AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT: THE RELEVANCE AND IMPLICATIONS OF INDIGENOUSNESS George J. Sefa Dei Department of Sociology OISE, University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario Paper delivered at the Learned Societies' meeting of the Canadian Association for the Study of International Development (CASID), Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, May 31 - June 2, 1996 ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION It is no exaggeration to say that the cultural resource base and knowledge of local peoples have been the least analyzed for their contributions to African development (see also Matowanyika, 1990; Warren, Slikkerveer and Brokensha, 1995). This paper calls for a shift in the development paradigm to examine what the indigenous African cultural knowledge base can offer in terms of an alternative approach to African development. Enthusing an alternative, African-centred development Indigenousness may be defined as knowledge consciousness arising locally and in association with long-term occupancy of a place. Indigenousness refers to the traditional African Indigenousness To discuss the African indigenousness, it is important to acknowledge the ethnic and cultural diversity, as well as the historical contingencies and specificities of African peoples. I am also aware of the fact that some common elements in African indigenous knowledge systems can be found in diverse or variant forms among indigenous peoples in other parts of the world (see also Dia, 1991). Furthermore, indigenous knowledge systems and traditions contain sites and sources of cultural disempowerment for certain groups in society (e.g., women and ethnic/cultural minorities)[Machila, 1992: 18]. Cultural resource knowledge is not frozen in time and space. While I focus on some common underlying socio-cultural themes and values (see also Machila, 1992: 16), I also recognize that the actual practices associated with these social values may differ across space and time. | |
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