Not Free While Nature Remains Colonised: A Decolonial Reading of Isaiah 11:6-9

Abstract

The Western colonial system not only colonised African human beings, it also colonised nature, with particular reference to Africa’s wildlife. The colonial system disrupted the harmony that existed between human beings and nature by colonising both, thereby causing a divide between human beings and nature. On the basis of Isa 11:6-9, the argument in this paper is that human liberty is intertwined with the liberty of nature. The African human is not free as long as Africa’s wildlife remains colonised. Therefore, decolonisation remains incomplete as long the colonial matrix of power that divides African humans from nature persists.

Keywords

• Nature
• colonisation
• freedom
• decolonial reading
• Isaiah