INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE (LIS 326)

Introduction

Sophisticated knowledge of the natural world is not confined to science. Human societies all
across the globe have developed rich sets of experiences and explanations relating to the
environments they live in. These ‘other knowledge systems’ are today often referred to as
traditional knowledge or indigenous or local knowledge. They encompass the sophisticated
arrays of information, understandings and interpretations that guide human societies around the
globe in their innumerable interactions with the natural milieu: in agriculture and animal
husbandry; hunting, fishing and gathering; struggles against disease and injury; naming and
explanation of natural phenomena; and strategies to cope with fluctuating environments
(Nakashima, Prott & Bridgewater, 2000).

Definition of Indigenous Knowledge (IK)

Any knowledge that is peculiar to a group of people in a community is an indigenous knowledge.

It is not a documented knowledge. Usually it is passed from a generation to another generation
which makes it difficult to identify the owner of the knowledge. Indigenous knowledge is
commonly found in Africa. Indigenous knowledge can be defined as "A body of knowledge built
up by a group of people through generations of living in close contact with nature" (Johnson,
1992). Generally speaking, such knowledge evolves in the local environment, so that it is
specifically adapted to the requirements of local
people and conditions. It is also creative and experimental, constantly incorporating outside influences
and inside innovations to meet new conditions. It is usually a mistake to think of indigenous
knowledge as 'old-fashioned,' 'backwards,' 'static' or 'unchanging Indigenous people are the original
inhabitants of a particular geographic location, who have a culture and belief system distinct from the
international system of knowledge (e.g. the Tribal, Native, First, or Aboriginal people of an area).
Some feel that such a definition is too narrow, in that it excludes peoples who may have lived in an
area for a long period of time but are not the original inhabitants. This has led to widespread use of
the term local knowledge, a broader concept which refers to the knowledge possessed by any group
living off the land in a particular area for a long period of time. Under this approach, it is not
necessary to know if the people in question are the original inhabitants of an area, the important thing

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is to learn how people - aboriginal or non-aboriginal - in a particular area view and interact with their
environment, in order that their knowledge can be mobilized for the design of appropriate
interventions (Johnson, 1992).
Indigenous knowledge is the local knowledge that is unique to a culture or society. Other names
for it include: ‘local knowledge’, ‘folk knowledge’, ‘people’s knowledge’, ‘traditional wisdom’
or ‘traditional science’. This knowledge is passed from generation to generation, usually by word
of mouth and cultural rituals, and has been the basis for agriculture, food preparation, health
care, education, conservation and the wide range of other activities that sustain societies in many
parts of the world (Nakashima, Prott & Bridgewater, 2000)

Indigenous people have a broad knowledge of how to live sustainably. However, formal
education systems have disrupted the practical everyday life aspects of indigenous knowledge
and ways of learning, replacing them with abstract knowledge and academic ways of learning.
Today, there is a grave risk that much indigenous knowledge is being lost and, along with it,
valuable knowledge about ways of living sustainably.
Indigenous knowledge (IK) generally speaking is the knowledge used by the locals of an area or
community to make a living in a particular environment, it could be a knowledge of herbs used
in healing a particular aliment or beliefs, innovation, acts, other forms of cultural experience and
expression that belong to the group. Terms used in the field of sustainable development to
designate this concept include indigenous technical knowledge, traditional environmental
knowledge, rural knowledge, local knowledge and farmer's or pastoralist's knowledge.
Indigenous Knowledge (IK) can also be broadly conceptualized 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, traditional or local knowledge has been defined as knowledge that is unique to a
given culture or society and communities. It is a local know-how and cultural practices that
belong to a community and are transmitted orally between generations.
INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT (IKM)
The concept of IK management involves the identification, collection, codification,
documenting, organizing, preservation, transfer, linking, application, dissemination and
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sharing of knowledge on indigenous community livelihoods and ecosystems, for sustainable
development. According to Kaniki and Mphahlele (2002) most knowledge management
principles can be used in the management of IK although several issues need to be addressed for
IK to be effectively managed for the benefit of all. One issue to be considered is that since IK
was marginalized, and at times treated with suspicion, there is a need for awareness to be raised
about its importance; society will recognize its usefulness and thus warrant the allocation of
resources to it. Another issue to address in IK management is the fact that unlike Western
knowledge, which is packaged in a shape ready for collection and housing in libraries, IK is
primarily the property of communities and is shared and handed down in appropriate situations
and according to certain rules. Individuals go through lifelong training in their particular
environments, learning to subdue and coexist with nature (Mumba, 2002). There is a need for
information professionals to define, recognize and manage this information. The time has come
to realize that the problem is not with the user’s lack of interest in using IK but there is a need to
get in tune with what users reasonably want, need and in which form they require it (Mumba,
2002).

Another important issue in IK management is that in the effort to manage knowledge, one has to
be in a good position to understand the desired goal of managing IK and who the knowledge is
meant to benefit. The aim of managing IK can be diverted from its original reason if no desired
goal for IK management is spelt out (Mumba, 2002). Owing to its special nature, IK needs
innovative methods of definition, collection and dissemination. However, particular care needs to
be taken to ensure that the final product is enjoyed fully by the originators of the knowledge
(Mumba, 2002). That means the originators of the knowledge need to be fully acknowledged.

Management of knowledge is extremely important. To have knowledge only is not sufficient but
connecting knowledge with its application empirically or conceptually or even philosophically to
desirable social ends is essential. IK systems generally provide a way of connecting a way of
knowing, away of feeling and also a way of doing. Like the scientific knowledge, indigenous
knowledge also needs to be managed on technical base. The essential steps as mentioned by
Gorjestani (2000) are the ways of its transformation i.e. recognition and identification,
validation, recording and documentation, storage in retrievable repositories, transfer and
dissemination. These steps can be further elaborated as follows:

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Recognition and identification: Some IK may be embedded in a mix of technologies or in
cultural values, rendering them unrecognizable at first glance to the external observer (technical
and social analyses may, therefore, be required to identify IK).

Validation: This involves an assessment of IK significance and relevance (to solving problems),
reliability (i.e., not being an accidental occurrence), functionality (how well does it work?),
effectiveness and transferability.

Recording and documentation: Recording IK and its documentation is a major challenge

because of the tacit nature of IK (it is typically exchanged through personal communication from
master to apprentice, from parent to child, etc.). In some cases, modern tools could be used,
while in other circumstances it may be appropriate to rely on more traditional methods (e.g.,
taped narration, drawings).

Storage in retrievable repositories: Storage is not limited to text document or electronic

format; it could include tapes, films, storytelling, gene banks, etc.

Transfer: This step goes beyond merely conveying the knowledge to the recipient; it also
includes the testing of the knowledge in the new environment. Pilots are the most appropriate
approach in this step.

Dissemination: Dissemination to a wider community adds the developmental dimension to the

exchange of knowledge and could promote a wider and deeper ripple impact of the knowledge
transfer. We presume that the awareness, pilot applications, and “mainstreaming” are necessary
steps required for a successful integration of IK into the development process which could help
in managing indigenous knowledge. Higher education institutions need to play a role in
harnessing and disseminating indigenous knowledge for sustainable development providing the
knowledge base and transmitting of new skills. Libraries can be used for collecting, preserving
and disseminating indigenous knowledge. Incorporating IK into an educational environment can
help students feel ownership of the knowledge they bring to learning environments. IK needs to
be addressed and integrated into educational programs settings or learning environments, and
students better connected to material taught can become a major knowledge source for their
community sustainable development.

To manage indigenous knowledge, the following four factors are important: dissemination of
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information, facilitating exchange of IK among developing countries, applying IK in
development processes, and building partnerships.

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Indigenous Knowledge has been used for centuries by indigenous and local communities under
local laws, customs and traditions. It has been transmitted and evolved from generation to
generation. IK has played and still plays an important role in vital areas such as medical
treatment, food security and the development of agriculture. IK is also the cause of a great
variety of artistic expressions, including musical works (juju music of the South Western
Nigeria, Egwu Ogene of the East Western Nigeria) and handicrafts (brass and bronze works of
Benin, Bida).
Scope of Indigenous Knowledge
Stated by Martine, (1998) IK constitutes the ancient knowledge of humanity, the deepest layer on
which our science and culture have developed, the local solutions that have allowed the creation
and management of ecosystems and cultural landscapes on the entire surface of the planet. It
enables the development of solutions with a low energy and resource use that are able to adapt to
environmental variability and to react to emergencies and catastrophes in flexible and
multifunctional ways. Today, while entire planet systems risk ecological collapse, IK shows how
to interact with the environment enhancing its resource potential without exhausting it. In
addition, it cannot be excluded that traditional knowledge might have an industrial application,
even if the tangible object to which the intangible knowledge relates has not been subject to any
scientific interference or modification. IK is thus a valuable source of knowledge. IK may help to
find useful solutions to current problems, sometimes in combination with modern scientific and
technological knowledge.

IK encompasses very different types of knowledge. These may be distinguished by the elements
involved, the knowledge’s potential or actual applications, the level of codification, the
individual or collective form of possession, and its legal status. The desire to protect IK has
generated a significant body of literature and many proposals of regulation and for action in different
international fora. Precisely how IK is defined has important implications for the kind and scope
of a possible protection regime. IK includes, for example, information on the use of biological
and other materials for medical treatment and agriculture, production processes, designs,
literature, music, rituals, and other techniques and arts. This broad set includes information of a
functional and of an aesthetic character, that is, processes and products that can be used in
agriculture or industry, as well as intangibles of cultural value. Mostly, IK comprises of
knowledge which has been developed in the past, but which still continues to be developed. Most
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IK is, in effect, of non-contemporary nature; it has been used for generations and in many cases
collected and published by anthropologists, historians, botanists or other researchers and
observers. However, IK is not static; it evolves and generates new information as a result of
improvements or adaptation to changing circumstances. The context of IK varies significantly
and its forms of expression. Some IK is codified, that is, formalized in some way (e.g. textile
designs, Ayurveda traditional medicine). A great part of IK, however, is non-codified or tacit,
such as, “folk”, “tribal” or “indigenous” medicine, which is based on traditional beliefs, norms
and practices accumulated during centuries old experiences of trial and error, successes and
failures at the household level, and passed to successive generations through oral tradition
(Martine, 1998). IK may be possessed by individuals (eg healing practices and rituals), by some
members of a group, or be available to all the members of a group (common knowledge), for example
with knowledge on herbal-home remedies which is held by millions of women and elders. When
its application, and in particular the delivery of IK-based products, can be made through
commercial channels IK may be of commercial value. While some IK can be used and
understood outside its local/traditional/communal context, this is not always the case. There are
often spiritual components in the IK peculiar to each community. Knowledge that cannot be
utilized beyond its communal context has little or no commercial value, despite the value that
such knowledge may have for the life of the originating community (Martine, 1998).

Importance of Indigenous Knowledge

Indigenous Knowledge 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 encompass shelter or to achieve control of
their own lives. Owing to dynamic nature changes its character according to the needs of people
and gains vitality from being deeply entrenched in people’s lives.
Consequently, IK has the potential of being translated into commercial benefits by providing
leads/clues for development of useful practices and processes for the benefits of mankind.
Indigenous Knowledge is an integral part of the development process of local communities.
Moreover, IK is an important resource in the development process and sharing IK within and
across communities can help enhance cross-cultural understanding and promote the cultural
dimension of development example is the Argungu fishing festival in the North-Western part of
Northern Nigeria where people of different culture come together. According to The World Bank

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Group (1998) the importance of IK is stated below:

a. It provides problem solving strategies for local communities, especially for the poor.

b. It represents an important contribution to global development knowledge

c. IK systems are at risk of becoming extinct.
d. IK is relevant for the development process.
e. IK is an under-utilized resource in the development process.
Why is Indigenous Knowledge important to communities?
i. Connecting to the past: IK represents a powerful link to a community’s past. It
offers information about a people’s history, the land they have lived on, how they
procured and processed resources and their relationships to other communities, other
species, and the cosmos.
ii. Expressing the present: IK informs a community’s self-identity—how they
understand themselves, each other, and how they fit in the wider world. To know how
one’s ancestors lived, what they valued, and what they knew is vitally important to
understanding who is in the present. In many cases, practices based on IK—from
harvesting plants to telling stories—connect generations, both
living and long gone.

iii. Anticipating the future: Retaining and using IK may contribute to a community’s
future wellbeing. Skills learnt from IK can contribute to concrete endeavors such as
asserting land claims, protecting traditional territory and natural resources, and
continuing cultural practices of living on the land. IK can also be a key to affirming
culture, particularly for indigenous communities living in colonial contexts. IK is the
foundation of efforts to keep indigenous languages alive, enrich cultural expressions
such as visual and performing arts and share community cultural values with the
wider world.

Benefits for Local People

It is extremely important that local people benefit from the recording of their knowledge. Beyond
contributing to project goals, documentation and storage of IK can benefit local people in the
following ways:
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 a. IK can be preserved for future generations so that it does not disappear with the passing
away of Elders.
b. IK can be legitimized in the eyes of younger generations by presenting it in a format that
puts it on equal footing with the international knowledge system, which they are exposed
to in state-run schools and through television and radio.
c. IK can be taught to younger generations in schools or other fora as a regular program.

d. IK can be made available to the least knowledgeable of a community. People can use
research or their own experience to enhance IK, which they can pass on.
e. Problems and solutions can be identified through analysis of IK, resulting in further
projects that can benefit the community.
Indigenous Knowledge is not only important in its own right, but is also important for the benefits it
brings to the following people:
 The indigenous people who own and live it;
 All the other people around the world who can learn lessons for living sustainably from it; and
 The Earth which would be treated more carefully if indigenous knowledge and values were
followed more widely.
Types and Components of Indigenous Knowledge

Introduction
Indigenous knowledge is considered to be cultural knowledge in its broadest sense including all
of the social, political, economic and spiritual aspects of a local way of life. Indigenous
knowledge is embedded in a dynamic system in which spirituality; kinship; local politics and
other factors are tied together and influence one another.
Types of Indigenous Knowledge
Several categories of Indigenous Knowledge (IK) were identified by different scholars, below
are some of the categories:

The following types of IK were identified by Tavana, (2002) who stated two types of indigenous
knowledge – explicit indigenous knowledge and tacit indigenous knowledge. These are
discussed further below.

a. Explicit Indigenous Knowledge

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Explicit knowledge consists of “facts, rules, relationships and policies that can be faithfully
codified in paper or electronic form and shared without need for discussion” (Wyatt, 2001).
Furthermore, Smith (2001) defines explicit knowledge as “academic knowledge or “know- what”
that is described in formal language, print or electric media, often based on established work
processes, use people-to documents approach”. Explicit indigenous knowledge refers to
traditional knowledge that is easily articulated, expressed, communicated and recorded.
According to Tavana, (2002) examples of explicit indigenous knowledge is Samoan indigenous
knowledge include the names of reef fish, the breeding times of birds or the way in which to use
certain plants for medicinal purposes. The nature of explicit knowledge is that it is easy to store,
transfer and communicate with others. As the erosion of explicit IK and indigenous
communication are increasing, the need to transfer, store and retain this knowledge amongst
indigenous communities is greater now more than ever before (Mehta, Alter, Semali, &
Maretzki, 2013; Tikai & Kama, 2010).

b. Tacit Indigenous Knowledge

In contrast to explicit knowledge, tacit knowledge refers to the “practical, action-oriented
knowledge or “know-how” based on practice, acquired by personal experience, seldom
expressed openly [and] often resembles intuition” (Smith, 2001). Tacit knowledge is often
difficult to express openly with words because it encompasses carrying out something without
having to think about, like riding a bicycle for example. The very nature of tacit knowledge is
that it is difficult to extract from the heads of individuals. It is very seldom found in books,
manuals, databases or files as it is developed from mental models, values, beliefs, perceptions,
insights, experiences and assumptions (Smith, 2001). Tacit indigenous knowledge refers to the
types of traditional knowledge that cannot be easily expressed or articulated to outsiders
(Tavana, 2002). Tacit IK is largely based on an individual’s emotions, experiences, insights,
observations and perceptions. Examples of a tacit indigenous knowledge are Samoan tacit
indigenous knowledge which includes the deep respect that indigenous people have for their
indigenous elders or the process of reaching a unanimous consensus within their society
(meeting).

Moreover, while IK research originally emphasized indigenous technical knowledge of the

environment, it is now accepted that the concept of IK goes beyond this narrow interpretation.

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IK is now considered to be cultural knowledge in its broadest sense, including all of the social,
political, economic and spiritual aspects of a local way of life. Sustainable development
researchers however, have found the following categories of IK to be of particular interest:

i. resource management knowledge and the tools,

ii. techniques, practices and rules related to pastoralism,

iii. agriculture, agro-forestry, water management and the gathering of wild food;
iv. classification systems for plants, animals, soils, water and weather;
v. empirical knowledge about flora, fauna and inanimate resources and their practical
uses; and the worldview or way the local group perceives its relationship to the
natural world.

With respect to its nature and holders, IK can broadly be classified by United Nations
Environment Programme as:
1. Community indigenous knowledge
2. Publicly known indigenous knowledge
3. Individual indigenous knowledge
4. Documented indigenous knowledge
5. Vocal indigenous knowledge
6. Sacred indigenous knowledge
7. Secular indigenous knowledge
Community Indigenous Knowledge: indicates information that is not known to all but known
only to a small group of people e.g. Tribal Knowledge. This knowledge is generally being
transmitted verbally only to the members of the community.
Publicly known Indigenous Knowledge: refers to the information commonly known and used
by the people with or without documentation. The medicinal use of Neem, mahogany, and other
trees provides examples of this class.

Individual Indigenous Knowledge: is available only with an individual or certain member of a

family. Usually this information is handed over orally from the elder to his successor.
Documented Indigenous Knowledge: means information that is well documented and available
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to the public.
Vocal Indigenous Knowledge: covers knowledge which is unwritten but preserved and handed
over through generations orally.
Sacred Indigenous Knowledge: consists both sacred tangible as well as sacred intangible
rights. Sacred tangible rights suggest the property rights in tangible objects used as part of or
pertaining to something sacred. Community’s right over sacred sites is an example for this
category. There are also sacred intangible rights which include intellectual property and other
intangible rights applicable to the costume, choreography and photographs etc. of traditional
sacred dance belonging to the community.
Secular Indigenous Knowledge: refers to the communities’ right over arts and crafts. In this
context, it includes material proper for commercial exploitation, items such as the family crests
used in ceremonial occasions on clothing, masks, dance screens, etc. It also includes rights in
photographs, choreographies, music or audiovisual productions used in non-sacred events and
ceremonies.
Three (3) tiers of Indigenous Knowledge were identified by Bolhassan, Cranefield, and Dorner,
(2014) to include:

Tier 1: Base Indigenous Knowledge

This first tier of indigenous knowledge is shared publicly within the indigenous communities.
According to the participants, this knowledge is accessible to all, and there is no need to ask for
it. This knowledge is imparted during communal events in which everyone can observe, listen or
partake. It is the duty of elders to impart essential life skills knowledge to family and community
members. The intangible TCEs used during these events include music, dance and chants, while
the material TCEs include gongs and the paraphernalia appropriate for the events. When
communal participation is the norm in the carrying out of the processes for the events, this is the
time for the sharing and transfer of knowledge to occur. It is during socialization amongst the
community members when this type of knowledge is made accessible to all, for people to
observe, and for participation of those who are willing. This first tier of knowledge provides the
base knowledge to enable a person who is interested to pursue this knowledge further.
Communal events described by the participants include the rites for the passage of life, such as
birth ceremonies, betrothal, funerals, to ceremonies such as the commencement of building a
house. These events also include community celebrations such as those connected to beliefs and
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legends and which usually require the total involvement of community members, young and old,
from across the community’s structure. The first tier of knowledge category also includes
‘unspoken’ knowledge associated with TCEs, such as identity or status indicators. For example,
the Orang Ulu group use hornbill feathers in men’s ceremonial hats to indicate the different
strata of people within their community. The significance of the feathers as a TCE is as an
identity indicator: the number of feathers carries the intrinsic knowledge of the status, authority
and identity of the person who wears them. Observing these events provides the community
with prior shared knowledge that is common to everyone, and which improves with repeated
exposure. Ingraining such knowledge in the minds of the community requires a conscious effort
on the part of the community members. This is shared responsibility. Sharing of base knowledge
also provides knowledge of ‘who knows what’ and ‘who knows who’ in the community. It is
essential for those interested in the second tier of knowledge to know these points of reference.

Tier 2: Ceremonial and Ritual Indigenous Knowledge

Once a person has a grasp of the base knowledge, if the person chooses to pursue acquiring the
knowledge further from the knowledge holder, the person will have to undergo a period of
apprenticeship under the guidance of the knowledge holder. Tier 2 comprised knowledge that is
accessible to those wanting to be an understudy of a master knowledge holder. This deeper level
of knowledge was shared and transferred by the master knowledge holder to his/her understudy
via tutelage and observation of hands on practice of the knowledge holder. In order to gain this
knowledge, knowledge seekers had to be proactive in seeking it from the knowledge holder. Tier
2 involved active knowledge sharing and transfer.

Tier 3: Sacred Indigenous Knowledge

The final tier of knowledge requires fulfilling requirements which almost always have a ‘third’
dimension, i.e. the involvement of spiritual or ‘divine’ intervention. Certain types of knowledge
within this category need to be sought or requested from the knowledge holder. Another type
of knowledge is bestowed upon a recipient who is chosen by the knowledge holder. Some
knowledge is not to be shared at all. These types of knowledge form the top tier of indigenous
knowledge, and are not accessible to all. There are certain sacred requirements needed in
carrying out the processes of using the knowledge. As such, these requirements also need to be
fulfilled in the sharing or transfer of such knowledge. For this level of knowledge, one can ask to

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acquire this knowledge from the knowledge holder, or one is chosen by the knowledge holder to
be the person to pass on the knowledge to. There are also situations where knowledge seekers of
these kinds of knowledge were turned away or not ‘granted’ the knowledge. This could be due to
several factors such as age, gender, suitability, or even genealogy. According to the informants,
there are types of knowledge in this tier where it is not the decision of the knowledge holder to
identify or decide on the recipient. It would be the decision of the ‘spiritual owner’ of
the knowledge, relaying the message to the knowledge holder through dreams or visions. In this
example, the knowledge holder is just the ‘knowledge keeper’. This final tier of indigenous
knowledge is limited to a special kinship or circle of the community, confined to a small group
of knowledge holders. This limitation has an impact on the sharing and transfer of such
knowledge, as at times, it is not just between knowledge holder and knowledge receiver, but the
role of an additional element in the knowledge process, that of ‘divine’ or ‘spiritual’
intervention. The importance of shared context

Components of Indigenous Knowledge

Thus in the broader sense, the term IK refers to knowledge possessed by indigenous people, in one
or more societies and in one or more forms, including, but not limited to, art, dance and music,
medicines, expressions of culture, biodiversity, knowledge and protection of plant varieties,
handicrafts, designs, and literature. It also embraces information on the use of biological and
other materials for medical treatment and agriculture, production processes, rituals, and other
techniques. IK is an encompassing notion which covers several, if not many, areas of human
creativity.
However, IK evolves and generates new information as a result of improvements or adaptation to
changing circumstances. The figure below illustrates various components of IK.

Indigenous Knowledge (IK)

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 Cultural IK Artistic IK Medicinal IK Biodiversity/ Natural Agricultural IK Sacred IK
Resources IK

Nature and Features of Indigenous Knowledge (IK)

Introduction

Indigenous knowledge of the Earth is based on thousands of years’ experience. It is developed

and preserved by local and indigenous communities for centuries as a strategy for their survival
in the biosphere. IK is often part of the social fabric and everyday life of a community and is
generally not seen as a distinct body of ‘knowledge’ separate from the community’s culture, but
rather as integral with the community’s culture and its identity as a community. Most often, the IK
is known to the entire community and remains exclusively within it though occasionally, knowledge
of a special skill or art is limited to a few members of the community.
However, within the society, the knowledge is in the public domain. This knowledge and its
components are normally required for a regular lifestyle within the society. It is passed down
through generations while still retaining its original individuality. Since its generation,
preservation and transmission is based on cultural traditions, IK is essentially culturally oriented
or culturally rooted and it is integral to the cultural identity of the social group in which it
operates and is preserved.
Indigenous Knowledge Vis-À-Vis Formal Knowledge
IK differs from formal knowledge in several aspects such as:
(i) ways of acquisition
(ii) storage and
(iii) transmission
According to UNDP, IK is acquired by past experiences and observation. It is usually a
collective property of society. Many members of the society contribute to it over time and it is
modified and enlarged as it is used. This knowledge is transmitted from generation to generation.
IK is holistic in nature and is passed down through generations. It is evolved from both personal

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and collective innovations. On the other hand, formal knowledge is that type of knowledge that
is produced and generated through formal institutions of learning including schools, colleges,
universities and research institutes. IK does not have a special institution to administer it whereas
formal knowledge is administered through various institutions of learning and practices.
However, various modern developmental processes either marginalize or integrate indigenous
communities, making them abandon their unique Indigenous or indigenous knowledge acquired
over years.
Nature and Features
IK is a means of cultural identification of the indigenous or local community. Moreover, IK is
seldom found in written form or expressed in any formal way, but it is transmitted orally and through
practice. However, these aspects do not reduce either the validity or the value of this knowledge. IK
is thus dynamic in nature and it is a system of constant evolution modifying and perfecting the
existing knowledge in a unique Indigenous way. IK does not always imply that this knowledge must be
old. Recently established knowledge which is based on existing knowledge can also be indigenous
knowledge. What is Indigenous about the IK is not its antiquity but the way it is acquired and used.
The social process of sharing knowledge which is unique in each indigenous and local culture lies at
the very heart of its indigenousness. Though IK may not be antique, it has a unique social meaning.
Indigenous knowledge is collective in nature and is often considered as the property of the entire
community and not belonging to any single individual within the community. It is transmitted
through specific cultural and indigenous information exchange mechanisms for example,
maintained and transmitted orally by elders or specialists such as breeders, healers, etc. and often
to only a select few people within a community. A few varieties of IK is formalized or codified
in some way. However, the lion share of IK is non-codified and is being passed to successive
generations through oral tradition. Yet, another category of IK, which is only with the ‘elder’ of
the particular community, may be uncanny to the remaining world. IK may be thus possessed by
certain individuals or by some members of a group, or by all members of a group/indigenous
community. Indeed, the number of persons holding the knowledge does not affect the extent to
which this knowledge is distinct and new to the outside world. However, indigenous knowledge
can also be spread widely around the world, connected, inter alia, to the spread of genetic
resources.
Characteristics of indigenous knowledge:

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 a. indigenous only to the extent that its creation and use are part of the cultural traditions of
a community; it does not necessarily mean that the knowledge is ancient or static
b. representative of the cultural values of people and thus is generally held collectively
c. is not limited to any specific field of technology or the arts, and
d. is owned by a community and its use is often restricted to certain members of that
community.
IK, in its various forms, though initially developed in ancestral times got modified, improved and
adapted owing to the contemporary demands of the ever changing society and is still continue to
develop. Thus, IK is, in effect, of non-contemporary nature; it has been used for generations and
in many cases collected and published by anthropologists, historians, botanists or other
researchers and observers. IK expressed in various documented and non-documented forms may
possess commercial value depending on its potential or actual use. When IK can be used and
understood outside its local/ communal context it acquires commercial value. Different industries
make different use of indigenous knowledge. In the pharmaceutical industry, indigenous
knowledge seems to be used mostly after an active compound has been identified to carry out
subsequent research. In the seed industry, indigenous knowledge is not often used directly but a
lot of indigenous knowledge is incorporated into the germ plasma that companies acquire from
other organizations. When its application, and in particular the delivery of IK-based products,
can be made through commercial channels IK can have commercial value. Knowledge that
cannot be utilized beyond its communal context has little or no commercial value, despite the
value that such knowledge may have for the life of the originating community.
Kihwelo (2006) says that IK differs from formal knowledge in various ways including
acquisition, storage and transmission. Warren (1991) characterizes IK as follows:
i. IK is an important natural resource that can facilitate the development process in cost-
effective, participatory, and sustainable ways.

ii. It is local knowledge that is unique to a given culture or society.

iii. IK contrasts with the international knowledge system generated by universities,

research institutions and private firms.

iv. It is the basis for local-level decision making in agriculture, health care, food

17
 preparation, education, natural resource management, and a host of other activities in
rural communities.

v. Such knowledge is passed down from generation to generation, in many societies by

word of mouth.

vi. IK has value not only for the culture in which it evolves, but also for scientists and
planners striving to improve conditions in rural localities.

Kolawole (2001) says that IK is related to the entire culture of a people, including its identity and
spiritual and religious beliefs. Other major features of IK are as follows:
a. It is not confined to tribal groups or the original inhabitants of an area and it is not
confined to rural people. Any community possesses IK, rural or urban, settled or
nomadic, original inhabitants or migrants (IIRR, 1996).

b. It is based on ideas, experiences, practices and information that have been generated
either locally or elsewhere, and have been transformed by local people and incorporated
into their way of life (Ina Hoi Riwa Foundation, 2000).

c. It is expressed in local languages (Langill, 1999).

d. IK is difficult to transmit to those who do not share the language, tradition and cultural
experience (SARDC, n.d.).

According to the World Bank report, the WCIP also named other important features of IK:
a. IK is exclusive to a given culture or society;
b. It cannot easily be codified for fear of loss of some vital properties;
c. IK is fluid and does not work in formal organizations because it is too unstructured
d. IK is the life blood of a community (World Bank, 1998).
Similarly, Agrawal, (1995) uses a system of knowledge framework to explain the following features
of IK:
i. IK is embedded in a particular community and exclusive to that community.

ii. People are dependent on this knowledge for survival.

iii. This type of knowledge does not conform to a certain situation or surroundings

18
 because the indigenous people believe in a certain standard or ideal.

iv. There are no contradictions in what the indigenous people believe no opposing or
conflicting ideas in their belief system.

v. These people are committed to and practice their knowledge systems on a daily basis.
They live by these rules and laws and are governed by the elders in the community.
These laws and rules do not change over time to suit a situation as they are deeply
rooted in the belief system of the indigenous people.

Chisenga (2002) identifies the major features of IK as follows:

a. IK is held by any community, whether it is a rural or urban community

b. IK is based on experiences, practices and information that have been imparted by local
people and merged into their way of life.
c. IK is conveyed in local languages.
d. It is difficult to communicate IK to those who do not share nor understand the
language, tradition and cultural experiences involved.
Raseroka (2002) lists the following features of indigenous knowledge:
i. IK is generated within communities.
ii. It is location and culture specific.
iii. It is the basis for decision making and survival strategies.
iv. It is not systematically documented.

v. It covers critical issues: primary production, human and animal life, and natural
resources management.

vi. It is dynamic and based on innovation, adaptation and experimentation.

Indigenous Knowledge is:
Adaptive: It is based on historical experiences but adapts to social, economic, environmental,
spiritual and political changes. Adaptation is the key to survival.

Cumulative: It is a body of knowledge and skills developed from centuries of living in close
proximity to nature.

19
Dynamic: It is not rooted in a particular point in history but has developed, adapted, and grown
over millennia; it is not static.

Holistic: All aspects of life are interconnected, are not considered in isolation but as a part of the
whole. The world is believed to be an integral whole. Indigenous knowledge incorporates all
aspects of life - spirituality, history, cultural practices, social interactions, language, healing.

Humble: Indigenous knowledge does not dictate how to control nature but how to live in
harmony with the gifts of the Creator.

Intergenerational: The collective memory is passed, within a community, from one generation
to the next orally through language, stories, songs, ceremonies, legends, and proverbs.

20
 Invaluable: It has been argued that indigenous knowledge, not capital, is the key to sustainable
social and economic development. There is a growing recognition and respect for IK and a desire
to collaborate with Indigenous communities on environmental monitoring projects.

Irreplaceable: There is nothing western science can do to replace or replicate indigenous

knowledge. An aspect of indigenous knowledge that is sometimes overlooked by scientists, and
others, is the critical connection between IK and language. Indigenous languages are in decline
and as languages die, likewise the indigenous knowledge that is part of that language and the
collective memory of the speakers of that language.

Moral: There is a morality in indigenous knowledge - a right and wrong way to interact with
nature; there is a responsibility given from the Creator to respect the natural world.

Relative: Indigenous knowledge is not embodied at the same degree by all community members.
Elders will obviously carry more knowledge than younger community members.

Responsible: Indigenous Peoples generally believe they are responsible for the well-being of the
natural environment around them.

Spiritual: Indigenous knowledge is rooted in a social context that sees the world in terms of
social and spiritual relations among all life forms. All parts of the natural world are infused with
spirit. Mind, matter, and spirit are perceived as inseparable.

Unique: Indigenous knowledge is unique to a given culture or society. While there may be many
similarities of IK between communities, it is the lived experience of each community that informs
IK.

Valid: It does not require the validation of western science.

Steps in Indigenous Knowledge Management and Challenges Associated With Indigenous
Knowledge Management
1.0 Introduction

Knowledge management as pointed out by Kaniki and Mphahlele (2002) facilitates knowledge
generation, sharing and re-use. The main challenges to the management of IK include the
methods of identifying it, the access to it, the intellectual property rights and the media and

21
format in which to preserve it. Another challenge is that there is a debate about whether or not to
use the Western paradigm for preserving IK. Ngulube (2002) contends that the collection of IK
be left to ethnographers, anthropologists, oral historians and other related professionals.
According to Lawas and Luning (1996) the collection of IK is laborious, time consuming and
costly. Thus proper storage and management must be ensured if the knowledge is to be made
available and accessible for the benefit of human kind. Knowledge management in general is
expensive because it involves financial, material, human and other resources for it to be
successful (Davenport, 1988).
Steps in Indigenous Knowledge Management (IKM)
The following are major steps in the management of IK as discussed by Mabawonku (2002):

i. Collection
In collecting IK, there is a need to define the knowledge to be collected, and the likely inhibitors
(that could disturb the collection of IK). The culture and knowledge systems have to be identified
and taboos considered. The resource person (IK holder) has to be identified and the media to be
used for documentation. The resource person or IK holder is the key figure in documenting IK. It
is therefore important that she/he is not only knowledgeable, but is also seen as a reliable source.
This is to ensure that the IK collected is reliable and authentic. Having more than one resource
person would be an advantage especially if there are divergent opinions or some vital links or
even if the knowledge has been distorted somehow (Mabawonku, 2002). Some IK is best
collected at specific times or seasons. An example would be that IK from ceremonies can only be
collected during the time of the ceremony, therefore collection should coincide with the most
appropriate period so that collection of IK will be successful (Mabawonku, 2002).

ii. organizing

If the IK has been recorded on cassette and/or video tapes, the next step is to edit the tapes and
produce pictures and graphics. The content of the recording should then be summarized in writing
either on computer or on a notebook, in other languages like English. Tapes must be labeled with
labels containing bibliographic description and subject classification of the content (Mabawonku,
2002).

iii. Storage
The collected IK should be stored in large cupboards in an air conditioned room that is suitable
22
for storage. More copies of the IK should be made on audio and /or video cassettes and
circulated to other departments so that they could be borrowed if the need arises (Mabawonku,
2002).

iv. Dissemination
Dissemination of IK is very crucial in its management. This, as Mabawonku (2002) says, is
because knowledge that is gained but is unavailable to others is wasted. IK dissemination should
begin by distributing the collected IK to the respective indigenous groups (IK holders) and hand
copies of their recordings distributed to other people. Abstracts and indexes that would create
awareness of the collected IK should be compiled and made available (Mabawonku, 2002).

3.1 Challenges Associated with Indigenous Knowledge Management (IKM) One of the
major problems associated with indigenous knowledge management is what Barnhardt and
Kawagley (2005) identified as “lack of indigenous people with advanced

indigenous expertise and western research experience to bring balance to the indigenous
knowledge enterprise”. Indigenous knowledge belongs to tacit knowledge category; it is
knowledge mainly held in people’s brain. Hence, it is difficult to record, transfer, and
disseminate. Moreover, indigenous people are reluctance to share their knowledge. No adequate
intellectual property rights are in place. And indigenous knowledge is often regarded as pseudo-
science or anti-science.
a. Information Accessibility
Afolabi (2003) argued that “information is indispensably an ingredient for social, economic,
industrial, political and technological advancement as it is apparent in every facet of human
endeavors that no meaningful and enduring development can be achieved without it”. Sturges &
Neil (1990) reported that “rural inhabitants of Africa are increasingly appreciating the usefulness
of relevant information to their development like their urban counterparts, due to convenient
information transfer mechanisms such as associations, traditional institutions, age grades,
community leaders and others”. Opeke (2000) believed that “the world has entered an era where
the source of wealth and power is increasing from information and human mental creativity as
compared with physical resources”.
b. Intellectual Property
Ownership is the “ultimate and exclusive right conferred by a lawful claim or title, and subject to
23
certain restrictions to enjoy, occupy, possess, rent, sell, use, give away, or even destroy an item
of property” ([Link]). In other words, ownership involves determining who
has rights and duties over certain property. Schnarch (2004)

24
referred ownership to “the relationship of a community to its knowledge or information”. The
principle of ownership, according to him, states that “a community or group owns information
collectively in the same way that an individual owns their personal information. Hence,
gathering or managing of knowledge through an institution that is accountable to the group is a
mechanism through which ownership may be asserted” (Schnarch, 2004).
According to Democratic Alliance (2011), “indigenous knowledge seldom has an identifiable
author; it is passed down from generation to generation. It is often not recorded, or even
impossible to record, existing in the minds of a community. It needs to be protected in
perpetuity: protections should exist as long as the community exists.”
However, Sahai (2002) warned that “diverse forms of indigenous knowledge have been
appropriated by researchers and commercial enterprises, without any compensation to the
knowledge creators or possessors”. In view of this, Simeone (2004) suggested that “indigenous
knowledge needs to be protected because the creators or possessors have the right to receive a
fair return on what the communities have developed”. Protecting indigenous knowledge will also
facilitate continuity so that such knowledge could continue to be passed from generation to
generation. All these put together calls for the need to enthrone the Intellectual Property Bill to
protect indigenous knowledge so that such communities could benefit from the financial support
from the developed countries.
c. Motivating Indigenous People
Indigenous people’s right to self-determination must be ensured. In other words, they have the
right to freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social

and cultural development. The indigenous people must enjoy environmental security in
relation to their hunting, fishing and other activities. Health is wealth, as a popular saying goes.
A perfect health condition of the indigenous people must be guaranteed. Equal access to the
relevant local knowledge for all stakeholders within the community must be allowed. Indigenous
people will continue to be proactive once they have protection over the ownership of their
knowledge and at the same time been adequately compensated for the released knowledge.
INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
An accumulated set of knowledge is commonly termed as indigenous knowledge management
systems (IKS). This module will introduce you to the indigenous knowledge management
system. Its definition, features, benefits and its limitations.
25
Due to risk and uncertainty that households may face in a single year a variety of complex
production systems have been developed to provide for food and economic security. The
production methods vary across regions, countries and continents but they all have been
developed by the locally defined conditions and needs agriculturists face. However, for poor
households, especially in the developing countries, adaptation and coping strategies are closely
linked to the adverse climates and resource poor areas in which they live. IKS for these
communities are especially important because they provide farmers and households with the
ability to survive and produce under risk due to, amongst others, climate, environmental
constraints and incomplete market structure.
Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS)
Although there are a number of disagreements of how important IKS is in relation to Western
Knowledge, there is a general consensus of IKS characteristics that can be identified in all
societies (Agrawal, 1995). IKS serves many functions for a community, household and
individuals by functioning as a base of knowledge to help process information, promote efficient
allocation of resources and aid in production method decisions.

Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) refers to the complex set of knowledge, skills and
technologies existing and developed around specific conditions of populations and communities
indigenous to a particular geo-graphic area. IKS constitute the knowledge that people in a
given community have developed overtime and continue to develop. It is the basis for
agriculture, food preparation, health care, education and training, environmental conservation
and a host of other activities. Indigenous know-ledge is embedded in community practices,
institutions, relationships and rituals (Centre for Indigenous Knowledge Systems, 2005). Central
to this definition is the idea of knowledge ownership. Here, the local population has privy to this
knowledge as it has been handed down from generation-to-generation within their context. It is
something that is interlinked with their way of life. Therefore, IKS becomes relevant in so far as
it is not imported or imposed from outside. The moot point here is that solutions are easily
availed to local decision-making processes as IKS interacts with the environment due to the fact
that it also encompasses: technology, social, economic, philosophical, learning and governance
systems (Business Referral and Information Network, 2005). Furthermore, indigenous
knowledge has made and can still make a significant contribution to resolving local problems.
There is also a need to distinguish between what is known as Western Knowledge Systems
26
(WKS) and IKS. In regard to the former, such knowledge systems are regarded as universal due
to the fact that western education is entrenched in many world cultures. WKS have long been
noted for their rigorous observation, experimentation and validation procedures, all of which are
carefully documented. The same cannot be said of IKS in particular when it comes to
documentation (Kolawole, 2001). Needless to say, in our case WKS is perceived as being bound
up with Western imperialism and culture, and that it is not always value-free or even objective.
In many instances, it seeks after the obliteration of IKS. This position then takes us to our next
point, which is the case of power.

The idiom ‘knowledge is power’ is not the least spurious at all. Whenever, we examine IKS we
should not be oblivious to the power relations at play in the local, national, regional and global
contexts.

Features of Indigenous Knowledge System

The first characteristic of IKS is that it is composed of knowledge from previous generations.
The knowledge set provides structure to explain relationships between particular events in
the community. Bharara and Seeland (1994), in their study of the Rajasthan, have observed a
number of indicators that exist to predict certain climatic events and its effect on agricultural
practices. The development of these indicators was purely observational and provides a base for
current generations to understand what is normal and what is an anomaly (Bharara and Seeland,
1994). The knowledge set is influenced by the previous’ generations observations and
experiment and provides an inherent connection to one’s surroundings and environment
(Woodley, 1991). The knowledge is characteristic of the local climate, flora and fauna and
cultural traits (Woodley, 1991). Therefore, IKS is not transferable but provides relationships that
connect people directly to their environments and the changes that occur within it. While
Woodley (1991) is attempting to make an ecological statement about IKS, defining IKS as a
society’s connection to their surroundings and environment, it can also be interpreted to be a
person’s connection to their culture and society. IKS is learned and identified by communities
and people within a cultural context (Fields, 1991 & Bebbington, 1991). The knowledge base
thus uses a specific language, sayings, and belief processes. This allows for cultural interaction
and acceptance that is not identifiable in other situations or cultural contexts (Bebbington, 1991).
Not only does the knowledge base identify the culture from others but also it provides for social
interaction and acceptance (Bebbington, 1991).
27
28
Benefits of Indigenous Knowledge Systems
The most important aspect of IKS is that it creates a moral economy. IKS identifies a person
within a cultural context, therefore providing decision making processes or rules of thumb to be
followed based on observed indicators or relationships within events (Bharara and Seeland 1994,
Woodley 1991, and Biggelaar 1991). Members of communities act within these rules of thumb to
maintain security and assurance or risk isolation from their community. In an uncertain and
biased world these rules of thumb provide people with a sense of community, belonging and
stability. The moral economy established by the knowledge set also decreases transactions costs.
The need for the knowledge set is exemplified by the institutions and rules that are created within
communities and regions (North, 1990). Institutions allow for a decrease in costs by providing
knowledge that all people can access and understand. It also provides ease of communication and
ability for individuals to work together. The community aspect of indigenous knowledge systems also
helps in providing order and acceptance of local traditions (North, 1990). The knowledge base
provides order and logic within a system and community, which is separate from other
worldviews. While these rules of thumb aid individuals to work together it also provides the
ability for communities to establish control and complete necessary social work that aids in the
function of towns. Therefore, an IKS plays an important role in cohesion in terms of
households and communities. Rules of thumb help to create order out of disorder and explain
how events occur and how to survive within the environmental constraints and uncertainty.
These indicators and decision-making processes thus provide mental reliance for farmers when
faced with uncertainty and risk (Bharara & Seedland, 1994, Walker & Jodha, 1986). When faced
with uncertainty a farmer may not know what the best option will be for his crop or animals. IKS
provides standards and rules which all members in a community follow, giving the farmer
assurance that he is doing all that is possible (Bharara & Seeland, 1994). These standards allow
a process of communication or a forum in which farmers can discuss production options and
decisions can be assessed using a collective decision process based on the knowledge of
ancestors. If the decision does not provide the expected results, it is added to the knowledge base
and will aid farmers in future years. Diverse production systems insure that risk is minimized and
ensure the survival of the community or household (Biggelaar, 1991, Bebbington, 1991). To
ensure food and economic security, farmers may experiment with existing practices to adapt
them to changing conditions or to improve yields. Therefore, farmers are by definition scientists,
29
since they are constantly experimenting and attempting to improve current practices
(Bebbington, 1991; Biggelaar, 1991). Kloppenburg (1991) also cites the important nature of
experimentation to farmers as an essential tradition and characteristic of the knowledge base. A
study of soil classifications by the Zuni in New Mexico showed similar methods of classifying
and explaining soils types as soil scientists did. Other agricultural examples of experiments are
the use of intercropping and staggered planting. Innis shows how intercropping produces
different microclimates and how companion planting provides a higher yield and decreases risk
related to climatic changes. Women also possess extensive knowledge of local plants that can be
found during poor agricultural years to provide food security (Rocheleau, 1991). The knowledge
and experimentation involved with identifying foraging plants is a unique set of knowledge that
must be accessed during vulnerable years. These few examples show the ingenuity and ability of
farmers to manipulate their environments and produce favorable results. IKS has distinct
characteristics and benefits to its users but unfortunately has not been an integral part of
development projects. The next section will highlight failures, achievements and future
possibilities for development projects especially in the context of climate.
Limitations of Indigenous Knowledge Systems

As with scientific knowledge, however, indigenous knowledge has its limitations. Indigenous
knowledge is sometimes accepted uncritically because of naive notions that whatever indigenous
people do is naturally in harmony with the environment. There is historical and contemporary
evidence that indigenous peoples have also committed environmental 'sins' through over-grazing,
over-hunting, or over-cultivation of the land. It is misleading to think of indigenous knowledge
as always being 'good, ‘right’, or ‘sustainable’. For example, a critical assumption of indigenous
knowledge approaches is that local people have a good understanding of the natural resource
base because they have lived in the same, or similar, environment for many generations, and have
accumulated and passed on knowledge of the natural conditions, soils, vegetation, food and
medicinal plants etc. However, under conditions where the local people are in fact recent
migrants from a quite different ecological zone, they may not have much experience with the
new environment. In these circumstances, some indigenous knowledge of the people may be
helpful, or it may cause problems (e.g., use of agricultural systems adapted to other ecological
zones). Therefore, it is important, especially when dealing with recent migrants, to evaluate the
relevance of different kinds of indigenous knowledge to local conditions. Wider economic and
30
social forces can also erode indigenous knowledge. Pressure on indigenous peoples to integrate
with larger societies is often great, and as they become more integrated, the social structures,
which generate indigenous knowledge and practices, can break down. The growth of national
and international markets, the imposition of educational and religious systems and the impact of
various development processes are leading more and more to the 'homogenization' of the world’s
cultures (Grenier, 1998). Consequently, indigenous beliefs, values, customs, know-how and
practices may be altered and the resulting knowledge base incomplete. Sometimes indigenous
knowledge that was once well adapted and effective for securing a livelihood in a particular
environment becomes inappropriate under conditions of environmental degradation (Thrupp,
1989). Although indigenous knowledge systems have a certain amount of flexibility in adapting
to ecological change, when change is particularly rapid or drastic, the knowledge associated with
them may be rendered unsuitable and possibly damaging in the altered conditions
(Grenier,1998). Finally, an often-overlooked feature of indigenous knowledge, which needs to be
taken into account, is that, indigenous knowledge unlike scientific knowledge; sometimes the
knowledge which local people rely on is wrong or even harmful (Thrupp, 1989). Practices based
on for example, mistaken beliefs, faulty experimentation, or inaccurate information can be
dangerous and may even be a barrier to improving the wellbeing of indigenous people Thrupp
(1989).
Sources of Indigenous Knowledge and Causes of Indigenous Knowledge Base
Destruction

Introduction
Knowledge is a result of many processes like knowing, perceiving, thinking, remembering,
reflecting, observing, finding out, inferring, proving and so on. Indigenous Knowledge as you
read in the previous section, is justified belief. Indigenous knowledge has three elements which
are:
1) existence of a group of ideas and phenomena,
2) these ideas and phenomena correspond to things which exist,
3) the correspondence is supported by beliefs.
Human being has traversed an arduous path in trying to arrive at reliable knowledge. Human
being’s efforts over several centuries to obtain knowledge have improved and depend on these
sources of knowledge to understand the world around and solve his problems.
31
Sources of Indigenous Knowledge

The following are some of the sources from where human beings gain knowledge according to
(IGNOU, 2007):
1) life experience,
2) social customs and traditions,
3) authority,
4) deductive and inductive reasoning.
a. Life Experiences
Humans need to find solutions to their problems so as to live in harmony with the world around.
For this they need to understand various phenomena and activities they undergo and make
sense of their experiences. One of the most primitive and primary source of knowledge for
human beings are their life experiences. Nomadic tribes learned from experience about the
edibility of certain wild fruits and also that others were harmful. All their actions were based on
whatever they experienced in performing their daily life activities. They observed weather
patterns throughout the year and could ascribe reasons for floods or droughts. The experiences
gained during the course of life accumulate into a body of knowledge and enable individuals to
cope with life’s problems. However, one cannot rely solely on personal experiences as a source
of knowledge for tackling new problems. Sometimes this may lead to wrong conclusions if the
experiences are examined uncritically. The inferences drawn may be affected by personal
prejudices and may be influenced by subjectivity. Two people may perceive and report a
particular situation or event in completely different ways.
b. Authority
Getting knowledge or seeking knowledge from authorities is a common practice. Whenever the
individual comes across a new situation or encounters a problem that has never experienced
before the individual takes recourse to seeking answers from established authorities, parents,
teachers even older siblings and friends. However, such a practice should not be encouraged.
Learners should be provided such learning experiences that engage them in learning tasks
leading to solutions. Role of authorities, i.e. teachers in this case, should be that of a facilitator
and guide leading them on the path of self-directed and independent problem solving. In a society
that is evolving at a rapid pace the role and place of experts and trained individuals is important.
32
Experts are required in every field and are a valuable source of knowledge and skills, because of
their level of expertise and knowledge. However, one must not lose sight of the fact that even
experts can at times be wrong. One cannot accept their advice or guidance unconditionally. The
truth of their statements should not be accepted without validation and authentication from other
sources.

c. Customs and Traditions

Our customs and traditions are a rich source of knowledge. Many communities are storehouse of
knowledge. All of us are used to certain patterns of behaviors in our daily lives which are
customary. For example, the food we eat, clothes we wear and cultural practices we adopt, and
so on. All these are accepted practices and serve as guides for our future behaviors. This is true
especially in school settings where customary and traditional practices are relied on.
d. Inference
Inference is a term covering a number of forms of reasoning in which conclusions are drawn or
judgments made on the basis of circumstantial evidence and prior conclusions rather than purely
on the basis of direct observation or knowledge arrived at by direct observation. The conclusion
may be correct, incorrect, partially correct, correct to within a certain degree of accuracy, or
correct in certain situations. Five distinct inferential methods are recognized: deduction,
induction, Bayesian inference (which is really a form of induction), abduction and reliability.
Inferential methods are the principal methods of science, although not all types are undisputedly
considered applicable to all fields of inquiry.
e. Heuristics, folklore and commonsense
The generalizations we apply in everyday life in predicting and explaining each other's behavior,
often collectively referred to as folk psychology is both remarkably successful and indispensable.
A person’s ‘personal knowledge’, what they believe, doubt, desire, fear, etc. is a highly reliable
indicator of what they will do and we have no other way of making sense of each other's
behavior than by ascribing such states and applying the relevant generalizations. This theory of
knowledge is also known as intentional realism, which recognizes that we all in some way
committed to the basic truth of commonsense psychology and, hence, to the existence of the
states its generalizations refer to (Dretske 2000). Some such as Fodor, also hold that
commonsense psychology will be vindicated by cognitive science, given that propositional

33
attitudes can be construed as computational relations to mental representations (Fodor 1987).
Churchland (1981) thinks that, as a theory of the mind, folk psychology has a long history of
failure that can’t be incorporated into the framework of modern scientific theories, including
cognitive psychology. He argued that the states and representations folk psychology postulates
simply don't exist; that it is comparable to alchemy and ought to suffer a comparable fate. On the
other hand, Dennett (1987) seemed prepared to admit that the generalizations of commonsense
psychology are true and also indispensable, but denies that this is sufficient reason to believe in
the entities to which they appear to refer. He supports this stance on that basis that there is
nothing more to having a propositional attitude than to give an intentional explanation of a
system's behavior by adopting the intentional stance toward it. Assuming a system is rational, if
the strategy of assigning contently states to it and predicting and explaining its behavior is
successful, then the system is intentional and the generalized propositional attitudes we assign to
it are true (Dennett 1987: 29.)
Moreover, other sources of IK were identified by different scholars; the following are the main
sources of IK as stated by Akullo et al. (2007):
i. Interactions with the elderly, parents, grandparents, relatives and friends.
ii. Visits where one finds a technology being applied and gets interested in it.
iii. Migration of people with different ethnicity from other parts of the country.
iv. Radio programs.
v. Extension workers.
vi. Own discoveries.
In addition to these sources of IK, it is stored in people’s memories and activities. It is expressed
in stories, songs, folklore, proverbs, dances, myths, cultural values, beliefs, rituals, community
laws, local languages and taxonomy, agricultural practices, equipment, materials, plant species
and animal breeds (Akullo et al., 2007).

Causes of the Destruction of the Indigenous Knowledge Base

An observation by Mchombu (2002) is that in the past, Western knowledge with its powerful
tools was thought to have all the answers to humanity’s problems. Since Western knowledge was
dominant over traditional knowledge, it cast aside and disorganized the knowledge and
traditions that rural groups had because they had less power to define themselves and their

34
view of the world. The literature review indicates that IK is in danger of being destroyed.
Mchombu (2002) lists some reasons for the destruction of IK which include: young people
turning away from their elders and breaking an ancient chain of orally communicated knowledge.
An education system which is de-linked from the IK base and aimed at providing external
information which was considered better than IK.

Ngulube (2002) supports Mchombu’s latter observation when he says that “colonialism and the
attitude of Africans who were converted to Christianity and Eurocentric elites undermined the
place of IK in Africa. Consequently, its validity was widely questioned”. Ngulube (2002) argues
that it was the rigid approach of western scientific knowledge towards other knowledge systems
that precipitated the devaluing and marginalizing of IK during foreign domination. IK was
regarded as invalid, worthless and irrelevant when compared with western codified knowledge.
An observation by Chisenga (2002) is that modern education systems in developing countries do
not have IK subjects or modules in their curricula. Therefore, IK is not being passed from one
generation to another in schools (Chisenga, 2002). Other reasons are as follows: a significant part
of the land, forests and habitat of indigenous peoples and local communities in many countries
are being affected by a combination of deforestation, logging, road construction and dam
projects, mining, urbanization and conversion of forests to tree and agricultural plantations. The
loss of resources and habitat has disrupted the social and ecological context within which the
communities have made use of their IK. Thus the ability to maintain the knowledge or to use it is
eroded (Khor, 2002). The future of IK is further endangered by the marginalization of indigenous
people in terms of education. For reasons such as discrimination and remoteness, many
indigenous children lack access to formal education which in turn leads to further
marginalization (Choike, 2003).

Although IK in the past was undermined, the literature that has been looked into by the researcher
of this thesis brings to attention that IK is a significant resource for development. Where western
social science, technological might and institutional models seem to have failed, IK is often
viewed as the latest and the best strategy in the old fight against hunger, poverty and
underdevelopment (Agrawal, 1995).

Preserving and Documenting Indigenous Knowledge (IK)

World organizations such as UNESCO, IFLA, the World Council of Indigenous People and
35
the World Bank have recognized the need for the capture and documentation of IK,

but they have yet to devise formal, standardized and sustainable practices and policies for the
purpose. Indigenous people should be involved in this process, as Gupta (2010) has argued.
Standardizing procedures is imperative in the social sciences: just as one has standardized
procedures and processes for scientific knowledge, one should have recognized procedures for
collecting, capturing and preserving IK.
Kaniki and Mphahlele (2002) propose the use of information communication technologies
(ICTs) to capture and document IK, and this is worth considering. They cite the example of the
Campbell Collections library, which uses digitization to preserve and disseminate important
African artifacts to the global community via the web. This type of sharing of IK has been
successful at the Campbell Collections and the authors suggest that the practice be expanded
(Kaniki & Mphahlele, 2002). Sithole (2007) cites Chisenga’s (2000) insistence that IK in Africa
needs to be codified into print and electronic formats for both audio and video to make it widely
accessible through global infrastructure. Chisenga says “databases of IK experts or carriers”
should be developed in various communities to “act as pointers to experts on various aspects of
IK” such use of ICT is of course not appropriate for the rural communities of Africa, where the
people rely on IK for their daily living.
Kaniki and Mphahlele (2002) suggested that IK needs to be looked into at the community level
with recording and sharing done in and among local communities. They argue that using ICTs or
knowledge management principles to manage and record IK can only be done at certain levels.
Owing to the nature of IK, not all of it can or should be managed like scientific knowledge.
Accordingly, there is a need to apply a number of principles for managing IK in order to preserve
and protect it (2002). Lastly the authors insist that owners of intellectual property must be
recognized and rewarded accordingly. Agrawal (1995) proposes using in situ methods to
preserve the IK of the rural people, which means that preservation must occur in and be
appropriate to in the original context where IK is created and used.
Agrawal (1995) observes, however, that “in situ preservation cannot succeed without the
indigenous population gaining control over the use of lands in which they dwell and the
resources on which they rely” (Agrawal, 1995). Those who are seen to possess knowledge must
also possess the right to decide on how to save their knowledge, how to use it and who shall use
it (Agrawal, 1995). It is important to note that in situ preservation is likely to make IK costlier
36
for those outsiders who wish to gain access to and disseminate it.
Preserving and Documenting Indigenous Knowledge
IK differs from Western knowledge and may have to be managed in ways that challenge
conventional methods of managing knowledge. This view is supported by Ngulube (2002), who
nevertheless notes that IK should be gathered, organized and disseminated systematically. The
emphasis here falls on the systematic processes that Western systems

37
adhere to, not necessarily on the application of Western methods to problems and challenges that
are unique to indigenous knowledge.
Msuya (2007) examines challenges and opportunities in the protection and documentation of IK
in Africa. He argues that there is a “threat of IK extinction due to lack of recording and problems
associated with documentation and protection of the knowledge from bio piracy”. The
knowledge is used without the consent of the indigenous people, who are given no
acknowledgement for their work. An example is the hoodia plant that has been patented for
medicinal purposes. No recognition or compensation was given to the indigenous Kalahari
community that shared this knowledge with the global world. This is a clear example of bio
piracy. Msuya also discusses other ethical issues pertaining to IK, with the emphasis on returning
IK benefits to the owners of the knowledge (see also Gupta, 2010) and highlights challenges in
IK preservation. He suggests measures that can be taken to alleviate the challenges, which
include, among others, developing appropriate IK policies and practices (Msuya, 2007).
Chisenga (2002) speaks convincingly of the need to capture and document IK in Africa using
ICT, but in the same breath lists the problems and challenges associated with doing this:
a. IK is tacit knowledge that people should be willing to verbalize and share. Yet
indigenous people are not always willing to share this knowledge with people from
outside their communities. One way of mitigating this problem is presumably to take the
advice of Gupta (2010) and Martin and Mirraboopa (2003) on prior informed
consent (PIC), and to follow proper etiquette when dealing with the people concerned.
b. Because IK is tacit or implicit, it is difficult to record, transfer and disseminate. Yet
Chisenga is adamant that IK should nevertheless be recorded, transferred and
disseminated using ICT. According to Kaniki and Mphahlele (2002), citing the example
of the Campbell Collections Library, ICT can indeed be used to record, transfer and
disseminate IK.
c. For many people IK is a livelihood. The fact that they alone are holders of such
knowledge puts them at an advantage, and entitles them to be paid for consultations. Such
people would therefore see sharing their IK as compromising their favourable position in
the community. If they are persuaded to share their knowledge, then they should be given
the recognition and compensation that they deserve.
d. Certain forms of IK cannot be easily transferred to other communities. Outside of its
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 community of origin, the knowledge may be meaningless and useless.
e. There is also the danger of IK being exploited by multinational corporations, as has been
the case with the hoodia plant that Chisenga (2002) makes mention of.
In spite of these reservations, Chisenga (2002) still speaks of capturing and documenting the IK
of the people of Africa using ICT. Agrawal (1995) suggestion of in situ preservation should help
to overcome some of the problems outlined above, especially in the case of IK in rural Africa.
Chisenga (2002) goes on to remark that “where it is found necessary to share IK with others,
international languages should be used”. This statement is problematic in the sense that
translating IK into international languages would destroy the specificity that is its core; the message
would essentially be lost in translation. There are also certain indigenous terms that simply do not
have an English equivalent. These are the reasons why it is so difficult to capture and document
IK and why it will remain to some extent tacit knowledge. However, if one adheres to the
recommendations proposed by Martin and Mirraboopa (2003) and Gupta (2010) for obtaining
prior informed consent (PIC) and involving the indigenous people in the process of capturing and
documenting IK, these difficulties should be to an extent remediated. This is done to build
relationships like trust, respect for the communities IK with a community you want to research.

The Importance of Documenting and Disseminating Indigenous Knowledge

The knowledge of documenting IK is not a new one (Ngulube, 2002). Missionaries and colonial
district officers during the colonial era collected information on customary patterns of land
tenure, livestock and traditional beliefs and rites. Documenting IK will help ensure that
communities, villages are not at disadvantage because of the unique beliefs and folkways that
pattern their way of living. IK is mainly tacit in other words it is embedded in the practices and
experiences of its holders. Tacit knowledge is exchanged through personal communication and
demonstration from mentor to apprentice and from parent to child (ren). IK is usually
disseminated through various family histories, taboos, symbols, myths and legends, rituals,
festivals. Indigenous knowledge is known to be passed down through generations by word of
mouth, which suggests the importance of documenting and preserving it for fear of it being
lost or miscredited. Although IK is mainly transferred verbally by word of mouth, its value in
the form of practices associated with herbs, livestock, farming is gaining importance world-wide.
It makes absolute sense to document this information and give indigenous people due
recognition for their work. Though some authors noted the examples of success and failure in
39
attempts to document IK. Ngulube (2002) highlights the success of a project to document
the natural and supernatural healing practices of the Fulani pastoralists in the north-west
province of Cameroon. Sithole (2007) discusses Zimbabwe’s National Library and
Documentation Services Act of 1986, and its failure to make any meaningful impact on everyday
practice in terms of documenting indigenous knowledge. This Act, he says, exists on paper but
has nothing to show in terms of library development most likely because of poor infrastructure.
An initiative regarding IK in Durban has begun with the Ulwazi Programme (Ulwazi
Programme: n.d.), which – in partnership with the eThekwini Municipal Library – seeks to
document the indigenous knowledge of local communities in the greater Durban area. The result
is a storehouse of mainly African culture with a few entries on Indian culture. The rationale
behind the Ulwazi program was to draw the rural areas of the Municipality into the information
society by providing much needed digital skills for recording relevant oral knowledge that might
otherwise be lost. The library provided support, training, and data collection for the project.
The technology used was open source software and the social media. The main portal was
developed as a wiki and allowed anyone to register and submit an article. Content is organized
through a series of categories and sub-categories. The system is multi-lingual.

The Campbell Collections comprise another initiative to preserve IK in Durban and its
surrounds. The Campbell Collections hold African artefacts, paintings, books and photographs.
When describing her Africana collection in an article published in Africana Notes and News in
September 1945, Campbell wrote: "This Library has approximately 20,000 books, and I have
specialized chiefly in history and Bantu life" (University of KwaZulu-Natal, n.d.).
According to a statement by the Leshiba Community Development Trust (n.d.), Southern
African Development Community (SADC) member countries constitute a vast potential source
of indigenous knowledge. The Trust’s IK center is aimed at creating an environment that
welcomes the participation of indigenous people in development work, to ensure that the projects
benefit local people on many fronts.
The importance of documenting IK provides evidence that local communities/ villages or
families are the owners of a complex and highly developed knowledge system. Documentation is
a satisfactory way to “authenticate and grant IK protection from bio piracy and other forms of
abuse”.

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41
Channels of Indigenous Knowledge (IK)
Communication/Dissemination and Approaches of Indigenous Knowledge
Communication in Africa just like in other parts of the world may occur without any deliberate
attempt by an information sender. Communication occurs in different forms like verbal or non-
verbal; oral or written; formal or informal and intentional or unintentional. They are all
interactive and do not exist in isolation of one another. For instance, observers might get much
from the action of people’s way of dressing, physical appearance and body language. So, the
receiver must decode the incoming information against the backdrop of their culture and match it
with existing knowledge. Always culture and existing knowledge have impact on encoding,
decoding and matching processes, which sometimes produce noise in the communication
channel and results in no two people with a very few exceptions having exactly the same
knowledge about anything. This explains why there are problems in defining and classifying
African communication systems.

Indigenous channels are important conduits of change. ‘Traditional’ does not mean ‘static’. Time
and time again, research has shown that most farmers, men and women do not learn about new
technologies through the media or the extension services, but rather from their friends and
neighbors or through their own experiments. Indigenous channels enjoy high credibility because
they are familiar and controlled locally. Local audiences are often skeptical of externally
controlled mass media, viewing them merely as government propaganda. External channels have
a limited range. Television and newspapers are confined largely to the richer, urban households
of the developing world. Schools reach only the young. Even the most common external
channels, radio and extension services, fail to contact many people. Indigenous channels, by
contrast, have a much wider audience, reaching those who do not read or write. They are crucial
for the exchange of information with those people who are out of the reach of external channels.
Development programs can use indigenous channels both to collect and to disseminate
information. ‘Keeping an ear to the ground’ by consciously tapping indigenous channels can help
project officials discover the local situation and get reactions to project initiatives and projects
can make explicit use of these channels much progress has been made in this area especially
with folk media such as songs a puppet shows, but still there remains great potential for work
and co-operation with indigenous organizations. Indigenous channels offer opportunities for
local participation in development efforts. Indigenous channels allow local people to
42
communicate among themselves and with development professionals using forms they are
familiar with. Control is key here: professionals are often reluctant to give up control over the
communication process in development projects.

Channels of Indigenous Knowledge Communication/Dissemination and Transfer.

Indigenous communication is important for many reasons. Indigenous communication has value
in its own right. It is an important aspect of culture and it is the means by which a culture is
preserved, handed down and adapted. But indigenous communication is being eroded by
exogenous systems - the mass media, schools, agricultural extension, bureaucracies -
endangering the survival of much valuable information. Exogenous channels have limited range.
Television and newspapers are largely confined to urban areas in the Third World. Even the most
widespread exogenous channels, extension personnel and radio, fail to reach many rural people.
Indigenous channels, by contrast, are ubiquitous. They are needed to convey messages to people
out of the reach of exogenous channels. Indigenous channels have high credibility because they
are familiar and are controlled locally, indigenous channels are highly credible. Local audiences
are often skeptical of the externally controlled mass media. Indigenous channels are important
conduits of change. Research has shown the importance of informal, interpersonal contacts in
persuading people to adopt, or reject, innovations. Such contacts are often made through
indigenous channels. Development programs can use indigenous communication to collect and
to disseminate information. Outsiders can tap indigenous channels for information on the local
situation and for feedback on project initiatives. Many projects rely on indigenous channels to
diffuse innovations and development messages. Some have made explicit use of indigenous
channels such as folk media and village organizations. There remains much untapped potential in
using such approaches. Indigenous channels offer opportunities for participation by local people
in development efforts. They allow local people to communicate among themselves and with
development professionals and decision makers. Local people can retain control over local media
more easily than over technology- intensive media. If indigenous communication is ignored, the
result might be inappropriate development efforts. Below are some of the channels used to
communicate/disseminate IK:
Folk media are the indigenous equivalents of exogenous mass media, folklores are used to teach
morals, create amusement and laughter, expose the follies of people and extol their virtues.
Folktales are also referred to in literature as oral narratives or oral performances, for example
43
“why the tortoise has a broken shell”; “Odu na Ola”. Folktales by its nature involves face-to-face
interaction. Both the narrator and his audience are in close contact and in constant interaction.
This close contact tends to enhance the source credibility of the source and makes the content of
the story very real.
They include festivals, plays, puppet shows, dance, song, storytelling and poetry. Of the various
indigenous channels, the folk media have been most used to support development activities. In
Indonesia, India and other countries, puppetry and other folk media have been used to promote
family planning and political messages, often with success.

1. Indigenous organizations include religious groups, village meetings, irrigation associations,

mothers' clubs and loan associations (van den Akker 1987). These organizations orchestrate
much communication through formal meetings of members by messages sent about activities and
obligations and through work activities.

2. Economic relationships and service suppliers such as traders, farm input suppliers, and
indigenous specialists such as healers and midwives are important sources of information for
local people. Market traders provide information on prices, varieties and fertilizer use. Healers
explain diseases and treatments. Any society has individuals who are regarded as authorities in
their field of specialization. They are potent sources of indigenous knowledge on that topic.

3. Deliberate instruction. When we are children, our parents, families and peers teach us how to
eat, how to behave, how to cook, plough and plant. Warren (1964) calls this process "deliberate
instruction." It continues during adolescence and adulthood through initiations and other rites of
passage, apprenticeship arrangements and the instructions given by village elders. Deliberate
instruction would seem far more important in the communication of technical information than
are the occasional folk media performance or village festival or even than the mass media and
schools. Yet deliberate instruction has received very little attention from development specialists.

4. Unstructured channels Indigenous communication occurs in many other settings:

discussions at home and at the market place, in the fields and on the road, in the teahouse and
chief's house, and wherever else people meet and talk. A major part is communication among kin
and peer groups. This communication is not organized or orchestrated but spontaneous and
informal.

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Many other forms of indigenous communication exist: African memorized narratives, Balinese
land ownership records written on palm leaves, folklore and proverbs to mention but a few.
Direct observation may be important: a farmer may observe a neighbor's bumper crop and decide
the variety used is a good one.

5. The Town-Crier

Soola (1999) describes the town-crier as a potent force in information dissemination as it remains
an authoritative voice of the traditional authority. The town-crier is usually an eloquent fellow
who understands the community and wherever he beats his gong, heads turn and ears twitch. The
people recognized that the message must be important and urgent to warrant the dispatch of the
crier. Also, Nwuneli (1983) talked of the town-crier model that is used in many West African
communities as well as a number of East and Central African communities as an all- purpose,
general –information disseminator. But the choice of the hardware (drums, gongs, bells) for
information dissemination often depends on what has been previously agreed upon by the
community. Thus, when a town-crier makes an announcement for instance, of the death of a
traditional chief or an important member of the community, the response or feedback from
different village- communities to this message will invariably be the same grief, wailing, shock,
sorrow and mourning among others.
6. Oral Poetry/ Narrative

In many ways, the artiste controls society with the beauty of his language and voice, the
philosophical bent of his utterances and the overall relevance and aptness of his art to life. In
fact, he cites instances where the artiste hypnotizes and spellbinds his audience. Among the
Yoruba tribe of South-Western Nigeria: Ewi is often used to convey information to eulogize
achievements, to guide individuals through the murky waters of the world’s hazardous terrain, to
celebrate the inexorable link between life and death and to satirize unacceptable behaviors and
practices.
7. Festivals

Africans history is never complete without mentioning of their festivals. Various festivals and
45
carnivals are celebrated every year. Some are in tandem with universal celebration while some
are unique and peculiar to the Africans. Christmas, Easter, New Year, Sallah, Masquerades, New
Yam, City Carnivals and host of other similar occasions call for outdoor activities of merry-making
and always include music and dance with instrumentalists as well as dancers exhibiting their
dexterity. Marriages, naming, burial and chieftaincy titles are often a must-attend for Africans.
Masquerades, the spirits of the forefathers, parade in beautiful costumes to the accompaniment of
small instrumental groups. Dancing groups both old and new of men, women and excited
children fill the streets and village squares. Awareness of specific development programmes can
be built and incorporated into local festivals through the use of prize-awards.
8. Music/Lyrics
Music and lyrics constitute essential aspects of socio-cultural and religious life in Africa.
Developmental messages when incorporated into songs can be used to create awareness and
educate rural dwellers on various issues.
Music springs from the life of the society and is normally performed to express shared values on
a number of ritual and social occasions. The venues of performance as well as the genres of the
music performed by the musicians are prescribed or somehow determined by the norms of the
particular society. Music when performed in its rightful context, nearly always carries
information which is for the most part intended to elicit some form of response from listeners,
among whom or to whom it is performed.
9. Drama

Local drama groups provide opportunities for local expressions on human scale likely interest a
wider range of individual. A radical change in thinking, on a subject matter, brought to reality,
through drama, is expected to occur when the individual or the group visualizes the outcome of
behaving in a particular way. Drama arouses deep psychological and cultural emotions. The use
of well-known and popular actors and stars in local community programs has continued to prove
a successful strategy almost everywhere it is used. Actual behavioral change almost always
requires personal touch, maybe through influential members of the community or someone who
has experience.
10. Records
Many societies keep formal records - written, carved, painted or memorized. South Asian
treatises on animal management written on palm leaves, ancient bai lan scripts on leaves
46
preserved in Thai Buddhist temples and similar leaves containing records of land ownership and
tax obligations in Bali are examples. Such records do not have to be written: African storytellers
narrate memorized historical epics and genealogies at length. Proverbs and folklore are other
vehicles.

Socio-cultural Advantages of Traditional Media

The perceptible advantages which folk or traditional media have over modern mass media in
promoting development obviously constitute reasons why media have widespread use in
development campaigns. Compared with modern mass media, the folk media are more familiar
and closer to the people at the grassroots level and this fact would seem to make them more
effective channels through which the ordinary folk can be presented with new

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and development ideas such as modern family planning. Being personal forms of entertainment
as well as channels of communication, the folk media such as traditional drama, storytelling and
folk singing are effective parts of the way of life of the people and thus provide fruitful means of
disseminating ideas to them.
Again, being grassroots entertainment media, they cover primary and intimate social groups and
any messages they carry reach such groups and any messages they carry reach such groups and
therefore reach the well-established communication network of any community.
Traditional modes of communication deal with the values and beliefs of the people and this
would seem to make them useful means through which social engineers can bring about
behavioral changes in people such as adopting family planning practices. This is because
people’s value and beliefs play vital role in their acceptance or rejection of such innovation as
modern family planning.
Unlike modern mass programs which are usually produced for large, heterogeneous and diverse
audiences, the folk media can use local dialects to disseminate ideas in a most intimate and
down-to-earth way at the village level in rural areas.

Approaches to Indigenous Knowledge

Various underlying views of indigenous knowledge can be identified in the literature. These
views are riot all mutually exclusive -- indeed, they overlap to some degree. Some individuals
lean toward one view without necessarily rejecting the validity of the others. Below are brief
stereotypes of seven such views.

1. The Scientist studies indigenous knowledge for its own sake -- as an interesting
phenomenon that may yield insights into culture (as in anthropological research) or the physical
world (as in biomedical research to identify plants that contain hitherto unknown active
ingredients for drugs). The scientist views knowledge as something to be shared openly for the
betterment of all humankind.

2. The Development Agent sees that farmers and other local people are acutely attuned to their
surroundings. They have intimate knowledge of their soils, climates, and markets.
Recommendations derived from outside research may not fit local needs and require costly
inputs. The development agent recognizes that recommendations are more likely to be useful and

48
sustainable if they are based on existing practices and are couched in terms that local people
readily understand.

3. The Facilitator pressures for indigenous knowledge as a resource that local people can use to
further their own development. Instead of trying to persuade farmers to adopt technologies
developed elsewhere, in this view, agricultural extensionists and other development workers
should facilitate farmers' experiments and encourage local people to exchange information.

4. The Conservationist views with alarm the current rapid rates of environmental destruction
and biodiversity loss. Traditional, minority societies occupying remote, often forested and
mountainous areas, are suffering similar disruption under the onslaughts of environmental
destruction, urbanization, and outside culture. The conservationist advocates the protection of
these societies and the preservation of their cultures and knowledge in situ.

5. The Political Advocate perceives local people as being suppressed by wealthy, often foreign,
elites. This view supports the protection of rights and the end of exploitation. It denies the
scientist's ideal of sharing of wisdom for mutual betterment instead seeing relationships with
potential of exploitation. Sanctions must protect the weaker party -- for instance by introducing
patent rights for indigenous knowledge to prevent their expropriation by outsiders.

6. The Capitalist by contrast, sees indigenous knowledge as a resource to be tapped by outsiders

in pursuit of a profit. Examples of this are the "chemical prospecting" of tropical forests by drug
companies and germ plasm collecting by crop breeding firms. Both may draw on the knowledge
of local people to identify promising sites, species, and uses. The capitalist makes a large
investment of knowledge and money in developing, say, a new crop variety from such germ plasm.
This, it is argued, dwarfs the original local contribution and justifies the firm's patenting of the
variety. Aspiring to the scientist's quest for knowledge and free access to information,
universities and herbariums are often unwitting partners of the capitalist.

7. The Skeptic views indigenous knowledge at best as amusing and at worst as dangerous
superstition -- a barrier to progress. According to the skeptic, indigenous knowledge should be
eradicated as soon as possible through education and the modernization process. If only local
people were "rational," the skeptic argues they would recognize the superiority of introduced
technologies or new economic forms. Sadly, the skeptic's view is the dominant one among policy

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makers and government personnel.

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