Sustainable Culture
My earliest memories of environmentalism conjure gruesome images: Bludgeoned baby seals and blood-stained snow; emerald green forests and blazing red fires; harpooned whales being hoisted onto huge ships. In the olden days, environmentalism was synonymous with highly publicized – usually depressing – demonstrations of death and destruction. In those days, the strategy was seemingly based on two assumptions: 1. There is only one “environment” 2. Environmentalists (i.e., scientists and activists) are the only recognized experts qualified to define it and defend it.
Fortunately, environmentalism paved the way for sustainability, which calls for a much more comprehensive – not to mention inclusive – perspective on sustaining life on Earth. As a result, organizations and individuals alike are moving from green to blue. Blue sustainability influences not just the environmental dynamics of our world but also the social, economic and cultural aspects too. For example, in 2001, UNESCO Japan dedicated US$ 416.932 to finance the restoration of Dowomè, the Palace of King Gbehanzin, the last king of independent Dahome(present-day Benin). Socially, the project helps promote goodwill between nations.Economically, given the fact that the average annual income in Benin is less than US $220, the flow of US$ 416.932 into the local economy for traditional builders to train younger builders in indigenous techniques represents a substantial boon. Additionally, once complete, tourism can contribute to the economic and social development of the town of Abomey, home of the Royal city. Environmentally speaking, primarily organic materials and extraction techniques were used (earth, wood, vegetable elements, straw, etc.) These materials were then applied in the most sustainable way. For example, the earth used was kneaded according to traditional techniques – with the feet – before being used.
Culturally, Dowomè Palace represents one of the greatest testimonies of the Dahomean philosophy, art and history. It is part of the architectural genealogy of a great Royal city, a home for the living and the spirits of the ancestors, spread over approximately 109 acres. Since the rule of Houegbadja (1645-1685), each King built his palace next to that of his predecessor, along a north-southwest axis, directed towards Adja-Tado – ancestral homeland of the Dahome dynasty. The palace, in this context, represents the uniqueness of each king as a central point within the universe; the center of gravity of the political life where the great annual ceremonies and the celebrations take place, for the king is the absolute monarch, the epicenter of social, economic and spiritual activities.
Dowomè holds special significance because it is the last of what was once a West African trend, from Nigeria to Ghana. From the beginning of the Dahome palace tradition, Ifá had predicted that there would only be 10 rulers, the last of whom as Gbehanzin. “Looking in the direction of Tado, the axis of reference, the predictions that the Ifá had made in Houégbadja are accomplished – the palaces shall continue up to the tenth wall (with the tenth king) and not any further.” Gbehanzin ascended the throne in 1889, in the wake of the Berlin Conference. Treaties purporting to secure cession of the port of Cotonou, between Ouidah and Porto-Novo, were also negotiated with the Dahomean authorities in 1868 and 1878, though Cotonou was not actually occupied until 1890. King Gbehanzin… resisted the French claim to Cotonou, provoking the French invasion and conquest of Dahomey in 1892–94. Gbehanzin was then deposed and exiled, and the kingdom of Dahomey became a French protectorate.[1] Consequently, as a result of the colonial interruption, King Gbehanzin was unable to fulfill his regal and spiritual obligations and never completed construction of Dowomè Palace.
Fortunately, environmentalism paved the way for sustainability, which calls for a much more comprehensive – not to mention inclusive – perspective on sustaining life on Earth. As a result, organizations and individuals alike are moving from green to blue. Blue sustainability influences not just the environmental dynamics of our world but also the social, economic and cultural aspects too. For example, in 2001, UNESCO Japan dedicated US$ 416.932 to finance the restoration of Dowomè, the Palace of King Gbehanzin, the last king of independent Dahome(present-day Benin). Socially, the project helps promote goodwill between nations.Economically, given the fact that the average annual income in Benin is less than US $220, the flow of US$ 416.932 into the local economy for traditional builders to train younger builders in indigenous techniques represents a substantial boon. Additionally, once complete, tourism can contribute to the economic and social development of the town of Abomey, home of the Royal city. Environmentally speaking, primarily organic materials and extraction techniques were used (earth, wood, vegetable elements, straw, etc.) These materials were then applied in the most sustainable way. For example, the earth used was kneaded according to traditional techniques – with the feet – before being used.
Culturally, Dowomè Palace represents one of the greatest testimonies of the Dahomean philosophy, art and history. It is part of the architectural genealogy of a great Royal city, a home for the living and the spirits of the ancestors, spread over approximately 109 acres. Since the rule of Houegbadja (1645-1685), each King built his palace next to that of his predecessor, along a north-southwest axis, directed towards Adja-Tado – ancestral homeland of the Dahome dynasty. The palace, in this context, represents the uniqueness of each king as a central point within the universe; the center of gravity of the political life where the great annual ceremonies and the celebrations take place, for the king is the absolute monarch, the epicenter of social, economic and spiritual activities.
Dowomè holds special significance because it is the last of what was once a West African trend, from Nigeria to Ghana. From the beginning of the Dahome palace tradition, Ifá had predicted that there would only be 10 rulers, the last of whom as Gbehanzin. “Looking in the direction of Tado, the axis of reference, the predictions that the Ifá had made in Houégbadja are accomplished – the palaces shall continue up to the tenth wall (with the tenth king) and not any further.” Gbehanzin ascended the throne in 1889, in the wake of the Berlin Conference. Treaties purporting to secure cession of the port of Cotonou, between Ouidah and Porto-Novo, were also negotiated with the Dahomean authorities in 1868 and 1878, though Cotonou was not actually occupied until 1890. King Gbehanzin… resisted the French claim to Cotonou, provoking the French invasion and conquest of Dahomey in 1892–94. Gbehanzin was then deposed and exiled, and the kingdom of Dahomey became a French protectorate.[1] Consequently, as a result of the colonial interruption, King Gbehanzin was unable to fulfill his regal and spiritual obligations and never completed construction of Dowomè Palace.