Advancing an African Environmental Ethics through the Zhibaje Gbagyi/Gbari Festival

Abstract

This paper explores the ethical and environmental significance embedded in the Zhibaje festival of the Gbagyi/Gbari people of central Nigeria. It seeks to answer the question: What indigenous conception of the good, inherent in the Zhibaje festival, can meaningfully contribute to environmental ethics? By examining the festival’s symbolic and ritualistic practices—such as the invocation of birds (Zyikuku), trees (Gyegi), stones, and libations—the study reveals how the Gbagyi worldview enacts a spiritually grounded ecological ethic. Using a mixed-methods approach comprising ethnographic fieldwork, literature review, focus group discussions, and philosophical interpretation, the research highlights how the Zhibaje festival fosters a relational ontology and a performative ethics of peace, reciprocity, and ecological accountability. The study situates these insights within broader debates on decolonisation, sustainability, and indigenous epistemologies. In doing so, it argues that the festival articulates an African environmental philosophy rooted in communal life, sacred landscapes, and moral-spiritual integration. Zhibaje thus offers a compelling alternative to technocratic and anthropocentric models of environmental governance. By foregrounding lesser-studied ethnic traditions, this work not only expands the intellectual horizon of African environmental ethics but also contributes to global ecological discourse by demonstrating the moral and pedagogical value of indigenous festivals in fostering sustainable relationships with nature.