WHAT IS INDIGENOUS TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE?

Indigenous Traditional Knowledge

There are many definitions and descriptions of traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples. most of these are helpful, but none seem to completely capture the full concept. in non-indigenous thinking, knowledge is often thought of as a "thing," something that can be extracted and put into a book. while traditional knowledge certainly has aspects that are amenable to this treatment, facts, observations, lessons, and predictions, traditional knowledge is also a body of processes, practices, and relationships. interweaving sacred and metaphysical aspects with secular understanding is a practical and common means of invoking a broader meaning than is typical in science, for instance.

The following description is an excellent and sensitive attempt by a non-indigenous person to capture and give credence to traditional indigenous knowledge:

"The indigenous peoples of the world possess an immense knowledge of their environments, based on centuries of living close to nature. Living in and from the richness and variety of complex ecosystems, they have an understanding of the properties of plants and animals, the functioning of ecosystems and the techniques for using and managing them that is particular and often detailed. In rural communities in developing countries, locally occurring species are relied on for many — sometimes all — foods, medicines, fuel, building materials and other products. Equally, people’s knowledge and perceptions of the environment, and their relationships with it, are often important elements of cultural identity."

Director General of UNESCO (Mayor, 1994)

By comparison, the next quote is from a group of Canadian indigenous peoples who live and work in the field of applying and explaining indigenous traditional knowledge. The description below distinguishes carefully between traditional knowledge in the broadest sense, and traditional environmental knowledge, a narrower body of information and understanding:

"Traditional environmental knowledge is a body of knowledge and beliefs transmitted through oral tradition and first-hand observation. It includes a system of classification, a set of empirical observations about the local environment, and a system of self-management that governs resource use. Ecological aspects are closely tied to social and spiritual aspects of the knowledge system. The quantity and quality of TEK varies among community members, depending on gender, age, social status, intellectual capability, and profession (hunter, spiritual leader, healer, etc.). With its roots firmly in the past, TEK is both cumulative and dynamic, building upon the experience of earlier generations and adapting to the new technological and socioeconomic changes of the present."

(Dene Cultural Institute definition)

A Different World View

Indigenous peoples often live in rural areas, work within the natural systems, and are culturally tied to the land. Indigenous peoples who live close to the land can bring direct observation and special understanding of the natural cycles, and of animals and plants. Their traditional knowledge extends back hundreds or even thousand of years, a perspective science simply does not have. For all indigenous peoples, cultural roots are solidly planted in traditional knowledge and practice. Indigenous traditional knowledge represents a unique opportunity for projects to increase their information base, to improve their effectiveness and efficiency, and to add new world views and perspectives to the many variables that are part of development project planning and implementation.

To take advantage of this potential, special care and methods need to be used if indigenous peoples are to be real partners. Indigenous peoples sometimes do not easily participate in non-indigenous planning processes because they have different ways of making decisions and may not use representatives as spokespersons. Indigenous peoples who live in rural areas may not be politically influential, or may be "invisible" to project planners. Yet they have much to offer a project in their area, and, of course, much to benefit if they are included in project planning and decision-making. In the past, they also had much to lose by being excluded from project planning.

The Holders of Indigenous Traditional Knowledge In traditional indigenous communities, all people hold at least some traditional knowledge. Typically the most accomplished practitioners and disseminators of traditional knowledge are the older people in the community. Just being old, however, does not automatically confer a depth or breadth of traditional knowledge. Certain Elders are more proficient and wise than others. In addition, those who are practicing the traditional skills on a day-to-day basis are more likely to be adept in both the ancient and modern skills and knowledge that make up a fully developed traditional knowledge base, than those who are not using the traditional ways on a daily basis. Unlike a formal education system, there are no certificates or degrees by which to judge if an indigenous person has a high degree of skill in traditional ways. Every traditional community, however, is aware of who is best in various areas of traditional knowledge.

Knowledge is often grouped into certain areas: medicine and healing, hunting and fishing, gathering and agriculture, combat, and spiritual, are examples. In each indigenous culture, the groupings will be different, but usually, the most important people are acknowledged leaders in one or more of these areas, gaining their status from the knowledge and expertise they possess. In some indigenous cultures, dress, grooming, or symbolic icons (feathers, beads, shells, style of weapon, and many others) denote status or skill area.

For project planning, it is important to recognize that although one person may be the leader for a knowledge area, others also may be highly skilled or even better in certain aspects. For example, the "medicine man" or "shaman" may be the person with the highest status in healing and medical aspects, he or she is certainly not the only person who has traditional knowledge about medicine. In fact, others may be more skilled in certain aspects. Often women deal with the problems such as wounds and injuries, whereas elite healers deal with sicknesses that have less obvious causes.

Women and Traditional Knowledge
Project planners intending to include traditional knowledge should take care not to neglect gender differentiation. Traditional knowledge held by men is critically important, but is often incorrectly assumed to be the only important source of traditional knowledge. Traditional knowledge that is held by women needs special consideration for a number of reasons. Indigenous women, as the primary harvesters of medicinal plants, seed stocks, and small game, are keepers of the knowledge about significant spheres of biodiversity in their own right, and as such they may be best able to identify environmental indicators of ecological health. Perhaps even more important is that women share with men the responsibility for stewardship of values in their societies. They feel a keen responsibility to future generations for actions undertaken today, to ensure continuity and wholeness of their lifestyle, their culture, and the natural world in which we all live, for their descendants. It is women, in the main, who transmit these values to the next generation. Their multi-generational perspective needs to be taken into account. In many parts of the world it is often women who grow food crops, gather water and fuel, and perform most of the work that sustains the family. Development projects have sometimes inadvertently misunderstood their role. Privatization of land, the building of dams and irrigation projects and mines, and the array of impacts of agri-business can marginalize women and dispossess them of their independent ability to sustain themselves and their children.

The Nature of Traditional Knowledge
To acquire a deep understanding of indigenous traditional knowledge and to be able to use it responsibly in estimating impacts on the environment or on the culture of the people, requires a lifetime of immersion. Just as with the development of scientific expertise, which also requires decades of immersion and practical experience to be highly accurate in predictions, a great investment of time is needed. While it is entirely possible to gather the facts and information contained in the traditions, it is much more difficult to understand the relationships that are contained in the generations of teachings. For this reason, and like science, it is not difficult to describe traditional knowledge, but it is not practical to "collect" it and use it in the framework of science. Traditional knowledge should be collected and used within its own framework. It is entirely practical, however, to have the practicing scientist and the practicing holder of traditional knowledge work together. The key to success is respecting each other’s methods and information, while assessing the conclusions in a co-operative fashion. Indigenous traditional knowledge is a way of life. This straightforward statement is rarely understood by non-indigenous peoples who attempt to collect or document traditional knowledge. While traditional knowledge is a process of acquiring and passing on knowledge and understanding, and while it contains the database of knowledge collected, it is much more. It is a structure of values, stories, language, and social relations. It is an experience-based relationship with family, animals, places, spirits, and the land. It is a world view. Because it is experiential, each group will have a tradition that is, to a greater or lesser extent, different from other groups. While it may be convenient to speak of indigenous traditional knowledge, it is important to understand that such knowledge is not a single homogenous body. In fact, many indigenous peoples would say that their traditional knowledge is only accessible to its fullest extent by those who understand the language of their people.

Recognize that indigenous knowledge is a way of life, an experience-based relationship with family, spirits, animals, plants, and the land, an understanding and wisdom gained through generations of observation and teaching that uses indirect signals from nature or culture to predict future events or impacts.

What About Non-Indigenous Traditional Knowledge?

Contact us: alan@kivu.com