A Documentation of Some Traditional Aspects of Wood Consumption in Anaocha, Nigeria

The usefulness of wood to mankind varies from place to place, community to community, state to state, and nation to nation. Wood is a natural product, which is one of the components of biodiversity and a bio-product that serves numerous purposes to mankind. Such multifunctional purposes include those of sociopolitical, economic, religious, and cultural aspects of man. This article examines some traditional aspects of wood consumption in Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria, with a view to ascertaining the uses to which the people put wood as a by-product of the trees around them. In-depth interview, on-the-site observation, and focused group discussion were used to elicit information from knowledgeable elders, artisans, and wood vendors in different towns that make up the local government area. This research brings to limelight aspects of wood consumption in Anaocha and lends credence to the belief that wood is still the major source of revenue and energy in rural areas, probably because it is a free gift of nature. The research findings show that modernization has not completely eroded the value of wood in the study area.