Sacredness to desecration: ‘Languaging’ and ‘othering’ of peoples and places through dumping of domestic waste in Urora, Benin City, Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24193/subbeng.2020.1.7Keywords:
sacredness, desecration, languaging, othering, domestic wasteAbstract
This paper examines the dynamics of environmental change of physical spaces and the behaviour of the residents of a formerly close-knit community whose belief systems are contrary to their lifeworld situation as observed in Urora settlement in Benin City, Nigeria. The findings revealed that the satellite images show that the study area was much greener 20 years ago and environmentally attractive compared to the current time. Lack of infrastructure such as waste bins has led to a shift in mindset among the residents to accommodate illegal dumping contrary to attitudes in the past. Population growth and refuse generation and disposal is also a significant challenge. Based on the findings, the paper posits for the realignment and reconsideration of the embodied sacredness of nature with the mode of expression of the past which was pro-environmentally inclined and focussed.References
Adesanmi P., You’re not a country, Africa. A personal history of Africa present, Penguin Books, Random House South Africa, 15(3), 2011, pp. 322-358.
Ajala A.S., Space, identity and health risks. University of Pittsburgh, USA 2017. http://hcs.pitt.edu, Accessed 12 July 2017.
[ Alcorta C.S., Sosis R., Ritual, Emotion, and Sacred symbols, Human Nature, 16(4), 2005, pp. 323-359.
Becker A.L., Language and Languaging, Language and Communication, 11(2), 1991, pp.33-35.
ESMLH., Bulletin of Edo State geographical location, DIVA-GIS and Edo State Ministry of Lands Surveys, 20(2), 1990, pp.400-415.
Iyawe H., Place attachment and pro-environmental behaviour paralysis: A study of household solid waste management, Journal of Construction Project Management and Innovation, 9(1), 2019, pp. 72-84.
Medina M., Scavenging cooperatives in Asia and Latin America. Resource conservation recycling, 31(2), 2000, pp 51-69.
Millar D., Kendie S.B, Apusigah A.A, Haverkort B., African knowledge and Sciences: Understanding and supporting the ways of knowing in Sub-Saharan Africa, Compass series on Worldviews and Sciences 3 Papers and Proceedings of an International Conference of African Knowledges and Sciences. Oct. 23-29, 2005, Bolgatanga U/R Region Ghana, pp. 40-50.
Ogu V.I., Waste management in Benin City: Private sector and municipal waste management in Benin City Nigeria, Environment & Urbanization, 12(2), 2000, pp. 103-117.
Ojedokun O., Balogun S.K., Self-monitoring and responsible environmental behaviour: The mediating role of attitudes towards littering, Frontiers in Psychological and Behavioural Science, 2(1), 2013, pp.31-38.
Palfreyman D., Othering in an English language program, TESOL Quartely, 39(2), 2005, pp.211-233.
Tedeschi J.T., Schlenker B.R., Bonoma T.V., Cognitive Dissonance: Private ratiocination or public spectacle? American Psychologist, 26(3), 1971, pp. 685–695.
Wilson D.C., Araba A.O., Chinwah K., Cheeseman C.R., Building recycling rates through the informal sector, Waste Management, 29(2), 2009, pp.629-635.
Zabus C., Othering the foreign language in the West African Europhone Novel, Canadian Review of Comparative Literature, 21(3), 1990, pp.450-455.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2020 Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai Engineering
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
© Studia Universitatis Babeş-Bolyai Engineering. Published by Babeș-Bolyai University.