Abstract

This study attempts a preliminary survey of some aspects of Urhobo culture and folklore that pertain to Urhobo worldview, scientific thought and indigenous knowledge systems. The survey is not based on any grand theories and discourses in philosophy or humanistic studies. Rather, I have identified key features and domains of Urhobo culture and folklore; they are illustrated with fragments of texts of Urhobo oral narratives and songs. In this paper, folklore, folkways, and indigenous science are treated as referring to similar realms of thought and experience. Each item of folk thought designated is described in relation to how the Urhobo utilise it to explain their existence and mechanisms for coping with and surviving in their tropical rainforest environment. The study reveals that the neglect of the traditional thoughts and indigenous folkways has handicapped the capacity of the Urhobo people to connect their past to the present. Accordingly, the concluding section of the paper calls for a review of the curriculum of educational institutions to incorporate Urhobo traditional thought, folkways, and science in the context of the competitive, global challenges of modernisation and development.

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