Local Knowledge Systems Research Articles

EARTHEN ARCHITECTURE – VALORISATION AND UNDERESTIMATION

Abstract. Earthen architecture has been used as a construction material in most of the world for millennia. According to the United Nations, approximately one third of the world population and half of the population of developing countries live in buildings constructed of earth. This presentation makes a basic SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis of earthen architecture in an attempt to explain why this material, possessing many positive qualities, is often maligned or underestimated and dismissed as a construction material associated with poverty, especially in the rural areas of Latin America. This paper emphasizes the importance of maintenance and the preservation of the local socio-cultural knowledge system associated with earth construction.

Time-space politics and heritagisation in Africa: understanding where to begin decolonisation

ABSTRACT This paper reflects on how heritage knowledge is built around time-space discourses. It takes a Critical Heritage Studies (CHS) position to examine heritage knowledge systems through the lenses of Walter Mignolo’s decolonial praxis on ‘locus of enunciation’ and Tim Ingold’s exegesis on ‘dwelling perspectives’. Drawing from ethnographic evidence collected among the Igbo of Nigeria, the study engages Indigenous concepts and heritage ontologies in the context of time and space in heritage making in Africa. Secondly, it interrogates the evidence with the continuity that occurs in society through intergenerational knowledge systems that began with known ancestors. Thirdly, such sustainability mechanisms are examined using what I call ‘territorial communion’ – the ways in which those local knowledge systems are ‘printed’ on the landscape through human-nature ‘relational ontologies’, and how such pictured living holds heritage in a continuum. Finally, the paper contends that a good knowledge of intergenerational ‘dwelling perspectives’ from different loci of enunciation would begin the decoloniality of heritage in Africa.

Local Knowledge and Marine Livelihoods Among the South Indian Fishing Community

The phenomenon of local knowledge of the fishing community about fish ethology and conservation of existing natural resources are investigated in this article. It explores the inextricably intertwined aspects and long-lasting constructive dependence of marine resources with a symbiotic relationship as critical components for integration with marine ecology. Lastly, the paper emphasizes the significance of local knowledge beliefs and systems which promote natural marine conservation methods for increased economic prosperity. The study focuses on the Telugu marine fishing community in South India.

Use of Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Crop and Livestock Production and Implication to Social Ecology: A Case Study of Chimanimani District of Zimbabwe

This study explored the indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) in the Chimanimani District of Zimbabwe and how they are used in crop management and grain storage. Also examined were the effects of IKS use on community food security and integrity of the environment. A qualitative interpretative research design was employed through the use of detailed in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with traditional leaders and community elders. The choice for these groups of people was informed by the general belief that they are often regarded in the community as a reservoir of indigenous knowledge systems. Phenomenological underpinnings anchored the study because it was vital to bring to the fore the various related IKS phenomena and links to food security and environmental management in the community. A socio-ecological lens was used to establish links and interrelations of factors that contribute to food security and environmental management. Major findings include that ashes and leaves from some indigenous trees are used to enrich soil quality, preserve food, and treat livestock. In addition, ashes and leaves are applied as organic pesticides for a variety of crops grown in the district. The study established that these local knowledge systems and practices contribute to low farming costs, high crop yields and good environmental management. The indigenous trees used for this purpose are held in high regard and conserved through the practice and enforcement of socio-spiritual prohibitions like taboos. The study concluded that the body of local knowledge firmly rooted in the Chimanimani people’s culture and traditions is relevant to and consistent with the national and global agenda towards strengthening and sustaining community food security and environmental management. Furthermore, the local knowledge systems found in this study have policy implications for environmental management and climate change strategies as well as knowledge management from a socio-ecological perspective.Keywords: indigenous knowledge management systems, environmental management, food security

Allying knowledge integration and co-production for knowledge legitimacy and usability: The Amazonian SISA policy and the Kaxinawá Indigenous people case

Environmental policies that aim to enhance nature conservation, biodiversity, and well-being of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC) rely on knowledge integration and co-production processes that include both science and Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) systems. While these processes are expected to safeguard the diversity of knowledge systems, uneven power relations among participants often prevent them from achieving this which can affect the legitimacy and usability of the outcomes of these processes. Using a case study in the Acre state (Brazil), where policy practitioners implemented the REDD + policy System of Incentives for Ecosystem Services in the Brazilian Kaxinawá Nova Olinda Indigenous Land, we investigate how participants manage challenges to safeguard knowledge diversity and usability during policy assessment and planning. Our findings show how, despite the use of participatory approaches, knowledge diversity ended up being compromised because policy practitioners were insufficiently attentive to power asymmetries and their implications. This, however, did not negatively affect the usability of the knowledge outcomes. Rather than focusing on the perfection of participatory methods, we call for a practical ethics that relies on culturally and ethically sensitive dialogues and that include continuous reflection. Such reflection will enable adaptation and improvisation to be able to respond to emerging power dynamics in an adequate and timely manner, thereby ensuring both the legitimacy and the usability of the outcomes of knowledge integration and co-production.

Welcomed and Unwanted: Uncertainty and Possession in a Manasā Cult (North Bengal and West Assam, India)

Abstract Manasā is a very important goddess of the eastern part of India, particularly for the lower castes of Bengal, West Assam, some districts of Odisha, Jharkhand and Bihar. She is the main goddess for the majority of Rajbansis of North Bengal. The fluid border between deities, witches and human beings is an essential part of both her myth and cult. Being a Tāntric deity, Manasā has an extremely ambivalent character: according to the narratives and ritualistic practice she is at the same time both welcomed and unwanted. Her worship involves negotiation with dangerous divine power, which generates insecurity and uncertainty, but at the same time rewards adepts with wonderful abilities. This paper is based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted by the author in rural places in the Jalpaiguri, Koch-Behar, Goalpara and Darrang districts of West Bengal and Assam, India, among Rajbansis, Bodo Kachari and Assamees. The details of Manasā worship, Behula dance and storytelling by Bengali Monośa gidal, and in a form of Assamese suknāni ojha-palli (with deodhani dance and trance) will reveal a peculiar local knowledge system, directly aimed at overcoming and transforming mundane life crises.

Locating disaster communication in changing communicative ecologies across the Pacific

The Pacific Island region is geographically and culturally diverse, with a significant range of communication infrastructures and challenges. Access and use of mobile phones has risen exponentially over the past five years. According to ITU statistics, around 60 percent of Pacific Islanders had access to a mobile in 2012, compared to just 10 percent in 2006. In many Pacific countries mobile phones are, therefore, emerging as a key element of the local communication systems, and are being be built into disaster management and communication plans. For these plans to be effective, however, we argue that access to, and affordability of, technologies represent only one dimension of what needs to be considered in effective disaster communication plans. They also need to consider appropriate technologies, local communicative ecologies, systems for the ownership and maintenance of infrastructures, and local knowledge and belief systems. With a focus on mobile and other telecommunications technologies, this paper provides an overview of disaster communication systems and infrastructures, practices and challenges in the region.

Climate change and adaptation to social-ecological change: the case of indigenous people and culture-based fisheries in Sri Lanka

Rural coastal fishery systems in tropical island nations are undergoing rapid change. Using a case study from eastern Sri Lanka, this paper examines the ways in which indigenous Coastal-Vedda fishers experience and respond to such change. We conducted semi-structured interviews (n = 74), focus group discussions (n = 17, 98 participants), and key informant interviews (n = 38) over a 2-year period (2016–2019). The changes that most Coastal-Vedda fishers experience are disturbance from Sri Lankan ethnic war, changes in climate and the frequency and severity of natural disasters, increased frequency of human-elephant conflicts, increasingly unpredictable weather patterns, and transformation of the Coastal-Vedda due to social modernisation. We used a resilience-based conceptual framework focusing on place, human agency, collective action and collaboration, institutions, indigenous and local knowledge systems, and learning to examine fishers’ responses to rapid changes. We identified three community-level adaptive strategies used by the Coastal-Vedda: adaptive institutions with a multi-level institutional structure that facilitates collective action and collaboration, the use of culture-based fisheries (CBF), and diversification of livelihoods. We also recognized four place-specific attributes that shaped community adaptations: cultural identity and worldviews, co-management of CBF, flexibility in choosing adaptive options, and indigenous and local knowledge systems and learning. These adaptive strategies and place-specific attributes provide new insights for scientists, policymakers, and communities in the region, enabling them to more effectively work together to support community adaptation.

Sustainability of the Jeju Haenyeo Fisheries System in the Context of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS)

According to the Brundtland Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), the concept of sustainability emerges from the expectation of development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This notion of sustainability is highly related to the implication of the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The haenyeo (women divers) fisheries system of Jeju Island, South Korea, serves as an empirical case that illustrates that the core meaning of GIAHS is placed on the concept of sustainability. The most important objective of this case study is to explore how the five main values of GIAHS—(i) food and livelihood security, (ii) agro-biodiversity, (iii) local and traditional knowledge systems, (iv) cultures, value systems, and social organizations, and (v) landscape and seascape features—can be interlocked, and how the concept of sustainability can emerge through this interlocked relationship. In doing this, the value of both GIAHS and the Jeju haenyeo fisheries system is illuminated.

Exploring the Ecological Dimensions of Displacement in Núcleo Itariru (Serra do Mar State Park): An Ethnobotanical Study of Peasant/Landscape Relations in Brazil's Atlantic Forest

As a research focused in studies of conservation-induced displacement, ethnobiology has much to contribute towards generating more holistic understandings of the impacts of protected areas upon the lives of resource-dependent peoples around the globe. This paper presents the findings of a case study undertaken in Núcleo Itariru (Southern S ão Paulo state, Brazil), a unit of Serra do Mar State Park and the site of habitation for a population of approximately 700 peasants. Beginning in 2006, with the enactment of a new conservation initiative, peasants effectively became economically displaced, restricted from access to the natural resources upon which they base their lives and livelihoods. Utilizing ethnobotanical methods, in the form of a freelisting exercise and traveling herbarium survey, the study investigated local environmental knowledge systems as a means of evaluating the human/ landscape relationship in the locale. This paper highlights the value of such an approach for assessing the social and environmental dimensions of displacement, as a supplement to participant observation and ethnographic interviews, and for informing more sustainable conservation policies.

NILAI-NILAI KEARIFAN LINGKUNGAN DALAM NOVEL SERIAL ANAK-ANAK MAMAK KARYA TERE LIYE (KAJIAN ECOCRITICISM)

This research is motivated by literature in terms of ecology and invites readers to always maintain environmental sustainability by preserving the values ofenvironmental wisdom through the reading of literary works. This study aims to determine the values of environmental wisdom contained in the novel Serial Anak-anak Mamak by Tere Liye. This research uses descriptive qualitative research method. The data in this research are sentence of the values of environmental wisdom contained in novel Serial Anak-Anak Mamak by Tere Liye which consists of four novels namely novel Burlian (2009), Pukat (2010), Eliana (2011), and Amelia (2013) all of them published by Republika Publisher. Data collection techniques in this study is to use literature techniques, techniques refer, and record techniques. Data analysis is the analysis of description and content analysis. Research results include environmental wisdom values in the form of respect for nature, a sense of common ownership of the community to maintain natural resources, local knowledge systems to solve problems, appropriate and efficient technologies in accordance with local conditions, system of law enforcement rules, and harvest distribution mechanisms.

How networked organisations build capacity for anticipatory governance in South East Asian deltas

Building capacity for governments to make inferences about future developments enhances their ability to anticipate and plan for climate change adaptation. This study examines the question: how do networked organisations build capacity for anticipatory governance through project-based interactions? We analyse a global network of organisations that mobilise climate and hydrological modelling technologies into the Chao Phraya and Ayeyarwaddy deltas. The methodology innovatively combines ethnographic data with policy analysis and social network analysis. Findings suggest that organisations consolidate technology and knowledge transfer through a global network. However, their governance effect in enhancing anticipatory decision making is found to be marginal at the local level. We argue that anticipatory governance practices need a balancing of foresight tools and techniques with local institutional arrangements in order to be effective. We further demonstrate that technology transfer projects need to be backed up with social and strategic capacity building in order to nurture consistent anticipatory governance in different cultural contexts. We conclude that preventive actions, together with transparent operational response frameworks, could significantly improve resilience and adaptability of local knowledge systems and institutions dealing with climate change adaptation. Such integration could enable anticipatory response measures to better manage risk, as well as increase institutional cooperation for long term environmental planning.

Including diverse knowledges and worldviews in environmental assessment and planning: the Brazilian Amazon Kaxinawá Nova Olinda Indigenous Land case

ABSTRACT The concepts of ‘ecosystem services’ (ES) and ‘nature’s contributions to people’ (NCP) inform environmental frameworks that set out to include Indigenous and Local Knowledge systems (ILK) and worldviews in policy and planning processes. These frameworks aim to enhance biodiversity conservation and human well-being in a legitimate and effective way. In this article, we explore how the concept of People’s Contributions to Nature (PCN) is complementary to NCP. We use it to investigate challenges that planners and locals face in realizing the legitimate inclusion of diverse knowledges and worldviwes that account for people and ecosystems in a relational way. We introduce a case study where planners drew on ES and NCP and used participatory methods to implement a REDD+ policy in the Kaxinawá Nova Olinda Indigenous Land (Acre-Brazil). We find that both Kaxinawás and planners emphasize both NCP and PCN in their discourses. Nevertheless, differences between knowledge systems and disciplines, uneven power relations between Kaxinawás and planners, and an under-consideration of PCN by global frameworks challenge the legitimate inclusion of the Kaxinawá knowlege and worldviews to craft assessment and planning. We conclude that by explicitly addressing these challenges, science-policy interfaces can further advance knowledge legitimacy and policy effectiveness. EDITED BY Harini Nagendra

Climate change and community fisheries in the arctic: A case study from Pangnirtung, Canada

Coastal fishery systems in the Arctic are undergoing rapid change. This paper examines the ways in which Inuit fishers experience and respond to such change, using a case study from Pangnirtung, Canada. The work is based on over two years of fieldwork, during which semi-structured interviews (n = 62), focus group discussions (n = 6, 31 participants) and key informant interviews (n = 25) were conducted. The changes that most Inuit fishers experience are: changes in sea-ice conditions, Inuit people themselves, the landscape and the seascape, fish-related changes, and changes in weather conditions, markets and fish selling prices. Inuit fishers respond to change individually as well as collectively. Fishers’ responses were examined using the characteristics of a resilience-based conceptual framework focusing on place, human agency, collective action and collaboration, institutions, indigenous and local knowledge systems, and learning. Based on results, this paper identified three community-level adaptive strategies, which are diversification, technology use and fisheries governance that employs a co-management approach. Further, this work recognised four place-specific attributes that can shape community adaptations, which are Inuit worldviews, Inuit-owned institutions, a culture of sharing and collaborating, and indigenous and local knowledge systems. An examination of the ways in which Inuit fishers experience and respond to change is essential to better understand adaptations to climate change. This study delivers new insights to communities, scientists, and policymakers to work together to foster community adaptation.

Local Community Knowledge of Productivity and Diversity of Chicken Phenotypes (Gallus gallus domesticus) as an Effort to Support Ternate's Community Food Security

Research with the title Local Community Knowledge of Productivity and Diversity of Chicken Phenotypes (Gallus gallus domesticus) as an Effort to Support Ternate's Community Food Security will be carried out with the aim of studying local knowledge about variations from local chickens, traditions in raising local chickens, and local chicken conservation efforts as studies beginning for the conservation of germplasm in supporting the food security of the people of Ternate City. This research will be carried out for 3 months. The location of the study was determined by purposive sampling with the provisions of the dominant research location having a local chicken population. The main material in this study were adult chickens, both male and female. Changing the phenotype of qualitative characteristics of chickens observed included: feather color, shank color (claw) and comb shape. To see the relationship between community knowledge about productivity and phenotype diversity, 67 interviewed native chicken farmers who are used to conducting selection in seed selection, based on their local knowledge system (LK). Operational Variables consist of independent variables and dependent variables. The independent variable is local knowledge of farmers with parameters: bones, feathers, combs, scales of feet, eyes, cloaca, anal bones, toes, head and back. While the dependent variable is the productivity of domestic chicken with parameters of average egg production per month during three months. The results showed that there was a significant correlation between local knowledge of the community and the level of egg production (P <0.01) with a correlation coefficient of 0.46. While for the phenotypic characterization of qualitative properties of free-range chicken in Ternate City, it is still quite diverse, both feather color, shank color and comb shape and do not yet have specific features that are firm, so that native chickens cannot be categorized as new varieties and selection to form superior and specific chicken varieties.

Identity Reconstruction of the Great Zimbabwe National Monument: An Indigenous Knowledge Systems Perspective

Various theories have been advanced on the identity of the people who built the Great Zimbabwe National Monument (GZNM). On the one hand, some ancient Mediterranean communities (Lebanese and Phoenicians) are associated with the construction of GZNM. On the other hand, some archaeological discoveries have claimed that the unique architecture could be assigned to King Solomon and Queen of Sheba, suggesting a religious/biblical basis regarding the construction of the structures. In some instances, those in favour of local indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) argue that the Shona people of the Rozvi dynasty in Zimbabwe were the architects of the magnificent structure. Despite voluminous literature published to date, including more recent contributions, consensus has not been reached on the identity of the people who constructed GZNM. From an IKS perspective, this study attempts to reconstruct an identity formation surrounding GZNM by exploring some similarities in terms of cultural customs between the Ancient Mediterranean World (AMW) and the Shona people of Zimbabwe. The aim of such an investigation is to search for some certainty about the identity of the people who built GZNM. The research findings will complement and contribute to the existing body of knowledge about GZNM.

ISTILAH-ISTILAH DALAM REGISTER PENGETAHUAN KELAUTAN NELAYAN MADURA DI DESA PESISIR, KECAMATAN BESUKI, KABUPATEN SITUBONDO: KAJIAN ANTROPOLINGUISTIK

Ecological factors, the close relationship between fishing communities and the sea (nature) has given rise to various types of marine knowledge in such a way, which is used as an adaptive function in "conquering and navigating the sea" as an effort to maintain the stability of the family's survival. A local knowledge system that has delivered a sociocultural pattern of fishing communities has distinctive cultural values, which are different from the various surrounding communities. The register of fishermen's marine knowledge is a variation of language based on the function of use and the context of its use that reflects social processes, and contains different meanings with the types of meanings in lexical dan grammatical. This study aims to describe the shape and meaning of registers of marine knowledge of Madurese fishermen using anthropolinguistic studies. The method used is descriptive qualitative. Research data in the form of terms and meanings on their cultural functions in marine registers. Efforts to extract data were carried out by participant observation methods and in-depth interviews, supplemented by written notes and recording aids in the form of a cellphone recorder. Data were analyzed using interactive data analysis (reduction, presentation, and withdrawal / verification of data) and interpretive methods oriented to the point of view of the community under study. In its realization, the terms in the register are searched for their lexical meanings using the referential equivalent method, which matches the lexicon meaning in the MaduraIndonesian dictionary. Next the cultural significance is determined based on the sociocultural function of the fishermen's interpretation The fishery knowledge register can be classified into four subsystems, including; register of fishermen's marine knowledge relating to; (1) current conditions; (2) weather / climate conditions; (3) conditions of the fishing area (fishing ground) and signs of fish presence; and (4) the techniques and fishing tools used.

Life below excellence: exploring the links between top-ranked universities and regional competitiveness

ABSTRACT This paper examines interactions between the presence of top-ranked universities and other conditions that encourage regional competitiveness. Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was conducted to assess the combined effect of the conditions. The analysis yields several noteworthy conclusions. First, no single condition is necessary for a region to be competitive. Second, R&D expenditure is important for regional competitiveness. Third, different configurations of conditions are sufficient for high competitiveness in different regional clusters. Furthermore, some of these configurations do not include the presence of top-ranked universities. A ‘magic recipe’ consists of the combination of a private research system, an inter-firm collaboration network and high levels of human capital. The analysis shows that university excellence is valuable. However, in terms of its contribution to regional development, it is not crucial and must always be contextualised. This conclusion is important for smart strategic planning of local knowledge systems.

Digital neocolonialism and massive open online courses (MOOCs): colonial pasts and neoliberal futures

ABSTRACTThrough evaluating dominant MOOC platforms created by Western universities, I argue that MOOCs on such platforms tend to embed Western-centric epistemologies and propagate this without questioning their global relevance. Consequently, such MOOCs can be detrimental when educating diverse and complex participants as they erode local and indigenous knowledge systems. Arguing that the digital divide is an exacerbation of historical inequalities, I draw parallels between colonial education, specifically across Sub-Saharan Africa, and ‘digital neocolonialism’ through Western MOOC platforms. I analyse similarities in ideology, assumptions, and methods of control. Highlighting evolving forms of coloniality, I include contemporary problems created by neoliberal techno-capitalist agendas, such as the commodification of education. Balance is needed between the opportunities offered through MOOCs and the harms they cause through overshadowing marginalised knowledges and framing disruptive technologies as the saviour. While recommending solutions for inclusion of marginalised voices, further problems such as adverse incorporation are raised.

Local Knowledge System of Kampung Naga: A Study to Investigate the Educational Values of Indigenous People in Transmitting Religious and Cultural Values

Local Knowledge System of Kampung Naga: A Study to Investigate the Educational Values of Indigenous People in Transmitting Religious and Cultural Values