by December Ndhlovu
Mpumalanga Water Caucus (MPWC) Lowveld region held the indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) revival workshop on the 17th of July 2022 in Steenbok, Nkomazi. The meeting was attended by youths, older people and the elderly, and the majority of older people were women.
The purpose of the workshop was to revisit the way our ancestors used to do things. We were trying to remember the things we used to do and the way we used to live during our childhoods. Indigenous, traditional, and ecological knowledge systems and practices were effectively used by our ancestors for many years to conserve nature and manage resources sustainably. It is important to incorporate IKS in our approach to nature conservation and development because it has been proven to be sustainable by the generations before us for hundreds of years.
Important themes were discussed:
· We all practiced IKS at some point in time: A point of interest is the knowledge that all the tribes and races of this world once practiced IKS in their life. Whatever your colour or culture is, history shows all people had traditional systems before the period of civilization. IKS is the root of all living systems that prevail currently - practiced across continents, cultures, and traditions.
· Our ancestors learned from their parents: IKS is unique because it was never recorded, but was passed from generation to generation by word of mouth. This is the intergenerational knowledge that was used by generations from different regions to conserve nature sustainably for many years. The central approach of IKS to nature conservation is the respect to natural ecosystems and the environment.
· Asset Based Community-led Development (ABCD) and IKS: is an approach that is community driven and hands on, not depending on external aid to achieve development. ABCD focuses on the assets and skills already there, it is using what you have to get what you want. ABCD and IKS are one and the same approach to nature conservation and sustainable development.
Commissions in the meeting reported back on:
How did our ancestors communicate with nature and the environment?
From what is known there were groups of elders or custodians that dealt with any challenges before they happened. These custodians formed part of the committee that advised the kings and chiefs, and were made up of traditional healers, prophets and soothsayers. The custodian’s role was to buff off any potential dangers that could impact the communities negatively. Connected to nature, communications to were through dreams, trance and prophecy. This was helpful because they could get warnings in time, and they responded exactly the way they were shown in their dreams, hence thwarting off potential dangers to both human beings and their livestock. This group would also go to the mountains to ask for certain things as desired by the community.
How did our ancestors deal with sickness?
What was discussed is that people use to have active relationships with their spiritual ancestors, so they were always forewarned about pandemics and any environmental imbalance that would impact them badly. In each and every family, there would be someone that could foresee, and also be advised as to how best to deal with these sicknesses. Most communications came via dreams and were passed on to the elders and relevant structures. Children were given medicinal concoctions at an early age to immunise them against illnesses. Stomach ailments were treated with morula and other herbs, influenza with linyatselo – conditions like typhoid, eye problems, and toothache were also treated with herbs.
How did they handle lawlessness / anti-social behaviour?
There were many ways of handling lawlessness in a community. For example, if one wronged somebody, the two families would meet and discuss the issue and then call the parties involved to explain themselves. If they denied committing that offense, they would be brought before a Chief and his committee to preside over their problem. The guilty would be punished publicly and tortured if need be. They used things like insects and herbs to install fear and fines for certain transgressions would be cattle, goats etc. In the case of murder, there were public executions. A lot of myths were used to scare people off doing bad things, as well as rituals that were performed on behalf of the community. Ancestors avoided problems before they happened by sustaining good practices, unlike currently where for example symptoms are ignored till sickness occurs. Medicine (tablets) from hospitals are then used, which may cause side effects and may have a negative impact on health in the long term.
December Ndhlovu: “The presence of the elders helped us understand a lot of things that we did not have a clue on. These grandmothers have so much valuable knowledge that needs to be transferred to us for us to be able to know the right stuff. One grandmother is over 80 years old and still she can walk on her own (although bent over) to attend a meeting. I spoke to her off the record trying to gather as much information as possible. Besides, I felt honored to be amongst such valuable elders like these.
The oldest was Gogo Mashaba who can’t stand up straight anymore. It was the most fulfilling feeling to hold a hand of such an old person, I looked at the hands of the old lady and I was surprised to see that her hands were swollen. If they are swollen, it means they are painful as well. Thank you very much Gogo Mashaba because I believe that you are not going to be able to attend future workshops but we are very grateful have been graced by your presence in our workshop.”