Intercultural education and literacy: an ethnographic study of indigenous knowledge and learning in the Peruvian Amazon

2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 429-430
Author(s):  
Rosemary Preston
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Intercultural Education ◽  
Peruvian Amazon

scholarly journals An Ethnographic Study on Indigenous Shea Butter Extraction and the Use of the By-Products

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 695-702
Author(s):  
Anna Mwinbuabu Naah ◽  
Peter Bilatam Mayeem ◽  
Valentina Osei-Himah
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Extraction Process ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Northern Ghana ◽  
Shea Butter ◽  
Sampled Data ◽  
Scientific Concepts ◽  
The People ◽  
By Products

Indigenous knowledge practices are locally based systems of knowledge, uniquely associated with a group of people in a cultural setting. These practices, which have evolved over time generally, denote a broad and collective consciousness of the people, including their nature, habitats and interpersonal relationships. Indeed, this knowledge concept sustains the lives of the people. They depend on it to navigate as well as assail their everyday experiences, including in particular those that serve as serious threats to their livelihood. The processes involved in Shea butter extraction exemplify a shared body of indigenous knowledge system noted with the people of Northern Ghana. Unfortunately, many people are oblivious of the existence of such Shea butter industry. Consequently, there is no way they can have knowledge of the by-products that emerge from the industry let alone appreciate their uses. This study aimed to address the prevailing ignorance and especially fill the extant knowledge gap concerning the by products of local Shea butter extraction and their indigenous uses. An ethnographic method was adopted whereby 5 women, engaged in the production of Shea-butter, were purposively sampled. Data emerged from 2 primary sources, namely participatory observation and interview. Cross-cutting issues were delineated from the captured data. These were transcribed, documented and content analysed along the cross-cutting issues. The findings revealed the processes involved in Shea butter extraction as parboiling, drying, grating, frying, pounding, milling and stirring. Besides, the by-products of the extraction process were identified as ‘kabala’, used for plastering walls and floor making, and then ‘kaamuni’, employed in the generation of heat, lighting and fire making. Scientific concepts suggested to account for the manner the by-products are used included cohesion, adhesion, friction and bonding. It was concluded that further research needed to be conducted to explain and confirm these suggested scientific concepts. Keywords: Indigenous knowledge, shea butter, shea nuts.

scholarly journals Epistemologies of Resistance: Knowledge in the Peruvian Amazon

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 38-56
Author(s):  
Lorena Reinert
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Environmental Context ◽  
Peruvian Amazon ◽  
Western Thought ◽  
Double Binds ◽  
Context Dependent ◽  
Globalized World

Epistemologies of resistance are knowledge frameworks that challenge oppressive structures and the ideologies that sustain them. In this paper, I analyze three weeks of ethnographic eldwork among the Asháninka of the Peruvian Amazon to demonstrate the ways in which the epistemologies that I encountered challenge oppressive structures and their underlying ideologies. My ndings consider the use of social and environmental context as epistemic indicators. I contrast these context-dependent epistemologies with the context-independent epistemologies that dominate contemporary “Western” thought, where the goal is to separate knowledge from context. I then consider how, as hybrid epistemologies that have emerged out of interaction and exchange in a globalized world, indigenous knowledge frameworks resist the notion of a binary di erence between indigenous and “Western” itself. These epistemologies of resistance critique the double binds created and sustained through the colonial model.

scholarly journals Healthcare and Health Problems from the Perspective of Indigenous Population of the Peruvian Amazon: A Qualitative Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (21) ◽  
pp. 7728
Author(s):  
Bárbara Badanta ◽  
Giancarlo Lucchetti ◽  
Sergio Barrientos-Trigo ◽  
Elena Fernández-García ◽  
Lorena Tarriño-Concejero ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Traditional Medicine ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Healthcare System ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Traditional Healers ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Peruvian Amazon ◽  
Gastrointestinal Problems

Indigenous communities usually experience higher levels of mortality and poorer access to healthcare services compared to non-indigenous communities. This study aims to understand the most prevalent health problems and their treatment in the Asháninka indigenous communities of the Peruvian Amazon. We conducted an ethnographic study in order to explore the perceived health problems, the use of traditional medicine and the resources offered by the official Peruvian healthcare system. Field notes and semi-structured interviews were used. A total of 16 indigenous and four non-indigenous people were interviewed, and interpretative analysis was used to identify themes. The Asháninka community is an overlooked population, which, due to distance restrictions, misconceptions and ethnical disparities, is far away from an appropriate healthcare system and is subjected to acute medical conditions such as infections and gastrointestinal problems. This group tends to seek traditional medicine, mostly herbal medications and traditional healers. The use of a health professional is seen as a last resort. Although the official Peruvian health system incorporates community participation strategies to improve the healthcare of indigenous people, the shortage of material, human resources and cultural sensitivity makes this difficult. Healthcare strategies should be devised and implemented in order to minimize health inequality in this population.

Indigenous Knowledge and the Social Construction of Patriarchy: The Case of the Bukusu of Kenya

2021 ◽  
pp. 089692052110638
Author(s):  
Abu Bakarr Bah ◽  
Margaret Nasambu Barasa
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Number System ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Knowledge Systems ◽  
Strong Connection ◽  
The Social ◽  
Gender Hierarchy ◽  
The Status ◽  
Indigenous Society ◽  
Everyday Knowledge

This article is an ethnographic study on the Bukusu number system and the connections between Indigenous knowledge and patriarchy. It examines the ways patriarchy is embedded in everyday knowledge through a number system that has deep gender hierarchy symbolisms. The findings show strong connection between everyday knowledge and social norms that define the status of men and women. While this article is centered on Bukusu society in Kenya, it is premised on the understanding that patriarchy is a pervasive social problem that goes beyond Indigenous societies as evident in the feminist critiques of contemporary societies. Just as Durkheim traced the genesis of society to the simplest forms of rules associated with totemic beliefs, this article also points to the roots of patriarchy in Indigenous society so as to draw attention to the variety of ways in which patriarchy is manifested. By incorporating feminist critiques of patriarchy, it shows conceptual connections between the blatant manifestation of patriarchy in Indigenous societies and the latent, albeit oppressive, manifestations of patriarchy in modern societies. Overall, the article provides deep conceptual insights into the intersection of knowledge systems and patriarchy.

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