Abstract

Folklore in African literary tradition dates back to the pre-colonial epoch. Before written literature in Africa, folklore existed as oral art embedded with teachings on all aspects of life, including nurturing nature. The didactic occupation of folklore renders literature as a reflection of a life that is also a perfect corridor for sensitizing and educating society on the need for circumspection in the application of environmental changes. Folklore as an integral chunk of literature thus has the potential to highlight environmental concerns to get man to take better care of nature. Through eco-critical analysis, the didactic functionalities of folklore in general and folktales in particular, as evident in the prologue of Pede Hollist’s “So The Path Does Not Die” is elucidated. The study finds that unguarded human adaptation to modernity is key to environmental destruction. In other words, our very existence is directly dependent on how well we care for our environment. It concludes that a return to traditional means of environmental education, such as folklore, in written literature is still effective in the shaping of human behavior for environmental protection and preservation, an antidote to the current environmental predicaments.