Indigenous Knowledge,

Systems and Practices

FANIE G. PINKIHAN
Instructor
 INTRODUCTION
Why does Indigenous knowledge deserve our attention
today?
▶ Wilk (1995), concluded that household preparation of edible/not
poisonous oil by indigenous people using local technology never
stopped. This is seen in his 25 files about project proposals,
feasibility studies and project assessments on production of edible
oil from a native tree to the Belizean rainforest where all their
scientific efforts failed. In a similar vein, the international Institute of
rural reconstruction (IIRR, 1996) initiated an agroforestry project in
the Philippines. The village farmers and scientist worked together to
identify and introduce indigenous tree species after a nursery
operation that relied on exotic/unusual tree species which turned out
to be futile/useless. The result of the working partnership between
the folks and scientists was used as a baseline data of the
community’s action plan for reforestation.
 These stories about IK could not
related

be neglected. Yet it is obvious that in

recent times there is an accelerate/increase
speed loss of some IK because of rapid
population growth, International markets,
educational systems, environmental
degradation,
development
related to rapid
processes,
modernization
pressures and
cultural
homogenization,(Grenier,
1998).
 Then decline of IK is related to the idea that IK
was depicted/illustrated as primitive/pre
historic/ancient, simple, and static/fixed, not
knowledge or folklore/tradition. In some
countries, official propaganda/misinformation
depicts/shows indigenous cultures/way of life and
methodologies as background or out of date and
simultaneously promotes one national culture and
one language at the expense of minority cultures.
This condition leads some local people and
communities to have lost their abilities to be self-
reliant hence, they became dependent on
external solutions to their local problems.
 In current times, politicization of indigenous
groups, indigenous rights movements and many
indigenous peoples are very strong in demanding
their rights to be heard. Concurrently, the
international political systems and many national
governments are showing some willingness to
indigenous peoples. Some governments like
Australia, Canada, Greenland, and the United States
have mechanisms such as settled land claims and co
management support boards that support IK systems
by supporting self governments and the joint
management of natural resources (Tester, 1997).
 IK is used in Canada for the
following: 1) research; 2)
environmental baseline data; 3)
decision making tool in
environmental impact assessments;
and 4) monitoring development
impacts.

How is IK used in Ifugao? The

IFSU textbook-workbook clearly
Who are the indigenous?
▶ Reid (2009), in his paper about, “Who
are the indigenous? Origins and
transformations cited the following
definitions:
1. Webster’s New 20th century dictionary

▶ Indigenous could be described as native born,

growing or produced locally in a country or
region; not exotic, as corn and cotton are
indigenous to North America. Likewise, it is
innate, inherent, inborn. Syn. Original, native,
aboriginal
▶ 2. United Nations
▶ Indigenous populations display the following
characteristics: a) descendants of groups who where
in the territory at the time when other groups of
different cultures or ethic origin arrived; b) possess
preserved intact the customs and traditions of their
ancestors which are similar to those characterized as
indigenous; c) formally, placed under a state
structure which incorporates national, social and
cultural characteristics alien to their own; and d)
accepted by the group or the community as one of
its members was to be regarded as an indigenous
person.
 3. World Bank
▶Indigenous people can be described with the
following: a) close attachment to ancestral
territories and to the natural resources in the
areas; b) self identification and identification
by others as members of a distinct cultural
group; c) indigenous language often different
from the national language; and d) primarily
subsistence oriented production.
4. Philippine National Commission on
Indigenous Peoples’ (NCIP)
▶ The Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA) defines “indigenous
peoples’” as follows:
▶ “A group of people or homogenous societies identified by self-
ascription and ascription/acknowledgment by others, who have
continuously lived as organized communities on communally bounded
and defined territory, and who have under claims of ownership since
time immemorial, occupied, possessed and utilized such territories,
sharing common bonds of language, customs, traditions and other
distinctive/unique cultural traits, or who have, through resistance to
political, social and cultural inroads of colonization/migration, non-
indigenous religions and cultures, became historically differentiated
from the majority of the Filipinos.
ICCs/IPs shall likewise include peoples who are
regarded as indigenous on account of their descent
from the populations which inhabited the country,
at the time of conquest/defeat or colonization, or
at the time of inroads of non-indigenous religions
and cultures, or the establishment of present state
boundaries, who retain some or all of their own
social, economic, cultural and political
institutions, but who may have been displaced
from their traditional domains/areas or who may
have resettled outside their ancestral
domains/provinces”, (Republic Act 8371, Section
3, Chapter 2)
▶ What is indigenous knowledge?
▶ Indigenous Knowledge according to
Grenier (1998) refers to the unique,
traditional, local knowledge existing within
and developed around the specific conditions
of women and men indigenous to a particular
geographic area. The development of IK
systems, covering all aspects of life including
management of the natural environment, has
been a matter of survival to the people
who generated these systems. Such
knowledge systems are increasing,
representing generations of experiences,
careful observations and trial and error
 United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) defines and describes Indigenous
Knowledge as the knowledge that a local
community accumulates over generations of
living in a particular environment. It includes all
forms of knowledge – technologies, know-how
skills, practices and beliefs – that enable the
community to achieve stable livelihoods in their
environment.
▶ IK is unique in every culture and society. It is implanted in
community practices, institutions, relationships and
rituals. IK is considered a part of the local knowledge in
the sense that it is rooted in a particular community and
situated within broader cultural traditions. It is a set of
experiences generated by people living in those
communities.

▶ IK is based on, and is deeply rooted in local experience,

historic reality, and is therefore unique to that specific
culture; it plays an important role in describing the
identity of the community. It therefore represents all the
skills, innovations of the people and represents the
collective wisdom and resourcefulness of the community.
What are the IKs in Ifugao?
▶ The IKs of the Ifugaos that are land and water management, rice production,
biodiversity conservation, stone works, house construction, laws and practices,
rituals and dances.

▶ Land and Water Management – great treasures from our creator

▶ Rice Production Practices- rice is a life to all Filipinos.
▶ Biodiversity Conservation Practices- biodiversity refers to the
variety of organism in a geographical location. Types of biodiversity are
species, genetic and ecosystem.
▶ Stone Works-stones are very useful to the Ifugaos
▶ House Construction-the house is the home to the Ifugao family.
▶ Laws and Justice System- Ifugao laws & justice system are passed by
word
of mouth.
▶ Rituals-performed in the different stages of life and during social
occasions across all the municipalities in Ifugao. MUMBAKI or native priest
performs the ritual & animals are sacrificed during the rituals
▶ Dances and Festivals – The beating of the gongs unites the Ifugao as they
dance despite diversity in beliefs, dialects, social and economic statuses.
Legal basis of integrating indigenous knowledge in the Educational
curriculum.
▶ RA No. 8371 (1997) is otherwise known as the Indigenous Peoples
Rights Acts (IPRA). It is an act that recognizes, protects and promotes
the rights of Indigenous peoples, creating a national commission of
Indigenous peoples, establishing, implementing mechanisms,
appropriating funds thereof, and for other purposes.

▶ Sec. 30 of IPRA provides that the state shall provide equal access to
various cultural opportunities to the ICCc/IPs through the educational
system, public or private cultural entities, scholarships, grants and other
incentives without prejudice/bias to their right to establish and control their
educational systems and institutions by providing education in their own
language, in a manner appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching
and learning. Indigenous children/youth shall have the right to all levels
and forms of education of the state.
ACTIVITY / QUIZ:
1. Explain why there is a need to study Indigenous Knowledge. Name at
least 3
examples.
2.Search and Name situations in other provinces and countries where
Indigenous Knowledge was used by the people. (At least 2 provinces and 2
countries)
3. How is Indigenous Knowledge defined by the Ifugaos?
4. Why do you consider yourself as Indigenous? Explain