Reflecting on Traditional Knowledge

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Have you ever thought so hard, trying to remember something? Seeing it at the edge of your mind, but it slips away at every glimpse you catch of it? Sometimes that's the feeling I get when trying to understand intangible concepts. It's like a thing that exists but can't be seen or touched. Some would argue that this is the very definition of a ghost. But in this case, my mind is boggled in an ever-going cycle of attempting to understand traditional knowledge as a concept and theory of understanding human experiences. You're probably wondering where I got the idea to think of such a thing. Maybe not. I'll tell you anyway because I believe it's quite an intriguing subject.

I stumbled across notions of traditional knowledge in the African Studies classes I attended as part of my coursework, in the journey of my master's education. The Centre for African Studies at UCT has a critical approach to interacting with and analysing human sciences such as literature, philosophy, politics, religion, education, and arts. While a student there, I learnt that the modes of inquiry focus on African peoples' perspectives on knowledge, termed Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS). Traditional knowledge is an easier phrase to use in place of IKS. Traditional knowledge refers to the information and skills originating from and developed by people from a particular place. This prompts the question, why think of traditional knowledge?

In the context of African Studies, traditional knowledge systems are the building blocks of African societal systems. Historically, these knowledge systems were responsible for the survival and sustainability of the African continent and African societies. An example is the principles of agriculture long used by landowners and farmers in Africa. Land and agricultural resources are after all, among the biggest economic resources in Sub-Saharan regions of Africa. The agricultural systems used by African peoples historically deemed their lands sustainable and productive for as long as they existed. I think it’s important to note that while I am saying “Africa” I do not mean to homogenise the experiences of all African people, communities, or countries. I recognise that each individual has their own experiences, and each African country is uniquely different with its own set of realities and experiences.

The premise of inquiry in African Studies is that these principles developed by African peoples to govern their lands and physical environments, sociocultural environments, and political and economic structures enabled them to thrive in their historical eras of existence. With the historical changes that took place in Africa, and most notably over the last ten centuries give or take, new forms of knowledge have been adopted and developed over time, manifesting in the adaptations of society, and economies in the present day. African Studies experts consequently propose that in addition to the new forms of knowledge developed and used in Africa today, the traditional knowledge of African people is still as critical in manifesting a full view of the perceptions of reality.

African Studies therefore advocates for studying and interrogating African Indigenous peoples' knowledge and historical experiences, a.k.a traditional knowledge. The goal is to uncover more information, understand, and rationalise local systems, and challenge African ideologies of thought and practice. This aims to empower the historical position of African knowledge theories which were intentionally subdued in eras of coloniality and slavery. In turn, the study of African traditional knowledge systems may give agency to African people by acknowledging the value of their historical and present knowledge and its role in steering the development of Africa today and in the future.

The spinning wheel of time adorned humanity with a whirlwind of change in the form of agricultural and industrial revolutions, economic and technological revolutions, eras of political domination, coloniality and emancipation among many more. These changes have over time impacted the experiences of human beings and their societies across the world. In Africa, these changes have been in effect for as long as human interactions have existed. Notably, the recorded beginning of interchanges between peoples settled on the African coastlines and foreign sailors from the world oceanic trade eras are one of the significant markers of change in Africa.

From the trading era, goods were exchanged, and, in the process, the different traders interacted sharing their identities, languages, cultures and values. New languages were formed, new practices emerged, and new sociocultural values were created from the interchange. While this is positive, on the flip side, the trade era created major room for the exploitation of people, their knowledge, and resources. This can be argued to have been caused by numerous factors. For example: the growing capitalistic ideologies over historical trade eras, conflicts that emerged between the different peoples from their identities (traders and people on African coastlines), conflicting ideologies and beliefs, and I think this list might be endless if continued...

These interactions bled into decades of slavery and later imperialism in which significant sociocultural, economic, political, and religious interchanges occurred. Islam and Christianity spread from the vast regions of the African coast slowly seeping into the interior along with the new wave of change from the human exchanges that took place. Communities banded together into groups, groups later got categorized into regions and later protectorates, and the colonial boundaries in Africa were established marking the present-day countries' borders. Barter trade turned into a currency system, socialist structures turned capitalist, political ideologies of autocracy, and later democracy were developed, and formal education replaced informal learning systems.

The African continent that emerged out of the colonial era was marinated in all the changing systems and exists today as a meal dressed in all the condiments(impacts) of the global trade, slavery, colonial, and post-colonial eras of the world. African Studies theorists such as Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni argue that the present-day conditions in the economies of African states are a manifestation of the effects of coloniality of power – a concept coined by Anibal Quijano (Here’s an article I wrote that expounds on this). In a nutshell, Sabelo’s argument stipulates that the post-colonial governments formed in several African nations pressed the same systems of thought and practice on their post-colonial states, which were imposed by their colonial masters before them. This is an enforcement of the colonial matrix that thrived in the era of imperialism marked by the domination of Africa by the West.

The matrix manifested in all the systems adopted by African state governments that took over after gaining independence from the colonial governors. As a result, the nations that developed in the post-colonial era in African states like Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Kenya, among others mirrored the colonial agenda of exploitation of Indigenous peoples in place of their empowerment. According to Ndlovu-Gatsheni, this, along with the growing greed among African political leaders has crippled the economies of several African countries leaving their people drowning in poverty with limited and unequal resources and infrastructure to sustain their societies.

As a response to Sabelo’s arguments above, I was prompted to think of the potential role of traditional knowledge in the emancipation of African people from the colonial matrices enforced by our present-day African governments. I suppose this is where it gets mind-boggling. Bear with me as I circle you through my branching thoughts, which will hopefully lead back to the point.

There are several facets of societies including economy, politics, religion, traditional and urban sociocultural systems, education and once more, the list goes on. In present-day discourses on the situation in African nations, economic issues stand at the forefront. While we are African people living in Africa, we are operating on a global system of capitalism which impacts the trends of all markets worldwide, so to speak. Thriving in any economy needs one to understand the workings of that market. It thus takes great input into gaining knowledge and insights on the free-market capitalist systems which run on supply and demand. This differs from many traditional economic systems employed in African communities historically which were similar to socialist and communist economies. This is not to assume that capitalism emerged in Africa in the colonial era. It existed and manifested long before in the trade interactions between Africa and the rest of the world pre-colonially. Capitalist systems were formally adopted in a centralized format after the scramble and partition of Africa at the dawn of the political colonial era.)

Therefore, when capitalism was formally introduced in African governance and economic systems in colonial times, the colonized peoples stood to lose. This can be ascribed to the foreign nature of the systems in place and limited access to opportunities for African peoples at the time to grasp, comprehend and manipulate them effectively. However, in the post-colonial present, there are ideally many more avenues for accessible education, through which these knowledge systems can be disseminated. One would therefore expect that with the takeover of African leaders from the colonial masters, there would be much gained by African peoples from the great new possibilities. Obviously, this is not the case, which begs the question, why?

The first reason I can deduct from our discussion so far is the adoption of the same colonial systems by African leaders in the post-colonial periods in African countries. Ayittey argued in his article “Traditional Systems and the State of Accountability in Africa” that this is a representation of cultural ignorance on the part of post-colonial African leaders leading them to shun their cultural heritage and impose alien systems and ideologies on their people. As aforementioned, the adoption and regurgitation of colonial governance and economic systems by post-colonial African leaders systematically crippled the economic growth of most African nations from the time of their independence. This can be viewed as a manifestation of the proverbial madman- doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results.

Additionally, the self-serving attitudes of the majority of post-colonial and present-day African government leaders have further harmed their people and economies. Other reasons may include the widespread development of “civil” society in post-colonial African states, the growth of the bourgeoisie(middle-class) and classist social orders among many more. I do propose yet another reason, which is the continued exclusion of traditional knowledge and perspectives in every facet of society particularly in politics, economy, culture, and education. The alienation of Indigenous knowledge and traditional systems has over time enabled the development of a lack of accountability among African leaders and peoples towards their local knowledge and systems. In other words, a scapegoat for the failure of African peoples to inquire about their history, traditional systems, and practices, as well as the achievements and failures ascribed to them.

I therefore agree with African Studies theorists who emphasise the need to analyse traditional knowledge in the context of all systems of societies in Africa. This is to explore the impacts of holding Africa(ns) accountable from the standpoint of validating their knowledge systems, cultures, languages, and identities as a part of their historical and present realities. Additionally, it is important to criticize these systems to create room for more understanding and to develop them further. I shall note here, that while I emphasise the need for more inquiry into traditional Knowledge in African contexts, I do not intend to discourage or demean other (predominantly Western) forms of knowledge that emerged historically and that are presently dominant in all structures of the world including Africa. As these are already at the forefront of focus in economy, and society and manifested in education, it is necessary to give a similar focus to Indigenous knowledge and systems to have a fuller view of the sociocultural and economic realities of African states.

In a similar vein to social entrepreneurs, it is necessary to dedicate a sizeable portion of time and resources to understanding a given problem, more than finding the solutions. This requires a thorough examination of the problem and those it affects. By this framework, the people then become the centre of analysis in any given social problem. Exploring traditional knowledge would therefore contribute great insights into understanding the social problems impacting economies in African nations today. A better understanding developed over time may combat the negative attitudes that have deeply festered among many Africans regarding their Indigenous knowledge and systems. Additionally, it may empower African problem solvers to be better equipped to tackle the social and economic problems that continue to trouble our beloved continent. Overall, the integration of IKS into the conceptualization of African state systems would boost their sustainability by using local knowledge, people, and resources.

To conclude, I admit that these thoughts might seem more sensible in theory than reality which points to potential gaps. The concept of traditional knowledge as an Afrocentric ideology is therefore one where the more I learn the more I realise there is much yet to learn. I suppose this is the spice in scholarship, and yet it is the very thing that boggles my mind.

~The Afreecan

Additional resources:

1.     https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/2020/12/what-is-the-informal-economy-basics#:~:text=Informal%20firms%20do%20not%20contribute,informal%20sectors%20remains%20below%20potential.

2.     Olutayo, Akinpelu & Omobowale, Ayokunle. (2010). Capitalism, Globalisation and the Underdevelopment Process in Africa: History in Perpetuity. Africa Development. 32. 10.4314/ad.v32i2.57179.

3.     Zeleza, Tiyambe. Review of The Development of African Capitalism, by John Sender, Sheila Smith, and Paul Kennedy. Africa Development / Afrique et Development 17, no. 1 (1992): 129–36.

4.     Felwine Sarr and Benedicte Savoy. 2018. The Restitution Report: Towards an New Relational Ethics, 7-25. Paris: France.

Cover Image Credits:

Curator: Kaylan Michel

Photographer: Breston Kenya

Model: Nkatha Nkirote