ILLUMINATING AFRICAN KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS: THE NEED FOR A CONTEMPORARY DEVELOPMENT AGENDA. …………………………………………………………………………………………………….... Peculiarities of the African value systems (original) (raw)
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Illuminating African Knowledge Systems: The Need for a Contemporary Development Agenda
International Journal of Advanced Research, 2016
Despite obvious differences between the regions and ethnic groups on the vast African continent, one can identify common elements in the way African people see themselves (cultural universalis), the way they know and organise themselves: their religions, worldviews, relationships to nature, their notion of time, artistic expressions, leadership, and ethnic organizations, their ethics and values. In contemporary Africa, traditional knowledge, ethics and values still are an important driving force in a rural peoples" decisions making (action or inaction) and development activities in general. Of recent times there is the debate as to the degree of cultural erosion. Some argue that the erosion (enculturation/ inculturation/ cross-culturaliness) has debased the values associated with African knowledges. In-place of joining this debate the choice here is to establish as far as we can WHAT WAS and WHAT IS with respect to the Dagaaba of Northern Ghana. This being a Case Study has its limitations but the reward/ motivation is an attempt at documenting a people"s knowledge for today and for posterity.
Knowledge: A Critical Element in the Quest for A Contemporary African Socio-Cultural Renaissance
Many appear to hold that many things are going wrong in the contemporary African world and that many things must change quickly if African peoples must develop and evolve a quality civilization which will bring about social and cultural transformation for increased well being of Africans. This desire has been expressed under various names like "African Renaissance". It is the contention of this article that if contemporary Africa must attain this expected transformation and renewal, she must pursue the conquest of knowledge that is, embarking on the project of production and mobilization of effective relevant qualitative and quantitative knowledge.
Indigenous Knowledge, Cultural Values and Sustainble Development in Africa
The paper examines the place of indigenous knowledge and cultural values in the search for sustainable development in Africa. Conceptual analyses of documented and anecdotal sources have been employed to establish the growing currency of African traditional values and knowledge systems in mitigating the sustainability challenges of African development. It argues that the sacrifice of African cultural traditions under colonization and modernization has not only resulted in the near annihilation of important values and knowledge, but has also led to the distortion and fracturing of African identities and life-ways which have sustained African peoples and their environments since eternity. Not intending to romanticize African cultural values and knowledge traditions, an argument is made for a cautious to return African traditions for important lessons on a living earth and those on community, care, ownership and continuity for forging new meanings in development that foster sustainability. It concludes that in an era of sweeping globalization with its devastating effects on humans and environment, a return to indigenous knowledge and cultural values offers enormous opportunities for mitigating sustainable change that is culturally appropriate and ecologically renewing.
Before the advent of the European, every existing African community had its own means of education. Like the Kasena, the worldview of most communities is inextricably woven into the fibre of their oral traditions. Kasena oral traditions express beliefs, values, ideas and other socio-cultural negotiations that depict their philosophy of life. Quite apart from the novelty of technique of Kasena oral traditions, they serve as road guides to their endeavours and offer a better understanding of the spiritual and mundane worlds. Oral traditions embody the sense of time, place and identity of the Kasena in this multicultural world. The ways and manner to practice good hygiene and conserve the environment are embodied in proverbs, whereas the code of conduct and several other social negotiations are carried in folktales and puzzles. However, in the wake of globalization and its attendants such as Christianity, formal education and rural-urban migration amongst a host of other factors, the role and purpose of Kasena oral traditions have taken a down turn. This article therefore seeks to bring to the fore the significant role of Kasena oral traditions in transmitting and maintaining indigenous knowledge. It further examines the negative toll globalization has on Kasena oral traditions. Keywords: worldview, tradition, Kasena, oral traditions, knowledge
Oral Traditions as Embodiments of Knowledge: The Case of the Kasena of North Eastern Ghana
International Journal of Humanities and Cultural Studies, 2015
Before the advent of the European, every existing African community had its own means of education. Like the Kasena, the worldview of most communities is inextricably woven into the fibre of their oral traditions. Kasena oral traditions express beliefs, values, ideas and other socio-cultural negotiations that depict their philosophy of life. Quite apart from the novelty of technique of Kasena oral traditions, they serve as road guides to their endeavours and offer a better understanding of the spiritual and mundane worlds. Oral traditions embody the sense of time, place and identity of the Kasena in this multicultural world. The ways and manner to practice good hygiene and conserve the environment are embodied in proverbs, whereas the code of conduct and several other social negotiations are carried in folktales and puzzles. However, in the wake of globalization and its attendants such as Christianity, formal education and rural-urban migration amongst a host of other factors, the role and purpose of Kasena oral traditions have taken a down turn. This article therefore seeks to bring to the fore the significant role of Kasena oral traditions in transmitting and maintaining indigenous knowledge. It further examines the negative toll globalization has on Kasena oral traditions.
Revitalizing African Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Knowledge Production
2020
The article is based on the following arguments: the history of Africa’s Indigenous ways of knowing and knowledge production did not begin with the coming of Western knowledge systems, and neither should their future depend exclusively on Western and other worldviews. Like other human societies across the globe, African indigenous societies have, for centuries, developed their own sets of experiences and explanations relating to the environments they live in (Kimwaga 2010). This is due to the fact that the way learning is perceived and how people actually learn is culturally specific. Different cultures have different ways and experiences of social reality and, hence, learning (Matike 2008). This is influenced by their worldview and belief systems of the natural environment, including the socio-economic and ecological context of their livelihood. These culturally and locally specific ways of knowing and knowledge production are often referred to as traditional, ecological, community...
Religions, 2018
This paper seeks to locate the kind of knowledge that is relevant for African development in the twenty-first century African cultural context and to propose the paradigm for achieving such knowledge. To do this, it advances the view that the concept of twenty-first century in an African context must be located with the colonial and post-colonial challenges of the African world and applied to serve the African demand. Anchored on this position, the paper outlines and critiques the wrong assumption on which modern state project was anchored in post-colonial Africa and its development dividend to suggest that this is an outcome of a wrong knowledge design that is foundational to the state project and which the project did not address. It proposes a shift in the knowledge paradigm in Africa and suggests critical self-consciousness as a more desirable knowledge design for Africa. It applies the term 'rational kingdom' (defined as a community of reason marked by critical conceptual self-awareness driven by innovation and constructivism) to suggest this paradigm. 'Innovation' is meant as the application of reason with an enlarged capacity to anticipate and address problems with fresh options and 'constructivism' is meant as the disposition to sustain innovation by advancing an alternative but more reliable worldview that can meet the exigencies of modernity in an African cultural context. The paper then proceeds to outline the nature of the rational kingdom and its anticipated gains and outcomes. It applies the method of inductive reasoning to advance its position. To do this it invokes selected but crucial areas of African life to locate how the developmental demands of these aspects of life suggest a critical turn in African rationality.
2015
Interest in Indigenous knowledge is increasingly growing. Researchers from diverse field such as education, science, and agriculture are investigating forms of knowledge that are often local and also owned by indigenous communities. Concerns about the survival of indigenous knowledge has caused some scholars to think about ways to preserve this knowledge since it is generally orally communicated, and often depends on the survival of the indigenous communities that owns it. Integrated curriculum, incorporation of indigenous knowledge into formal education, and teaching of indigenous languages are some approaches advised by scholars to preserved these ways of knowing. These concerns and suggestions shed light to the fact that indigenous knowledge is part of human history and development, and losing that knowledge would mean losing part of what makes us humans, our ability to understand and face challenges from different perspectives, and creatively.
Rethinking African Philosophy and Traditional Value System amidst Modernity
Scientific Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Science, 2021
For centuries African philosophy and value system were denied; African philosophers, schools of thoughts, and traditions were not recognized as part of world philosophy; as a result, pre-colonial African cultures, and societies were labeled "ahistorical," "primitive," "paganistic," "savage," and "juju," among other terms. Africans were thought to be unable to think critically and to lack the kind of consciousness or mentality that promotes development. This condemnation ideology, which defines everything "good to be white" and everything "bad to be black", provided the western audience the moral ground for the destruction of the African society in all forms and manifestations. This study therefore focuses on the place of African philosophy and value system amidst modernity. It adopts the modernization theory of Max Weber and Talcott Parsons. Using the descriptive method, the study revealed that African philosophy, religion, value system and civilization have all been misinterpreted, misrepresented and completely misunderstood. The study argues that cultural features, worldviews, and belief systems have a significant impact on science and technology, philosophy and values, priorities and ideas, skills and ethics. This implies that all societies, even the modern world, are traditional societies. As such, African worldview and thought pattern constitute their philosophy. The paper maintains that African philosophy must transcend abstract reflection. That is to say, now that African philosophy has attained global recognition, there is the need for scholars to apply its principles toward person-oriented development.