PLA Notes CD-ROM 1988-2001 5 Folklore and conservation in Nigeria: using PRA to learn from the elders

Document begins: PLA Notes CD-ROM 1988­2001 5 Folklore and conservation in Nigeria: using PRA to learn from the elders Ichire Ojating and the students of the Federal University of Agriculture (FUAU) Background their communities on various aspects of folklore. Semi-structured interviews were used Before the advent of Western religion and to examine: historical laws and how they are education, local people spent much of their maintained, traditional institutions that were time learning traditional law enforcement from responsible for maintenance of law and order, organisation of the institutions, how law- the elders. For example, in many communities, breakers were punished and how folklore and it was taboo to kill the elephant, python or land taboos were used to conserve natural snails. Certain wild trees were traditionally never cut down (see Figure 1). But Western resources. The students were asked to listen education and relig ion have often failed to carefully to stories told by the elders and ask understand that communities, through folklore for their meaning . and taboos, have the capacity to protect Other PRA methodologies were used by the wildlife and the forests. Western culture has students. For example, transect walks with the tended to separate the young from ...