Abstract:

The term ‘indigenous’ is an eco-determinant used to define the origin of items or persons concerning how their belonging to a place is to be temporally characterized, especially in comparison to other contenders in claiming belonging. Therefore, Indigenous Knowledge  (IK) is also categorised as local and culturally constituted. It is described as inter-generational passed-on understanding and skills, verified by elders, conveyed and guided by experience, and developed by the particular community. Whereas, the determinants of IK are mind, body, spirit, ecology and socio-cultural practices.  Though indigenous people are not homogenous there are some unique and universal features of the IK e.g. use of ecstasy, knowledge obtained during an altered state of consciousness (ASC), belief in spirit and supernatural world. It forbids IK to comply with the bases and framework of western science that favours analytical and reductionist methods as opposed to the more intuitive and holistic view often found in IK. Since, there is no single Indigenous or Western way of knowing, therefore, it is easy to fall into the traps of ‘homogenizing’ and ‘othering’ by reducing vast and varied traditions to simplistic and general terms. For anthropologists, it is more critical because what philosophers think about knowledge, anthropologists can neither simply relegate their epistemological problems to, nor find solutions in, philosophy. It is because in anthropology, knowing what and how we know is a practical, not just a theoretical, problem, one we face in all phases of our work, from field research to writing (and teaching). Therefore, in this talk focus has been placed on understanding the onto-epistemic structure of IK and discussing it beyond any binary terms.