Indigenous Knowledge

#### **Chapter 1**

## Indigenous People and the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) in Zimbabwe

*Constance Nhambura*

#### **Abstract**

Indigenous people in Zimbabwe possess a wealth of indigenous resources, which has always sustained them and their preceding generations. Indigenous resources are disappearing at an alarming rate due to exploitation by non-indigenous people. The exploiters of indigenous resources are benefiting from the indigenous resources at the expense of the indigenous communities who own the resources simply because they do not have IPRs. The sustainability of indigenous resources is being compromised by a lack of intellectual property rights (IPR) which accords the indigenous people's right to own and protect their resources. This paper assessed the rights of indigenous people and the initiatives put in place to protect the intellectual property rights of indigenous peoples in Zimbabwe. Qualitative descriptive research was used to establish the perceptions, feelings and behaviours of respondents in their natural setting. Interviews and document reviews were used to collect data from indigenous people and IP practitioners. The results indicated that the protection of indigenous people's intellectual rights is quite imperative, hence the urgent need for implementation of the IP policy in Zimbabwe. The study recommends more legal instruments that support the protection and preservation of indigenous knowledge in Zimbabwe.

**Keywords:** indigenous people, indigenous knowledge, intellectual property rights, protection, education

#### **1. Introduction**

Zimbabwe's indigenous people have been underprivileged with the right to their intellectual property. These indigenous people possess a wealth of knowledge and wisdom, which can sustain them and their preceding generations for eternity. The sustainability of their indigenous knowledge and resources is being compromised by a lack of intellectual property rights which accords them the right to own their knowledge and resources [1]. Unfortunately, in spite of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Zimbabwe remains among some countries that are yet to comply with the comprehensive and exhaustive instrument. The transformation of the global economy into a knowledge-based economy where knowledge becomes valuable when recognised and transferable within intellectual

property rights frameworks calls for the protection of the indigenous peoples' intellectual property.

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) was established in 2000 as a result of economic globalisation to bring close attention to various kinds of knowledge in different parts of the globe [1]. Deliberations on the intellectual property (IP) issues that arise from the need to protect and access genetic resources, indigenous knowledge and traditional cultural expressions (TCE) were made in the above forum. The existing frameworks for intellectual property rights (IPR) have been anticipated as likely alternative means to protect indigenous knowledge, but the knowledge holders have demanded a legal instrument with a justified ability and authenticity to protect their rights [2]. Indigenous people, globally, have also demanded clarity on the legal systems and traditional leadership's role in the fortification and safeguarding of their knowledge. This approach necessitates the mutual supportiveness of the current measures used for the protection of traditional knowledge and other global systems and practices discussed in various global conventions. Article 31 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples recognises the rights of indigenous people over their traditional cultural expressions, indigenous knowledge and indigenous resources which include their related intellectual property rights [3]. However, the available intellectual property laws is sadly inadequately protecting Indigenous Peoples' intellectual property rights, thus denigrating their relevance in society. The existing laws seem to support inventions and creative works which do not include intangible heritage. Indigenous peoples' intangible cultural heritage, ranges from, traditional songs and dances, knowledge of medicinal plants and environmental conservation, languages, folklore, stories, beliefs poetry, riddles and many more [4]. All this knowledge is their intellectual property which is often treated as belonging to the 'public domain' and is continuously being embezzled by those within the established industry.

For centuries, indigenous people have been marginalised, disenfranchised, isolated and disposed of their ancestral lands. Despite being deprived of their own rights, indigenous people have also been labelled backward and superstitious culminating in the suppression of their religious, ethnic, cultural and linguistic particularities. Indigenous people throughout the world have been oppressed and suppressed, and their rights and well-being were ignored [2]. However, a new generation of educated indigenous men and women rose up in the nineteenth century during the course of the civil and human rights movement. Several indigenous organisations were developed in most developed countries such as the United State of America, Canada, Australia, Brazil and many more. The United Nations Conference on the Discrimination of Indigenous Communities held in Geneva in 1977 was the first conference to mobilise indigenous people globally. More than 150 representatives from various indigenous groups attended the conference [2]. This conference laid the foundation for a united coordinated indigenous community through the establishment of a global network that allowed them to lobby for their rights and to present their demands publicly. Indigenous people's demands reached some level where they became noise to the ears of the international community, and they could no longer ignore them. Several international organisations began advocating for the interests of the indigenous peoples and the rights to their intellectual property. The International Labour Organization (ILO) headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, was the first United Nations (UN) body to deal with indigenous peoples' issues in 1929 [4]. ILO Conventions 107 and 169 stipulated several indigenous peoples' rights, including

#### *Indigenous People and the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) in Zimbabwe DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108167*

rights to natural resources and preservation of their languages and culture. The establishment of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) in 2000 to discuss intellectual property issues relating to indigenous knowledge and intangible cultural expressions was a great move towards the solution to indigenous peoples IP issues [2]. However, the indigenous people felt that the existing legal framework was not quite clear on their rights to IP and hence demanded an instrument that recognises the holistic nature of indigenous peoples' intellectual property rights.

#### **2. Contextual setting**

Zimbabwe's IPR system can be traced back to 2014 when the country developed its first draft IP Policy with the assistance of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Intellectual Property [5]. Zimbabwe's IP Policy was later produced by the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, with technical assistance from WIPO under the framework of the WIPO Development Agenda [http://www.wipo.int/ipdevelopment/en/agenda/] and other stakeholder consultations [6]. On 28 June 2018, the National Intellectual Property, Policy and Implementation Strategy was launched to direct and promote the 'IP generated activities by focusing on managing innovation as well as research and development more effectively among research institutions, tertiary schools, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and individuals' [4].

Indigenous peoples in Zimbabwe have sought recognition of their rights and identities which they have been deprived of since time immemorial. Indigenous people have been responsible for protecting and preserving their culture, religion, natural and sacred resources for years, yet throughout history, their rights have always been violated. Indigenous peoples today are arguably among the most disadvantaged and vulnerable groups of people in the world despite having their wealth of knowledge and resources [7]. Fortunately, the international community through United Nations and other indigenous organisations have recognised the need for special measures to protect the rights of indigenous peoples and maintain their distinct cultures and way of life globally [3]. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) defines indigenous/traditional knowledge as 'any knowledge originating from a local or traditional community that is the result of intellectual activity and insight in a traditional context, including know-how, skills, innovations, practices, and learning, where the knowledge is embodied in the traditional lifestyle of a community, or contained in the codified knowledge systems passed on from one generation to another' [6]. The term covers a number of technical fields including agricultural, health, environmental conservation, education and training, culture and many more. The indigenous peoples' intellectual property lies in the fields of agriculture, wildlife management, health and culture [8].

#### **3. Problem statement**

Indigenous Peoples are distinct social and cultural groups of people sharing the same ancestral links to their lands and natural resources. They have their own unique way of relating to their environment which is different from the way the other dominant societies do. Indigenous people have distinct characteristics that

make them unique. Despite their social and cultural differences, indigenous peoples globally share common problems related to the protection of their rights as distinct peoples. The rate at which indigenous resources are being exploited and abused by non-indigenous people is worrisome in Zimbabwe. While there is reverence from the international communities for the importance of indigenous knowledge and indigenous resources, there are no binding instruments to protect the knowledge and sacred resources from exploitation. Without a clear and comprehensive legal instrument to protect the indigenous resources, which are the indigenous peoples' intellectual property, there could be continued exploitation of the resources until they completely disappear from the communities.

#### **4. Purpose of the study**

The aim of this study is to assess the rights of indigenous people and the initiatives put in place to protect the indigenous people's intellectual property rights in Zimbabwe.

#### **5. Literature Review**

#### **5.1 The rights of indigenous people and the protection of their intellectual property**

Indigenous intellectual property comprise information, practices, beliefs and attitudes that are unique to every indigenous culture. Removal of traditional knowledge from the indigenous community causes the community to lose control over the utilisation of the knowledge, hence the need for IPRs [5]. Indigenous people have the right to protect their intellectual property, from inappropriate use or misappropriation [9]. The need to protect their traditional knowledge and practices from commercial exploitation has caused indigenous people to seek an audience from international indigenous communities. Some individual researchers, agriculture and pharmaceutical companies are patenting or claiming ownership of traditional medicinal plants which have been used by traditional people for generations. The same also applies to traditional songs and dances, stories, practices and beliefs, to mention just a few. In many cases, such companies, individuals and organisations fail to recognise the indigenous people's right to their own knowledge and deprive them of their fair share of the financial benefits that accumulate from the usage of their knowledge, skills and practices. According to the Swakopmund Protocol on the Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Expressions of Folklore (ARIPO), the following exclusive rights shall be conferred to the holders of traditional knowledge [6]

a. rights to authorise the exploitation of their traditional knowledge; and

b.rights to prevent anyone from exploiting their traditional knowledge without their prior informed consent

Section 19 of the Swakopmund Protocol on the Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Expressions of Folklore (ARIPO) calls for the protection of expressions of folklore against unlawful acts such as misappropriation, misuse and unlawful

#### *Indigenous People and the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) in Zimbabwe DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108167*

exploitation [6]. The Contracting States are therefore required to provide suitable and effective legitimate and practical measures to protect the indigenous people's intellectual property against unauthorised publication, broadcasting, printing, distribution, public performance, rental, communication and access to their intellectual property. Prior Informed Consent should be sought before such actions are taken [6]. According to the United Nations Declarations on the Right of Indigenous Peoples, Article 31:


A number of instruments have been developed to protect the rights of indigenous peoples and their intellectual property. Some of the instruments include

a.the International Labour Organization's Convention No. 169,


'However, the nature of indigenous peoples' intellectual property, which is often inseparable from spiritual, cultural, social and economic aspects of indigenous life, and the notion of collective ownership of such property is not adequately addressed in existing international intellectual property law' ([9], p. 1-2).

#### **5.2 Initiatives to protect indigenous peoples' intellectual property**

The establishment of the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Generic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore by WIPO members in 2000 prompted an agreement to develop global legal instruments that would provide comprehensive and effective protection for all indigenous knowledge, including intangible cultural heritage [10]. There are various laws available in the conventional IP legal system to protect innovations and inventions but do not address the indigenous knowledge rooted in the minds of individuals and environments and transmitted orally from one generation to the next. There is a need for individual countries to develop their own IP systems (*sui generis*) that are specially designed for the protection of such indigenous knowledge which is orally transmitted [11]. It is also suggested that indigenous knowledge should be documented for easier transmission and patenting, although it is also feared that once the knowledge is available for wider

dissemination and access, there will be greater chances of abuse and misappropriation of the knowledge by foreigners [12].

#### **6. Methodology**

A qualitative descriptive research design was used in this study. Qualitative research was used to investigate the lives of indigenous people, including their behaviours, emotions, experiences, feelings, social set up and their relationship with other people, [13]. 'Qualitative descriptive studies tend to draw from naturalistic inquiry, which purports a commitment to studying something in its natural state to the extent that is possible within the context of the research arena' [14]. Interviews and document analysis were used to solicit the views of participants on the protection of indigenous people's intellectual property rights in Zimbabwe. Data were collected from 10 participants, seven indigenous people and three IP practitioners. Participants were selected because of their ability to provide the information relevant to the study [15]. All participants' informed consent was sought before the research began. Participants were told of their ability to draw from the study any time they felt they were no longer comfortable with the study. Participants' confidentiality was also ensured. The results of the study were used for the purposes of the research only.

#### **7. Results and discussion**

This section presents and discusses the research findings based on the following themes that emanated from the data collected:


#### **7.1 Rational for protecting indigenous resources**

Participants were asked how important the indigenous resources were to the indigenous communities in Zimbabwe. All participants agreed that the indigenous resources were should be protected because they define who they are, and they are also their source of livelihood. Participants indicated that indigenous people relied on vegetative resources for their medicines, carpentry, firewood and for their rituals, hence the importance of protecting them for future generations. They indicated that they have their own indigenous ways of protecting their resources, but they have no power to stop foreigners from exploiting them. Some participants revealed that all their life they had been depending on the indigenous resources for survival, and their worry was some of the resources were now scarce because of abuse by foreigners who do not value them the way the owners do. It was also revealed that some indigenous communities were displaced and were relocated because their land was now used for other developmental purposes. Some of the shrubs and trees and roots they use as medicine have been destroyed. The destruction of the trees and shrubs meant that the medicinal plants would not be available again given that some trees and plants are only found in certain geographical areas and not in others. Their most fear was if the destruction continues throughout the country, there could end up with no traditional medicine at all, hence the need to protect the resources for eternity.

#### **7.2 The IP policy in Zimbabwe**

The results from this study indicated that the ZNIPPIS 2018–2022 is yet to be put into action, hence they could not comment on it. However, the respondents applauded the government for taking such an initiative which showed that they were taking the concerns of indigenous people seriously. Although most of the indigenous people prophesied ignorance of the existence of the ZNIPPS, they were positive that the government would take measures to protect their IP rights. The indigenous people were mostly concerned about the time the government was taking to address their concerns because most of the resources were fast becoming scarce because of abuse and vandalism.

#### **7.3 Initiatives to protect IP rights for indigenous people**

It is unfortunate that all the seven participants among indigenous people indicated that they were not aware of any initiatives being taken by the government to protect their IP rights. The respondents from the IP practitioners showed that the development of the ZNIPPIS was a step towards implementing the national IP policy which would cater for the needs of the indigenous people. However, the policy document does not explicitly explain how the intangible cultural heritage of the indigenous communities was going to be addressed in terms of intellectual property rights. On the ZNIPPIS action plan on point 3.4.6(e), the government shall establish a model licensing system for all information products, and it is assumed that indigenous knowledge is part of the information products Since indigenous knowledge is resident in the minds of individuals, it is not clear how the knowledge would be patented since it is not a creation or invention. It was established that various laws were enacted in Zimbabwe to protect the rights of individuals' creative works, for example, Traditional Medicinal Practitioners Council Act of 1981, Patent Act, Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act and Trademark Act, but the laws do not address the intangible cultural heritage of the indigenous people. Documents reviewed also showed great efforts to protect the rights of indigenous people from international organisations such as the United Nations, WIPO, ILO, UNESCO and many more.

#### **8. Conclusion**

The study therefore concludes that Zimbabwe has made strides towards the protection of indigenous people's intellectual property by developing the ZNIPPIS which is yet to be implemented. It is hoped that once the IP policy is fully implemented and operational, all the worries of indigenous people will be addressed. They will be enjoying the economic benefits of their indigenous knowledge.

### **Appendix 1. Zimbabwe National Intellectual Property Implementation Strategy 2018–2022**

*Indigenous People and the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) in Zimbabwe DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108167*

#### **Author details**

Constance Nhambura University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa

\*Address all correspondence to: c.nhambura@yahoo.com

© 2023 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

### **References**

[1] Muzah G. The Role of Traditional Leadership and Customary Law under Sui Generis Systems of Intellectual Property Rights in Traditional Knowledge. 2021. Available from: https:// rwi.lu.se/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/ The-Role-of-Traditional-Leadershipand-Customary-Law-under-Sui-Generis-Systems-of-Intellectual-Property-Rightsin-Traditional-Knowledge. [Accessed: August 22, 2022]

[2] Göcke K. Indigenous Peoples in International Law. Göttingen University Press: Göttingen University Press; 2013. Available from: https://books. openedition.org/gup/pdf/163

[3] United Nationans. United Nations Declarations on the Right of Indigenous Peoples. UN; 2007

[4] Government of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe National Intellectual Property Policy and Implementation Strategy (2018-2012). Harare: Ministry of Justice Legal & Parliamentary Affairs; 2018

[5] Shonge R. An Analysis of the Zimbabwe National Intellectual Property Policy and Implementation Strategy (2018-2022). African Journal of Intellectual Property. 2018;**3**(1):45-60

[6] WIPO. (n.d) Traditional Knowledge Laws: ARIPO. Available from: https:// www.wipo.int/tk/en/databases/tklaws/ articles/article\_0044.html

[7] Nyikadzino G. Just in: Government launches Intellectual Property Policy. Harare: The Herald; 2018

[8] World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic

Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (Online). 2002. Available from: http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/tk/en/

[9] WIPO and Indigenous Peoples. (n.d) Available from: https://www.ohchr. org/sites/default/files/Documents/ Publications/GuideIPleaflet12en.pdf. [Accessed: August 24, 2022]

[10] WIPO. (n.d) Traditional Knowledge and Intellectual Property—Background Brief. Available from: https://www.wipo. int/pressroom/en/briefs/tk\_ip.html

[11] Sackey E, Kasilo O. Intellectual property approaches to the protection of traditional knowledge in the African region. The African Health Monitor. 2010;**14**:89-102

[12] Tsekea S. The position of intellectual property systems in the protection of indigenous knowledge Proceedings of the Standing Conference of Eastern. Central and Southern Africa Library and Information Associations (SCECSAL) XXII. 2016:25-29

[13] Creswell JW. Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing among Five Approaches. 4th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications; 2017

[14] Lambert VA, Lambert CE. Qualitative descriptive research: An acceptable design. Pacific Rim International Journal of Nursing Research. 2012;**16**(4):255-256

[15] Creswell JW, Clark VLP. Designing and conducting mixed methods research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications; 2017

#### **Chapter 2**

## Indigenous Cultural Expressions and Methodological Frameworks: Some Thoughts

*Marina Alonso-Bolaños*

#### **Abstract**

Within the contemporary global world, there appears to be an inevitable lag between the changing factual reality and the concepts and categories scholars use to analyze it, i.e., "indigenous peoples," "traditional oral expressions," "ethnicity," "cultural identity," and "cultural heritage." But are these discrepancies insurmountable? This article delves into such mismatches, examining the relentless search for heuristic instruments to deal with the diverse indigenous artistic expressions in their socio-historical and political contexts. It presents some thoughts about the methodological frameworks used to ponder indigenous cultural expressions. The main argument is based on ethnographic research among Zoque and Mayan peoples in the states of Oaxaca and Chiapas in Southern Mexico, while establishing a dialog with ethnographies by other authors on different indigenous regions.

**Keywords:** indigenous peoples of Mexico, contemporary global world, indigenous cultural expressions, cultural identity, methodological frameworks

#### **1. Introduction**

According to the French historian Marc Bloch, "humans resemble their times more than they do their fathers" [1]. This becomes evident in a variety of ways. Suffice it to observe the range of forms, ideologies, and ideas adopted within contemporary daily life. However, what interests me here are scholars, theoretical discourse, and their social networks. That is, where some such academics search for conceptual frameworks to deal with specific phenomena, others appear to assume the disquieting pretense of living the academic avant-garde through the uncritical accumulation of concepts created for the study of specific cases, but which are considered novel, current, and generalizable. If a given concept or category that presents a solution to the research questions of a scholar is coined by other authors for different contexts, the fact, that they are outside, seems to allow for legitimacy, currency, and validity; if it were different, they would be kept outside academic discussion. At this point, we may recall what Walter D. Mignolo names "traveling theories," that is, bodies of theory and know-how that move toward other places and that are transformed and transculturated in the process. Their relevance, however, lies in arriving at the critical position from which they are enunciated ([2], p. 246–248).

Sometimes the uncritical course of action that several scholars follow responds to the legitimacy of a Eurocentric discourse, which has provided the core frame for anthropological reflection – as well as that of other disciplines – as Mary Louise Pratt notes. That is, according to this author, there has been a monopolistic use of categories and of "epistemic operations through which the West is strengthened and selfconstructed as a single source of generalizable cultural models" [3]. If to this epistemic problem, which Aníbal Quijano has called "the coloniality of knowledge" [4], one may add the fact that "new worlds" never cease to be created ([5], p. 9), the contemporary global world would seem to inextricably guide us toward a lag, as the critical epistemologist Hugo Zemelman [6] has called the mismatch between the factual changing reality and the concepts and categories in which we study it.

Thus, it is appropriate to remember the complexity of the contemporary global world when undertaking research about the types of cultural expression acknowledged as "traditional," because we either take it for granted or overestimate it by considering it to exist beyond a socio-historic analysis. The context is determined by the market economy characterized, on the one hand, by the flow of communications and people, and on the other, because it creates deep inequalities. Both phenomena have a direct effect on cultural expressions. Therefore, it goes without saying that societies set in motion strategies that allow them to reproduce and modify their diverse cultural expressions – in a broad sense - in the conditions of risk and uncertainty imposed by modernity ([7], p. 133–155). Nevertheless, some scholars consider that these social responses correspond to neoliberalism's own mechanics, which demand alternative expressions for survival ([8], p. 311–314).

Hence, how do we render accounts of indigenous cultural expressions, within changing contexts and in the interplay between local and global? As researchers are not neutral and possess a site of enunciation, we must build an explanation-understanding that escapes Manichaeism and the overdetermination of the present. For instance, sometimes indigenous societies and their artistic expressions are victimized vis-a-vis globalization, and on the other hand – assuming a quasi-evolutionary perspective -, it is said that it is only valid to think of such societies regarding what they are, given their degree of flexibility and adaptation to the present ([7], p. 11).

Given these stances, we have the obligation of presenting alternative questions, which will guide us toward the understanding of phenomena such as the spectacularization of cultural expressions such as music and the insertion of young indigenous musicians in the industrial music economy, as well as their use of digital technology. Interesting research around this topic is the one undertaken by Héctor López of the Danza de los Voladores (dance of the flyers). This is a ritual that comprises a musicaldancing practice of pre-Hispanic origins, which is presently part of the devotional expressions of many indigenous societies ([9], p. 84–86). Some scholars have approached this practice by focusing on the flyers' ritual process and its centurieslong persistence, in the costumes they wear or in the performative act, but López touches upon the new uses of this ritual in terms of a paid staging. The author claims that this issue marks the actuality of the original Papantla, Veracruz, flyers, a cultural expression of the Totonacapan of the Mexican Gulf Coast ([9], p. 229–247) and probably the most widespread and studied, as it is part of the representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Whereas such acknowledgment by UNESCO is of such an importance that it should not be bypassed given its social, economic, and political –and academic in light of the interest it has sprung among scholars - impacts, what it brings to the fore is the

#### *Indigenous Cultural Expressions and Methodological Frameworks: Some Thoughts DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106236*

practice of this musical-dancing expression as a means of sustenance for the flyers and the way in which they have entered into the cultural touristic market in search of a more or less steady income. The staging of the flying ritual in fairs, regional gatherings, and tourist spaces has led the performance to opt for a sort of synthesis of the ritual, as well as for the modification of the order or omission of the sones (musical pieces), part of the musical-dancing performance.

Without a doubt, we stand before a multidimensional phenomenon that should take economic diversification into account as a characteristic of indigenous people in the contemporary global world and not simply explain the case by resorting to categories of resistance and cultural heritage explaining that, despite tourism and mercantilization of culture, Totonaco people continue to perform their ritual-dance. We would perhaps be simplifying and romanticizing this practice, and we would somehow be speaking for the performers without listening to the local interpretation regarding how and why they have decided to alter certain aspects of the performance.

Equally, seeking to "speak for" the other has been a constant feature – often implicitly – of the praxis of many academics, through which stereotypes about indigenous peoples have been perpetuated. In this sense, we may remember what Spivak asserted about Western academics who have objectified the colonized subaltern, as a voiceless object of study [10]. In the case of studies concerning the cultural expressions of the Indigenous peoples of Mexico, it is important to reframe those features which have changed within their artistic expressions, so as to escape the focus on those believed to inherit direct cultural continuities with the pre-Hispanic past, defined as such in great measure by the cultural and educational politics of the postrevolutionary state [11].

For many years, an interest took hold in determining the ethnic identity of indigenous groups, without considering the narratives of the individuals involved. Ethnic identity has been a fertile field for academic discussion. Nonetheless, this turns out to be ambiguous, often contradictory, and complex territory, with identities emerging that are as mobile as societies themselves. This is so much the case that the values of a people, it has been convincingly demonstrated, are not consubstantial but are instead modeled in self-other interactions with other people-groups through media such as, for instance, the differing clothing that identity adopts makes its substrate even less graspable ([12], p. 287). Hence Miguel Bartolomé warns that "ethnic phenomena only take on their full visibility in the light of the depths of the historical field in which they have developed"; as such, "ethnic identity cannot be reduced exclusively to the contextual manifestations that express it in any given moment" ([13], p. 449).

Let us move on to a different case.

#### **2. Legitimacy of the different voices**

Many years ago, I met Don Gelasio Sánchez†, a Chima Zoque, in San Miguel Chimalapa, Oaxaca, in Southern Mexico. Don Gelasio was a peculiar character. While he was not a musician himself, he knew all the musical repertoire of the region. He was not a *mayordomo* or part of any ceremonial group, but he knew each one of the ritual phases prescribed for each celebration. According to Don Gelasio, he had forgotten a significant part of the Zoque lexicon, but he was able to communicate in that language to such an extent that, some time ago, an American linguist who was there paid him one peso for each Zoque word he taught her. While I am unable to confirm directly whether or not this happened, what remains true is that, through the years

and the comings and goings of several researchers through San Miguel, Don Gelasio has specialized as a kind of "professional informant," somebody through which access to other interlocutors could be gained ([14], p. 80–81). I asked him to tell me some local stories about music, the mythical origin of animals, and so on. In brief, I wanted him to tell me Zoque myths. Don Gelasio gladly agreed to help me and gave me an appointment at his house. Before that, he asked me to help pay for a worker who would substitute for him in his milpa while he answered my questions.

Once in his home, my host offered me a chair, sat me by a table, took out a recorder, and played a tape in which, years prior, he had recorded a series of narrations in his own voice. He adjusted the volume of the recorder and left the room. I do not remember for how long I remained stunned before the contraption, listening to stories in his taped voice: "The Story of the Dog," "The Tortoise," "The Rook," the lyric of Isthmus sones (musical traditional pieces). I did not know what to do nor how I felt. Many might think that the most appropriate response was to leave the place feeling offended; others would have thanked Don Gelasio for his time and for having shared his stories. In my case, I tried to see the funny side of could be considered my "hazing" in the Chimalapas.

While I let this episode pass as part of the vicissitudes of fieldwork, I was also drawn toward other analytic possibilities. It became evident that Don Gelasio's actions were not a reaction to any boredom he may have felt vis-à-vis researchers' questions and visits; during that period of fieldwork, we shared enjoyable conversations on several occasions. Rather, it was a different issue. Don Gelasio was talking to me on my own terms – or in those which, to his mind, passed as such – because he supposed my logic should be like that of the linguist mentioned above. Besides, he was providing me with the information he thought I wanted to know.

Nonetheless, a sort of "asymmetric imaginary" as Renato Rosaldo ([15], p. 67) calls the power relations presented from the perspective of the subject when there are conditions of social inequality present at each encounter, were at play here. Trained in anthropology, with its methodological emphasis on unmediated, in-person sensory experience, I had underestimated the worth of the recording and of this episode. Was the cassette not, however, another equally valid way of presenting and transmitting part of the oral memory of Chima Zoque people? This was especially the case, if this was a place known, during the last three decades, for suffering deep political crises, conflicts, and tensions between local and regional actors, as well as population displacement and land invasion processes.

The previous ethnographic narrative above deserves methodological attention ([15], p. 63). What would be the worth of recorded words? How do we deal with the fact that we are before the appropriation of "modern" technology by members of a society whose musical tradition we consider to be oral? How do we quote this source? To what idea of substantiation should I refer? Are we prepared in academia to explain this type of phenomenon? We are facing a different form of preservation and transmission of memory but, does it have the same legitimacy as if Don Gelasio would have narrated those stories and if I had taped them then and there? Does "tradition" consist straightforwardly of transmitted information? To the last question, Morin responds that "just because cultural transmission involves an exchange of ideas does not mean that traditions themselves *are* the ideas that their proliferation relies on" ([16], p. 49).

Chima Zoque society has been a site of ongoing agrarian, political, and cultural conflict. Given the complex landscape of the surrounding rainforest, the social sphere of cultural expressions like music often seems to dilute prior agrarian and

#### *Indigenous Cultural Expressions and Methodological Frameworks: Some Thoughts DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106236*

political conflicts as well as of quarrels among religious denominations. Nevertheless, there are different elaborations of local musical expressions that exactly respond to their convulsive milieus, that is, they are not only immersed in these, but they are in dialog –so to speak - with them. For example, in Santa Maria Chimalapa there is a group of "cultural missions" whose aim is to foster Zoque Cultural Expressions or inventions of what is thought would characterize the "Chima Zoque". In fact, it is enough to translate songs of the national popular repertoire into that language to be considered Chima Zoque musical expressions.

Likewise, in this municipality, there are versatile soloist musicians who perform diverse repertoires, as well as a Catholic Church committee in charge of organizing the adoration cycle for the saints, which foments certain musical traditions. In San Miguel, the other municipal capital of the Chimalapas, there are versatile musical groups that participate in a variety of social spaces, such as the *corridistas*, composers, and performers in the Zoque language, besides a handful of musicians devoted to Catholic rituals. Other religious denominations also carry out their own forms of religious service within which music is relevant, but these types of music are not considered traditional, nor of interest to academics, because they are not part of the Catholic ceremonial calendar. While there is an intention of social control, in anthropological terms, of these types of music –as there is in Catholicism -, their aim, as sacred music, is to create a sense of collectivity and shared identity.

In the Chimalapas there are two non-Catholic Churches: The Seventh Day Adventists and the Pentecostals. Together they group a significant number of believers. In this context, music locally deemed "evangelical" or "Protestant" represents one of the most important and vigorous forms of musical expression. In fact, Protestant worship music is the most listened to and produced musical genre in Santa María. Similar to what happens among many other groups around the world, in the Chimalapas the songs of the gospel are combined with traditional musical practices, such that they became local types of music reproduced in group chanting, contributing to the creation of different levels of local identity. All of the music which results from these processes is considered local and regional when placed beside other types of music. For example, in Yucatan, Vargas-Cetina has shown how the music of Mormon worship is considered just as important as the music of religious domains different from Catholicism [17]. An unyielding defense of traditional kinds of music, only considering those that belong to the practice of Catholicism (the festive cycle and adoration of the saints) has encouraged an oftentimes narrow view of presentday indigenous music. This also constitutes a lag since not all music is documented and studied and, moreover, many are denied as in the case of religious music produced beyond Catholic or traditionalist practice. This is precisely a result of prevailing ideas about what indigenous people-groups and cultural practices "should be," which result in particular form the *indigenismo* of the post-revolutionary Mexican state, politics toward indigenous peoples, which enforced integration and *mestizaje*, one of whose consequences was the establishment of a stereotype of indigenous identity: an adherence to tradition, a profound religiosity, which connected pre-Hispanic belief with Catholicism, and a resistance to integration within the nation.

There is nonetheless a great deal of musical production in the Chimalapas generated by musical ensembles and soloist musicians devoted to different religious denominations; in fact, one Pentecostal musical ministry consists of a musical ensemble for evangelization campaigns. Their music has a religious character; however, their musicians know the local repertoires because they have played them in other settings. In addition, a commercial repertoire may be performed during

Christian civic events, so long as there is no dancing. The selection is based on local taste and demand: cumbia, salsa, bolero, pop ballads, and *duranguense pasito* are all included. Likewise, there is yet another element that has contributed to the expansion of local taste for these types of music: women may perform them as soloists –as singers or instrumentalists – as opposed to the performance of "traditional" genres, in which women's participation has long been restricted. Only recently have young women been permitted to play reed flutes or drums, marimbas, and guitars, as well as perform ritual dances.

Thus, the range of Christian evangelical music available in the Chimalapas and in the Tehuantepec Isthmus is remarkable; this is the most popular form of music both at home and in public spaces. There is a considerable production and circulation of compact discs in the region, covering the music of both devout ensembles and soloists of the different non-Catholic religious denominations. Here the presence of women composers and soloists is significant, presenting a sharp contrast with the forms music takes in Catholic milieus, in which the musical sphere is generally masculine.

It is worth mentioning that in many cases Christian evangelical ensembles have displaced traditional ones. This has generated local internal tension not only because of the numbers of people who have changed their religious affiliation but also because, somehow, the new evangelical ensembles signify the integration of regional music into the market system; thus the incomes many had been able to draw from musical activity have been compromised. A consequence of this in turn is that phonogram editing companies, both in Juchitán and in other close localities, such as La Venta, have increased; musicians choose to record because this is the way to advertise their services and be hired.

A worthwhile case to comprehend the peculiarities of Chima contemporary music is that of Pedro Vázquez, from Los Limones, born in 1942. Vazquez's family had been seventh day Adventists during the last two generations. As a young man, Pedro set up a musical trio together with two friends, which consisted of two guitars and a requinto; they learned to play some isthmus sones acknowledged as traditional, which they spread through home-made recordings: "La Sandunga," "La Llorona," "La Juanita," "La Petrona," and "Canción Mixteca."

The Adventist performers rehearse prior to their presentation, whether it be in the church, in a family gathering, or among friends. Sometimes theirs is a non-paid performance, provided that those requesting the performance practice the same religion, as they consider this to be community service and not a paid activity. Thus, musicians caution that they would not be able to play in celebrations of people who practice a different religion. Vázquez notes that "the groups of the pagan world do make a living with music" whereas they [evangelicals] play music because it is a "joy to praise God." Like Vázquez, other musicians who abandoned Catholicism got to know the traditional repertoire, besides composing corridos and songs about the problematics surrounding mestizo and Zapotec new – in the 1930s and 1980s - *avecindados* (more recently arrived residents, many through having occupied and appropriated land) and playing in bars.

Adventist and Pentecostal composers and performers have taken advantage of the recording studios and musical market to edit their phonograms. Whereas these musicians have more economic resources than their Catholic counterparts, it is not only this which has favored the creation, edition, and dissemination of their production, the social ties they have achieved with members of their Church have also been relevant. In contrast, Catholic and traditionalist musicians consider they have lost

#### *Indigenous Cultural Expressions and Methodological Frameworks: Some Thoughts DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106236*

social spaces and significance due to migration, political divides, social disarticulation, and depreciation of "traditional culture" to the advantage of real or fictitious cultural patterns and values from other parts of the country, and to those promoted by various means of communication.

In accordance with señor Emilio López, from Santa María Chimalapa, "to be a good musician one needs love for music. Nothing else." However, in everyday life, Zoque Chima interpreters and composers observe something else is indeed needed. To begin with, the times of unease under which they live generate a state of permanent distrust vis-à-vis outsiders and official institutions. On the other hand, inhabitants of Santa María think about Chima musical expressions, that "today all that is lost." Here, drum, whistles, and reed flutes music were part of every important event. For instance, when a house was built or a community building fixed, authorities made sure there was music and that interpreters were "authentically Chimalapa;" equally, the celebratory repertoire for Christmas, weddings, and even burials has stopped being performed. According to Chima Zoques, the conflicts experienced in the forest since the eighties, together with changes in religious affiliation, have only left small fragments of tradition alive.

Currently, those in charge of the church of San Miguel – where the reed flute and drum are safeguarded – invite children to play these instruments together with rattles during Easter celebrations. But more than to generate "music" in the conventional sense, because the memory of the repertoire of this ensemble has not been locally retained, these instruments are used to produce sound at moments in which noise and bustle are required during the celebration.

We could go on with an unending list of musical moments, repertoires, abandoned instruments, and types of music as well as musicians' biographies. Importantly, the discourse of loss and an ideal past in the Chimalapas leads to novel forms of expression. In fact, it is not by chance that the composer maestro of San Miguel writes musical pieces in order to teach Zoque Language. The titles of some such tunes are: *WaanØ bim angpØn* [Sing your Language], *Bi tØk angjØ'k yom une* [La Migueleña], *Bi Mok Yukpa'g PØn* [The Peasant], and *Bi yangke tsaame* [The English]. Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning here, together with Miguel Bartolomé and Alicia Barabas, that currently, linguistic affiliation is not a necessary element to consider oneself Chima, even when it still is a relevant differentiating factor vis-à-vis other societies. For instance, while Chima have had continuous conflict over land with neighboring indigenous Zapotec people, since the Zapotec constitute a dominant group, Chima Zoques have at the same time incorporated and reinvented aspects of Zapotec culture in many cases ([18], p. 238).

A few interpretations of these examples understand broader cultural changes as a cause of identity loss, which put local musical heritage at risk. Or, in contrast, this transformation is dignified as if it were a straightforward result of musicians' or people's willingness and agency to bring about creative change and "become modern" as a form of resistance, especially given the symbolic transformations that these changes facilitate. Both analyses are valid but limited; we are then inclined to favor critical anthropological thought from which to offer different explanations or, at least, as a framework to pose pertinent questions. In that regard, a possible helpful viewpoint emphasizes the power relations intrinsic to all societies insofar as tension among subjects, conflict, and dispute are conceptualized according to heterogeneity of collectivities, understanding these acts within given locally accepted conceptual frameworks and practices, from which ethnic groups derive their sense of who they are ([19], p. 203).

#### **3. Searching for "new" cultural indigenous expressions**

The first time that I made a trip to the northeastern part of Chiapas, I was aiming to get to know a region that had been affected by the eruption of the nearby Chichomal volcano in 1982. Back then, I and the ethnologist colleagues with whom I took the field trip were worried about the question of "identity" and "interethnic relations"; I was particularly interested in "indigenous music." The "reality" of the towns I visited during that trip was overwhelming in terms of what "the" Zoque people had to offer me as a possible research topic, beyond the dismay that their poverty and marginality provoked in me. I was attracted by a series of elements such as the Zoque's ways of remembering the eruption; the role of musicians in mediating local conflicts and power struggles; the food; the milpa; the pathways people trod through the landscape; the readiness of people to talk and share their stories. Hence, I returned, again and again, many more times.

Throughout that trajectory I got to know several people; I stayed in their homes, had many, many deep conversations, and left some connections in the "field" aside because, wrongly, I thought that as I was interested in "traditional" music, I should not establish contact with the non-Catholic population. Therefore, I lost the opportunity to have a relationship with the Catholics' "others" (although researching as a nonbeliever, ultimately these interlocutors were equally as "other" to me as Catholics themselves).

Furthermore, the choice of a research problem to investigate – with the level of individual preference and constrained practical possibilities this implies – may predetermine the individuals involved. One thus runs the risk of fracturing knowledge before we begin. My interest in music led me to establish initial relationships with musicians and practically only with them, leaving aside whole groups of people. Initially, I did not approach their wives and children; by the same token, I even placed myself, without noticing, in closer proximity to older than to younger people.

Years later, my institution, the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) initiated the National Project of Ethnography of Mexican Indigenous Peoples (PNERIM, acronym in Spanish), in which I participated as a researcher. Together with several colleagues, I formed part of the "Chiapas team." I spent some periods of fieldwork in other regions and, once more, in the Zoque area. Reflecting on discussions within the PNERIM and subsequent visits to the different Zoque localities, I realized that, when it came to "choosing" my research subjects, I had not considered the younger population of these fieldworkers' towns, even when they make up the most vulnerable group in different areas of local and regional life, specifically regarding access to land. At the same time, a reflexive approach began to take hold within the PNERIM more broadly, in which researchers started to question our roles as academics both in documenting the indigenous populations' lived experiences and in developing potential collaborations with them – even if the latter idea more an intention than a reality. At the very least, there now exists a greater effort to understandinterpret whom we are talking to and of whom.

Zoque musicians in Chiapas have explicit concerns regarding their role in a constantly changing social context, in a society that is spatially and territorially moving, and which demonstrates itself to be highly open to the music of others. Zoque musicians assert that "the *cowa* (traditional Zoque drum) has a spirit" and that playing it links them to their ancestors. Nevertheless, they also ascertain that "we see how our culture is modifiable." Some others express a different type of discourse: "I am not

#### *Indigenous Cultural Expressions and Methodological Frameworks: Some Thoughts DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106236*

interested in dances. They will not produce any money. I want to go to the university […]. I want to have my own car," remarks a young man from the Selva Negra in Chiapas. By contrast, other young people, responding to these words, state: "If you break with your origins, if you break with those who know the music and dancing tradition, you are lost."

This last testimony represents the parable of the discourse in defense of traditional knowledge. But beyond that, we are confronted with the meaning that the collectivity bestows on its existence ([20], p. 35), such that the new musical proposals are not esthetically illegitimate for these subjects; rather, they constitute processes of adaptation within the sound discourse appropriate to new social contexts. We may not, therefore, conceptualize these transformations in terms of a principle of straightforward linear causality in which music evolves toward "modern" forms.

Therefore – bye the bye - the dichotomy of tradition/modernity is not useful because both categories are not mutually exclusive as result of the same historic processes [11, 17]. Consequently, its use must be presented in a critical way; we are obliged to refuse any simplification of the complex interlapping practices that constitute the current indigenous musical world. That is, in the terms described by Mignolo, the importance lies not in what is thought as such, but in the positionality from which, and time in which, one is thinking ([21], p. 22). Processes of musical creation are linked to collective memory and, therefore, are dynamic, consistent with new realities, and characterized by the coexistence of several distinct musical traditions. Thus, several young people of Zoque background, of the Sierra de Pantepec in Chiapas, have created a ska group called "la sexta vocal" (the sixth vowel) – a reference to the vowel *ü* which exists in the Zoque language. One of this band's pieces is called *cowatayu* (drums) as a reference to the musical ensembles of these instruments, used in a wide traditional repertoire. Their first recording was called *O'de mambuxü* (Zoque dream), a name which references the importance of oneiric expression in the life of Zoque people who live in the foothills of the volcano El Chichonal.

The interpretation usually arrived at by the scholars who study youth musical movements in Chiapas – especially those situated in the Los Altos region – is centered on ideas about youth, modernity, about a generational gap; resistance, identity, and hybridity; so-called "Indigenous modernities"; and amid the cultural influence of an ambiguous, stereotyped West. These things, supposedly, are opposed to indigenous cultural expressions. It is often said, for example, that use of and access to technology serve to distinguish what is not indigenous culture, which is in turn presumed to be archaic rather than "modern" ([22], p. 27). In this sense, it is worth mentioning recent discussions about indigeneity and modernity among first peoples in other contexts, such as the texts assembled by Levine and Robinson on the topic of music and modernity among first peoples in the United States and Canada. Arguing for the existence of multiple and diverse modernities, Levine and Robinson contend that "the idea of juxtaposing the word modernity with indigenous or first peoples infers a sort of incongruity […] as if native peoples cannot be at once indigenous and modern." From an indigenous perspective, they are always modern ([23], p. xiii–xiv). indigenous musicians employ technologies in their compositions, "and their works are Native" ([23], p. xiv).

Facing these issues, we may ask ourselves: is it helpful to talk about a "youth" category in such a context, or is this a category that we impose from a certain outside perspective about what, in our experience, constitutes the "stages" in the social life of an individual? Does there exist a cultural (social, political, and economic) way of "being Zoque" that allows us, in turn, to construct other meanings of "being

young" on the basis of these indigenous people's experiences of their own lives? In light of these questions, I would question whom it is that we see as "indigenous" and as "young," and whether the (evidently colonialist) concept of "indigenous music" operates to account for the socio-cultural configurations we actually encounter in our research. Given the foundational status of "indigenous music" within Mexican ethnomusicology, it is indispensable to approach this concept with critical intent.

These queries are related to the fact that scholarship may indirectly feed stereotypes; for instance, in scholars' surprise at being confronted in the field with "new" cultural aspects, and newer generations of anthropologists' refusal to restrict themselves to what is considered traditional, within a democratic paradigm in which all fields and phenomena are judged worthy of anthropological analysis ([5], p. 9). What is surprising is the astonishment of some colleagues about the recent turn to "urban" musical expressions, given that Urban anthropology began to bear root since the 1930s. Even within this change of scholarly focus, however, it is considered that the urban, the city, must constitute the sphere of novelty, of newness, of the modern. This is part of the agonizing career toward feeling current, "modern"; the overvaluing of what is "modern" and "global" determines a certain pathway of knowledge.

Such is the case of ethno-rock groups of Los Altos in Chiapas like Sak Tsevul or Vayijel [guardian animal], and Lumaltok, who contend that to play rock "is to preserve identity in a multicultural world." But furthermore, some scholars have praised these types of music, astonished by their "Indigenous modernity" and use of technology – implying stereotypes concerning modernity, and defining the new in opposition to the old as if societies occupied successive evolutionary stages. These attitudes imply that Tsotsil and Tseltal youth are somehow less "modern," in turn reinforcing Eurocentrism and the fetishization of the West as a unique civilizing model, as if Western paradigms for knowledge production exist at the center, and dismissing or marginalizing the knowledge of African or indigenous Peoples ([24], p. 4).

Despite the support, these ensembles have obtained from public institutions and academia – and the support the latter has tended to give to syncretic Catholic traditions over and above other religious denominations – in Chiapas, there is a Christian musical movement based on ethno-rock. Alan Llano has documented some Christian musical groups formed by indigenous musicians who inhabit the margins of San Cristobal de las Casas. These groups perform a combination of praising music and Christian worship performed in Tseltal and Tsotsil, in agreement with the cultural and musical movement ([25], p. 129) called "ethno-rock" or ethno-rock Maya Tsotsil by their managers and academia, while social actors call this *bat'si rock* or *Tsotsil rock*.

#### **4. Final thoughts: critical visions**

Many researchers of cultural expressions are interested in processes through which indigenous identities in the contemporary global world are transformed and re-forged. Whereas the possibilities for making theory and having results are multiple ([6], p. 9), the rhythm of social reality is not the same as that of conceptual construction, says Zemelman, and at this point, we return to the idea of "lag," which references how we use concepts "thinking they have a clear meaning, and they do not. This presents the need for a constant re-signification […] which is also a fundamental task of the social sciences" ([6], p. 1). Concepts that were coined in or for other contexts ([6], p. 2) – such as traditional or tradition, nontraditional, modern, and the idea itself of indigenous music, orality, change, continuity, identity, costume, resistance,

*Indigenous Cultural Expressions and Methodological Frameworks: Some Thoughts DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106236*

patrimony, world vision, and musical culture – are sometimes used without "second thoughts" [6].

For instance, we sometimes use the notion of musical culture to refer to a traditional repertoire in specific geographies, in brief, to the music of "others." Power relations are inherent to processes of musical creation, and it is interesting, for example, that sometimes our interlocutors have appropriated these notions, resignifying them or incorporating them within strategic heritage discourses for negotiation with government institutions. This recalls what Linda Tuhiwai Smith has documented among the mãori in New Zealand, for whom the notion of the "researcher" embodies a *persona non grata* – somebody to distrust, in the knowledge that research does not constitute an innocent or disinterested academic exercise, but one which both operates within and perpetuates certain political and social conditions ([26], p. 22).

My intention is not to exhaust this discussion within this chapter, nor to reduce it, but to present an invitation for critical reflection on the existing analytic topography of indigenous cultural expressions – if we can term them as such. Likewise, I have sought to highlight the relevance of updating, reflecting, and contributing to the scientific debate about theoretical and methodological paradigms that have underpinned the study of traditional types of music. I have dealt in particular with the analysis of that which we have called "indigenous music" in the complex contemporary world; it seems important to me to mention the fact that there is no inclusive debate around the diverse perspectives nor of the diverse social actors – evidently, the musicians themselves – that address the issue of music as a part and consequence of societies in constant transformation. The idea itself of indigenous cultural expressions constitutes another form of mismatch facing the great complexity and diversity offered by the musical expressions of contemporary indigenous people.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that ethnographic work continues to be vital to understand the differentiated contexts in which artists perform. Therefore, beyond turning to the epistemologies of the global South to decolonize knowledge, I would like to stress the need to build an ethnography from "below," which not only includes the "Other" – that has been done – but an ethnography that will build together with those subjects present in our study regions. Then we may see how indigenous and modern memories confront one another; and the extent to which these epistemes may resonate together.

This constitutes the construction and nourishing of languages in common. Ethnography thus understood could solve this competition to be continuously updated, because factuality should lead us to the creation of ad hoc concepts and categories in a critical way. This should also work toward situated knowledge [27] and a concern for reflexivity; continuously questioning researchers' roles, in recognition of the fact that reflexivity is an epistemological problem that lies in the way knowledge is created, and in who the subjects with whom we are creating a possible dialog are. In sum, we aim not only to disseminate knowledge but to co-construct it.

#### **Author details**

Marina Alonso-Bolaños Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia, Mexico City, Mexico

\*Address all correspondence to: cenizadevolcan@gmail.com

© 2022 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

*Indigenous Cultural Expressions and Methodological Frameworks: Some Thoughts DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106236*

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### **Chapter 3**

## Indigenous Farming Knowledge as a Tool for Addressing Global Warming: A Case Study of the Bedouin in the Negev Arid Highlands – Water Catchments Construction

*Amir Mor-Mussery*

#### **Abstract**

In the previous century, the Bedouins a nomadic people who migrated all over the Arab peninsula with their herds began to settle in villages, one of their settlement areas is the Negev highlands. While the younger generation searches for similar occupations as the surrounding urbanized Israelis, the adult ones in many cases sustain their traditional farming practices. In many cases these practices are not profitable and not sustainable, nevertheless, these practices are based on long-term experience in arid terms. Until recently the municipalities did not invest money and efforts to collect this knowledge and render it a sustainable and profitable one. A mission that became crucial not only due to the adults aging and the risk that this knowledge will be lost but due to the rapid transition of un-arid regions into arid or desertified ones worldwide that requires suitable farming practices. Hereby the scheme of acquiring this knowledge from the Bedouin farmers, designing sustainable and profitable solutions, managing the cultivated lands, and analyzing with them the outcome will be described together with samples from the Negev highlands. This chapter will focus on water catchment construction, which became a crucial requirement for sustainable agriculture due to the increased intensity of the rainfall event worldwide.

**Keywords:** Indigenous farmers' knowledge, Bedouin of the Negev highlands, water catchments on wadis, global warming, water catchments construction

### **1. Introduction**

#### **1.1 Indigenous farmers**

Clusters of indigenous population settlements worldwide are located in marginal lands, which are characterized by low fertility, incised lands, and suffering from climate extremes, that the indigenous populations were pushed aside into them during the years [1, 2]. Nevertheless, the long existence of the indigenous populations in such areas enforced them to suit their agricultural cultivations to these terms until it became part of their life cycle. In many cases, these cultivations are traditionally utilized even after the terms were changed and these cultivations became unsustainable and unprofitable leading the authorities to treat these cultivations as improper ones. The recent years with a focus on 2021 and 2022 were characterized by climate extremes, such as long droughts, which are characterized, in many cases, by high-intensity rain events [3], bushfires, and intensive trophic storms that cause damage to public and personal infrastructure and even to human life. Additional damage, which is less discussed, but with broad effects that may be in many cases prolonged, is the damage to agricultural facilities expressed by massive soil erosion, land incision, and collapses that can lead at the end an area to a lack of ability for further agricultural utilization and desertification [4, 5]. This state arising the need to design cultivations and land management practices suited to extreme climatic and land terms. An important source of knowledge, still poorly studied, is the indigenous farmers existed one [6, 7]. Hereby, the research process and findings of recent studies dealing with land modification of wadis areas suited to wadis area of the Negev highlands using collected Bedouin knowledge will be described.

#### **1.2 The Bedouin in the Negev highlands**

Until the previous century, Bedouin tribes used to migrate with their herds between rangelands along the Arabian Peninsula and Mediterranean region, characterized by wadis landscape, flooded plains, gullied loess plains, and dunes acquiring knowledge about arid rain-fed and flood water irrigated agriculture, grazing, and cereals breeding in such areas [8, 9]. In the second half of the 20th century, part of the Bedouins settled in towns, which the municipalities built for them such as Hura, Lakia, and Rahat, while the other part settled in informal settlements, also termed: the Bedouin diaspora of the Negev. Recently, the municipalities encourage the population of the Bedouin diaspora to settle in touristic-agricultural villages. Such settlement is based on a village with allocated areal units per each Hamula (big family characterized by internal marriage correlations, composing the tribe) for carrying out its traditional farming practices, such as grazing and rainfed cultivations. Such design, as planned, will attract tourists from Israel and abroad and supply additional income to the residents [10].

Studies with Bedouin farmers are highly challenging. The first challenge of such studies is the interaction with the indigenous Bedouin farmers. Unfortunately, the core pattern of the correlation between the Bedouin farmers and municipalities is distrust, which is resulted from misconceptions or half-trues that the Bedouin destroy the Negev highlands. In addition, the authorities treat the Negev highlands as a backyard as expressed by spreading construction waste over a wide part of its open lands leading to changes in the topography and the land hydrology [8, 11]. The Bedouin youth due to these reasons and the lack of profitability in cultivation, or agriculture utilization as an example for grazing, enhance land degradation by carrying out improper land management practices, as summarized in **Figure 1**.

To 'break' this 'loss-loss' state and achieve an alternative sustainable and profitable land management utilization, a scheme was designed aimed to encourage the Bedouin farmers to contribute their knowledge and cooperate with the project coordinating team (**Figure 2**).

The first step was analysis of the area, which is the Negev highlands. Therefore surveys all over the Negev indicated the following main agricultural Bedouin

*Indigenous Farming Knowledge as a Tool for Addressing Global Warming: A Case Study... DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108859*

#### **Figure 1.**

*The current loss-loss state between the public, municipalities, Bedouin adults and younger generation, and the land state [8].*

#### **Figure 2.**

*The scheme of acquiring traditional Bedouin knowledge from the farmers, designing a rehabilitation scheme for wide areas, sustainable and profitable utilization, and implementing it in-field.*

landform designs in the Negev are gully terraces using check dams, which will be exemplified by the study in PWA (Hura), and Elwashla family (El-Sir village); Hillslope terraces, which will be exemplified by the wadi Shualim (Yeroham) and Rahma foothill project; Flooded plain modeling into MAR (Mange aquifer recharge) area, which will be exemplified by El-Freijat (Rahma village); and wadi banks reclamation by small ruminants herding, Yeroham ephemeral stream.

#### **2. Gully reclamation using check dams, PWA study**

PWA (rectangular plot, sized 45 ha centered around Lat. 31°16′20″, Lon. 34°56′17″) is located in the Northern Negev in Hura municipality land on an area that statutory belonged to ILA (Israel Lands Administration) and was leased to Project

Wadi Attir association for constructing a sustainable agricultural utilization in the Negev for the Bedouins (www.sustainabilitylabs.org/wadiattir/home).

#### **2.1 Interacting with the local Bedouin farmers**

Parallel to the PWA farm establishment, several actions were carried out to interact with the local indigenous farmers for encouraging them to contribute their traditional knowledge to the project. As an example, old Bedouin women guided a course for unemployed ones in Hura on the way of making traditional Bedouin cheeses, a knowledge that was integrated at the end into a modern dairy on the site. The second example refers to collecting ethno-botanic knowledge from local Bedouin Sheikhs (the religious Bedouin leaders) of local aromatic plants. This knowledge was used for commercial breeding that is managed by one of the sheiks, a nomination that was used additionally to encourage his participation [12]. The third example refers to area rehabilitation. The main reason that PWA belongs to ILA and no farmer claims ownership of it was its extremely degraded state is expressed by a dense net of gullies that prevents its' cultivation. The soil is loess and the Bedouin used to construct dams over the crossing gullies from the local soil, and waste to enable partially agricultural utilization. Nevertheless, this solution enhances in many cases the land incision [13].

Previous studies indicated the positive influence of tree plantation on area stabilization [14]. Therefore, the project managers consult with the local Bedouins on preferred trees and shrubs that may suit a plantation in the rehabilitated gullies that were bred in a unique nursery at Hura. One of the Bedouin farmers was nominated to manage it.

#### **2.2 Survey of the area**

The hydrological experience of the Bedouin farmers, which was achieved during the years of existence in these extreme arid terms, is highly important for designing the rehabilitation plan of the area, nevertheless, this knowledge is partial, cannot be calibrated, and cannot be digitized on a geographic coordinates system for further analysis and for designing a rehabilitation plan. Therefore, the areas of study were air photographed in high-resolution mode n using a drone or unmanned plane together with the heights over Above Sea Level (ASL) to form a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) map and orthophoto [15]. PWA is characterized by highly incised land that is expressed by a multi-landform landscape. Therefore, in addition, the land fertility and stability were characterized by 3D maps that were calculated based on ~30 drilled bore-holes over the site of study using kriging (ArcGIS® Pro.) (**Figure 3**).

Based on the Bedouin knowledge and scientific data, chains of checked dams were constructed along the crossing gullies aimed to absorb the floodwater from the surroundings, prevent soil erosion and stabilize the area (preventing further incision). Based on the Bedouin advice in each soil rampart manure from adjacent small ruminants' enclosure was added as bio-cementation [17]. The width of the confined area between the check dams, which is termed: the 'gully terrace', was determined based on the Bugeat formula [18]. Over the gully terraces, surface a mix of savanna trees and ones that were bred in the Bedouin nursery were planted. Inside the dam at a height of 1 m, a drainage pipe was laid to drain out the excess water that may be accumulated inside the gully terrace and may lead to the check dam collapse (**Figure 4**) [19].

*Indigenous Farming Knowledge as a Tool for Addressing Global Warming: A Case Study... DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108859*

#### **Figure 3.**

*3D map of soil Nitrate content and soil depth in PWA (7/2013) important survey in the initial state of each rehabilitation survey [16].*

**Figure 4.**

*The checks dams' design in PWA, which is based on the integration of the indigenous Bedouin knowledge and scientists' analysis. Blue arrows—water flow direction.*

#### **2.3 Designing rehabilitation scheme for sustainable cultivation**

The collected data was analyzed and integrated with scientific ones by experts for designing the water catchments, which are suited to PWA and Rahma-Yeroham sites. The construction of the water catchments was carried out by the project managers and the nominated Bedouin farmers not only to increase their willingness to cooperate in the projects but also as an additional way to acquire from them the traditional knowledge that may be integrated with the project and further ones [20, 21].

**Figure 5.** *Elwashla olive orchard in the wadi of El-Sir village.*

#### **2.4 Maintenance and monitoring profitability and influence on the ecosystem**

Farm maintenance is carried out by the incorporation of the initiators and local Bedouin delegates and the farming activities by employees from Hura to raise their awareness of sustainable land management practices. The profitability is determined by a wide range of economic tools [22], fertility by chemical measurements [23], and land stability by manual and satellite imaging [24]. The finding was used to suit the cultivation regime to the current terms. The cultivations and measurements, based on the study narrative, are carried by the local farmers, Still, dozens of years after completing the gully terraces construction, the employed Bedouin farmers on the farm are using in many cases unsustainable land management practices such as inadequate tillage and manure spreading due to inherent traditional customs.

#### **2.5 El-Whashle, El Seer village**

An additional example of agricultural utilization of gully terraces located in a wide wadi is the Bustan of El-Whashle hamula in El-Seer village adjacent to Dimona municipality (a rectangular area, centered in 31°5′45″25N, 34°58′39″89E, sized 3 ha). The gully terrace was constructed by bordering the wadi in the middle of the village with soil ramparts of 1.5 m in height and width and letting the drained water from the open and settled areas in the north and south sides irrigate it [24]. The area was planted with 100 olive trees in 2019 and aimed to analyze the influences of traditional Bedouin Bustan on the ecosystem. The trees were uprooted and replanted due to disagreements with other El-Seer residents and governors, which indicates the importance of taking care of positive kin relationships between the Bedouin Hamulas for successive rehabilitation by the land managers (**Figure 5**).

#### **3. Hillslope Bedouin terraces, Rahma-Yeroham site**

The second study site is located in the open lands of Rahama a Bedouin touristicagricultural village and the adjacent Yeroham municipality [10]. The methodology of these study stages will be discussed in detail as case studies.

*Indigenous Farming Knowledge as a Tool for Addressing Global Warming: A Case Study... DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108859*

#### **3.1 Interacting with the local Bedouin farmers**

The Bedouins in Hura can be defined as urbanized, therefore the formation of communication with them was relatively easy. In Rahma-Yeroham it was more challenging due to the spread Hamulas settlement and the reduced communication between them and even the people inside the Hamula. Therefore, to communicate with them, we first map the Hamula settlements in the area, secondly, study the kin interrelations in the Hamulas, Thirdly, form unofficial communication with the Hamula heads through their hosting rituals [25], and only then isolate the ones who wish to cooperate and contribute knowledge. The hamuals in Rahma-Yeroham site and the sites of study are presented in **Figure 6**.

#### **3.2 Survey of the area**

Rahma-Yeroham site demonstrates an additional and important pattern of the Bedouin farmers, which relates to knowledge acquired by them from the existence of ancient agriculture systems. It seems somewhat unreasonable due to the extreme climate terms, but evidence all over the Negev highlands indicating intensive agriculture utilization which is dated to the Roman (63 BCE–324 CE), Byzantine (324–638 CE), and Early Islamic (638CE–1099CE) eras. More than that, new measurement instruments indicated even an earlier utilization that is dated even to the Late Bronze age (3300BCE–1200BCE) and the Iron age [26, 27]. The Bedouin farmers reclaimed part of these ancient agriculture systems, constructed new ones aside from the ancient ones, or used the blocks for their own farming (termed also: 'Secondary utilization' [28]). Therefore, to get a comprehensive insight into the land's potential agricultural utilization and the hydrological patterns, the area was photographed using an unmanned plane, and then the plots of interest (Bedouin and ancient facilities), were analyzed in-field (**Figure 7**).

**Figure 6.** *The hamulas in Rahma-Yeroham area and the site of study.*

**Figure 7.** *Bedouin agricultural dams and their integration with ancient agricultural facilities, Rahma open lands.*

In Rahma-Yeroham site the soil and the topography differ from the ones in PWA. While in PWA the landscape is hilly loess plains, in Rahma-Yeroham the landscape is mountains and the soil is in the interface of loess, calcite (bedrock), and sand [9]. Therefore, based on the ancient ruins and the Bedouin experience, the project managers decided to rely their rehabilitation scheme on rocky dams and retaining walls. While in PWA the construction of the check dams was carried out using heavy machinery, in the Rahma-Yeroham site the construction of the rocky facilities requires manual labor. Therefore, one of the study goals was to determine the required amount of manual labor, nevertheless to minimalize it by using machinery that will not damage the landscape and ecosystem. The project in Rahma-Yeroham is been carried out in two stages. The first site over wadi Shualim (Basin size is 24 km2 , centered in Lat. 30°95′86″N, Lon. 34°92′42″E, radius 2.4 km, western aspect) subjected to analyze the influences of the constructed retaining walls on the hydrological functioning of the existent Byzantine terraced system. The retaining walls were constructed by three courses, the lower one, which composes of rock segments sized 20–30 cm was laid at the bottom of a dug slot 30–40 cm depth. Then rock segments sized 30–40 cm were laid with their wide edge outside the wall in two vertical units, and between them, rock segments smaller than 10 cm were laid over the wall space for filling. From both sides, local soil was poured aside for stabilization (**Figure 8**) [13].

The two constructed retaining walls and their integration with the ancient terraces system are presented in (**Figure 9**) [27]. The finding indicates that in addition to increased agricultural utilization of the area, reclamation of a wider terraced area may contribute to the area's stabilization from soil erosion and incision [29].

#### **3.3 Designing rehabilitation scheme for sustainable cultivation**

The second stage became feasible in 2022 only after the regularization of Rahma statutory state [29]. Its' design is based on the finding of stage one. Along the area contours of a highly incised slope on the lower part of Rahma, rock terraces will be constructed from rock segments. These terraces will cross the gullied area with two active gullies east–west located. Therefore, the parts, which cross the gullies will be composed of two vertical units: the vertical unit downstream, will be composed of massive rocks with a 0.4–0.5 m radius subjected to reduce the water flow intensity in *Indigenous Farming Knowledge as a Tool for Addressing Global Warming: A Case Study... DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108859*

#### **Figure 8.**

*Schematic description of courses in the constructed retaining wall in Shualim wadi.*

#### **Figure 9.**

*The integration of the constructed retaining walls with the ancient (Byzantine) terraced system of Shualim wadi.*

the gully, while the upstream unit will be composed of rock segments sized 0.2–0.3 m subjected to prevent the soil runoff through the gully. In the remaining incised area, the rocks courses will be similar to the ones in Shualim wadi (**Figure 10**) [30].

#### **Figure 10.**

*The terrace courses over the gullied area in Rahma foothill site.*

Nine rock terraces will be located one by one differing by 1m height perpendicular to the slope direction (the location will be determined using GPS), along the sloped gullied area. The change of the incision will be determined by comparison of DEM maps achieved from drones over the years (**Figure 11**).

#### **4. Flooded plain modeling into managed aquifer recharge area, El-Freijat, Rahma area**

All over the Negev the Bedouin used the drainage patterns of the wadis flooded plains as MAR (managed aquifer recharge areas) for growing crops such as wheat and even grapes and olives with minimal supplementary irrigation. An example is located in the land of Salem El-Freijat, Rahma (31°0′52.57″N, 34°56′44.16″E, sized 1 ha). To suit the area for agricultural utilization a reclamation of the dike is needed. Such reclamation must be done together with the Israeli Drainage Authority, nevertheless, due to a lack of interaction between the Bedouin farmer and ILA, such an action is not carried out (**Figure 12**) [9].

#### **5. Wadi banks reclamation by small ruminants herding**

Grazing is not defined as a land modeling practice, nevertheless, similar to the other Bedouin practices is been considered in public as an ecosystem-destructive agricultural branch. Recent studies indicate many facets of controlled grazing may *Indigenous Farming Knowledge as a Tool for Addressing Global Warming: A Case Study... DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108859*

#### **Figure 12.** *MAR area located on a remodeled wadis floodplain in Rahma foothill area.*

#### **Figure 13.**

*The influence of small ruminants grazing on the sediment layer formation in the lower part of the wadi banks [31].*

contribute to the rehabilitation of degraded lands, such as [31]. Hereby, one facet regarding the influence of controlled small ruminants grazing on the wadi's landform will be described. The site of study is located on the wadi opposite Rahma foothills on the western side of Yeroham ephemeral stream (31°02′58″N, 34°55′43″E, 500 ASL). This wadi is composed of parts that were exposed to small ruminants grazing, while the others were not. The finding indicated that in the parts that were exposed to grazing a sediments layer from the wadi' bank integrated with the small ruminants' excretion, which was mixed by their trampling, was formed over the years. This layer decreased the incision in the wadi banks and moderated the slope and serves as beds for plant settlement and growth (**Figure 13**) [31].

#### **6. Concluding notes**

This chapter demonstrates the challenges in the implementation of profitable and sustainable agricultural systems in the Negev highlands, an area that suffers from intensive desertification and has been neglected for years by the authorities. The farmers of the Bedouin diaspora have to suit themselves to these terms using their long years of experience in breeding crops at extreme climatic and land terms (**Figure 14**).

Therefore, a successful rehabilitation scheme requires firstly regularization of the land's statutory state, which includes allocating lands for livelihood and agriculture to them and nominating them as 'ecosystem guards' together with scientists and the municipalities. Such an attitude will arise awareness of the ecosystem state and sustainable utilization by the Bedouin farmers and youth and contribute to ecosystem rehabilitation.

#### **Figure 14.**

*Adaption of Bedouin agriculture farming to desertification (reduced rainfall amounts), landform infringement by waste and landfills in El-Darghat village, traditional Bedouin olive grove on wadi (south of Yeroham).*

#### **Acknowledgements**

The author thanks Dr. Stefan Leu, Prof. Jonathan M. Laronne, and Prof. Avinoam Meir for their guiding notes.

#### **Conflict of interest**

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

*Indigenous Farming Knowledge as a Tool for Addressing Global Warming: A Case Study... DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108859*

### **Author details**

Amir Mor-Mussery Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Soil and Water Sciences, The Hebrew University, Rehovot, Israel

\*Address all correspondence to: amir.mussery@gmail.com

© 2022 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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#### **Chapter 4**

## Knowledge and Understanding of the Forest Peoples and the Protection of Their Intangible and Material Heritage in the Context of the Technological Society

*Vitor Hugo Nunes Villas Boas, Marco Anthony Steveson Villas Boas and Gustavo Paschoal Teixeira de Castro Oliveira*

#### **Abstract**

The multiple revolutions of the last 300 years have produced a technological development, that has materialized in a process of socioeconomic and cultural mutation which has ahead paths to be trodden that can promote benefits to humanity and the environment or lead to its destruction. The peoples of the forest, among them the indigenous, bring with them the knowledge that is at risk, both of disappearing and of being appropriate for purposes other than those currently used. This chapter sought, from an exploratory perspective and from a qualitative approach, to present some reflections to the problem involving which measures, and philosophical conceptions should guide the protection of knowledge of forest peoples and the biodiversity in which they are inserted. For that, aspects related to the current national and international regulatory framework directed to environmental protection were analyzed. In addition, it also analyzed aspects related to the economic value of biodiversity and knowledge of forest peoples, as well as the need to use new philosophical assumptions that integrate human ecology in its individual dimension, the environment, and social relations that involve human subjectivities, to present a new look, a new way to sociopolitical and legal treatment, the protection of these goods.

**Keywords:** knowledge of forest peoples, environmental protection, technological society, indigenous knowledge, biodiversity, fundamental rights, indigenous rights

#### **1. Introduction**

The indigenous peoples of America have accumulated knowledge and experiences for over 20,000 years, some of which have been shared with traditional populations in the last five centuries, which gives them an extraordinary wealth of information about nature, including the association of plants and other natural elements for the

production of medicines and substances for pest control in agriculture, in addition to a diversity of beneficial applications for society, which has contributed to the development of scientific research in favor of people and nature.

In the midst of a true biotechnological revolution, which has brought to light the economic potential existing in genetic resources and their commercial value, greed and ambition have begun to endanger the intellectual property of these communities, as well as the natural environment where they live, For this reason, the protection of biodiversity against piracy and the regulation of procedures for access to these resources have become extremely relevant today, a factor that has led the United Nations to worry about the issue and move forward in establishing a global framework, as deliberated on October 29th, 2010, in the Nagoya Protocol, in Japan.

In this context, the risk of biopiracy has increased considerably with the use of associated knowledge in scientific research developed in a network, in the context of digital globalization that has interconnected the planet, broken the physical borders, eroded sovereignty, and impacted the people and, especially, the neediest and most vulnerable communities.

Moreover, the dominance and use of artificial intelligence by the developed countries presents itself as another factor of concern for vulnerable peoples and communities in Latin America and Brazil, who do not live according to Western traditions and practices and have neither developed nor used disruptive digital technologies.

The new instruments of appropriation of knowledge and expertise of the forest peoples and the material fragility of the States in controlling the tangible and intangible heritage that complex biomes—such as the Amazon—comprise, lead to the following question: Aiming at the implementation of new forms of environmental protection, which should take into account, besides biodiversity, the human factor, what measures and philosophical conceptions should be developed for the implementation of a new model of environmental protection inserted in the context of the technological society?

In the search for answers, this chapter in the following three sections presents reflections that are essential to the understanding of the current regulatory and epistemological stage directed at protecting the knowledge and expertise of the forest peoples, as well as the biodiversity where they live.

The following section, from an exploratory perspective and a qualitative approach, outlines the current regulatory framework that governs the instruments for protecting biodiversity and knowledge of the forest peoples, pointing out the meetings and mismatches of Brazilian and international regulations in relation to the events generated by the biotechnological revolution we are currently experiencing.

In the third section, aspects related to the character and economic value of knowledge and expertise of the forest peoples, especially the indigenous ones, will be presented, and how they have been appropriated by Western civilization, still under a modern liberal perspective, putting at risk the existence of biodiversity, the forest peoples, and humanity.

Afterward, in the fourth section, some aspects related to the possibilities of conciliation of the digital revolution with the fundamental rights of the forest peoples will be presented, from a new philosophical conception, so that, through it, instruments can be sought to understand the dynamics of the complexity that involves the multiple existing relations between human beings in their individual and collective dimension, social relations, and the environment in all its amplitude.

*Knowledge and Understanding of the Forest Peoples and the Protection of Their Intangible… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109925*

#### **2. The protection of biodiversity and the traditional knowledge of the forest peoples**

The knowledge, practices, management, and experiences accumulated for more than 20,000 years by indigenous peoples and traditional populations, during the last 500 years, give Brazil and Latin America, in particular, international recognition on the importance of preserving these practices, rituals, and techniques for natural resource management, as well as for the management of territories and traditional lands.

The traditional knowledge of these communities allowed the survival and development of these peoples in the midst of the mega-diverse nature of our region, contributing, in the same way, so that the Europeans who came to the American continent could also survive in totally unknown environments and implement their colonial projects.

The recognition of the ecological, scientific, cultural, and economic value of these practices was drawn more sharply from the 1989 International Labor Organization Convention No. 169, culminating in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in 2012.

However, before the proclamation of UNDRIP, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), signed at the close of Eco-92, in Rio de Janeiro, materialized in its text the principles of sustainable development, precaution, the polluter pays, social participation in environmental management, access to environmental information and the obligation of state intervention, and brought in the Principle 22 an important clause that included indigenous and traditional populations in the management of the environment and development, and recognizing and valuing their cultures and traditional practices as a preponderant factor for environmental management within the criteria of sustainability.

This inclusive posture has opened up opportunities for the preservation of the climate forests and other biomes of the Brazilian indigenous lands, not only in the conservation of biological diversity, but also in the possibility of obtaining material and immaterial benefits for the traditional knowledge they possess, much of it already used in the pharmaceutical industry, for example, since the CBD and the Brazilian Legislation have honored the sustainable use of biological diversity and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits derived from the use of genetic resources, which fit perfectly with the practices of the indigenous communities.

Brazil together with Colombia, Mexico, and Indonesia is one of the countries considered to be mega diverse, and ratified the CBD through the Decree no. 2 of 1994, internalizing it through the Executive Decree no. 2519 of 1998, followed by the Provisional Measure no. 2186-16, of 20011 , which instituted the legal regime of the access to genetic resources and benefit sharing provided in the CBD and created the Genetic Heritage Management Council (CGEN).

Several decrees, resolutions, technical guidelines, and deliberations of CGEN were edited, in this interregnum, in order to make the CDB effective in Brazil, whose objectives combine preservation and development, when they established the fair and

<sup>1</sup> Provisional Measure No 2186-16, 2001, it was revoked by law no. 13,123 of May 20th, 2015, which now regulates item II of § 1 and § 4 of Art. 225 of the Federal Constitution, Article 1, *Article 8(j*), *Article* 10(c), Article 15 and §§ 3 and 4 of Article 16 of the Convention on Diversity Biological promulgated by Decree No. 2519 of March 16, 1998; there is also access to genetic heritage, protection, and access to associated traditional knowledge and the sharing of benefits for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

equitable division of benefits from the exploitation of genetic resources and rights over the transfer of knowledge and technologies, alongside the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity.

As a result of the commitments made by Brazil in Nagoya, a revision of the Provisional Measure no 2.186-16, of 2001 was sought to stimulate "[…] solidarity among nations, establishing legal mechanisms that allow the use of biological resources in an economically fruitionable way, preserving, recognizing, and valuing associated traditional knowledge […]" (p.72), to preserve, conserve, and disseminate biological diversity and at the same time obtain economic benefits and leadership of new markets [1].

The regulation on biodiversity in Brazil advanced with the edition of Law no. 11.105, of March 24th, 2005 (Biosafety Law), which created the National Biosafety Council (CNBS) and restructured the National Biosafety Technical Commission (CTNBio), whose objective is to establish safety norms and inspection and control mechanisms on "[…] the construction, cultivation, production, manipulation, transport, transfer, import, export, storage, research, commercialization, consumption, release into the environment and disposal of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and their derivatives […]" [2].

Despite the advanced technical-legal content, establishing limits for genetic engineering, it was forgotten; however, the participation of the traditional communities in the CTNBio, through FUNAI, which could better represent the interests of the indigenous people regarding access to and use of their traditional knowledge and the biological diversity existing on their lands.

In analyzing this issue, Juliana Santilli [3] noted that under the CBD and Provisional Measure no 2. 186-16, of 2001, there was "a clear distinction between the genetic resource and the biological resource that contains it," recalling that the indigenous usufruct over the lands they occupy is exclusive over their natural resources, except in relation to water and mineral resources, whose limits are outlined in §§ 2° and 3° of the Constitution, reason why the access to genetic resources in these areas depends on prior and informed consent with subsequent benefit sharing ([3], pp. 187–188), in the form of art. 16, § 9°, of the mentioned Provisory Measure no 2.186- 16, of 2001.

In that time, scientific research has corroborated the understanding that the traditional knowledge of the indigenous people, associated with biodiversity, including precious information about the respective biota, notably about the classification and nomenclature of the specimens and about food, pharmaceutical, and agricultural properties, as well as hunting and fishing not known by the non-Indians, constitute a real database of scientific data of incalculable value, which must receive the necessary legal protection against biopiracy, in view of the significant interest of the biotechnology industry, especially of chemical and agricultural products.

Although there is no unequivocal legal concept of what biopiracy is, sometimes presenting itself in a broader form, sometimes more restricted, since it is still under construction, Santilli [3] clarifies that "[…] biopiracy is the activity that involves access to the genetic resources of a given country or to traditional knowledge associated with such genetic resources (or both) in disagreement with the principles established in the Convention on Biological Diversity […]" (pp. 198–199).

The value of traditional indigenous knowledge about the biological diversity that surrounds it, in this context, transcends material and utilitarian limits, since it integrates knowledge of symbolic and spiritual value, in a peculiar way of life, in perfect integration with the forest, since both the knowledge process of combining different *Knowledge and Understanding of the Forest Peoples and the Protection of Their Intangible… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109925*

specimens for a certain purpose (possibility of direct use of traditional knowledge) and that applied in the manipulation and production of varieties of the same species, such as the multicolored ear of corn for making handicrafts (possibility of indirect use), deserve protection ([3], pp. 195–196).

A legal regime for the protection of traditional knowledge associated with biodiversity is extremely necessary to the significant interest of the industry, which in the past decades has unduly appropriated this knowledge with or without the consent of the communities, and without informing the countries of origin, expressly contradicting what is determined in art. 8, j, of the CBD, as occurred in the cases of *neem, ayahuasca, quinua*, and the cupuaçu seed, and similarly has been occurring with the *cunani* and *tipir* of the Wapixana Indians in the State of Roraima [4].

But in the midst of this biotechnological revolution, which has brought to light the economic potential of genetic resources and their commercial value, greed and ambition have begun to endanger the intellectual property of these communities, as well as the natural environment in which they live. For this reason, the protection of biodiversity against piracy and the regulation of the procedures for access to these resources have become extremely relevant today, a factor that has led the United Nations to worry about the issue and move forward in establishing a global framework, as deliberated on October 29th, 2010, in the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS).

The new Forest Code, in this sense, included, among environmental services, "[…] the conservation of biodiversity" and "the valorization of cultural and traditional ecosystem knowledge […]," in the terms of art. 41; but the insufficient regulation remitted the task to future legislation, within the scope of the Brazilian indigenous law.

In addition, Law No. 13,123, of May 20th, 2015, regulated the operation of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Brazil, providing significant advances when dealing with the protection of associated traditional knowledge and the respective biotas, creating a protective system for the preservation of biodiversity and its scientific use, in which access to traditional knowledge depends on the prior informed consent of the respective population, which will be entitled to the fair distribution of the benefits arising from them.

In the scope of the referred Law No. 13,123 of 2015, CGen was created, the competent body to, among other attributions, establish: "(a) technical standards; (b) guidelines and criteria for the preparation and fulfillment of the benefit sharing agreement; and (c) criteria for the creation of a database for the registration of information on genetic heritage and associated traditional knowledge" [5].

The creation of the database for the registration of information on genetic heritage and associated traditional knowledge, despite providing more control of the State over such information, especially with regard to the fair distribution of gained benefits, also opens perspectives of vulnerability to attacks by biopirates, even with all the restrictions and precautions established in its articles 11 and following.

In March 2021, Brazil ratified the Nagoya Protocol, reaffirming its commitment to the Access and Benefit Sharing of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). However, in the international trade, despite the convergence of wills for the protection of the rights of the traditional and indigenous communities over associated traditional knowledge, the appropriation of intellectual property by the biopirates has been occurring in the field of international trade, through the registration of patents, an internationally widespread legal institution that guarantees intellectual property and the exclusive exploitation of the product or process for a certain period of time, after which it falls into the public domain.

Thus, although the CBD and this entire normative framework call for the cooperation of the signatory countries in guaranteeing the intellectual property rights of traditional knowledge and the rights of the biodiverse countries, in its article 16.5, the initiatives at the international level to make the principles of the CBD compatible with the provisions of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs), of the World Trade Organization (WTO), whose article, 27.3 (b) is the result of an agreement between the United States and the European Union, are not yet sufficient or effective:

*O acordo Trips é um dos pilares do regime do comércio global, que define padrões de proteção para os direitos de propriedade intelectual dos 146 países membros da OMC, responsável pelos maiores acordos multilaterais de comércio. A OMC opera segundo o princípio de um sistema liberal de comércio internacional baseado na nãodiscriminação e na eliminação de barreiras comerciais. O artigo do acordo Trips que mais tem suscitado controvérsias, em relação aos princípios da CDB, é o 27.3 (b), que permite que os países membros excluam do patenteamento plantas e animais, mas determina que eles estabeleçam proteção patentária para microorganismos e procedimentos não-biológicos ou microbiológicos. Determina ainda que os membros devem outorgar proteção a todas as variedades de plantas mediante patentes, por meio de um sistema eficaz sui generis ou de uma combinação entre os dois [3] (p.2006).*

It is worth mentioning that the biodiverse countries have requested the WTO to change art. 27.3, "b;" however, the discussions on the subject have been constantly postponed, because the northern countries are not interested in this situation, which has caused legal instability and the possibility of a violation of the rights of the megadiverse countries and their traditional populations.

The website of the World Trade Organization [6] informs that the issue still depends on the convergence of wills in the construction of an agreement that reaches a satisfactory level of security against biopiracy, as it appears from the actions of the Negotiations Committee, still developed in July 20082 , despite the fact that the developing countries on the occasion of the WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong, in December 2005, supported the need for amending the TRIPS Agreement [7].

As a result, until a stable legal situation that guarantees the rights of the indigenous populations in the international sphere is not reached, their traditional knowledge will be at risk, which constitutes a factor for the exclusion of these communities from international policies aimed at implementing the CBD, since the latter does not provide for any sanction for noncompliance with its precepts, while there is such a provision in the TRIPS Agreement.

Furthermore, the dominance and use of artificial intelligence by developed countries present itself as a cause for concern for vulnerable peoples and communities, who have not yet developed or used disruptive technologies.

In this aspect, it is necessary to point out that the development of the indigenous and traditional communities is not in conformity with the development implemented by liberalism and global capitalism that has taken control of the World Wide Web.

<sup>2</sup> Article 27.3 (b) does not recognize the conditions for access to genetic resources and the distribution of benefits established by the CBD. Such mechanisms should be introduced into the Agreement to ensure the distribution of benefits and authorisation of access to genetic material. Article 27.3 (b) has generated, especially among developing countries, enormous concerns, and represents one of the most controversial issues to be discussed at WTO meetings [6].

*Knowledge and Understanding of the Forest Peoples and the Protection of Their Intangible… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109925*

Often, it should be stressed, the dialog established at the intra- and intercommunity digital level, especially with Western society, does not have the community legitimacy and traditional forms of decision making of the indigenous peoples, who in many situations are still literally isolated, deep in the forest, without contact with Western men and their technologies.

These difficult factors, besides excluding the forest peoples, and also the isolated peoples from the debate, bring legal insecurity and the possibility of injury to their rights, and also to national sovereignty, given that the sociocultural and mega biodiverse wealth of countries like Brazil have already conquered important positions of prominence and technical-scientific value that can result in monetary dividends far superior to the practices of extractive exploitation and cultures developed in the forests by the productive sectors of Western society.

#### **3. The economic and environmental value of traditional knowledge of the forest people**

At the same time, payment for environmental services also presents itself as an important strategy for environmental preservation, in order to avoid future deforestation, based on the polluter-pays principle and its corollaries of user-pays and provider-pays.

The increase in global warming around 0.6° Celsius during the twentieth century, with projections for another 1.4° to 5.8° by the end of the twenty-first century, diagnosed by renowned scientists and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), led the United Nations to hold in Kyoto, Japan, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in an attempt to minimize, by means of objective Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reduction targets, the causes of this planetary phenomenon.

In Kyoto, it was agreed, under the terms of art. 12 of the Protocol, based on the sub-principle of prevention and the polluter pays principle, the creation of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), a legal-economic mechanism in which "[…] the foreign economic agent that needs to reduce its GHG emissions, may acquire carbon credits, called certified emission reductions (CERs) […]," implementing a CDM project in the national territory through a local economic agent that receives the project on its property ([8], pp. 66–67), or according to Blanca Mimbrero [9]:

*[…] un contrato voluntario entre un provedor de uno o varios servicios ambientales explícitamente definidos (o un uso de la tierra que asegure dicho servicio) y un beneficiario que retribuye por ellos (un comprador), y se retribuye sólo si estos servicios ambientales son efectivamente provistos –principio de condicionalidad—y si son adicionales a los ya existentes antes de implantar el PSA (adicionalidad) (p.138).*

To avoid deficits and foster negotiations around carbon credits, the UN created the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) for the FCCC on May 9th, 1992 in New York, the year in which the Kyoto document was opened for signature during the Eco-92 in Rio de Janeiro, being signed by 185 countries.

Brazil is a signatory to the FCCC, promulgated by Decree no 2.652, of August 1st, 1988, which is part of the Brazilian legal framework for controlling atmospheric pollution, together with Law 6.938, of 1981 (National Environmental Policy Law); Decree 99.274, of 1990 (Regulates Law 6.902, of April 27th of 1981, and Law 6.938, of August 31st of 1981, that provide, respectively, on the creation of Ecological Stations and Environmental Protection Areas and on the National Environmental Policy, and makes other provisions); CONAMA Resolution n<sup>o</sup> 5, of 1989 (National Air Quality Program (PRONAR), in addition to Resolution no 3, of 1990, which establishes the primary and secondary air quality standards; Resolution no 237, of 1997, which regulates environmental licensing ([8], pp. 38–39).

Since the Climate Change Framework Convention held in Bali, in 2008, and Copenhagen, in 2009, among others, the interest in implementing REDD in favor of developing countries that suffer from deforestation and forest degradation processes has been the keynote.

In this regard, it is necessary to clarify that the contract for the implementation of a CDM project is governed by private international law, as it is an instrument that establishes international obligations for the parties to the contract. However, the principle of the autonomy of the will allows the parties to choose the legal system applicable to the contractual relationship, which finds contours in the social function of the contract and the supremacy of public policy, in the precise terms of art. 421 of the Brazilian Civil Code. The silence of the contract refers to the Private International Law for a solution regarding the legal system to be applied, which, in the terms of the Mexico Convention, points to the "law of the country in which the specific part of the contract related to the conflict will be executed. In Brazil, the National Congress is still examining the terms of the convention in the PL no. 4.905, of 1995, in the meantime, the rule of art. 9 of the Law of Introduction to the norms of Brazilian Law (LINDB) applies, which, in the words of Lorenzoni Neto [8],

*[…] disciplinará qual a lei aplicável ao contrato internacional firmado por brasileiro ou executado em território nacional, estabelecendo que, quanto à formalidade da obrigação, aplica-se a lei do local em que irá ser cumprida (art. 9°, § 1°). Quanto ao restante da relação contratual firmada, aplica-se a lei do domicílio do proponente, observando-se a também cogente norma do art. 17 da LICC<sup>3</sup> , que considera ineficaz qualquer contrato que viole normas brasileiras de ordem pública, a soberania brasileira e os bons costumes (p. 83).*

So, despite global and internal vagueness, it is theoretically already possible to enter into contracts of this nature and implement the CDM in the Brazilian legal system, under Law No. 13,123 of May 20th, 2015, even in the case of the indigenous communities, gradually overcoming questions about the absence of specific provisions in Decree No. 7747 of 2012 (PNGATI) on the sale of environmental services internationally.

Because it is a new institute, which is slowly gaining consistency in the Brazilian normative body, there is still a lot of caution in dealing with the matter, especially due to episodes reported by the national press in which large multinational companies, supposedly malicious, are using mega carbon sales contracts, signed with the Indians, bypassing the laws and Brazilian authorities, in order to appropriate Amazon flora species.

In the Brazilian legal system, the Forest Code (Law no. 12,651, of May 25th, 2012), modified by Law no. 12,727, of October 17th, 2012, instituted, in its article 3, XXVII, c/c 41, I, "a," the "payment or incentive to environmental services as a monetary

<sup>3</sup> The Law of Introduction to the Civil Code had its menu amended by Law No. 13,376, of December 30, 2010, and was called the "Law of Introduction to the Norms of Brazilian Law".

#### *Knowledge and Understanding of the Forest Peoples and the Protection of Their Intangible… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109925*

or nonmonetary retribution to the activities of conservation and improvement of ecosystems and generating environmental services, such as isolated or cumulatively: a) the sequestration, conservation, maintenance and increase of carbon stock, and decrease of carbon flow; […]." Despite this, several authors still have doubts about the new institute.

A few years ago, a controversial contract signed between the Munduruku indigenous people and an obscure multinational company came to light, in which apparently there would be no benefit for the indigenous people, and even put at risk, at first sight, possible future rights to sell forest credits based on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD). Apparently, the object of the contract was restricted to the sale of future rights for the commercialization of possible carbon credits, that is, an uncertain future object, not covering situations indicative of biopiracy practices, but other information subsequently published on the World Wide Web has placed this contract under suspicion, notably with regard to the lack of legitimacy to contract, since it would not have been a decision by the community, but only by some Indians and local politicians.

In an article on the Munduruku Indian contract case, Raul Silva Teles do Valle clarified, at that time, that.

*O desmatamento evitado não é o resultado de um contrato ou mesmo de um pagamento. Sobretudo em terras indígenas, ele só pode ser alcançado a partir de um adequado planejamento de uso do território, que possa projetar no futuro a forma como os índios querem lidar com os recursos naturais de suas terras. Na Colômbia esse planejamento tem reconhecimento oficial (planes de vida) e é a base para o repasse de recursos públicos para gestão pelas autoridades indígenas. No Brasil, eles ainda não existem oficialmente, mas poderiam – e deveriam – ser incentivados se a Política Nacional de Gestão Ambiental em Terras Indígenas (PNGATI), elaborada pelo governo federal, em 2010, com ampla consulta às populações indígenas, já tivesse sido aprovada pela presidente da República [10].*

The case of the Surui Paiter, from Rondonia, for example, also gained space in the media. According to a publication in the newspaper "O Estado de São Paulo," one of the leading media outlets of the country, due to the lack of regulation on the sale of carbon credits in Brazil, the Surui Paiter, internationally certified to generate credits in the carbon market, could not sign international contracts due to the lack of regulation in Brazilian law [11].

However, a decade ago, Raul Silva Telles do Valle and Erika Magami Yamada [12], already argued, based on Article 92 of the Civil Code and Article 24 of Law No. 6.001, 1973 (Indian Statute) that it was possible for the indigenous communities to sign CDM contracts and receive monetary values through the sale of REDD or reforestation on their lands:

*Não há nenhuma proibição no âmbito do direito internacional ou nacional à realização de atividades de REDD+ ou reflorestamento em Terras Indígenas, na medida em que estas estão em consonância com o uso tradicional feito por esses povos de seus recursos florestais e, desde que realizadas por iniciativa dos próprios povos em e diante amplo acordo interno, não têm o condão de interferir em seus modos de vida ou afetar sua sobrevivência física ou cultural; […] Sendo os créditos de carbono bens transacionáveis, com valor econômico, e derivados da existência de florestas nas terras indígenas e do poder exclusivo de disposição que têm os índios sobre elas, esses créditos* 

*têm a característica de frutos civis. Como se depreende do art. 92 do Código Civil Brasileiro, os créditos de carbono são frutos derivados da floresta (ou do reflorestamento) encontrada na terra indígena. A floresta por sua vez é o bem principal, que pertence aos povos indígenas que tradicionalmente ocupam as terras indígenas. E é a presença e atividade indígena que garante a floresta em pé. Portanto, os créditos de carbono também pertencem aos povos indígenas. […] O Estatuto do Índio (Lei Federal 6001/73), em seu artigo 24, dispõe sobre a exploração das riquezas naturais existentes em terras indígenas e assegura aos povos indígenas o seu usufruto exclusivo, que compreende o direito à posse, uso e percepção de todas as utilidades existentes nas terras ocupadas, bem como ao produto da exploração econômica de tais riquezas naturais (pp. 98–99).*

Telles do Valle and Erika Yamada [12] also rule out the eventual legal incapacity of the indigenous peoples to establish these agreements, considering that art. 232 of the Federal Constitution put an end to the tutelary regime, a matter that is also already settled in International Law, under the terms of Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Declaration of the United Nations (UN) on Indigenous Rights.

Apparently, this is the most reasonable position. However, despite the legal relevance of the position defended by Valle and Yamada, the participation of Funai and the Federal Prosecutor in the inspection of these contracts is of great importance for the preservation of indigenous rights, as well as to avoid malicious multinationals' use contractual ruses to obtain profits to the detriment of the Indians, whether in relation to carbon trading, or in the undue appropriation and patenting of traditional processes that directly or indirectly result in a specific outcome, or even of specimens existing on their lands.

In the midst of these doubts, the House of Representatives is in the process of approval Bill 528, of 2021 [13], authored by Representative Marcelo Ramos, of the Liberal Party of the State of Amazonas, which intends to regulate the Brazilian Emissions Reduction Market (MBRE), that is, the purchase and sale of carbon credits in the country, in accordance with the provisions of Law No. 12187, of December 29th, 2009, which deals with the National Policy on Climate Change.

Bill 528 of 2021 defines that the carbon credit results from the reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, which cause global warming, recognized by a specific certificate. In order to attribute economic value, one carbon credit corresponds to one ton of GHGs not released into the atmosphere. These credits, however, are linked to projects for the reduction of GHGs in the atmosphere, such as the restoration of degraded areas, reforestation, and nature preservation, negotiated with the governmental sectors, private initiatives, and individuals who are obliged to meet targets arising from laws or international treaties.

In addition, the project intends to dispose of the legal nature, registration, certification and accounting of carbon credits, and neuralgic points of this new market, which requires regulation, besides granting a period of 5 years for the Federal Government to institute and regulate the mandatory national program for compensating GHG emissions.

Along the same lines, a voluntary market for carbon credits is created, so that companies or governments that do not have mandatory GHG reduction targets to meet but want to compensate for the environmental impact of their activities, can invest in GHG reduction projects.

Projects and negotiations will be registered in an electronic system under the management of the National Institute for the Registration of Climatic Data (INRDC), *Knowledge and Understanding of the Forest Peoples and the Protection of Their Intangible… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109925*

exempt from PIS, Cofins, and CSLL. The National Institute for the Registration of Climatic Data (INRDC) will be a private institution supervised by the Ministry of Economy, which will also appoint some of the members to its Board of Directors.

However, other opportunities and threats are emerging in the international market, such as the tokenization of carbon credits, with these credits being backed by cryptocurrencies. The token is a digital representation of an asset in the blockchain, which in turn is a decentralized digital network that ensures the registration, publicity, and traceability of assets. On the one hand, cryptocurrencies can bring more liquidity, efficiency, and security to the carbon market, but on the other, the lack of linkage of these securities to GHG reduction projects has led to their conversion into digital assets by "retirement," fulfilling only the initial stage of compensation. The situation is aggravated by the resurgence of the so-called "zombie credits" and also of the "old vintage" credits, which make no significant contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gases [14].

The migration of the green economy to digital platforms seems inevitable and has been a topic of concern, a new facet of the concept of sustainability, more in line with the idea of economic development than with the preservation of nature.

Beyond that, the issue of crypto-activities is still unknown, and requires care and regulation, as it is not guaranteed by the State as a controlling entity. On the contrary, blockchains work from supercomputers scattered all over the globe, and the security of emissions and validation of crypto-activities is still a big unknown and may put at risk the fundamental rights of the forest peoples.

#### **4. The digital revolution and the fundamental rights of the forest people**

The search for solutions to fundamental rights conflicts, according to Villas Boas [15], has migrated with intensity to the virtual world, so that the sophisticated digital techniques require from the guaranteeing institutions, especially the Judiciary, much more than simply reproduce in the virtual world the real world solutions, nor act as a digital platform for conflict resolution, because other more complex challenges have emerged at every moment, turbocharged by global capitalism 4.0, which has erupted from the virtual "Trojan Horse" that intends to seize political power and mitigate the sovereignty of the State and the people, to impose the digital culture of the instantaneous and the superfluous, deconstructing institutions and cultures. This is the invisible battle that is taking place in the digital field and challenges all prospects of sustainability.

The situation is aggravated by the fact that the proposals and initiatives to limit the influence of the economic sphere in the real world have not brought the expected results, since the phenomenon of digital globalization has weakened the "good fences" [16], which have gradually lost consistency and collapsed, making it more difficult to correct the distortions of liberalism and the prospects for sustainable development.

In this aspect, sustainability, if this joker concept can serve as any parameter in the virtual world, has been incorporated into the concepts of corporate governance with the purpose of ensuring socioeconomic and cultural development with equal chances among nations, for the benefit of States, but also of the present peoples and their future generations. But at every turn, the concept of sustainable development is being shaped to the needs of the market economy, much more to ensure economic development than the good life.

From this realization, one cannot leave in the background the idea that sustainability implies guaranteeing lines of escape for subjectivation, so that man can

breathe and think in the middle of the process of re-signification and construction of post-truths, guaranteeing freedom of expression, but also the ethical limits of the discourse delineated by Human Rights and by the framework of fundamental rights inscribed in the Constitution, because the sustainability and digital globalization that really matters are those of Human Rights, of the promotion of man in his individuality and collectivity, opening lines of escape for subjectivity and intersubjectivity, as well as for the ecological dimension of self-determined action.

By the way, Villas Boas [17] has already had the opportunity to emphasize that the serious ecological imbalances of contemporaneity, borrowing the ideas of Guattari [18], are the result of human action without conscious projection, which has been insistently reiterated generation after generation. To avoid an announced catastrophe, only the formation of a new human being, based on the three ecologies he proposes (of human subjectivity, social relations, and the environment), will be effective against the reduction of subjectivation and consequent implosion, or infantilization of the human condition.

Along this intellectual line, it is possible to see in Guattari [18] that the environmental problem resulting from human actions is in the context of the evolution of society, in everyday relationships (economic, political, and social), and in standardization of behavior and thoughts perpetuated with considerable participation of the media, now turbocharged and uncontrolled by social networks, factors that lead to this infantilization of the human condition.

The perception of the world and ourselves, limited and conditioned to the standards of a system that has guided society over the centuries, which permeates even science and education and directs the environmental problem to the damage caused by industry, for example, does not bring a solution to the problem that is structural and is situated in the field of ethics and politics. This is where the failure to understand the environmental problem lies, for which he proposes an articulation between ethics and politics, which is called Ecosophy, based on the ecologies of the environment, social relations, and human (mental) subjectivity.

Only by a planetary awareness, through a radical political, social, and cultural change that guides the objective of the production of material and immaterial goods, it will be possible to solve the environmental problem.

The relations between first and third-world countries show this distortion in all areas, with the enrichment and empowerment of the countries of the North, to the detriment of the countries of the South, which are increasingly poor and dependent on increasingly intelligent technologies, science, and the production of material goods produced by the rich nations. Such political and economic relations are based on two crucial points: the imperialism of the world market that levels to a single plane of material goods, cultural goods, and natural areas; and social and international relations that are under the domination of a police and military machine that oppresses threaten, and even punishes.

From this reading, it is possible to sustain that the restrictions to the real needs of sustainability of nature and life in its fullness demand the reconstruction of the concept of sustainability from reflections and best individual and collective practices, and it is up to the political power and institutions to rebuild the notions of politics and nature, that is, of a realpolitik that brings man back to nature, to his true habitat [19].

In that regard, it is necessary to use scientific rationality with a certain transcendentality [20], in order to make the political processes of construction of the society more inclusive and participatory, providing an opportunity for a science of nature to rebuild all links [21], eliminate the old concept of nature, and provide the emergence

#### *Knowledge and Understanding of the Forest Peoples and the Protection of Their Intangible… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109925*

of a new procedural ethic that honors lives of humans and nonhumans, and a task that matters significantly to the justice system.

In search for this goal, digital globalization and the use of increasingly intelligent technologies can serve to implement a cooperative global network to ensure the administration of justice in the island and global systems, as envisioned by Linda Hajjar Leib in her "Genesis System," including environmental interests in the catalog of human rights, whether from an anthropocentric, ecocentric, or biocentric, as the interrelationship between human rights and the environment has been materializing in several situations that encompasses the expansion or reinterpretation of human rights, revealing procedural dependence and the facet of a human right to the environment of a transcendent character, and as an innovative and sophisticated legal instrument of the twenty-first century [22].

The new, more intelligent and disruptive technologies, on one hand significantly help in the solution of problems, they have become indispensable, but on the other hand, they potentiate new problems that, consequently, cloud the vision and make us stumble on the path to sustainability, on the way to the reconstruction of an ecological mind—steps to an ecological mind [23].

The situation gets worse when we have to deal with sustainability and governance in emergency situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, which imposed on humanity the worsening of the state of exception, with social distancing and a more sophisticated necropolitics, which definitely demanded the transition from the real to the virtual, unveiling governmentality in its 4.0 version [24].

Furthermore, worrying projects that want to surrender the freedom, security, property, health, and even the life of the individual to the exclusive or substantial control of artificial intelligence present a significant risk to the international human rights system, increasing the risks of building an authoritarian and domineering artificial intelligence, such as the LaMDA Project (Language Model for Dialog Applications), under development at Google, which became sentient last June, according to reports by Blake Lemoine [25].

The analysis of these disturbing scenarios gives us the tone of the complex difficulty of using and compatibility with the new disruptive technologies, which expand exponentially to guarantee and affect fundamental rights such as that of the indigenous peoples.

Since now, it is possible to observe that only the tolerance of classical liberalism will not meet this perspective because the state of the fragility of these peoples on the digital plane is quite evident, has been significantly aggravated, and will depend on adequate public policies to promote their visibility, digital inclusion, as well as to protect their fundamental rights of self-determination in the scope of the World Wide Web and in commercial relations that appear as opportunities, but also as worrisome threats.

It is not too much to add that the right to indigenous self-determination, proclaimed since the Covenants Nos. 107 and 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and reiterated in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, is a multidimensional right, with a significant ecological dimension as Villas Boas [26] has maintained, which encompasses the rights of personality, privacy, sociopolitical and legal organization, property/ownership of the ancestral territories and their forests, and of the spiritual ties established with them, in addition to the associated traditional, cultural, and religious knowledge, among others.

In this regard, the preparation and technical-scientific training of these vulnerable communities, evidently unqualified for dialog at the digital level, or even of

their indigenous or nonindigenous representatives, chosen by the traditional methods, through easy understanding consultation, borrowing the idea of justice from Amartya Sen [27], are presented as strategies to reduce the inequalities of liberalism in the digital world.

#### **5. Conclusion**

Digital globalism driven by capitalism 4.0 has exercised strong pressure on States, peoples, their cultures, and on all sectors of life, eroding the concepts of sovereignty and self-determination, as well as worsening the impact of Western civilization on indigenous peoples and traditional populations.

If in the world of life, indigenous peoples and traditional populations suffered from invisibility and exclusion in the democratic process, often formally consulted only to formalize procedures that were impactful and harmful to them, the public sphere replicated in another totally unknown world, puts at risk not only individual and collective privacy, but also their social organizations and the rights over their cultures and traditional practices, notably with regard to precious knowledge unknown to the Western world.

The evident state of vulnerability of the forest peoples, especially indigenous peoples, in relation to the protection of their fundamental rights on the digital plane, requires more than the tolerance of liberalism because without protective and inclusive public policies they will have no visibility or voice in the public sphere replicated on the digital plane.

State regulation and instruments of appropriation must take into consideration that the existential conditions of humanity hierarchically supersede the economic dimension. Formal regulation is not enough. The observance of national and international legislation must take on a new look, a new mentality, one that understands the existentially necessary relationships between the human being in its individual and collective dimension; the subjectivities that arise from the relational processes at the social level; and the environmental dimension that shelters and involves the human one.

It follows that any and all legislation, General Law of Data Protection, Law of Biodiversity Protection, legislation on REDD, and legislation on international trade must conform to a framework of protection for knowledge and understanding of the forest peoples, both in its material and immaterial dimensions, from policies of treatment of the individual and collective data of the individuals and these communities, as well as their associated traditional knowledge, biological diversity, and their territories, because without such an understanding of the complex reality that involves these relational processes, it will not be possible to move from formal guarantees to material ones, and this is what is expected of the State and of human beings in their individual and collective dimension in the current context that embodies the technological society.

*Knowledge and Understanding of the Forest Peoples and the Protection of Their Intangible… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109925*

### **Author details**

Vitor Hugo Nunes Villas Boas1,2,3,4\*, Marco Anthony Steveson Villas Boas5,6 and Gustavo Paschoal Teixeira de Castro Oliveira1,7,8,9

1 Judicial Provision and Human Rights at the Federal University of the State of Tocantins – UFT, Brazil

2 University Center of Brasília, Brazil

3 University of the City of Ribeirão Preto, Brazil

4 University of the City of Franca, Brazil

5 Pontifical Catholic University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), Brazil

6 University of Lisbon Law School (FDUL), Portugal

7 Federal University of the State of Tocantins, Brazil

8 Superior School of the Judges of the State of Tocantins – ESMAT, Brazil

9 CEU Law School, Brazil

\*Address all correspondence to: masvb@uol.com.br

© 2023 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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[3] Santilli J. Socioambientalismo e novos direitos: proteção jurídica à diversidade biológica e cultural. São Paulo: Editora Peirópolis; 2005

[4] Santilli J. Conhecimentos tradicionais associados à biodiversidade: elementos para a construção de um regime jurídico sui generis de proteção. In: II Encontro Associação Nacional de Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa em Ambiente e Sociedade 2004. 26-29 May 2004*;* Indaiatuba-SP; 2004. Available from: https://anppas.org.br/ ii-encontro-associacao-nacional-de-posgraduacao-e-pesquisa-em-ambiente-esociedade/#8 [Accessed: November 08, 2022]

[5] Brazil. Law no. 13,123, of May 20th, 2015. Brasilia, DF: Planalto; 2015. Available from: http://www.planalto.gov. br/ccivil\_03/\_Ato2015-2018/2015/Lei/ L13123.htm#art50. [Accessed: November 06, 2022]

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[7] Montálverne TCF. A Convenção sobre a Biodiversidade e o acordo sobre os aspectos dos direitos de propriedade intelectual relacionados ao comércio. Possível conciliação? Florianópolis: CONPEDI. 2010. Available from:

https://repositorio.ufc.br/bitstream/ riufc/55695/3/2010\_eve\_tcfmontalverne. pdf. [Accessed: November 02, 2022]

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[9] Mimbrero, BRC. Realidades y retos del pago por servicios ambientales (PSA) en el derecho europeo y en el derecho interno español*.* In*:* Gomes, CA (coord.) Compensação ecológica, serviços ambientais e proteção da biodiversidade. Lisboa: Instituto de Ciências Jurídico-Políticas. 2014. Available from: file:///C:/ Users/amara/Downloads/Carla%20 Amado.pdf. [Accessed: November 08, 2022]

[10] Valle RST. O caso do carbono indígena e as lições aprendidas*.* ISA, 22 mar. 2012. Available from: http:// www.socioambiental.org/nsa/direto/ direto\_html?codigo=2012-03-22-105644. [Accessed: October 08, 2022]

[11] Deiro B. Tribo obtém certificado, mas falta regulamentação. In: Jornal O Estado de São Paulo, 29 ago. 2012. Available from: http://www.estadao.com.br/ noticias/vidae,tribo-obtem-certificadomas-falta-regulamentacao,922809,0.htm. [Accessed: October 17, 2022]

[12] Valle RST, Yamada E. Desmatamento evitado (redd) e povos indígenas: experiências, desafios e oportunidades no contexto amazônico. São Paulo/ Brasília: ISA; 2010

[13] Brazil. Câmara dos Deputados. Bill no. 528, of 2021. Brasília, DF: Câmara dos Deputados. Available from: https://www. camara.leg.br. [Accessed: November 04, 2022]

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[14] Reset. O dilema cripto dos créditos de CO2 [Internet].2022. Available from: https://www.capitalreset.com/o-dilemacripto-dos-creditos-de-co2/ [Accessed: November 05, 2022]

[15] Villas Boas MAS. Reminiscências e reflexões sobre governança e sustentabilidade digital no Poder Judiciário. Revista Memória—Copedem/ Memory. out. 2022. Rio de Janeiro: Vozes; 2022 (1)

[16] Walzer M. Esferas da justiça: uma defesa do pluralismo e da igualdade. São Paulo: Martins Fontes; 2003

[17] Villas Boas MAS. O socioambientalismo indígena na Constituição do Brasil [master thesis]. Lisboa: Faculdade de Direito da Universidade de Lisboa, Universidade de Lisboa; 2014. Available from: https:// repositorio.ul.pt/handle/10451/16072 [Accessed: November 05, 2022]

[18] Guattari F. As três ecologias. 19th ed. Campinas-SP: Papirus; 2008

[19] Latour B. Políticas da natureza: como associar as ciências à democracia. São Paulo: Editora Unesp; 2019

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[26] Villas Boas MAS. A dimensão ecológica da autodeterminação indígena nas Constituições americanas. [thesis]. Lisboa: Faculdade de Direito da Universidade de Lisboa, Universidade de Lisboa; 2021

[27] Sen A. A ideia de justiça. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras; 2011

#### **Chapter 5**

## Modern Education Vis-à-Vis Indigenous Knowledge in Ethiopian School Curriculums

*Abdisa Olkeba Jima*

#### **Abstract**

Many scholars have undermined indigenous knowledge for many years. Western scholars considered it backward knowledge and had nothing to do with modern science. However, recently, the issues of the relationship between modern education and indigenous knowledge at school have gotten scholars' attention. This paper explores the nexus between indigenous knowledge and modern education in Ethiopian school curriculums. It addresses the definition of indigenous knowledge, the difference between modern science and indigenous knowledge, the significance of indigenous knowledge, and the Ethiopian school curriculum and indigenous knowledge issues. It mainly focuses on the Gadaa system indigenous knowledge, the beginning, and the importance of Gadaa system teaching. The paper argues that teaching Gadaa indigenous knowledge system assists the Oromo community in rediscovering the Gadaa system values, ethics, norms, cultures, politics, economics, religion, and environmental concepts. It also allows teaching others about how Oromo transfer power peacefully and the harmonious living of the Oromo community among themselves and with others.

**Keywords:** curriculum, indigenous knowledge, modern education, Ethiopian school, Gadaa system

#### **1. Introduction**

There is no single definition for indigenous knowledge (IK hereafter). Consequently, different scholars stipulate it differently. Ref. [1] defines IK as the totality of strategies, practices, techniques, tools, intellectual resources, explanations, beliefs, and values accumulated over time in a particular locality. It is the foundation of indigenous governance that consists of the expressions, practices, beliefs, understandings, insights, and experiences of indigenous groups generated over centuries of profound interaction with a particular territory [2]. Further, [3] posits that IK includes indigenous technical, traditional environmental, rural, local, and farmer's or pastoralist's knowledge. It is "the basis for local-level decision-making in food security, human and animal health, education, natural resource management, and other vital economic and social activities" [4]. It comprises all theoretical or practical understandings that have been held by people [5].

Generally, IK is a collection of experience, customs, norms, values, traditions, cultures, languages, socio-economic activities, political systems, ways of life, political governance systems, ecological preservations and environmental management, and spiritual rituals. That "indigenous peoples around the world have preserved distinctive understanding, rooted in cultural experience, that guide relation among human, non-human, and other than human beings" [6]. It is a network of knowledge, beliefs, and traditions intended to preserve, communicate, and contextualize indigenous relationships with culture and landscape over time [6]. Consequently, IK has become the centre of global concern recently [7].

#### **2. Importance of indigenous knowledge**

Indigenous knowledge has much more importance. The importance of IK to development has been established over the years [8]. Ref. [9] explains that IK enriches and supports modern education systems. It is a useful tool for modern education [10]. Similarly, it covers the limitation of modern education [7]. IK is a system of local capacity building. Local capacity-building is a crucial aspect of sustainable development in which researchers and development specialists need to design approaches that support and strengthen appropriate IK and institutions [3]. Environmentally, IK is an important contributor to planning for sustainable development and environmental conservation means; the indigenous community has been doing a great deal of research field [3]. In nutshell, teaching IK reverses the western hegemonies that have been dominating for many years in Ethiopia [7].

However, some scholars have negative attitudes and understandings of IK. Ref. [3] argues indigenous beliefs, values, customs, know-how, and practices may be altered and the resulting knowledge base incomplete. For this reason, their life is far away from their community's lives [10]. And the enjoyment of the right to education is hindered mainly by poverty in developing countries like the Philippines [11].

#### **3. Comparison of indigenous knowledge and modern education**

Most scholars agree that there is no water tie departure between indigenous knowledge and modern education. Ref. [12] presents that there are rooms and spaces where both IK and modern education interact. Therefore, most of the time, they coexist. Furthermore, Ref. [9] suggests that IK supports modern education. Indeed, we cannot set a clear border between IK and modern education. Ref. [10] adds that IK is helpful for modern education. Hence, the importance of IK to development has been established over the years [8].

Contrarily, some scholars debate that modern education is responsible for the erosion of IK. Ref. [13] argue that the involvement of foreign academicians affected the IK, for example, in Ethiopia. The country has undermined IK teaching in schools because it depends on western education heavily [14]. Western practitioners affect the inclusion of IK in the school curriculum [6]. Ref. [15] conclude that IK and modern education are divergent so they cannot go together. In sum, the following (**Table 1**) demonstrates the difference between IK and modern education.

*Modern Education Vis-à-Vis Indigenous Knowledge in Ethiopian School Curriculums DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.105936*


#### **Table 1.**

*Comparison of indigenous knowledge and modern education.*

#### **4. African indigenous knowledge**

Africa has a diversified IK system [16]. Africa's IK consists of medicine, agronomy, food processing, chemistry, textile, architecture, biology, geography, engineering, history, and literature [1]. Then again, it has been undermined by many scholars, even by African intellectuals. Ref. [17] summarize that:

*Eurocentric discourse has greatly influenced research, teaching, and learning of social sciences in higher education in Africa. The principal focus of developments in social thought continues to originate from the work of American, British, French, and German scholars. The implication of this is that higher education institutions in Africa have reduced themselves to the reproduction of the intellectual outputs of social thinkers of western countries, including their theories and methodologies of research selection problem priorities. As a result, there is little attention given to African indigenous literary and philosophical traditions because they tend to be viewed as primitive and unscientific. And hence they are not proper sources for social theory and research development. This is accompanied by the inability of African social scientists to generate their own indigenous concepts, definitions, theories, and methods that could guide intellectual development in their research and academic fields.*

African IK balances the African cultures, ways of life, norms, experience, and knowledge with the world's strategies [7]. Incorporation of IK into higher education curriculum has a pivotal role to boost development, for example, in South Africa [17]. For instance, the Ubuntu, African IK Systems (AIKS), has decolonized curriculum content and imparted moral principles and the value of communal identities. "The use of Ubuntu philosophy in the school curriculum has been shown to stimulate critical thinking, creativity and promote collective values in learners" [18]. By the same token, comprehending the past and present indigenous practices of the Kenyan ethnic communities furnishes positive perspectives on groups' sustainable economic and social responsibilities [7]. Generally, the African IK system is useful in accelerating sustainable development [19].

#### **5. The Ethiopian education system and indigenous knowledge**

Traditionally, Ethiopian education was based on religion. And it was delivered in church schools and monasteries to the elite few—mostly males. Western modern education did not arrive in Ethiopia until the twentieth century [20]. In Ethiopia, western modern education was introduced in 1908. Nevertheless, traditional education began in the country following the entrance of Christianity during the sixth century [14]. Modern education introduced science and technology but focused on foreign languages [13]. Then the establishment of modern schools spread throughout the country. The curriculum includes science, mathematics, drawing, English, French, Arabic, physical training, and home management subjects [14]. Additionally, some courses in religion, law, and calligraphy were offered [21].

However, Ethiopia has been adopting western education without conceptualizing and contextualizing it. Thus the country has not recognized, explored, and used IK yet [15]. Between 1908 and 1935, education aimed to master different languages. As a result, the curriculum was mostly developed in French, Italian, Geez, Arabic, and Amharic languages [21]. Most of the schools were headed by foreigners. For example, Egyptians led Menelik II School, the French headmaster led Teferi Mekonen School and the French headmistress guided Menen School. In general, the period between 1908 and 1935 was known as the French Period because French teachers and headmasters dominated the school system. Also, examinations were administered in French [13]. Consequently, the education system from its inception until the occupation by Italian Fascists in 1935 was criticized for being too European and unable to respond to the actual needs of Ethiopian society [13].

During the Italian occupation, Ethiopian education concentrated on scooping on Italian culture, cultivating many soldiers, and imposing Italian ideology [14]. Following that, the Ethiopian education system was dominated by the British and U.S. respectively after the Italian occupation [20]. The first Ethiopian higher education is Haile Selassie I University, later Addis Ababa University, which was launched in 1950. That depended on Western models in its staffing, curriculum, duration, timing, philosophy, and ideology [20, 22, 23].

During Derg, the Ethiopian education system continued by foreign domination. Yet, it shifted from western domination to eastern domination. Thus, education advisors from communist countries like the Soviet Union and East Germany influenced education policies [20].

Ref. [24] summarizes that:

*The Derg established a Marxist-Leninist education system. Schools became centres of party mobilization. Students had to study revolutionary songs, and attend*  *Modern Education Vis-à-Vis Indigenous Knowledge in Ethiopian School Curriculums DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.105936*

*Marxist-Leninist classes. They were subjected to forced recruitment for national military services. Questions of academic freedom and other political freedoms were banned. Then a few students escaped to the forest to start a guerrilla movement and later sized power in 1991.*

In nutshell, the involvement of foreigners, particularly the significant numbers of French and Egyptian advisors, largely affected the selection and organization of the curriculum, which did not necessarily address the needs and interests of the Ethiopian people [13]. Nonetheless, "Ethiopia had a real chance of using its own traditions to develop an education system that could suit its rich traditions" [24]. Unless the formal education is combined with IK, the educators cannot connect their environment with modern science [10]. The integration of IK into higher education must be supported by a strong institutional system [17]. In summary, Ref. [8] recommends that universities and libraries need to look inward and find creative ways of integrating Western and IK systems in their teaching, research, engagement, and information management.

And yet, the scientific education system introduced in Ethiopia did not appreciate the indigenous education system [9]. Ethiopia still gives less attention to IK. Instead, it copied the western curriculums without conceptualization and contextualization them [25]. Hence, the educators have become far away from IK that the local community practices in everyday activities. The educators began to undermine the IK in favor of the western one. All policies, programs, strategies, and plans are designed by foreigners and experts who do not understand the real situations of the country. The local communities who are responsible to implement the policies face challenges since they have no skills and know-how to do so. That creates two groups: the group that designs policies without understanding the problems of the local communities, and the group that does not know the designed policies very well. In consequence, the country's political economy development stagnated for many years.

In the same vein, the current Ethiopian educational system marginalized IK and excluded experienced local people [26]. That has not developed a modern educational system that produces students who can solve problems and enables the country to be competitive in the contemporary world [27]. Normally, the curriculum did not depend on the economic, social, and cultural realities of Ethiopia. The country copied its components from other countries. It translated textbooks for primary education from other languages without reflecting the Ethiopian situation [13]. Thus exogenous western educational paradigms dominated the Ethiopian education system [28].

#### **6. The Gadaa indigenous knowledge system and school curriculum**

For many years, the Gadaa system has been transferred orally from generation to generation. The practices of the Gadaa system are so long. Ref. [29] elucidates that the Gadaa system is an intrinsic element of the indigenous Oromo people's everyday lives. Ref. [30] demonstrates that Gadaa was practised during the leadership of 225 Abbaa Gadaas. That means the Oromo people have been exercising the Gadaa system before 1800 years. Before Amde Tsion and Zara Yaicob attempted to intensify the Christian religion in the lands of Oromo, the Oromo community had already organized under the Gadaa governance system. Gadaa system is active in some places such as Borana, Guji, Warqa, and Kokosa [31] Tulema, and Karayyu [9]. What is more, the Gadaa system is operated effectively for many years among most of the Oromo [32] albeit different factors challenge it.

#### Ref [28] stipulates that:

*… the Gadaa system exists as far as the Oromo community exists. Thus we cannot separate it from the Oromo. And yet, different threats challenged it many times. Modern education was introduced into Ethiopia during Menelik II around 1908. Since then, the country's educational curriculum has been dominated by the western. This undermined indigenous knowledge like the Gadaa system. Also, during the Emperor Haile Selassie, western education dominated highly. Besides, the Derg government followed the previous trends in the education curriculum. The Ethiopian People Revolutionary Democratic Front further continued to copy and paste the western educational curriculum. All educational curriculums did not encourage indigenous knowledge.*

By the same token, it has not gotten the attention of scholars. The Gadaa system IK has been taught based on the traditional ways that depend on the calendar. There is a narrow space to include IK like the Gadaa system in school since the country exercises a western curriculum [25]. And "the pre-existing hegemonic education system denied peoples' identities" [9]. Consequently, many challenges affect an attempt to teach the Gadaa system [33].

Nonetheless, Bule Hora University has started to teach the Gadaa system at various levels since 2019 [28]. Before Bule Hora University has begun to teach it, the Gadaa system has been transferring from generation to generation orally. Initially, the University launched the generic course entitled Introduction to Gadaa system course that is offered for all undergraduate students. The pupils also acknowledged the significance of learning it after they learned it. Ref. [9]summarizes that Bule Hora University has begun to teach the Gadaa system as an independent program under Gadaa and Oromo History in BA. Besides, there is a master's program entitled Gadaa and Peace Studies. Also, the PhD program was launched as Gadaa and Governance Studies and entered into work fully. And the curriculum of the postdoctoral fellowship-related Gadaa system has already been completed. Furthermore, the University has put the direction to include the Gadaa system as a course in all postgraduate curriculums. That shows the shift of the Gadaa system from oral transmission to formal transmission. Following that, Oromia Regional State Education Office has designed Gadaa curriculums, and books (**Figure 1**) and began to teach students from grades one up to eight. In addition, Matu University has developed the curriculum MA in Gadaa and Heritage Studies and began to teach it.

#### **Figure 1.**

*Sample of Gadaa books for elementary school students. Source: Oromia educational office, 2020.*

*Modern Education Vis-à-Vis Indigenous Knowledge in Ethiopian School Curriculums DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.105936*

In nutshell, the Gadaa system was not considered at school curriculum for many years. The Ethiopian school curriculum's dependency on western and bad attitudes and phobia of the Habesha elites towards the Gadaa system in particular and other IK, in general, challenged the Gadaa system to remain as oral knowledge. Conversely, Bule Hora University has reversed that bad attitude and inaugurated the base for the Gadaa system formal education by incorporating it into the school curriculums. That also motivated other universities to include the Gadaa system and offer it either independently as a department or alongside modern education. Ref. [9] concludes that the incorporation of IK strengthens modern education since it addresses the weakness of modern education and vice versa.

#### **7. Consequences of teaching the Gadaa system**

Teaching the Gadaa system has paramount consequences. "The IK integration into scientific education allows students to conceptualize and contextualize modern education and solve local problems accordingly" [9]. Withal, it allows learners to understand, explore, examine, reiterate, analyze and repeat what they have already acquired knowledge from their parents orally. Besides, it helps the Oromo people to convert the Oral and informal knowledge into a written and formal one. Thus, it widens the chance to record and keep the Oromo's ways of life, experience, history, norms, values, customs, cultures, taboos, folklores, riddles, idioms, and others.

Similarly, the incorporation of the Gadaa system into school curriculums assists non-Oromo students to gain the egalitarian governance system and leadership, clear separation of power, the existence of horizontal and vertical check and balance, how the decision is made and implemented, the mechanism of recalling the leader when he unfits the position and women participation in decision making of the Oromo community. Ref. [34]explains that Gadaa is an egalitarian governance system. And there is a clear separation of power. For instance, the Gadaa governance system has nine officials known as *Saglan Booranaa*. Those are:


From this, we understand that there is a clear separation of power in Gadaa system governance. In addition, there is a check and balance among that cluster. Wherefore,

there is no room in which power is monopolized by a single leader. The division of power in the Gadaa governance system is not the recent one. It has been practised among the Oromo community throughout their life for many years. "Under the rule of the Gadaa government, the Oromo indigenous education system was conducted by individuals, who currently have the required intellectual competence to teach at different academic levels" [35]. Therefore, Gadaa education is a part parcel of the Gadaa system (Ibid).

Ref. [9] enriches that:

*Gadaa is peaceful and loving. The system respects the rights of individuals. It preaches about the harmonious relationship among people. When the Oromo surrendered enemies, they adopted into Oromo via Moggaasaa—naming. We have to invest in the youths' minds to equip them with IK and thought. Otherwise, youths favoured the western styles by giving up IK. Again, in the Gadaa system, power is transferred peacefully via the Baallii. The Luba ruled only for eight years. After eight years, he handovers the Baallii to the next Luba. Also, there is a check and balance. Luba's success and failure are evaluated after four years, mid a year. If the given Luba is unable to bring the desired goals, he will be removed from power and replaced by others.*

Pupils further acquire the role of *Siiqqee* institutional conflict resolution mechanism, ritual ceremonies and religions, unique calendars, mechanism of environmental conservations, and identities and languages of the Oromo. Among Oromo people, women have a special place. As Gadaa is for males, *Siiqqee* is for females. Most scholars agree that the male cannot hold the *Haadha Siiqqee* position, and females cannot hold the *Abbaa Gadaa* position. That means their jobs and powers are classified based on sex compositions. No one can cross *Haadha Siiqqee* because she has a special status among the Oromo. Crossing her is prohibited [9]. Generally, the Gadaa system plays a significant role to boost development [34], and it helps to restore the civilization and identity of the Oromo people [33]. To include an IK system like the Gadaa system, "indigenous educators" [35] who have a sufficient understanding of IK need to involve in curriculum design, need assessment, teaching and implementation. In sum, teaching the Gadaa system enable the Oromo people to rediscover and document the social, political, economic, experience, ways of life, culture, development, religion, and environment in Gadaa values and systems. It more helps them to teach others the Gadaa systems' values, norms, mores, folklores, concepts, ways of life, calendars, customs, marriages, gender equalities, checks and balances, justices, power separations, recalling when leaders are unable to discharge the duties, harmonious relationship with others, and how adoption and *Moggasaa* are taken place to add non-Oromo to Oromoo society.

#### **8. Conclusion**

This paper addresses the nexus between indigenous knowledge and modern education in Ethiopian school curriculums. Different scholars provide different justification regarding the relationship between IK and modern education. Some scholars such as [8–10, 12] state that there is mutual inclusion between IK and modern education. Thus they support each other. Other scholars like [3, 6, 13–15, 26, 28] debate that modern education is responsible for the demise of IK.

Ethiopia is rich in IKs. To mention some Konso people terracing system, Awramba people gender equality, Oromo Gadaa system, Sidama Fiche Chambala New Year

#### *Modern Education Vis-à-Vis Indigenous Knowledge in Ethiopian School Curriculums DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.105936*

celebration, Hadiyya Yaahode Maskala New Year celebration, and Tigray people Ashenda women festival [9]. However, the country has little experience in teaching IK alongside modern education at school. Ref. [22]concludes Ethiopia's education system is a reflection of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the Koranic school system. Similarly, the western and Japanese educational policies, for instance, influenced the Ethiopian education system albeit the country was not colonized [23]. Hence, Ethiopian educators are either unable to participate in curriculum design to incorporate the IK into school curriculum or neglect IK purposively favoring western knowledge as modern, but IK as backward.

Despite this fact, Bule Hora University has started to teach the Gadaa system at different levels since 2019. That inspired other universities, colleges, and Oromia Regional State Education Office to design Gadaa system IK curriculums either as an independent program or include in different programs as courses and teach students. Teaching the Gadaa system helped the Oromo people to shift from the oral transfer to a well-organized document of the Gadaa values, norms, socials, cultures, politics, economics, religions, calendars, and environmental protections. And it motivates researchers and academicians to focus on digging into Gadaa systems and their values and document them well.

#### **Author details**

Abdisa Olkeba Jima Department of Governance and Development Studies, College of Social Sciences and Humanities, Bule Hora University, Bule Hora, Ethiopia

\*Address all correspondence to: olkebabdisa@gmail.com

© 2022 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Section 2
