
Data collected from both primary sources and secondary sources was analyzed under various
themes of relevance to the study. Findings of the study were presented through narration.

Findings and discussion

The findings of the study are presented according to the study objectives and the discussion
centers around the finings

1 Modern religion
Majority of my respondents indicated that religion especially Christianity has had an effect
on the indigenous beliefs of the Sengwer people in conserving the environment. Christianity
has dismissed most of the Sengwer beliefs and practices citing them as backward, forgetting
that this beliefs and practices have been the force behind the harmonious co-existence
between human beings and nature. The settlers who came first destroyed the forest by
clearing the forest for large scale farming. They pushed the Sengwer people far deep into the
forest. When the missionaries arrived they tried to separate the Sengwer converts from others
as they taught them to disregard the indigenous beliefs and practice including the observance
of rituals, festivals and practices.
Elders who imparted the moral and religious education were dismissed by the missionaries
and imposed to the Sengwer people religion that is out of touch with their environment since
most of the religious beliefs by the missionaries trace their origin in the desert. The
missionaries attitudes towards African beliefs still persist in most churches today, because

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most churches encourage their members to disregard indigenous beliefs and practices of the
Sengwer people. This happens mostly in the modern evangelical and Pentecostal churches
that do not accommodate African religious beliefs and practices.
The modern churches have been the force behind the onslaught to the Sengwer sacred sites in
the forest. For instance an early missionary attempted to build a church on the Kiptaberr hill
which is a sacred hill for the Sengwer people. The Church did not stand the test of time as it
is believed because the wrath of Assis through Illat came down and destroyed the church.
Later on the Catholics also attempted to install a cross on the same Kiptaberr hill this also
was brought down and thrown far away by the power of Asiis (Kiprop 16/08/2016). From the
foregoing examples we see how the modern church has been on the forefront to ensure that
the Sengwer peoples religious and cultural practices are forgotten. This is clearly seen in
their attempted to destroy the Sengwer sacred sites. Through the many attempts to build a
church on the hill, it clearly shows their disregard to indigenous beliefs and practices.
Wangari Maathai a Kenyan environmentalist who won the Nobel peace prize gives a similar
experience when she says;
That tree inspired awe, it was protected, and it was the place of God. But in the 60s,
after I had gone far away, I went back to where I grew up, and I found God has been
relocated to a little stone building called a church. The tree was no longer sacred. It
had been cut down. I mourned for that tree (Hari 2010).
Therefore, modern religions especially Christianity can be cited as one of the main challenge
facing the Sengwer people in their attempt to conserve the natural resources and the forest.
Since, they encourage the disregard of traditional values systems and religious practices
which have been the best and have assisted in the conservation of the forest. The modern
religion in particular Christianity attitude has contributed to a systematic destruction of the
Embobut forest which is the largest forest reserve for Cherangany water catchment area.
Many people who have converted to Christianity dont respect the traditional systems put in
place and the sacred places. They view the Sengwer culture as backward that has been
surpassed with the passage of time. Therefore, the social systems and means of controlling
natural environment resources has been destroyed. Chinua Achebe in his book Things Fall
Apart (1958:24-25) fictionalizes the impact of western religions and cultures imposition on
Igbo Religion when Obierika says
The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion; we
are amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers,
and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us
together and we have fallen apart.(Achebe 1958:24-25)
Just like the Igbo, things have fallen apart as a result of Christianity getting more converts
who have disregarded their traditional African religion. This has led to a far reaching effect
on the influence of the Sengwer beliefs in natural resource conservation.
The beliefs system of the Sengwer people penetrated every sphere of human life and affected
all their activities .This is also noted by (Mbiti, 1969) when he said that Africans are
notoriously religious. The Sengwer religion penetrated their daily life. Contrary the modern
contemporary religions, that view the African indigenous religious practices such as
veneration of sacred sites, ancestors as satanic and idolatry.
1.2 Colonial and post-colonial Government oppression.
Most of the participants pointed out to the colonial and post-colonial government oppression
that they have been subjected to as their main challenge. The Sengwer people have been

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disadvantaged since the advent of colonialism in Kenya .The challenges they faced during the
colonial government are still being experience today in fact they have now worsened. This
challenge keeps on halting their attempt in conserving the environment through their religious
beliefs and practices that played a vital role during the pre-colonial time.
During the pre-colonial time the Sengwer people had clan elders who had the divine backing
and were sanctioned by Asiis and Illat to enact and ensure observance of rules and
regulations, customs and religious practices. The clan elders played a vital role in ensuring
that the community natural resources were well used in a sustainable manner to avoid over
exploitation of the resources.
The colonial government disregarded clan elders and the existing traditional rules and
regulation of the Sengwer people. They came up with various legislations that alienated the
Sengwer people from their ancestral land therefore hampering the Sengwer people from
utilizing their rich religious beliefs and ethics in conserving the forest and the natural
environment resources.
The Sengwer people were subjected to a lot of colonial injustices by the British colonial
government this was done to ensure that the Sengwer people lose their identity and eventually
face extinction as a community through assimilation. This effect of the colonial government
attempt is still being experienced today because various ethnic communities such as the
Marakwet and the Pokot claim that the Sengwer people are part of their clans (Ngesemwo,
29/08/ 2016).
The colonial government was more concerned with the preservation of the forest at the
expense of the Sengwer identity .This is evident through the various colonial letters and
publication by the colonial administrators who were after the extinction of the Sengwer
people. They saw the Sengwer people as neither an ethic group nor a people with the right to
identity, a right to live and a right to profess and practice their religion.
The colonial government was hell bend to see that they alienated the Sengwer people from
the ancestral land in the forest. To achieve their objective of ensuring that the Sengwer ethnic
group face extinction they facilitated other communities such as the Marakwet,
Pokot(Suk),Nandi etc. to access the Sengwer ancestral land. Various part of the Cherangany
forest were cleared for farming and settlement of these dominant tribes.
Furthermore the British government altered the Sengwer ancestral territory boundaries .They
did this by having the Sengwer people belonging into two administrative units: Trans Nzoia
and Elgeyo. Later on these administrative boundaries were divided further into four
administrative units namely: Trans Nzoia, West Pokot, Uasin Gishu and Elgeyo Marakwet
Counties. This alteration of the boundaries led to encroachment of other communities into
Sengwer ancestral land and the forest land leading to the destruction of the natural forest and
resources. There the new administrative units favored the dominant recognized communities.
This has had a negative impact on the Sengwer cultural and religious life (Yatich,
29/08/2016).
To ensure that the main objective of wiping out the Sengwer people was met, the colonial
government converted the Sengwer communitys land and homes into government forest.
This is evident in the many letters that colonial masters exchanged. The post-colonial
government also took over this by converting more of the communities land into reserves.

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Among the Sengwer people the management and conservation of the environmental
resources was tasked by clan elders from each of the Sengwer sub tribe. The colonial
government interfered with the indigenous Sengwer communal owner ship of land and
systems, which was responsible for controlling hunting, being and gathering in the forest.
Members of each sub tribe were obliged to respect the sub tribe territories by not hunting,
gathering or collecting honey from the other sub tribes territory.
These systems ensured that the natural resources were conserved for continuity and future
generations without facing extinction of the various plant and animals species. These systems
were destroyed by the colonial government as they forcefully evicted the Sengwer people
from various parts of the Cherangany forest such as the plains of Kapchepkoilel. This is still
being propagated and perfected by the current government as there are still on-going
evictions of the Sengwer people from the forest where they call it their homes.
Furthermore the colonial government made several attempts to destroying and change the
overall lifestyle of the indigenous Sengwer people. The Sengwer people were known and still
known as an aborigine community of hunter and gatherers but the colonial government
introduced potatoes and cattle keeping as an attempt to change their life. They also converted
part of the Sengwer land in Trans Nzoia into Game Park that currently known as Saiwa
swamp national park .This was a home for many wild animals where the Sengwer people
went for hunting.
The Sengwer communities were hunters and gathers, they neither possessed animals nor
cultivated .Hence, and all the nutritional requirements were met through collecting honey,
trapping animals and gathering various fruits and vegetables that made part of their daily diet.
They developed various ways through their religious practices and beliefs in order to avoid
undue exploitation of the natural resources found in Embobut forest. Thus, the Sengwer
people understood well their place in the universe. The importance of the forest to them made
them have a deep respect and reverence to nature. But the colonial government never realized
this as they were hell bent to ensure that their lifestyle, religion and culture were totally
changed.
After the colonial government, the post-colonial government has worsened the situation.
Immediately after independence the Sengwer people knew that their oppression and lack of
identity by the colonial government had come to an end, little did they know that they were
wrong. The post-colonial government after independence: that is by Government of the
founding president Kenyatta, President Moi and president Uhuru have followed the footprints
of colonial government in their continuous oppression, marginalization, discrimination and
denying the Sengwer people their rights. The land and forest reserves which belonged to
them and that had been taken from them by the colonial government, was given out to other
communities and political cronies by the post independent government. This affected the
Sengwer people since it led to mixture of different communities together with that of the
Sengwer people who had different cultural and religious practices.
Lack of recognition of the Sengwer people as a distinct indigenous minority ethnic tribe has
made their attempt to conserve the environment not well supported nor even appreciated
(Kiplimo,29/08/2016).
The 2010 Kenyan constitution recognized the rights of the minority communities as clearly
shown in the following Articles: Bill of Rights article 19, 21, 27, article 63 on Community
Land and article 67 on National Land Commission. The government has not respected the

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constitution and the above named articles as they have presided over forceful eviction of the
Sengwer people from Embobut forest.
The World Bank funded project that is being implemented by the Kenya Government has
failed to recognize and realized that the Sengwer community are environmentally conscience
and that their religion does not allow the destruction of the natural resources in the forest.
They have failed to realize that the Sengwer people coexisted well with the environment
since time immemorial and their religious practices are rich in environmental ethics. This
study comes in to point out how the government and the world bank funded project should
change their approach and instead choose a holistic approach of involving the Sengwer
people in the management and conservation of Embobut forest that is under threat.
The alienation of the Sengwer people from the forest threatens their survival and continuation
of the generation since the forest is where their ancestral spirits live. The Sengwer people
used the forest to appease and honor the ancestral spirits. The forest was also used by the
community to teach the adolescent initiates during initiation ceremonies the environmental
knowledge and norms on efficient and effective natural resource utilization. Therefore, the
eviction moves them away from their ancestral spirit and ancestral land.

1.3 Development initiatives and cultural differences.


The rapid social, cultural and economic changes have resulted to tremendous disadvantage
and erosion of the Sengwer religious beliefs and practices (Terekoi 11/10/2016).This in
return has affected their contribution towards natural resource conservation. Many
communities that have moved in the Sengwer ancestral land has led to cultural dilution that
has undermined the Sengwer traditional institutions that were in charge of conservation and
preservation of natural environmental resources. These communities have no respect for the
Sengwer elders therefore making it hard for the elders to impose the Sengwer traditional rules
on resource utilization and conservation.
Development initiatives are also being undertaken on the Sengwer sacred sites without
consulting the Sengwer elders. This undermines the contribution of the Sengwer beliefs in
resource conservation. For instance, the recent harness of water by the Kitale county
government without consulting the Sengwer elders undermines their authority in the society.
1.4 Population growth
The ever increasing population has an overwhelming effect on the natural resources as it puts
more pressure on the earth finite resources. The effect of overpopulation is not only felt in the
country but also in Embobut forest. This has led to depletion of natural resources as people
clear forest to establish homesteads and land for farming.
The influx of other tribes into the Sengwer ancestral land has contributed a lot into the
destruction of the forest and the natural resources. Communities such as the Keiyo, the
Marakwet, who dont have the same shared beliefs associated with natural resources found in
the forest have no regard to conserving the forest. These dominant communities have
destroyed sacred trees and interfered with sacred sites of the Sengwer people (Kiplimo
12/11/2016).
Dominant tribes have invaded the forest to harness timber, firewood and charcoal for
economic purposes .This has led government agencies to belief that the Sengwer people are
the force behind the destruction of the forest. Furthermore, the same government agencies
such as Kenya forest reserve personnel are involved in the timber business therefore
destroying the homelands of the Sengwer people and making the Sengwer to be viewed as
unfriendly to the environment.

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Respondents pointed out the need to have the Sengwer community as the only homogenous
ethnic community residing in the forest and allowed to take care of Embobut forest. This is
the surest way of protecting the natural resources. This stems from the fact that this group of
people has a common shared religious system with similar values and experiences and a
common accepted traditional authority.
Overgrazing is also another challenged brought forth by increase in population, dominant
tribes that have settled around the forest rear many animals on limited land, this has led to
people invading the forest for grazing therefore destroying the many plant species that are
found in the forest (Chelimo 12/11/2016).
The above challenges have had an immense impact on the Sengwer traditional beliefs and
practices and the role of the Sengwer religion in conserving the natural resources in Embobut
forest. It is undeniable fact that the modern forces of social change have undermined the
effectiveness of the Sengwer religion in natural resource conservation. This has led to the
destruction of the forest and the natural resources found there.

2.0 HOW THE SENGWER HAVE MANAGED TO COPE UP WITH THESE


CHALLENGES

Despite the Sengwer people facing the above named challenges they have continued to
influence natural resources through their beliefs and practices that guide them. Under this
section the researcher presents different ways of how the Sengwer community ameliorates
and copes with the above named challenges.
2.1 The Sengwer cultural center

Majority of the participant highlighted that the Sengwer people have established the Sengwer
Cultural and Information Centre (SCIC) and the traditional KopSengwer houses at Kapolet
with the aim of protecting and preserving their culture and religious practices .The center also
seeks to appreciate and acknowledge the Sengwer peoples culture through the
documentation of all artifacts and work tools of the Sengwer people, as showcased in this
unique museum. The center has artifacts that remind the people about their history, culture
and the environment. They hold annual cultural meeting from this place. It is one very
important step in ensuring that the unique environments under which most minority tribes
live are preserved, maintained and, above all, remain true to cultural and traditional
characteristics (Airkenya2010).
2.2 Legal action

Findings indicate that, the Sengwer have taken legal action against the government evicting
them forceful from the forest which is their ancestral land that has their sacred places. They
have taken their case to both local courts and the international courts too. Through this
avenue they want their identity and existence in the forest to be protected(Kangogo
18/11/2016) .They have sought the intervention of world organization such as the world bank
and European union to involve them in all the decision making in regard to the conservation
of the Embobut forest .They have written memoranda in effect to such airing their objection
for not being involved such European Union will be perfecting continued oppression,

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marginalization, torture and discrimination of Sengwer Indigenous Peoples if it will go ahead
and fund the identified projects in Cherangany Hills of Marakwet district without
consultation and participation of Sengwer Indigenous Peoples.
Despite their effort of taking legal action from the local courts, the government has not
honoured the court injunctions. For instance, the government has disregarded injunctive
conservatory orders issued by Eldoret High Court in March 2013 (Tickell, 2014) .The
Kenyan Government has gone ahead to forceful evict the Sengwer people from their ancestral
land by burning their houses and torturing them hence not respecting their human rights.

2.3 Syncretism

The word syncretism comes from the Greek word Synkretismos which mean to combine.
Schreiter (1994:23), defines syncretism as mixing of elements of two religious systems to
the point where at least one, if not both, of the systems loses basic structure and identity.
Syncretism therefore refers to the amalgamation of two or more religious beliefs .It also
refers to the accommodation of two belief systems towards the beliefs, rituals and practices of
each other. The Sengwer people have coalesced their indigenous belief system with that of
the modern church to ensure that their religion does not die off. Research participants
affirmed that, despite many members of the Sengwer community aligning themselves to one
of the Christian churches such as the catholic church and the seventh day Adventist and
African inland churches ,majority of them do practices their indigenous religion. This is seen
through various cultural practices such as singing, language, dancing and prayers which they
make to Assis whenever there is a problem. (Mbiti 1989:84) emphasized this when he
postulates thaton the cultural level, like the naming ceremonies, initiation rites and marriage
procedure, traditional elements become partially Islamized or are remodelled For this many
members of the Sengwer community have adopted Christians beliefs and practices that suits
their traditional beliefs and practices .During Christian services they singing, dance and
praying in their local language.
Furthermore,many converts take their children to undergo the traditional rites of passage.
During this period they are taught about the Sengwer religion and culture and the importance
of the forest to the survival of the community (Kipketer 18/11/2016).
2.4 The place of council of elders

Findings from the field reveal that the Sengwer elders are still respected and feared by
members of the community. The elders have continued to play their active role of providing
direction for the community and interceding for the community whenever there was a
calamity. They are still consulted whenever a major decision that involves the usage and
utilization of the natural resources found in the forest. This has acted as strength to the
Sengwer religion. Hence there is need to empower the community elders so that they can
continue to play their role effectively in ensuring that natural resources are well protected
and utilized in a sustainable manner.
It is through the Sengwer elders that they have lobby and petitioned the government to
respect their rights to the ancestral land as stated in article 63 of the Kenyan constitution.
2.5 Informal education

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The Sengwer people have transferred the indigenous knowledge and there religious practices
from one generation through the informal education that takes places at home in the evening
and during the various cultural practices that takes place in the community. Boys are taught
by their fathers during hunting and in the evening as they wait for food to be ready and girls
are taught by their mother in the evening while cooking. During rites of passage for both girls
and boys, various ecological knowledge and religious beliefs and practices are passed to the
initiates. Boys were also taught on how to make beehives from trees without destroying the
trees. This has helped to build the identity of the initiates and make them feel proud of their
culture and religion. Traditional herbalist also transferred important herbal knowledge to
selected members of the community, they were taught on how to harness drug for different
diseases in a sustainable manner that does not harm the environment.

Recommendations

In view of the study findings, it is recommended that;

Since African traditional Religion has shaped human behavior, actions, beliefs and attitudes
in relation to environment since time immemorial. The same can be used to encourage an
environmental ethics for the future. Therefore is need to integrate and involve indigenous
religion in decision making in matters that concern the conservation of natural environmental
resources.

Government should come up with policies that recognizes and empowers the indigenous
religion of the local people in conserving and managing natural resources. The policies will
provide a framework on how the indigenous religion can be fused with the modern ways in
conserving natural environmental resources.

Religious leaders especially from the Christian faith should recognize the undisputed role that
the indigenous religion has played in ensuring a conducive environment free from pollutions,
degradation and hazards .They should seek for avenues on how they can create partnership
instead of condemning and demonizing the indigenous religion of the Sengwer.

There is need to empower the traditional authority in order for them to carry out their duties
effectively by being custodians of the natural resources. This can be done through legislation
and an incentive given to the traditional authority to motivate them in their work.

5.6 CONCLUSION

The foregone has described a wide range of challenges that face the Sengwer religion in their
attempt to conserve the natural resources. It has also discussed how they Sengwer people are
tackling and coping up with these challenges to ensure that the religion still plays a major role
in environment conservation.
This article has shown that the Sengwer religion has adopted various mechanisms to tackle
the challenges and to ensure that they are actively involved in the conservation of the forest
and the natural resources. Therefore, the Sengwer religious beliefs and practices is a precept
of nature stewardship in the modern society.

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References

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Achebe, C. (1958) Things Fall Apart: Heinemann Educational Books Ltd.

Mbiti J.S, 1969.African Religions and Philosophy. London: Heinemann.

Mbiti, John (2nd Ed) (1989): African Religion and Philosophy, Oxford: Heinemenn

Educational Publisher Oxford Ltd, USA


Schreiter, R. (1994). Constructing local theologies. Maryknoll: Orbis.
Hari, J 2010. The Valley of Taboos. Slate, Monday, October.

http://www.slate.com/id/2272098/

Mr. A.C. Hoey giving evidence before the Kenya Land Commission on 3rd October 1932
Captain M.R. Mahony District Commissioner, West Suk, comments during a meeting in
Kapenguria on 17th September 1935.
Mr. C.B. Thompson, Officer in Charge, Turkana district Dated 17th September 1935
Memorandum by Mr. C.H. Adams acting Provincial Commissioner Rift Valley to the Kenya

Land Commission of 1932

Forest Peoples Programme web page on the urgent appeal against the forced eviction of
Sengwer/Cherangany communities in Kenya:http://www.forestpeoples.org/topics/rights-land-
natural-resources/news/2013/12/urgent-appeal-against-forced-eviction-sengwerchera

Background information: How the World Bank is implicated in Embobut


Evictions:http://www.forestpeoples.org/sites/fpp/files/news/2013/12/How%20the%20World
%20Bank%20is%20implicated%20in%20today%E2%80%99s%20Embobut%20Evictions.pd
f

Timeline of events relating to the forced eviction of Sengwer communities from the Embobut
Forest area of the Cherangany Hills,
Kenya:http://www.forestpeoples.org/sites/fpp/files/news/2013/12/Timeline%20re%20threate
ned%20eviction%20of%20communities%20from%20Embobut%20Forest_3.pdf

The Guardian: Kenyan families flee Embobut forest to avoid forced evictions by
police http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/jan/07/kenya-embobut-forest-
forced-evictions-police

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