indigenous knowledge
Theatre Production about Piaroa Gardens
A Piaroa village put on a play this past Saturday evening, October 3, about their legend of the way the gods created humanity and the cassava gardens that they cultivate. The actors in the production were members of the village of Paria Grande, located in the municipality of Atures in Amazonas State, to the south […]
The Kadar Preserve their Forests
In December 2006 the government of India passed landmark legislation that recognized the rights of traditional societies to continue to subsist in the forests. The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, usually referred to simply as the Forest Rights Act of 2006, came into effect on January 1, 2008. […]
How the Semai Repel Cockroaches [journal article review]
The Semai effectively utilize products from their nearby forests that give them health and economic benefits, and in the process they are able to preserve their traditional way of life. A journal article about a research project in Malaysia, published in 2012, analyzes an important aspect of their traditional relationships with the forests: the uses […]
Atlas of Inuit Trails
An online atlas of eastern Canadian Arctic trails, published two weeks ago, offers new perceptions about Inuit culture, according to the three authors responsible for the project. The new atlas, called Pan Inuit Trails, was compiled over the course of 15 years by Francis Taylor of Carleton University, Michael Bravo from the University of Cambridge, […]
Research Facility Emulates Inuit Traditional Knowledge
The CBC reported last week that the design of a massive new research facility, to be located in the Nunavut community of Cambridge Bay, will be based on traditional Inuit culture and knowledge. Alain Fournier, an architect from Montreal, told the community that designers of the very large Canadian High Arctic Research Station, CHARS, studied […]
Yanadi Traditional Knowledge Threatened
Last Thursday, the Herbal Folklore Research Centre in India uploaded a 12 minute video to YouTube that describes the importance of preserving traditional healing practices and natural herbal preparations used by the Yanadi in the Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh. Other literature indicates, for example, that Yanadi healers may prescribe for children a powder made […]
Paliyan Medicinal Plants [journal article review]
Although medicine and peacefulness are quite separate issues for most of the world, in some small-scale societies, such as the Paliyan, traditional healers and botanical preparations still help maintain physical, cultural, and social health. A detailed article describing the healing plants used in some Paliyan villages of Tamil Nadu, in southern India, provides some interesting […]
Traditional Knowledge of the Yanadi Should Be Protected
A new study by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) singles out the Yanadi as an example of an indigenous society with traditional knowledge that needs to be preserved. The IIED released its work on the Yanadi last week, along with studies on other traditional societies in India, Peru, Panama, China, and Kenya. […]
Lepcha Culture Vibrant, But Threatened
Hard News, an Indian monthly magazine, posted an interesting, in-depth story on its website last Friday about the culture and society of the Lepchas of Sikkim. It is printed in the August issue of the magazine. The author, Deepak Roy Delhi, a film-maker, provides an effective background for understanding the Lepchas and their culture. He […]
Birhor Knowledge of Natural Resources
The Calcutta Telegraph reported last Friday that a Birhor village in Jharkhand State has been closely involved with a natural inventory project known as the People’s Bio-diversity Register (PBR). The PBR documents the natural and human ecology of villages in India. It includes the lifestyles of the people, their socio-economic conditions, and the flora and […]
