Re-echoing Afro socio-environmental sustainability philosophies: the purview of Ubuntu re-imagined through Adinkra symbols

Abstract

This paper argues that the concept of social and environmental sustainability is not a new philosophy in African cultures and can easily be practiced among Africans based on a better appreciation of their indigenous philosophies. It attempts to explore how the Ubuntu philosophy of humanness manifests in the Adinkra symbols to give an in-depth understanding, which shows how African societies share commonality in their concepts and to establish that African indigenous philosophies mirror strongly social and environmental sustainability dimensions of the Sustainable Development Goals. It further attempts to show a purview of Ubuntu extended that illustrates that social and environmental sustainability is inseparable in African philosophies. By method, the research purposefully selected six (6) Adinkra symbols and discursively analysed how they explain the Ubuntu Philosophy and their link to socio-environmental sustainability. From the findings, Adinkra symbols reflected the Ubuntu’s common values, which are compassion, mutuality and solidarity, and metaphorically showed their connection to socio-environmental sustainability and thus creates agency and deep appreciation for acting on the Sustainable Development Goals.