Which of the following best characterises traditional knowledge

This particular module will help you explore and understand traditional knowledge. As Indigenous communities struggle for survival and political recognition worldwide, most, if not all, are using and renewing the beliefs and practices that have sustained specific ways of life for countless generations prior to modernization and industrialization. Even as this process unfolds, Indigenous peoples are working feverishly to avoid losing the wealth of knowledge and experience held by elders and traditional teachers in Indigenous communities.

Traditional knowledge will be understood within the context of the Indigenous societies in which it occurs: it will be seen to develop and change in accordance to a people’s relationship with the land and with other peoples.
Issues to be discussed include indigenous lifestyles and modernity, the problems of preserving and protecting traditional skills, environmental issues and knowledge regimes, and the relation between scientific knowledge and Indigenous knowledge.

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What are the characteristics of traditional knowledge?
Which of the following are traditional knowledge?
What is meant by traditional knowledge?
What is traditional knowledge and its kinds?

Defining Traditional Knowledge We all have multiple identities. For example, at various times, a woman may be a mother, sister, daughter, student, teacher, and coach. At other times, that same woman may simply be a person or human being. There are many different ways of defining that one individual. If that woman comes from Circumpolar Canada, she may at one time have been ill-named “Eskimo.” She may see herself as Inuit ( are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Greenland, Canada, and Alaska.) , and she may also see herself as, Nunavummiut (The people inhabiting the territory of Nunavut.) depending on where she lives. How she names herself in her own language may or not be the same as how outsiders identify her. The reasons for holding any one definition may be her own or the reasons may be held by someone else for a particular purpose.
It is the same when we try to define what traditional knowledge is. As you will see below, there are a variety of definitions arising from slightly different perspectives or purposes. And yet you will also find that these definitions are embraced by commonalities.

Why Define It At All?
Quite simply, it is important to define traditional knowledge in order to distinguish it from other kinds of knowledge. Traditional knowledge reflects belief systems and ways of life that are distinct from modern, industrial belief systems and ways of life. Defining traditional knowledge becomes particularly important when the people with whom it originates are trying to preserve and renew their cultural identity

What are Some Definitions?

The following definitions are attempts to gather within their meaning all that Indigenous peoples know. It reflects debate among academics, some institutional decision-makers, environmental resource managers, and policy makers. Such terms include traditional knowledge, traditional ecological knowledge, traditional environmental knowledge, and Indigenous knowledge. Notice the slight differences and the many similarities of the definitions.

The Traditional Knowledge Working Group of the Government of the Northwest Territories in Canada was one of the first government policy makers to attempt to define the knowledge of Indigenous peoples, and they came up with this definition of traditional knowledge:

Traditional knowledge is knowledge that derives from, or is rooted in the traditional way of life of aboriginal people. Traditional knowledge is the accumulated knowledge and understanding of the human place in relation to the universe. This encompasses spiritual relationships, relationships with the natural environment and the use of natural resources, relationships between people, and is reflected in language, social organization, values, institutions and laws. (Legat 1991, 12)

Traditional ecological knowledge, according to Environmental Information Partnership, based in Ontario, Canada, is: environmental knowledge that has been gathered by aboriginal peoples who have lived in and observed a particular area for generations, and has been handed down by statements, beliefs, legends, customs, from generation to generation by word of mouth or by practice, based on facts, truths, or principles.
(EIP 1996, i)

Burgess (1996, 16) quotes Huntington’s definition of traditional ecological knowledge as “systems of experiential knowledge gained by continual observation and transmitted among members of a community. It is set in a framework that encompasses both ecology and the interactions of humans and their environment on physical and spiritual planes.”

The Dene Cultural Institute developed a definition of traditional environmental knowledge as being far broader that knowledge that merely pertains to the environment:
Traditional environmental knowledge is a body of knowledge and beliefs transmitted through oral traditions 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 upon gender, age, social status, intellectual capability and profession (hunter, spiritual leader, healer, etc.). With 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 our present. (Stevenson 1996, 281)
The use of the word “traditional” in these definitions is often seen as problematic. Readers can dangerously assume that it only relates to the past and that “traditional” is not “contemporary”(Stevenson 1996, 279). Abele (1997) has argued that the use of the word “traditional” can obscure the fact that all knowledge evolves and develops over time or that “traditional” knowledge can be misinterpreted to refer instead to a people’s tradition of knowledge, which may have been influenced by other peoples, other traditions of knowledge. The danger then is the possible exacerbation of the social and political marginalization that faces Indigenous peoples, and of the belief that traditional knowledge can have no real impact on today’s environmental, social, and cultural problems.

Lorraine Brooke gives the following definition of Indigenous knowledge:

It includes facts, concepts, theories about the characteristics which describe the objects, events, behaviours and interconnections that comprise both the animate
and inanimate environments of Indigenous peoples. The various types of information and concepts that define an individual’s knowledge have been developed through that person’s observations of, experiences with, and explanations about the physical environment and living resources that characterise the territory in which they live. The content and extent of knowledge varies from individual to individual and there can be a specialisation in expertise. The knowledge is commonly shared between individuals, which encourages an exchange and critique of both facts and ideas at any one point in time; and it is transferred from one generation to the next through the oral tradition thus enabling the knowledge base of Indigenous societies to be transmitted and expanded over time . . . Even though Indigenous knowledge is not quantitative in nature, it does not mean that it is not precise. In fact, the need to be precise is one of the primary identifying elements of this knowledge base. (Brooke 1993, 36–37)

What are the Common Understandings?
By now you will have noticed that each of these definitions refer to similar aspects of Indigenous peoples’ lives, and that there are also some slight differences. Whatever the definition being used, there are some basic elements that comprise traditional knowledge.
In a book called Best Practices in Indigenous Knowledge, the authors attempt to illustrate the use of Indigenous knowledge in cost-effective and sustainable strategies to help poor people in their daily struggle for survival. De Guchteneire, Krukkert, and von Liebenstein (2002) summarize for us the common characteristics evident in all of the above definitions:

Characteristics of Indigenous Knowledge
• IK is generated within communities
• IK is location and culture specific
• IK is the basis for decision making and survival strategies
• IK is not systematically documented
• IK concerns critical issues of human and animal life: primary production, human and animal life, natural resource management
• IK is dynamic and based on innovation, adaptation, and experimentation
• IK is oral and rural in nature

The various definitions we have just explored are simply current or contemporary ways to name and describe how Indigenous peoples, since time immemorial, have sustained themselves within their local environments and developed and enhanced their cultural identities. In the circumpolar regions of the earth, Indigenous peoples were forced to observe and adapt in order to survive. The lessons learned over time, passed on orally through generations, shared within extended families and across communities were reinforced and refined.

Since time immemorial, we were put here to take care of the land. Our grandfathers did not abuse the land and it is our turn to pass our knowledge on to our younger generation. What our forefathers kept all this time is very precious. It’s now in our hands. Our Creator has given us the responsibility for taking very good care of what we have. If we don’t take care of it, we will lose our own culture one day. (John Petagumskum in McDonald, Arragutainaq, and Novalinga 1997, 6)

Traditional knowledge can be seen to be comprised of two aspects.

The first is its practical base. Traditional explanations of environmental phenomena, winds or water currents for example, are based on cumulative collective experience , tested over centuries, by people who had a sophisticated and practical knowledge of the land on which they depended for every aspect of life.

Children learned directly from their parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents and other elders. Instruction was always rooted in practice. Children learned by observing their elders and imitating their behaviour, and were guided and gently directed by their elders. A sense of competence and encouragement was built into the process because children defined what they were ready to learn by demonstrating approximate emulation of adult behaviour. Mastery of a particular task followed a dynamic process of repeated progressive attempts by the learner interspersed with guidance and direction as required to achieve that mastery.

When we talk about the hunting territory, the person never just thinks of himself. He thinks also of his children and his grandchildren. He thinks about how he will leave this land and what state it will be in when his children and grandchildren get it. (John Mathews in McDonald, Arragutainaq, and Novalinga 1997, 6)
People could then supplement, refine, and innovate an ever-expanding circles of mastery of tasks and practices through ongoing instruction from elders. Yet the emphasis remained on those practices which had withstood the test of time and which were most effective and efficient.
Learning how to do things crucial to survival was not the only aspect of traditional knowledge. While learning how to do a particular task, children were taught ideas and values that existed within their particular society. These ideas and values could be expressed in stories, in comments, or in corrections of behaviour. Generally, children did not ask elders to instruct them, but the elders took the initiative in preparing and advising them whenever they thought it appropriate. In fact, the great respect in which elders were held often meant that young people were reluctant to pose questions to elders unless they were invited to do so.

Thus the second aspect of traditional knowledge, the spiritual aspect, is integral to the ethical beliefs and world views of Indigenous peoples. It may be virtually impossible to measure scientifically the validity or truth value of the spiritual aspects of traditional knowledge, but its social existence and transmission can be witnessed, and the effects of that spiritual aspect on the environment can be seen measured (e.g., conservation of resources).
A general characteristic of traditional knowledge is the understanding that all parts of the environment—plant, animal, rocks, water, human beings— have a life force. And human life is not considered superior to other parts of creation: in fact, some Indigenous traditions see human beings as the last to be placed on earth by the Creator (thus the least experienced and knowledgeable) and to be perhaps the weakest creature on earth and thus in need of help from the rest of Creation. A fundamental principle arising from these beliefs, reinforced by stories and teachings, is that human beings can use the land and its bounty but do not have the right to control or exploit the animate or inanimate elements of the environment.
The two aspects of traditional knowledge, the spiritual and the practical, arose out of direct experience with the living land and from the interpretations of that experience. Human beings witnessed and responded to the daily and seasonal cycles of the world around them: as a result, that cyclical nature also can be seen to characterize the nature of traditional knowledge.

This can be understood in two ways. First, traditional knowledge tells us that human beings are not separate from the earth and its cycles but are part of it. If that is true, then human beings must have their own cycles (which Western science corroborates as true). Our knowledge is a part of us, it makes up who we are. So, then, it is not unreasonable to assert that our knowledge is subject to cycles just like those we see in the environment. The cycle of birth, growth, maturity, decay, death, and rebirth that human beings readily see in plants and animals is also the same cycle of knowledge. What we know also goes through the cycle of birth, growth, maturity, decay, death and rebirth. Some things we learn for the first time and we add that to what we already know. Some things we learn more about or relearn and this also adds to what we know. Knowledge is thus like the rings of a tree: as it grows, it is still the same tree but also different.
Knowledge too is like any living, animate being: it comes from a seed of
some kind. Using the example of a tree, when we look at a seed, all of what
that tree will become is locked as potential within the shell of that seed.
When it is nurtured under proper conditions, that seed will grow. Thus all of
what makes us human beings (and what we know) is inside us from the time
we are seeds, and given the proper nourishment, we can enact the potential within us.

The Impact of Colonization on Traditional Knowledge
Colonization is “the subjugation of one people by another through
destruction and/or weakening of basic institutions of the subjugated culture
and replacing them with those of the dominant culture” (Lee 1992, 213).

The incursion of colonizing nation-states into the traditional territories of
Indigenous peoples has been a global pattern throughout human history.
Although the timing varies, the colonization of Indigenous peoples in the
circumpolar region has occurred for two reasons, reasons similar the world
over:

to exploit the natural resources found in the territories of Indigenous
peoples; and
• to execute some notion of “empire” or “manifest destiny,” to solidify
economic, social, and political power.

Settler societies in North America, northern Asia, and northern Europe have
forcibly replaced indigenous languages, imposed foreign systems of
governance, religion, education, and economic livelihood. Modernization
and industrialization have brought some material benefits to some
Indigenous societies but the overall pattern of colonization in the
circumpolar region and the world over has seen Indigenous peoples
relegated to the margins of the broader societies into which they are
assimilated.

Indigenous peoples have been forced into sedentary communities to
facilitate appropriation of their lands for resource development or settlement
by colonizers. They have seen their traditional forms of governance,
spiritual practice, subsistence practices, and even their languages and
cultural traditions attacked, outlawed, and dismissed as archaic or savage.
Indigenous peoples of the circumpolar region have seen artificial boundaries
erected between them although they may share linguistic or cultural
affinities.

All aspects of indigenous ways of life have been affected. This includes
traditional knowledge.
Colonization has adversely affected the transmission, preservation, and
protection of traditional for the following reasons:
• traditional knowledge has not been systematically documented until
recently;
• it is largely orally transmitted in an era where the written word and
other media dominate;
• Indigenous peoples have become isolated from one another and no
longer share knowledge;
• enforced shifts away from traditional subsistence practices erodes the
vitality of that knowledge;
• health and social problems arising from poverty have decimated
populations, including the elders who are keepers of collective
knowledge; and
the dominance of western scientific traditions and assimilation into free market societies has devalued the importance of Indigenous traditions and knowledge, both for Indigenous peoples and others.

The transition from the lifestyles which breath life into traditional knowledge is often a difficult and complex phenomena.

To change a life, based on traditional knowledge where the traditional lifestyle includes norms, values, relations to nature, time, work and leisure is extremely difficult because it is such a comprehension change, a change of identity. Your achieved competencies have no value. Often de-learning is needed for achieving a new learning.

Many persons leaving their traditional life experience that they are “nobody” and have no competencies when they enter the transformation process and they lose their self-confidence.
To establish a new social identity can mainly be done in two ways: They can reduce the importance of earlier knowledge and self-consciousness. The other way is to use the achieved traditional knowledge as a platform for further learning, a learning related to traditional knowledge (tourist guides, home carving, field tasks in the mountains etc).

Age, program type, social security and social are extremely important factors for a successful transformation.

Despite the deleterious impact of colonization, modernization, and industrialization on Indigenous peoples and on their traditional knowledge, Indigenous peoples and their allies have found ways in which to preserve, protect, and renew traditional knowledge.

Integration with Western Knowledge Systems
It used to be a joke among Canada’s Indigenous peoples that traditional family structure was made up of children, parents, grandparents, and an anthropologist. This joke implies that western scientists, academics, and researchers have long been a part of the lives of Indigenous peoples. The history of that relationship has unfortunately too often followed the pattern of broader colonization. Indigenous peoples have historically been cast as inferior human beings, without social, economic, or political order, and without the knowledge—philosophies, ethics, and practices—required to organize themselves over countless generations. The traditional knowledge of Indigenous people has too often been seen as superstition. A cultural bias has kept Indigenous people in the shadows as the unknowing and the studied. Instead, Western scientists have cast a shining light upon themselves as the ones who know; the studiers. Western scientists, academics, and researchers have historically neglected to fully include Indigenous peoples as true partners when studying traditional lifestyles, practices, and knowledge. Yet with the late global social and political resurgence among Indigenous peoples, there have been burgeoning movements by which traditional knowledge has been accorded increasing respect both by Indigenous peoples themselves and non-indigenous scholars. It is clear that Indigenous peoples themselves are aware of the impact of colonization on their communities, that elders are passing away without conveying the wealth of knowledge that they carry, and that there is some urgency to preserve what they know. Indigenous communities, in Canada anyway, have grown tired of solutions to problems—laws, regulations, institutions—that have simply not worked or that have exacerbated existing problems. As a result, Indigenous peoples are increasingly looking within for the knowledge necessary to adapt, survive, and thrive in a contemporary world. On the part of Western scientists, the shift is impelled by the urgency to find solutions to the earth’s mounting environmental devastation and the increased demands of an exploding population. As a result, there is increasing interest in integrating traditional knowledge with the knowledge of biologists, botanists, climatologists, and others. Burgess notes, These different knowledge systems may enjoy some integration because they share an identical purpose: “both are intellectual processes or constructions that have evolved for societies to understand the universe” (Cordova 1997, 32) As you can see, the above table makes generalizations about both Indigenous knowledge and western scientific knowledge. Be careful to remember that the boundaries between the two are not so hard and fast and that both kinds of knowledge can exhibit different aspects. For example, Indigenous knowledge, said to be intuitive, can also be rational as a result of empirical observation.

Thus the integration of the two knowledge systems faces a number of barriers Different perspectives: There is frequently a distinct difference in what Indigenous peoples think are significant impacts and what policy makers and those in favour of development projects think are significant impacts. These differences are probably rooted in both the habits of mind and the practical priorities of each group.
Scientific scepticism: Scientists are sceptical about the credibility or reliability of indigenous knowledge gathered through interviews, preferring “hard” data such as biophysical data. Some may dismiss traditional knowledge as subjective, anecdotal, and unscientific.
Politics: Policy makers may resist altering established decision-making processes to accommodate the use of traditional knowledge, for reasons having to do with an interest in controlling the process. (Sallenave 1994, 14) Thus Sallenave clearly illustrates the potential for nation-states, through policy makers, prospective resource developers, scientists, and environmentalists, to perpetuate the conditions of colonization where they impose their power and subjugate traditional knowledge. Cultural bias can limit the ability of western scientists to see traditional knowledge as a distinct system: the danger is to try to understand it from within a Western scientific knowledge system and, because of the differences between the two kinds of knowledge, this does not always work. It can result in traditional knowledge being ignored, misunderstood, misrepresented, and appropriated.

Protecting Traditional Knowledge

Some communities have identified a range of economic benefits to be gained from sharing their knowledge with others—ecotourism, art, cultural interpretation, and clothing are some examples. Preserving traditional knowledge also contributes to the cultural and political goals of self-determination and self-reliance (especially the ability to support traditional lifestyles) by creating strong, ongoing appreciation within the community of its history and its roots. If the impact of colonization, modernization and industrialization could be addressed in isolation, then perhaps making traditional knowledge live would suffice for Indigenous peoples. However, Indigenous peoples do not exist in isolation and this requires the protection of Indigenous knowledge. Because traditional knowledge has a wide range of commercial and scientific uses, it is becoming increasingly valuable to non-indigenous outsiders. One unfortunate outcome of this interaction is the situation where traditional knowledge has been gathered and used without contacting the source of knowledge. One example is the use of traditional medicines as a basis for developing pharmaceutical products and herbal remedies.

Abuses of traditional knowledge include: • unlicensed and unauthorized commercialization of traditional knowledge; • taking images, such as photographs, film and video of Indigenous peoples, their way of life, et cetera; • using, reproducing or copying indigenous names, images and arts without permission; • use and misuse of symbols without permission; • disclosing secret knowledge and cultural property; • publishing research without recognition or reward for the knowledge holders; • entering into community research without fully explaining how the research will be used or who owns the results (Brascoupe and Mann 2001, 7). For Indigenous peoples, the strongest means to protect traditional knowledge is to ensure its continuity as a dynamic, evolving system that reflects and regulates the lives of Indigenous communities. A healthy ecosystem has incredible diversity in its flora and fauna. The same principle of diversity holds true for traditional knowledge in a healthy human environment. Although traditional knowledge is differentiated by gender, age, social status, and specialization of practices, many will hold common, similar teachings and lessons and no one person will know everything. Knowledge may stay in a community for hundreds of years but the process of learning it in each generation may be different. If one elder dies, the community will lose some specialized knowledge but the common body of knowledge will continue. Knowledge is shared for the benefit of the community, both as a means to equalize the social power knowledge bestows and to preserve it. Because our knowledge is a part of us, and we are living beings, then our knowledge is in a sense “living” too and must be nurtured like all life. The primary lesson for Indigenous peoples within their own communities, then, is to learn and practice traditional knowledge. Seek out elders and traditional teachers. Listen to the stories, ask questions, practice the techniques, and discuss it all with your peers. Honour the sacred.

What are the characteristics of traditional knowledge?

Traditional knowledge (TK) is knowledge, know-how, skills and practices that are developed, sustained and passed on from generation to generation within a community, often forming part of its cultural or spiritual identity.

Which of the following are traditional knowledge?

Examples include knowledge about traditional medicines, traditional hunting or fishing techniques, knowledge about animal migration patterns or water management.

What is meant by traditional knowledge?

What is meant by 'traditional knowledge'? Traditional knowledge refers to: knowledge or practices passed down from generation to generation that form part of the traditions or heritage of Indigenous communities. knowledge or practice for which Indigenous communities act as the guardians or custodians.

What is traditional knowledge and its kinds?

The definition of traditional knowledge used by the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) includes indigenous knowledge relating to categories such as agricultural knowledge, medicinal knowledge, biodiversity- related knowledge, and expressions of folklore in the form of music, dance, song, handicraft, designs, ...