Indigenous knowledge systems or practical everyday performances? A theoretical reconsideration of indigenous knowledge in anthropology and development studies

Abstract

Much recent writing in the social sciences - boosted by inter alia substantial funding programmes and valid questions concerning the relationship between identity politics, knowledge and power - have applauded the formulation of and research into various forms of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (lKS). This interest in and advocacy for IKS, at times formulated in the context of debates on postcolonial identity as an alternative to paradigms constructed on particular Western-scientific assumptions, has run parallel to a more general shift in thinking about development initiatives as requiring participatory research methodologies and bottom-up implementation strategies. Within development studies and anthropology, this shift has stimulated much research on localised knowledge practices. There is, however, little evidence that this body of anthropological (and ethnographic) literature has informed the thinking of those writing and working within the theoretical paradigm of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (lKS). Making use of a number of recent ethnographic studies on Africa, the author argues for a theoretical reconsideration of the IKS paradigm. He highlights important criticisms of the ways in which many indigenous knowledge systems proponents essentialise concepts such as knowledge and culture, as well as the methodological limitations of much current IKS research. It is argued that a focus on the nonverbal and local knowledge embodied in everyday practices, as well as the performance of such knowledge, signals not only the limitations of much IKS research but also redirects our attention to reformulating and invigorating ideas about much needed local research.