INDIGENOUS

KNOWLEDGE

GE INDI
• No single term or definition to the knowledge of IPs/ICCs.
• The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity
and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) uses the term “indigenous and
local knowledge.”
INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE

--“are cognitive systems displayed in a broad complex of values,

beliefs, ceremonies, healing practices, social practices or
institutions, and social organizations (UNESCO, 2007)
Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices
(IKSP)
• are skills, beliefs, knowledge, and philosophies developed by
societies with long histories of interaction with their natural
environments. (Macusi et. al, 2023)
• IKSP are sometimes termed as traditional ecological
knowledge (TEK), indigenous knowledge (IK), local knowledge,
rural peoples’/ farmers’ knowledge, ethnobiology/
ethnobotany/ethnozoology, ethnoscience, folk science, and
indigenous science.
Seven principles of Indigenous worldviews
(Simpson 2000)
WORLDVIEW
• is a set of beliefs and values that are honored and
withheld by people. A worldview includes how the
person or group interacts with the world around them,
including land, animals, and people.
Indigenous Worldview of the Agta-Agay in Lasam
1. Knowledge is holistic,
cyclic, and dependent
upon relationships and
connections of living and
non-living beings;
“HOLISTIC”
• Indigenous knowledge often emphasizes a holistic view of the
world, recognizing the interconnectedness of all elements -
people, nature, and spirituality.
• Relatedness is observed in Indigenous societies. People,
objects and the environment are all connected.
• There is connection between the spirit world and the mortal
world, waters to lands, and the sky to the ground. Connectivity
explains the connection people have to their communities,
their traditional territories, and the ecosystem on those lands.
forest and wildlife
water resources
resources

Conservation
Practices

plants and trees farmlands

“CYCLIC”
Indigenous Worldview: Time is non-linear and
cyclical in nature. Time is measured in cyclical
events. The seasons are central to this cyclical
concept.
2. There are many truths, and these truths are
dependent on an individual’s lived experiences.

Meaning: Truth is relative. Truth is dependent upon

experiences of people since they are exposed to
different kinds of environments.
3. Everything has life.

• Meaning: Everything has a spirit and deserves to

be respected. The natural world was not simply a
resource to control or conquer. There is
reciprocal relationship between man and nature.
4. All things are equal.

• Meaning: Indigenous society is inclusive.

Everything is important given its innate or inherent
characteristics and functions. All are part of the
circle of life.
5. The land is sacred.

Meaning: The land is a given by a creator or a

greater being and people are stewards of the land.
The land must be respected and taken cared of.
Life depends on land thus it is treated with special
care by indigenous societies.
6. The relationship between people and the
spiritual world is important.

Meaning: Society is spiritually-oriented. Systems

are based on beliefs and on the spiritual world.
7. Human beings are least important in the world.

Meaning: Mankind is just a mere dot in the

universe, a mere strand in the web of life. Nature
may continue without humans since it can heal
itself, but people are doomed when nature is
ruined.
“Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods,
every clearing and humming insect is holy in the memory and experience of
my people. Teach your children what we have taught our children, that the
Earth is our Mother. The rivers are our brothers, they quench our thirst and
feed our children. The air is precious to the red man, for all things share the
same breath. And what is man without the beasts? If all beasts were gone,
men would die from a great loneliness of spirit. This we know. The Earth
does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth. Man did not weave the
web of life, He is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does
to himself. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family.
All things are connected.” – Chief Seattle
 Take home points:

• Among Indigenous Peoples, respect, reciprocity, and

responsibility with nature; and spirituality is a common thread.
Indigenous Knowledge is also by nature environmental
knowledge. The knowledge of Indigenous Peoples is tied to the
environment which developed out of survival in and
connection to a given place for countless generations
(McGregor, 2004).
• Recognizing that human beings are least important,
sustainability and resilience are values in placed as well.
EXAMPLES OF IKSP OF INDIGENOUS CULTURAL
COMMUNITIES
Indigenous ecological practices muyong system (Ifugao)
Or tayan in Mt. Province

tangder or pollarding in Bugkalot communities

tuping or rockwalling

Indigenous agricultural practices Indigenous calendar based on seasons

Predicting weather conditions puwek ni kiling (bird) in Kalanguya and Ibaloy
communities
Using local plants for herbal medicines lupiit (Ilocano culture)
Chemistry of preserving food use of plant yeast for fermentation (i.e. samak leaves)
Indigenous way of classifying plants and animals Animals and plants that are dangerous
EXAMPLES OF IKSP (CONT.)
• Using indigenous technology (i.e. loom weaving technology)
• Indigenous way of classifying different types of soil for planting
• Making drinks from local fruits
• Growing local plants (i.e. growing drought-resistant crops; practice of
seedbanks)
• Telling local stories to children (or Indigenous literature)
• Playing indigenous musical instruments (i.e. bamboo instruments)
• Chanting and singing folk songs (i.e. bagbagto, an Ibaloy folk song)
• Indigenous dances (i.e. eagle dance of the Balangao in Paracelis, Mt.
Province)
• Indigenous means of Conflict Settlement (i.e. tongtong of Ibaloy and
Kalanguya, bodong peace pact institution in Kalinga)
EXAMPLES OF IKSP (CONT.)
• Production of textiles (i.e. t’nalak weaving of the T’boli people)
• Body painting/tattooing (i.e. batek/batok of people in Kalinga)
• Maternal and Child Health Care (i.e. tanggad of the Ilocano)
• Indigenous Arts and Crafts (i.e. vinta-making, mat-making, basketry,
woodcarving, blacksmithing etc.)
• Indigenous spirituality (i.e. pudong in Ifugao, sangasang in Kalinga)
• Death rituals and practices (i.e. sangadil, mummification of the Ibaloy in
Kabayan, Benguet before, gulgol of the Ilocano, and others)
EXAMPLES OF IKSP

• Responsibility with
nature
• Sustainability

Muyong system of
the Ifugaos
• Unique way of growing and
tending forests
• “Muyong” means forest or
woodlot
MUYONG
• forest regeneration
• conservation of biodiversity (storehouse of both flora and
fauna)
• Primary recharge zone (i.e. watershed, a stable supply of
water)
• Communal function – providing fuelwood, construction
materials, food and medicines
 Rice planted in uma/kaingin farm
Loomweaving in Ifugao
t’nalak design
 Nose flute with Mr. Alonzo Saclag, a GAMABA
awardee for Indigenous Music
Kabayan mummies *GAMABA (Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan)
STRENGTHS OF IKSP:
• Simple and easily transmitted. It caters to the level of understanding of
the local folks and that of the new generations. They are easily
communicated and learned by practice and apprenticeship.
• Low-cost, locally available. The practices are rooted to local resources
and access to them are easy and at low cost or even provided freely.
• Harmony with nature. The ICCs uphold the integrity of land, forests and
natural resources. They live with nature and by nature. Their respect of
sacred sites conform to environmental conservation and management.
They do not stress the resources available to them.
• Sustainable. The use of IKSP in the development and management of
resources has rendered ecological stability and production through
time.
• Strong sense of community and cooperation. The indigenous
expressions of cooperation and mutuality have helped perpetuate
IKSP.
• Health and environment-friendly. As the IKSP shuns away from using
chemicals and by remaining organic in nature, resulting products are
safe for the health and the conservation of the environment.
• Self-reliant. Promotes reliance on own capacity and resources. It
encourages expressions of creativity, ingenuity and spirituality.
ISSUES AND PROBLEMS CONFRONTING IKSP:
• Displacement of IPs from ancestral domains. Development projects threatens IKSP
as it encroaches on the ancestral domains of the ICCs.
• Death of old folks or cultural bearers. Some IKSPs are undocumented with the old
folks holding them slowly dying out.
• Low appreciation of IKSP among younger generations. With modernization and
globalization, more IP youth are losing interests in them, and high regard is given
to western-introduced knowledge systems and practices.
• Cultural crisis. With external acculturative forces, younger generations of IPs are
caught between imbibing seemingly better ways of seeing and doings things.
• Lack of organization among IPs. Most of IP organizations are informal and are
weak in promoting and monitoring IKSP appreciation.