Indigenous Knowledge

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A Diachronic Analysis Of The Socio-Semantic Features Of Igbo Personal Names
(2021-10-19) Oweleke, Esther Nwakaego
This paper examines Igbo personal names from the perspectives of anthropological linguistics, socio-semantics, pragmatics and diachrony. It traces the evolution of name-giving within three major eras, pre-Christian (before the 1850s), early-Christian (from 1857--1960s) and Pentecostal (1960s to date) among the Igbo. The data for the study are 300 personal names sourced through interviews with both old and young members of the Igbuzo-Igbo community as well as from class registers of some nursery, primary and secondary schools in Port Harcourt. This paper reveals three interesting and important findings. First, indigenous Igbo names are culturally, semantically and pragmatically significant. Second, the principles and practice of name-giving have undergone some drastic changes through the eras. During the early-Christian and Pentecostal eras, the forces of Christianity, modernization and globalization have resulted in new names that reflect these changes. Third, indigenous names which belong to the core vocabulary of the language are seriously endangered. The paper concludes that if the indigenous names that are replete with meaning, and portray the values, identity and the beauty of the Igbo culture are allowed to die through lack of intergenerational transmission, then this aspect of the language and culture will also die.
Breaking the Wall of Indigenous and Scientific Knowledge
(2020-10-01) Obanda, Johanssen
Over centuries, indigenous communities have managed to withstand epidemics, climate crises and ecosystem erosions and live on their territories sustainably by closely observing and managing well the limited natural resources they depend on. These proven indigenous knowledge systems have been - and continue to be - facing suppression, belittling and exploitation throughout and after colonialism. In my community today around Lake Victoria, indigenous knowledge suffers isolation and extinction as the continent experiences technological advancements for the price of ecosystem destruction. Furthermore, building synergies between indigenous knowledge and modern science is still a challenge. The Turkana, Maasai, Samburu and other indigenous groups in Kenya rely on their community knowledge acquired and accumulated over centuries, covering indigenous concepts about astronomy, physics, medicine, botany, zoology, psychiatry, and non-invasive technology. However, their rich knowledge base is being faced by extinction as the older generations are losing more and more opportunities of passing their knowledge on. Most indigenous languages are only spoken, hence knowledge capture is difficult. I want to build a bridge between indigenous and academic knowledge systems. This will be achieved through a series of events to facilitate meetings between indigenous community representatives and local researchers to explore opportunities for collaboration utilizing the infrastructure and network created through my work with Pint of Science Kenya. The event series will have its peak with a sustainable science communication festival under the theme of “Nature for Life, Life for Nature” showcasing indigenous music, science and art and presenting the initiated collaborative activities and research projects while ensuring protection from misappropriation. The process will be paralleled by the fostering of equitable engagement of both indigenous knowledge holders and scholarly scientists through communication and collaboration, aided by documentation and archiving in audio/visual files of interviews, video footage and scholarly documentation as with books, manuscripts and journal articles in the pan-African repository AfricArXiv. Modern Science and Indigenous Science can not only co-exist but instead complement each other to allow us to tackle continental and global challenges like climate change, the pandemic, forced migration and poverty. I believe that Indigenous Knowledge deserves an equal position alongside mainstream academic science. I am convinced that the global research community benefits from a balanced exchange of knowledge and experience from all parts of the world, especially as we address global challenges.
Digital Surveillance and Digitally-disadvantaged Language Communities
(2019-12-04) Zaugg, Isabelle
The issue of digital surveillance often falls outside urgent discussions regarding the need to build digital supports for under- resourced languages. While the benefits of these supports for digitally-disadvantaged language communities are clear, the reality is that standardized script use, standardized spelling, and NLP systems in particular increase a language community’s legibility for digital surveillance. As we build digital supports for Indigenous and minority language communities, we must consider how these tools might be used against them through digital surveillance, and how to combat these risks.
Effect of early age thermal challenge on growth performance, haematological parameters and carcass yield of Indigenous Guinea fowl (Numida meleagris)
(2022-07-03) Orounladji, Boko, Michel
This study aimed to evaluate the effect of thermal stress on haematological profile and carcass yield of guinea fowl (GF). A total of 180 one-day old GF keets were assigned to 3 treatments, having 4 replicates of 15 birds each. The treatments were: control (T1); mild heat stress for 6h/day (T2), and high heat stress for 8h/day (T3). Data were collected on weekly body weights, feed intake and feed conversion ratio of the birds. At 6-weeks old, blood samples were collected from 8 GF for determination of haematological profile. At 14-weeks old, 8 birds were also slaughtered per treatment to evaluate relative organ weights, carcass characteristics and immune response. Results showed that the body weight gain and feed intake of the birds of T1 and T2 were similar and significantly higher than that of T3 at week 1 of age. The FCR of the birds in T1 and T2 were also better at this stage. Lymphocyte counts were higher (p<0.01) in the birds of T2 (95 103/mL) than those of the control (93.33 103/mL) and T3 (93.33 103/mL). The weights of lymphoid organs of T2 and T3 birds were higher (p<0.05) than those of the control group. It was concluded that exposure of keets to heat stress for 8h/day had adverse effects on growth performance at the early age but this effect faded with age. The thermal manipulation in this study didn’t influence the carcass yield but improved the weights of lymphoid organs of indigenous GF, indicating a better thermo-tolerance.
Experiences in Open Research & Education for Sustainable Development in Africa
(2019-12-18) Abukutsa-Onyango, Mary
Presentation of my research to promote Sustainable Production and Utilization of African Indigenous Vegetables (AIVs) for Nutrition Security and Poverty Reduction in Kenya (Africa).
Exploring the Potential of Artificial Intelligence for Supporting Indigenous Language Journalism Pedagogy in Nigeria
(2023-06-14) Iyinolakan, Olayinka
The African continent has more than 2100 indigenous languages, but many of them are not well- represented in the media. Artificial intelligence (AI) technology offers an opportunity to digitally incorporate these languages into news media and enable journalism pedagogy that emphasizes their use. However, there is limited research on how to integrate AI into journalism training in Africa, especially for indigenous languages. This study evaluates the benefits and challenges of integrating AI tools into journalism training in Nigeria to promote productivity and inclusion of indigenous communities in media content. Mixed research design via in-depth interviews was used to collect data from journalism schools in Nigeria, semi-structured survey with current journalist and secondary data available via AI tools. The findings suggest that using AI tools in journalism education can improve the quality of journalism and equip journalists with skills needed to succeed in the digital age. However, there is no immediate urgency to integrate native language journalism beyond entry level. A bureaucracy-free dynamic curriculum is needed to train budding journalists and retrain veteran practitioners, with funding for recent tools. Future research should broaden the scope and sample size to produce comprehensive and generalizable results for other AI contexts within and beyond Nigeria.
Gender Relations in Indigenous Yoruba Culture: Questioning Feminism Action and Advocacy
(2022-01-18) Muraina, Luqman; Ajímátanraẹjẹ, Abdulkareem, Jeleel
Western feminism has diffused to many other cultures, who have imbibed without proper reflection. This is similar for the Yorùbá people of South-Western Nigeria. Yorùbá culture is gender-neutral and gender-silent; women are seen as complementary and not subordinate to men. Hence, (Oyěwùmí 1997), caution must be raised on the continual adoption of mainstream Western feminist philosophy in Yorùbá culture. Consequently, an argument was submitted for a different approach to doing feminism in Yorùbá culture. In essence, colonial imposition of gender binary in Yorùbá society; roles and gender status of women in traditional Yorùbá culture; women anti-colonial and feminist activities were discussed. The decolonization of Africa and the Yorùbá education system to include a properly historicized indigenous knowledge was recommended. Current feminist movements must also develop a 'shared text of blackness'. The duo should align and improve the worth of women based on the indispensability and esteemed status offered to women in pre-colonial Yorùbá society.
How Multilingual Policies Can Fail: Language Politics Among Ethiopian Political Parties
(2018-05-23) Worku, Mehari Zemelak
Because language has instrumental as well as symbolic values, the issue of language will always have a political aspect (Smith 2008). Often, the choice of language and its use is construed as one of the central traits to people’s definition of themselves. Besides, any given state must decide or determine the language that it deems appropriate to carry out its development and to generate, disseminate and enrich the knowledge necessary for such development. However, the case grows problematic when it comes to Sub-Saharan Africa where “every language carries a distinct and weighty baggage” of identity (Obeng & Purvis 1999). The decision was not easy for different regimes in Ethiopia, home of more than 80 ethnic groups (CSA 2008). The three consecutive regimes which have ruled the country for the last 75 years followed different paths in addressing this diversity management question. The reframing of the country under ethnic federalism, which legislates Amharic as the working language of the federal government (hereafter WL) and guarantees the right of each ethnic state to decide its own WL, is the recent attempt to respond to the same politics of recognition. However, dissatisfied voices regarding the current language policy (hereafter LP) can still be heard among political groups. Some see it as ‘not enough’ while others see it as Balkanization. Despite a few research efforts and publications on the LPs of the consecutive governments of Ethiopia, there has been no research done on the alternative policies and options available among the political parties or their relative value as LPs. Thus, the grand objective of this study is to survey, analyze and evaluate the linguistic proposals of Ethiopian political parties in government, education, and endangered languages.
Manufacturing Procedures and Techniques of Indigenous Pottery Technology: An Ethno- Archaeological Investigation on West Guji Zone of Bule Hora District, Southern Ethiopia.
(2022-05-27) Wodajo, Mengesha, Robso
This an ethno-archaeological study focused on the investigation of indigenous pottery technology in West Guji Zone of Bule Hora district, Southern Ethiopia. Thus, the aim of the paper was to conduct an inclusive investigation about the traditional pottery manufacturing technology, procedures and its ethnographical tradition of the local communities (selected kebeles) in the district. The research was conducted on five kebeles (two rural kebeles, Goroo Gudina and Harroo; and three of Bule hora town kebeles) of West Guji Zone. These kebeles has own distinctive pottery making procedure, technique, styles, features and materials to their cultural clay products. The data in these areas were studied through employed primary and secondary sources. Primary sources include site observation, interview, photographs, and group discussions, while secondary sources also embraces brochures, books and documents. Potters of the study area mainly used black and brown clay and tempering material like, powdered potsherd and white clay to prepared paste. Besides these, some of the potters also used similar kinds of raw materials in molding, shaping and decorating pots while others used different treatment techniques and firing woods. This indigenous technology was mainly controlled by female potters who have long experiences in producing pots, jars, kets and other clay products.
On the Preservation of Africa's Cultural Heritage in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
(2024-03-08) Mohamed Louadi
In this paper we delve into the historical evolution of data as a fundamental element in communication and knowledge transmission. The paper traces the stages of knowledge dissemination from oral traditions to the digital era, highlighting the significance of languages and cultural diversity in this progression. It also explores the impact of digital technologies on memory, communication, and cultural preservation, emphasizing the need for promoting a culture of the digital (rather than a digital culture) in Africa and beyond. Additionally, it discusses the challenges and opportunities presented by data biases in AI development, underscoring the importance of creating diverse datasets for equitable representation. We advocate for investing in data as a crucial raw material for fostering digital literacy, economic development, and, above all, cultural preservation in the digital age.
Securing the future of African Innovation, Indigenous Knowledge and Cultural Heritage.
(2024-06-06) Owango, Joy
Securing the future of African Innovation, Indigenous Knowledge and Cultural Heritage. - AfricArXiv Open Science Webinar Series 2024. Watch the recording here: https://africarxiv.pubpub.org/pub/ti9z956o/
The Future Of The Indigenous Languages Of Kenya And Tanzania
(2022-03-29) Kioko, Angelina Nduku; Rugemalira, Josephat
This paper examines the language policies and practices in Kenya and Tanzania and argues that, in spite of the observable differences between these neighbouring countries, the ethnic community languages face an uncertain future. Although language policies play a role in determining this future, there are stronger forces that defy language policy, viz. population movements, urbanization, technological changes affecting mass communication, and the structure of the economies.
The Impact of the National Policy on Education (NPE) on Multilingual Proficiency in Nigeria
(2019-04-14) Udoye Ifeoma
About 450 languages are spoken in Nigeria with Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba as the major languages. In order to assign functional roles to the multiplicity of languages, the Federal Government promulgated the National Policy on Education (henceforth NPE) in 1977 stipulated that every Nigerian child must be proficient in his mother tongue and in a major Nigerian language. At the secondary level, it is expected that every child should be bilingual in two Nigerian languages. Thirty six years later, the impact of the policy on the language education of Nigerian pupils was assessed. Data were collected using questionnaire and interview methods. Findings revealed that the primary aim of the NPE has not been achieved. Based on the findings, the recommendation made include the organization of intensive workshop sessions for language teachers to expose them to the modern techniques for attaining bilingualism through effective training.
Wangari Maathai’s Environmental Bible as an African Knowledge: Eco-spirituality, Christianity, and Decolonial Thought
(2022-10-25) van Klinken, Adriaan
Recent scholarship has acknowledged the contribution of the environmental activist and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Wangari Maathai (1940–2011), to African ecological and decolonial thinking. As far as Maathai’s engagement with religion is concerned, scholarship emphasises her critique of Christianity for its links to colonialism and environmental degradation, and foregrounds her reclaiming of Kikuyu religion and culture as a form of indigenous African knowledge that enhances environmental awareness. However, Maathai’s simultaneous creative and constructive engagement with Christian traditions, in particular the Bible, tends to be systematically overlooked, perhaps because it seems at odds with her status as a decolonial thinker. This article examines Maathai’s engagement with the Bible, arguing that it presents an interrogation of the category of indigenous knowledge, which for her is not static but dynamic and can incorporate biblical scripture as an African knowledge. Hence, Maathai challenges scholars to take the Bible seriously as a relevant resource for environmental activism as well as for ecological and decolonial thought.

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