Exploring the Aesthetic, Philosophical and Spiritual Possibilities of Vegetative Nature through Personal
Encounter
Journeys in Ile-Ife and Benin-City
Project Description and Funding Request
Luminous powers converge at dusk as seen from the side of the road
leading from the main gate into Obafemi Awolowo University, a long road bordered on both sides by an unbroken sequence of
lawns leading into woods.
Camera: Itel A33 phone
Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju
Comparative Cognitive Processes and Systems
''Exploring Every Corner of the Cosmos in Search of Knowledge''
One of the most underrepresented aspects of Nigerian spirituality and aesthetics is that of personal response to nature in its spiritual and philosophical aspects.
By philosophy, in this context, I refer to a sense of meaning that includes but goes beyond the biological character of nature. I am using spirituality here to indicate ideas of relationship between nature and realities not conventionally accessible to human awareness.
Orientations of this kind in Western nature aesthetics and spirituality are represented by such writers as the English poet William Wordsworth, whose work has been central to making famous the wondrous beauty of England's Lake District, the nature art of the Dutch/French artist Vincent van Gogh, exemplified by Starry Night and Road with Cypress and Stars, the German philosopher Immanuel Kant on the Sublime as well as by the productions of various photographers, exemplified by the underwater photography of David Doubilet.
The work of Japanese poet Matsuo Basho and the art of Japanese garden design are centred on the philosophical and spiritual power of nature.
Classical African spiritualities, philosophies and literature are intimately related with nature. Accounts of these sensitivities in terms of personal experience, particularly in the post-classical period, are not as evident, however, as they could be.
Within contemporary Nigerian visual and verbal arts, in engagement with spirituality and philosophy in various contexts, depictions of personal responses to nature in terms of its spiritual and philosophical values are not as visible as they could be.
Biological
Dynamism in Action
The endless creativity of life, power moving in many
channels, as Chinua Achebe translates an Igbo expression in "The Igbo World and its Art,'' describing a creative
force, ike, enabling individual creativity as it empowers the
collectivity of existence.
This picture is of one of the superb trees on the majestic
mound on the left in front of Oduduwa Hall, the building at the end of the road
leading from the main gate into the campus, a building fronted by a statue of
Obafemi Awolowo, the visionary politician who initiated the construction of
what was then the University of Ife and which is now named after him as Obafemi
Awolowo University.
Camera: Itel A33 phone
My current presence in Ile-Ife, in South-West Nigeria, has been revelatory of the potential for such explorations in the vegetation rich character of the rainforest region represented by Southern Nigeria.
At the centre of these possibilities is the awesome landscape of the Obafemi Awolowo University, within which campus I am currently residing, beside a section of the forest in which the university is built, enabling me open my day with meditation through spending time in the presence of a majestic tree at the forest's edge, a gateway to the luxuriant splendour of greenery and trees reaching to the sky, an expanse stretching beyond vision.
Within the city itself are examples of aesthetically powerful trees, unique specimens of beauty and evocative power not readily evident in other parts of the world where such vegetative fecundity is less visible. The Ife trees complement the various examples across the world of great arboreal forms, demonstrating the place on the world map of these glories which remain undepicted in various accounts of the magnificences of Nigeria, from its natural elevations to its art, from spirituality to philosophy.
The Ife trees I have seen do not have any spiritual significance ascribed to them, apart from general ideas about the spirituality of nature in Yoruba thought. Such importance, however, even beyond the framework of Yoruba philosophy and spirituality, may be readily suggested to a person sensitive to such ideas.
In contrast to this largely secular context is the potent nature spirituality of Benin-City, in which sacred trees, groves and forests co-exist with the urban space as markers of intersection of matter and spirit, orientations that may be extended to vegetative forms not officially recognised as sacred.
A public account of encounters with these natural powers is critical in demonstrating the importance of these landscapes in constellating beauty, evoking the value of existence, cultivating peace of mind through sensitivity to magnificent radiations within one's immediate space and possibly inspiring revelatory experiences.
I begin every day of
my entry into the world while at Ife in the presence of this glorious behemoth,
at the edge of the forest beside RECTAS' Kufoniyi hostel where I am staying.
Moving from the
twittering of minute nature creatures always audible from even inside the
room I am occupying, an aural orchestra testifying to the fraternity of various
creatures in making up existence on Earth, I sit in front of this majesty, imbibing
the empowering solemnity of her beauty, seeing beyond, a sea of green as towers
of trees stretch into the distance, evoking wonder as to what mysteries,
visible and invisible, are held by this non-human kingdom which is yet
compelling to the human being.
I arrived at Ife for a different purpose, only for the naturalistic wonders of the campus to convince me that a dream of decades-visually and verbally mapping nature spaces, particularly vegetative nature, in Nigeria, and perhaps Africa-in terms of their aesthetic, philosophical and spiritual possibilities, was within my grasp.
My intention is to present at least one post a day on social media-Facebook, and the USAfrica Dialogues Series Google group- responding to the possibilities of vegetative nature in these urban settings, a post combining pictures and text reflecting on these pictures.
I have spent eight days so far in Ife and would like to spend another seven days at the rate of about 20,000 naira a day for accomodation and other expenses such as transportation and payments to facilitate permissions to photograph and explore these natural spaces.
I would also like to spend two weeks in Benin-City at the same cost.
This length of time is insufficient to adequately address the vegetative majesties of these locations but is enough to lay a foundation.
I am seeking 420,000 naira to cover accommodation and other costs of this research adventure.
All contributions will be appreciated. No contribution is too small.
Payments may be made to Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju at Access Bank 1489931773.
Names of donors will be kept confidential although the total amount donated will be publicly stated.
If total donations exceed the anticipated sum, the length of time spent on the project will be extended.
Great thanks to Jhalobia Nigeria Limited who have funded this research exploration so far.
Light and power ablaze in the dusk sky as
seen from the wooded edge of the road leading from the main entry into OAU
campus.
