THE VALUE OF INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEM BASED ON LITERATURE REVIEW
INTRODUCTION
The
literature on Indigenous Knowledge (IK) does not provide a single definition of
the concept. Nevertheless, several traits distinguish IK broadly from other
knowledge. IK is unique to a particular culture and society. It is the basis
for local decision-making in agriculture, health, natural resource management
and other activities. IK is embedded in community practices, institutions,
relationships and rituals. It is essentially tacit knowledge that is not easily
codifiable.
Human beings gather knowledge basically for two
purposes: survival and meaning. We try to understand and come to grips with the
environment in order to survive. And we try to find reasons for our survival
that go beyond the intuitive reaction to physical threats. This is in short the
basis for all kind of activities which aim at building up knowledge systems.
Long before the development of modern science, which is quite young, indigenous
peoples have developed their ways of knowing how to survive and also of ideas
about meanings, purposes and values. It has become customary to refer to this
kind of knowledge as “indigenous knowledge” or “traditional knowledge”, “local
knowledge”, traditional ecological knowledge” “ethno ecology” etc. and it is
often seen as a contrast to, or at least as very different from, western ways
of generating, recording and transmitting knowledge. Indigenous knowledge the
rest of indigenous cultural elements, this part has also been considered as
“primitive”, “prelogical” “illogical”, “irrational” and incoherent
Indigenous
Knowledge System (IKS) is human experiences, organized and ordered into
accumulated knowledge with the objective to utilize it to achieve quality of
life and to create a livable environment for both human and other forms of life
(Serote; 2001).
Indigenous
knowledge can be defined as a set of perceptions, information, and behaviors
that guide local community members’ uses of land and natural resources. Indigenous
knowledge is created and sustained by local community members as a means to
meet their needs for food, shelter, health, spirituality, and savings.
Indigenous knowledge is usually adapted and specific to local ecological
conditions and to community members’ social and economic situations and
cultural beliefs. This knowledge can be simple or complex. It is not static,
but evolves in response to changing ecological, economic, and sociopolitical
circumstances, based on the creativity and innovation of community members and
as a result of the influence of other cultures and outside technologies.
The basic component of
any country’s knowledge system is its indigenous knowledge. It encompasses the
skills, experiences and insights of people, applied to maintain or improve
their livelihood.
Indigenous knowledge on an academic platform has certainly come to the fore in recent years. Study institutions are developing concrete studies about the diversity and importance of indigenous knowledge systems (IKS). The academic value of local knowledge has benefited its scholars for centuries, helping them to adapt to and exploit various terrains and environments. IKS is the local knowledge – knowledge that is unique to a given culture or society. IKS contrasts with the international knowledge system generated by universities, research institutions and private firms. It is the basis for local-level decision making in agriculture, health care, food preparation, education, natural resource management and a host of other activities in rural communities. Indigenous knowledge can be broadly defined as the knowledge that an indigenous (local) community accumulates over generations of living in a particular environment. This definition encompasses all forms of knowledge – technologies, know-how skills, practices and beliefs – that enable the community to achieve stable livelihoods in their environment. Indigenous knowledge (IK) is the local knowledge – knowledge that is unique to a given culture or society. IK contrasts with the international knowledge system generated by universities, research institutions and private firms. It is the basis for local-level decision making in agriculture, health care, food preparation, education, natural-resource management, and a host of other activities in rural communities. (Warren 1991) Indigenous Knowledge is (…) the information base for a society, which facilitates communication and decision-making. Indigenous information systems are dynamic, and are continually influenced by internal creativity and experimentation as well as by contact with external systems. (Flavier et al. 1995: 479)
Characteristics of
Indigenous knowledge
Some
characteristics of indigenous knowledge system include:
1.
IKS is local: it is rooted
to a particular and set of experiences, and generated by people living in
those places. The corollary of this is that transferring that knowledge to
other places runs the risk of, quite literally, dislocating it.
2.
IK is orally-transmitted, or
transmitted through imitation and demonstration. The corollary is that
writing it down changes some of its fundamental properties. Writing, of
course, also makes it more portable and ermanent, reinforcing the dislocation
referred to in 1.
3.
IK is the consequence of
practical engagement in everyday life, and is constantly reinforced by
experience and trial and error. This experience is characteristically the
product of many generations of intelligent reasoning, and since its
failure has immediate consequences for the lives of its practitioners
its success is very often a good measure of Darwinian fitness. It is, as
Hunn [1993: 13] neatly puts it, `tested in the rigorous laboratory of
survival’.
4. 1 and 3
support a further general observation, that it is empirical rather than theoretical
knowledge. To some extent, its oral character hinders the kind of
organization necessary for the development of true theoretical
knowledge.
5. Repetition
is a defining characteristic of tradition [Hobsbawm and Ranger 1983], even when
new knowledge is added. Repetition (redundancy) aids
retention and reinforces ideas; it is also partly a consequence of 1 and 2.
6. Tradition is `a fluid and transforming agent with no real end’ when applied
to knowledge; negotiation is a central concept [Hunn 1993]. IK is,
therefore, constantly changing, being produced as well as reproduced,
discovered as well as lost; though it is often represented as
being somehow static.
7. IK is characteristically
shared to a much greater degree than other forms
of knowledge, including global science. This is why it is sometimes
called `people’s science’, an appellation which also arises from
its generation in contexts of everyday production. However, its distribution
is still segmentary, that is socially clustered [Hobart 1993].
It is usually asymmetrically distributed within a population, by
gender and age, for example, and preserved through distribution in the
memories of different individuals. Specialists may exist by virtue of
experience, but also by virtue of ritual or political authority.
8. Although IK may be focussed on particular individuals and may achieve
a degree of coherence in rituals and other symbolic constructs, its
distribution is always fragmentary: it does not exist in its totality in any
one place or individual. Indeed, to a considerable extent it is devolved
not in individuals at all, but in the practices and interactions in
which people themselves engage.
9. Despite claims for the existence of
culture-wide (indeed universal) abstract
classifications of knowledge based on non-functional criteria [Berlin 1992, Atran
1990]; where IK is at its densest and directly applicable its
organization is essentially functional.
10.
Ik
is characteristically situated within broader cultural
traditions; separating the technical from the non-technical, the
rational from the non-rational is problematic [Scoones and Thompson
1994].
11.
Not uniformly
distributed. It is more sophisticated in areas or topics which are important to
people and which are easily observed.
12.
Can be held by all in the society or by specialists; different
areas of indigenous knowledge can be held by men and women
13.
Not isolated from other belief systems: for example from religions,
from beliefs about the human body, and from general classifications of the
universe, e.g. into "hot" and "cold" or "wet"
and "dry".
14.
Not always explicit: farmers may not always be able to articulate
what they know; they may simply practice it ("tacit knowledge").
15.
Not always right: it may be wrong or even dangerous
16.
Dynamic
not static: it evolves, it incorporates indigenous experimentation, and it can
adapt to new materials and circumstances
Indigenous peoples view the world we live in as an
integrated whole. Our beliefs, knowledge, arts and other forms of cultural
expression have been handed down through the generations. Integrated in these
elements is the knowledge. Some of the characteristics compared to so-called
western scientific knowledge were put up by Wolfe et. al 1991:12 in this way:
Importance of
Indigenous knowledge System
The
features described above suggest that indigenous knowledge is an integral
part of the development process of local communities.5 According to the
1998/99 World Development Report, knowledge, not capital, is the key to
sustainable social and economic development. Building on local knowledge, the
basic component of any country’s knowledge system, is the first step to
mobilize such capital. Moreover, there is a growing consensus that knowledge
exchange must be a two way street.
IKS plays a profound role in societies. It helps shape and defines their very existence and provides the foundation for their beliefs and traditional practices.
Indigenous
knowledge provides the basis for problem-solving strategies for local
communities, especially the poor. It represents an important component of
global knowledge on development issues. IK is an underutilized resource in
the development process. Learning from IK, by investigating first what local
communities know and have, can improve understanding of local conditions and
provide a productive context for activities designed to help the communities.
Understanding IK can increase responsiveness to clients. Adapting
international practices to the local setting can help improve the impact and
sustainability of development assistance. Sharing IK within and across
communities can help enhance cross-cultural understanding and promote the
cultural dimension of development.
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Indigenous knowledge is
of particular relevance for the following sectors and strategies:
Conflict
resolution
After
fifteen years of civil war, community leaders in Mozambique reportedly managed
about 500,000 informal “land transactions” and helped in the settlement of
about 5 million refugees and displaced persons in two years. Most
significantly, they achieved this without direct external help from donors or
central government. Traditional, local authorities relied on indigenous, customary
laws to resolve potential conflicts arising from competing claims to land by
returning refugees and those who had settled the lands during the civil war. As
a result, small holders were able to quickly resettle and resume farming and
contribute to the growth of agricultural production.
Food
distribution
In a Food
for Work Program in Nepal, indigenous knowledge has been a more effective agent
of development than modern technology. A donor- assisted food distribution
program was incurring major losses of food along the distribution line. The
project managers turned to the local community for solutions. It was jointly
determined that using local equipment (e.g., bullock carts), distributors, and
community-based supervision would be the most appropriate way to distribute the
food in the local context. Hiring local bullock carts in place of the covered
trucks operated by city-based companies provided additional income for rural
communities and improved transparency of the distribution process.
Women empowerment
In
Senegal, external partners had for years engaged the country authorities to
abolish female genital mutilation (FGM), though with little success. Indigenous
knowledge and empowerment of community groups eventually made a national
impact. After attending an adult literacy course conducted by, a local NGO, a
group of women from a village called Malicounda decided to address the issue in
their communities. They convinced the traditional spiritual leaders to join
their campaign against the practice. Within two years these empowered women had
convinced sixteen neighboring communities to abolish the practice. As a result
of the growing impact of the Malicounda initiative, by the end of 1999 the
practice was declared illegal in Senegal. The Malicounda initiative has spread
to other groups in the neighboring countries where already more than 200
communities have abolished FGM.
Biodiversity
Indigenous
knowledge can help promote biodiversity conservation by characterizing resource
uses that are appropriate for the particular local landscape. In fact,
incorporating indigenous knowledge into conservation and development activities
is believed to be an important mechanism for ensuring the most efficient and
productive use of natural resources in the short term without jeopardizing the
long-term capacity of nature to continue producing these resources.
Indigenous knowledge can help to develop sensitive and caring values and attitudes and, thereby, promote a vision of a sustainable future. Indigenous communities have lived in harmony with the environment and have utilized resources without impairing nature's capacity to regenerate them. Their ways of living were sustainable. Indigenous knowledge shaped their values and attitudes towards environment, and it is these attitudes and values, which have guided their actions and made then sustainable.
Indigenous knowledge is stored in culture in various forms, such as traditions, customs, folk stories, folk songs, folk dramas, legends, proverbs, myths, etc. Use of these cultural items as resources in schools can be very effective in bringing indigenous knowledge alive for the students. It would allow them to conceptualize places and issues not only in the local area but also beyond their immediate experience. Students will already be familiar with some aspects of indigenous culture and, therefore, may find it interesting to learn more about it through these cultural forms. It would also enable active participation as teachers could involve students in collecting folk stories, folk songs, legends, proverbs, etc., that are retold in their community.
Indigenous knowledge can play a significant role in education about the local area. In most societies, indigenous people have developed enormous volumes of knowledge over the centuries by directly interacting with the environment: knowledge about the soil, climate, water, forest, wildlife, minerals etc. in the locality. This ready-made knowledge system could easily be used in education.
·
It is, obviously, most important for the local community in
which the bearers of such knowledge live and produce.
·
Development agents (CBOs, NGOs, governments, donors, local
leaders, and private sector initiatives) need to recognize it, value it and appreciate it in
their interaction with the local communities. Before incorporating it in their
approaches, they need to understand it – and critically validate it against the
usefulness for their intended objectives.
·
Lastly, indigenous knowledge forms part of the global knowledge. In this context, it has a value and relevance in
itself. Indigenous knowledge can be preserved, transferred, or adopted and
adapted elsewhere.
Indigenous
knowledge is an important part of the lives of the poor. It is an integral part
of the local ecosystem. IK is a key element of the “social capital” of the
poor; their main asset to invest in the struggle for survival, to produce food,
to provide for shelter or to achieve control of their own lives.
Indigenous
knowledge also provides problem-solving strategies for local communities and
helps shape local visions and perceptions of environment and society. Typical
examples include:
·
Midwives and herbal medicine.
·
Treatment of cattle ticks by the Fulani using
Tephrosia plants.
·
Soil and land classifications in Nigeria.
·
Water catching stone bunds in Burkina Faso.
·
Construction of buildings with natural “air
conditioning” in the Sudan.
·
Kpelle artisans' steel making technology in Liberia.
·
Agroforestry systems emulating the natural climax
vegetation on the Kilimanjaro.
·
Settlement for land disputes between farmers and
nomads in Togo.
·
Communal use and individual allocation of land by the
Washambaa in Tanzania.
·
Local healers’ role in post-conflict resolution in
Mozambique.
·
Transfer of knowledge through elders, rituals,
initiation, and story tellers in West Africa.
·
Systems to control power and distribute wealth among
the Maasai in East Africa.
IK is of
particular relevance to the poor in the following sectors or strategies:
·
Agriculture
·
Animal husbandry and ethnic veterinary medicine
·
Use and management of natural resources
·
Primary health care (PHC), preventive medicine and
psycho-social care
·
Saving and lending
·
Community development
·
Poverty alleviation
Indigenous knowledge is
important, and respecting it:
·
is an essential first step for
development projects,
·
allows better innovation and
adaptation of technologies
·
adds to scientific knowledge
·
increases understanding
between researchers and local people
·
increases the local capacity
to experiment and innovate
·
empowers local people
(Warburton and Martin 1999))
Conclusion
In
summary, IK is important for both the local communities and the global
community. The development partners need to recognize the role of IK,
understand its workings in the context of the local communities, and integrate
systematically the most effective and promising of such practices into the
development programs they support. The
impact and sustainability of international practices could be enhanced
if they are adapted to the local conditions and the indigenous practices. Yet,
IK is still an underutilized resource in the development process. Special
efforts are, therefore, needed to understand, document and disseminate IK for
preservation, transfer or adoption and adaptation elsewhere.
By
helping to share IK within and across communities the development community can
learn a lot about the local conditions that affect those communities. IK should
complement, rather than compete with global knowledge systems in the
implementation of projects. By investigating first what local communities know
and have in terms of indigenous practice, development partners could better
help improve upon those practices by bringing to the dialogue international
practices from development experiences in other parts of the world. Moreover,
this process can contribute to better cross-cultural understanding and to the
promotion of culture in development. But, above all, investing in the exchange
of indigenous knowledge and its integration into the development process can
help to reduce poverty.
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