Integrity Journal of Arts and Humanities

This study investigates a fundamental duality embedded within Igbo indigenous knowledge systems in southeastern Nigeria: the dialectical tension between the sacred protection and ritual exploitation of animal fauna through the cosmological practices of Afa divination. Grounded in relational ontology, the research conceptualises animals not merely as biological specimens or economic resources, but as metaphysical entities and active spiritual 'workers' operating dynamically across the physical and intangible realms. Within this cosmological framework, traditional ethical mechanisms such as Nso-Ala (sacred taboos) establish culturally enforced sanctuaries for totemic and spiritually significant species. Paradoxically, the very metaphysical potency attributed to these animals generates an intense demand for their physical consumption and sacrifice in ritual pharmacopoeia, spiritual charms, therapeutic remedies, and apotropaic rites. This paradox poses a profound challenge to conventional conservation frameworks, which routinely overlook indigenous cultural and communicative structures. Utilising a qualitative ethnographic design, the study draws on semi-structured interviews and observations conducted across selected communities in southeastern Nigeria. Key participants, including traditional diviners, spiritualists, scholars, and spiritual-fauna vendors, provided the primary accounts, which were analysed thematically to document the narratives and ecological functions surrounding sacred fauna. Central to this inquiry is the role of indigenous communication systems as repositories of environmental knowledge. Sound-producing media technologies (such as Ukoro/Ikolo/Ikoro, Ogene, and Ekwe), alongside oral traditions, masquerades, songs, and ritual performances, serve as vital institutional instruments for transmitting ecological memory, regulating community conduct, and enforcing sacred boundaries across generations. The study suggests that fauna conservation initiatives in Igbo communities may benefit from conservation approaches that recognise indigenous cosmological values and communication structures alongside contemporary ecological governance.