Some Aspects of Esan Ontology and Their Moral Implications

This study examines Esan ontology and how it impinges on her perception of reality. It presents a brief biography of Esan to enable an understanding of the Esan person, people, language, territory and culture. Thereafter, the study attempts a general, but brief explication of the concept of ontology, and ontology as a background to understanding reality in Esan thought. It analyses, in some detail, some Esan ontological beliefs such as the structure of being, animation, totemism, and the hereafter, including her metaphysical conceptions of causality. It concurrently, but intermittently, identifies where the Esan perceptions align with or diverge from the views of some other cultures and the perspectives of some other scholars. The study argues that in the Esan worldview, realities are not ontologically distinct, but conjoined. It contends that in this worldview, there is a network of relationships, which exists among beings, and this network is sustained in harmony. The study also argues, but sparingly, that Esan ontology enforces human obligation to co-humans, nature and future generations of people. It argues further that these ontological beliefs constitute the foundation of the union of beings, and this union constitutes the bedrock for the harmony of whole reality in indigenous Esan thought. The study employs the expository method and the methods of critical and conceptual analyses. It concludes that this Esan conception of the ontological union of being that is based on conviction, rather than prescription, is germane to workable social and moral relations among beings, including the moral relationship with the natural environment.

Keywords: Esan, Ontology, Union of being, Moral Obligation, Natural Environment, Environmental Care.