What kind of knowledge is ‘indigenous knowledge’? Critical insights from a case study in Burkina Faso - Vol 4 - Issue 2 - 2013

Oct 22, 2026

Uploaded by Hazel

Critical insights examine what “indigenous knowledge” means and how it is framed epistemologically in relation to mainstream scientific and technical knowledge. Drawing on debates from the 1980s onward, the study traces how the concept spread through development aid and environmental conservation, while noting limited epistemological reflection in recent social science and humanities research. Using an ethnographic Burkina Faso case, it problematizes contested categories like indigenous/local/traditional knowledge and reviews key anthropological critiques.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

1 Introduction

2 ‘Indigenous knowledge’, a contested category

What kind of knowledge is ‘indigenous knowledge’? Critical insights from a case study in Burkina Faso Cristiano Lanzano 1 Introduction The debate over the use of ‘indigenous knowledge’ (and later, of related expressions such as ‘local’or ‘traditional knowledge’, often used as synonyms) and its epistemological status in relation to mainstream scientiﬁc and technical knowledge ﬁrst appeared in the academic literature of the 1980s, both in the social and in the natural sciences. The issue rapidly became widespread in the political debate, especially in the ﬁelds of development aid and environmental conservation. Inheriting the reﬂection on other systems of knowledge and the challenges they pose to Western science, started in the previous decades by cognitive anthropology and ethnoscience, the concept of ‘indigenous knowledge’ was ﬁrst used by a group of anthropologists trying to build a basis for the recognition of cultural diﬀerence and of other forms of knowledge in the practices of development aid (Brokensha, Warren, Werner, 1980) . The expression then became popular among scholars interested in environmental issues and in the link between culturally-driven behavior and ecological balance (Gadgil, Berkes, Folke, 1993; Berkes, 1999): for many authors, the concept was a tool to discuss eurocentrism in the natural sciences and to acknowledge the positive role of non-Western technical knowledge. In the following decades, the interest in local knowledge expanded among development agencies and international institutions. From the mid 1990s, it became common for most of these to create their own ‘indigenous knowledge’ programs, and for NGOs working in the global South to include a component based on traditional knowledge – especially about medical, agricultural and environmental issues. Paradoxically, in contrast with its success among natural scientists, practitioners and decision-makers, the concept per se has rarely been at the center of epistemological reﬂections in the recent academic production of the social sciences and the humanities, at least until some recent contributions. Furthermore, while ethnoecologists and anthropologists provide detailed descriptions about indigenous groups’ rich heritage of environmental knowledge, speciﬁc ethnographies of the circulation of local knowledge and of its incorporation in non-traditional settings – such as the practices of technical or medical assistance in the global South – are relatively scarce. This article makes an attempt at problematizing the idea of ‘indigenous knowledge’, ﬁrst through a review of some critical positions in the social sciences and particularly in anthropology (in the ﬁrst section), and then through a presentation of an ethnographic case study on ‘traditional’environmental practices and sacred sites in the area of the Como´e-L´eraba reserve in Western Burkina Faso (in the following sections) . 2 ‘Indigenous knowledge’, a contested category Within the broader stream of criticism that has been made of categories such as ‘indigenous’,‘local’ or ‘traditional knowledge’ and their inclusion in discourses and practices of development aid and environmental conservation, three major points can be identiﬁed and discussed for the moment. A ﬁrst one concerns conceptual choices and the terms employed by indigenous knowledge (IK) theorists. Indigeneity is a widely discussed and politically charged issue (see for ex. Dove, 2006) and its deﬁnition can vary considerably from one context to another. In relation to SubSaharan Africa, where many of IK-inspired development interventions take place, the concept can be diﬃcult to deﬁne clearly, as Pelican observes in introducing her study on the legal status of Mbororo pastoralists in Cameroon: Whereas in North, Central, and South America indigenous activism has a long history and the status of ﬁrst peoples is generally uncontested, the situation in Africa is different. Here deﬁning which groups may count as indigen

FAQs

When did the debate on “indigenous knowledge” emerge in academic literature?

The debate appeared in academic literature in the 1980s, first across social and natural sciences, and then broadened into political debates.

Why is the concept of “indigenous knowledge” considered difficult to define in Africa?

Because “indigeneity” is politically charged and varies across contexts, involving long histories of migration, assimilation, and conquest that complicate which groups qualify.

What approach does the article use to problematize “indigenous knowledge”?

It reviews critical positions in social sciences and anthropology, then presents an ethnographic case study on traditional environmental practices and sacred sites in Western Burkina Faso.

Oct 22, 2026

Uploaded by Hazel