Soil and identity in the indigenous spirituality of the Ndau of south-eastern Zimbabwe: Unlocking the potential for environmental sustainability in the 21st century

Abstract

Global climate change threatens both human and non-human lives due to unprecedented high temperatures and abnormal volumes of rain resulting in floods damaging the land and threatening livelihoods. This article employs the re-enchantment theory to engage the Ndau people’s indigenous spiritual relationship with the soil with a view to promoting a framework that engenders an innovative and sustainable response to the threats of climate change in Zimbabwe in line with the vision of the Africa’s Agenda 2063 and UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030. This theoretical article engages literature on Ndau spirituality in particular and African spirituality in general with a desire to finding out how elements of this spiritual heritage around soil can be adopted and harnessed in proffering lasting solutions to the crisis of regional climate change. It then filters the gathered data through document analysis. The findings underscore the importance of local and culturally centred soil knowledge in ensuring ecological health, combating the negative effects of climate-related hazards and improving the traditional livelihoods of the people.
Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The article calls for a sincere integration of the indigenous spiritual heritage-based soil and natural resources conservation frameworks and the global scientific-based approaches in combating climate change.