INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS AND ETHNOMATHEMATICS Mogege Mosimege Department of Science and Technology Pretoria, South Africa [e-mail] Presentation made in the Panel on ‘IKS and Ethnomathematics’ at the ICEM 3 Conference, Langham

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INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS AND
ETHNOMATHEMATICS Mogege Mosimege Department of
Science and TechnologyPretoria, South
Africa mogege.mosimege_at_dst.gov.zaPresentation
made in the Panel on IKS and Ethnomathematics
at the ICEM 3 Conference, Langham Hotel,
Auckland, New Zealand, 13 February 2006
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HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS WITH RESPECT TO
INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS (IKS) IN SOUTH
AFRICA AUDITS AND WORKSHOPS

• 1996 Meeting between Chairperson of Arts,
  Culture, Science and Technology Portfolio
  Committee and Council for Scientific and
  Industrial Research (CSIR) Executive
• October 1996 January 1997 Pilot of Indigenous
  technologies Audit at University of The North
  (now University of Limpopo Turfloop Campus)
• February 1997 Workshop at UNIN Decision to
  conduct a national Audit
• March 1997 December 1998 Audit conducted by
  following Universities (i) University of Venda
  (ii) University of North West (now the Mafikeng
  Campus of the North West University (iii) Vista
  University Mamelodi (now the Mamelodi Campus of
  the University of Pretoria) (iv) UNISA (v)
  University of the North Qwaqwa Campus (now
  Qwaqwa Campus of the University of the Free State
  (vi) University of Zululand (vii) University of
  Transkei (now Walter Sisulu University) (viii)
  University of Fort Hare
• January December 1998 Provincial Workshops
  conducted by each University
• First National Workshop on IKS at University of
  North West September 1998 (jointly organized by
  the Portfolio Committee, DACST, and the CSIR
  Supported by other stakeholders)

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LESSONS LEARNT FROM THE AUDIT

• Extent and depth of knowledge of indigenous and
  local people
• Marginalization of the knowledge and exclusion of
  the knowledge from the mainstream
• Lack of recognition and acknowledgement of
  knowledge holders
• Lack of protection of the knowledge, leading to
  exploitation and biopiracy
• Misconceptions related to the knowledge
• Role of researchers and research methodologies
  cannot remain the same as in other areas of
  research
• Commitment by government, Science Councils,
  Universities, Traditional Leaders, Indigenous
  Knowledge Holders and other stakeholders
• International role players, especially the role
  of pharmaceuticals in collaboration with national
  role players

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IKS IN DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (DST)

• Establishment of Ministerial task team to Draft
  Legislation and Policy on IKS in 1999 Team
  headed by Prof Catherine Odora-Hoppers (based at
  the HSRC)
• Delegations by Task Team to India and China in
  1999 2000 to learn about IKS in the two
  countries
• Provision of ring-fenced funding to the NRF for
  research in IKS since 2000
• Establishment of Unit dedicated to IKS in the
  Science and Technology Branch of the Department
  of Arts, Culture Science and Technology in 2001

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IKS IN SOUTH AFRICA THE NATIONAL RESEARCH
FOUNDATION (NRF)

• Defines IKS as a complex set of knowledge and
  technologies existing and developed around
  specific conditions of populations and
  communities indigenous to a particular geographic
  area (NRF, 2000)
• Has established an IKS Research Focus in addition
  to the 8 Focus Areas on Distinct South African
  Research Opportunities Economic Growth and
  International Competitiveness Conservation and
  Management of Ecosystems and Biodiversity
  Education and the Challenges for Change (Science,
  Mathematics and Technology Education is funded
  here) Globalization Challenges ICT Sustainable
  Livelihoods Unlocking the Future

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NRF IKS FOCUS AREA

• Administers a ring-fenced amount of R10m per
  annum which has been provided by the Department
  of Science and Technology (DST) since 2000
• At least 400 Research Grants have been awarded
  thus far
• There are 4 Research Themes Ethnomathematics is
  funded in one of the 4 Areas
• The production, transmission and utilization of
  indigenous knowledge (IK) and technology
• The role of IK in nation building (Traditional
  Medicine Health Indigenous Food Systems Socio
  Cultural Systems Indigenous Languages,
  Indigenous notions of Science and Technology
  Arts, Crafts and Materials)
• IK at the interface with other knowledge systems
• Introducing IKS into the mainstream of education

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INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS SOME DEFINITIONS

• Indigenous knowledge is the local knowledge
  knowledge that is unique to a given culture or
  society. IK contrasts with the international
  knowledge system generated by universities,
  research institutions and private firms. It is
  the basis for local-level decision making in
  agriculture, health care, food preparation,
  education, natural-resource management, and a
  host of other activities in rural communities.
  (Warren, 1991)
• Indigenous knowledge is used synonymously with
  traditional and local knowledge to
  differentiate the knowledge developed by a
  community from the international knowledge
  systems sometimes called Western system,
  generated through universities, government
  research centres and private industry. IK refers
  to the knowledge of indigenous peoples as well as
  any other defined community. (Warren, 1992)
• The unique, traditional, local knowledge existing
  within and developed around specific conditions
  of women and men indigenous to a particular
  geographic area. (Louise Grenier, Working with
  Indigenous Knowledge. A Guide for Researchers,
  International Development Research Centre, 1998)

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INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SOME MORE DEFINITIONS

• An all inclusive knowledge that covers
  technologies and practices that have been and are
  still used by indigenous and local people for
  existence, survival and adaptation in a variety
  of environments. Such knowledge is not static but
  evolves and changes as it develops, influences
  and is influenced by both internal and external
  circumstances and interaction with other
  knowledge systems. Such knowledge covers contents
  and contexts such as agriculture, architecture,
  engineering, mathematics, governance and other
  social systems and activities, medicinal and
  indigenous plant varieties, etc. (Onwu
  Mosimege, Indigenous Knowledge Systems and
  Science and Technology Education A Dialogue,
  African Journal of Research in Mathematics,
  Science and Technology Education, V 8, No. 1,
  2004)

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IKS POLICY

• Key Policy Drivers 4
• IKS and the National Systems of Education and
  Innovation
• Stakeholders and Role Players in IKS
• Institutional Framework
• IKS Funding and Principles
• National and International Imperatives
• Role of various Government Departments and the
  Intergovernmental Committee on IKS

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KEY POLICY DRIVERS IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT

• Affirmation of African cultural values in the
  face of globalisation
• Development of the services provided by
  Indigenous Knowledge Holders and Practitioners
• Contribution of indigenous knowledge to the
  economy
• Interfacing with other knowledge systems

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SOME MAJOR THEMES IN ETHNOMATHEMATICAL RESEARCH
ANALYSIS FROM STUDIES IN SOUTH AFRICA

• Mural Decorations (dominant in the Mpumalanga
  Province)
• Indigenous Games
• Beadwork
• Weaving (baskets, mats, knots, pyramids,
  hexagons, etc)
• Traditional House Building
• Cultural Villages
• Historical Development of Mathematical Concepts
  e.g. Counting
• Linguistics and Mathematics Indigenous
  Languages and Mathematics Education
• Cultural Artifacts
• Interface between culture and mathematics
  broadly
• Daily activities in the context of the
  mathematics classroom

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SOUTH AFRICAN SPORTS COMMISSION AND INDIGENOUS
GAMES

• South African Sports Commission (SASC) took the
  initiative to revive indigenous games through the
  Indigenous Games Project
• Formation of a National Structure which involves
  all the 9 Provinces
• SASC collected 23 indigenous games from the
  different regions of South Africa
• Published a Booklet on South African Indigenous
  Games in 2001 containing 7 of the 23 games
• Previous Minister of Sports Ngconde Balfour
  launched the Indigenous Games at Basotho Cultural
  Village in the Eastern Part of the Free State on
  24 February 2001

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SEVEN GAMES LAUNCHED AT BASOTHO CULTURAL VILLAGE

• Dibeke A running ball game
• Kho-Kho A running game
• Ntimo/Kgati A rope-jumping game
• Diketo A coordination game
• Jukskei A target game
• Ncuva/Morula A board game
• Morabaraba A board game

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MORABARABA GAME HISTORY AND BACKGROUND

• South African War Games Union (with Headquarters
  in Johannesburg) has been organizing competitions
  on the game over a number of years at least 10
  years
• Have written some historical background on the
  game
• Doubts about origin of the game, reference is
  usually made to an Egyptian origin
• Research by Mosimege (2000) indicated that the
  elderly Tswana men learnt the game during the
  days when they looked after cattle (herdboys)
  Interviewed a number elderly men in their 70s
• This research disputed strongly some of the rules
  as written by the South African War Games Union.
  For instance the rules relating to the end of the
  game not 2 but 3 cows.

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SOME PERSPECTIVES ON MORABARABA FROM INDIGENOUS
KNOWLEDGE HOLDERS (ELDERS)

• It is neither a boys nor a girls game, both can
  play the game
• Morabaraba, even though used the most, is
  actually a South Sotho name, the name in Setswana
  is Mmela
• Historically, the game was drawn on a flat stone,
  at times on the ground
• Measurement and Straightness of lines done
  through the bark of a shrub called bokwetse
• Estimation and Comparison of lengths of lines
  done using the Middle finger and Thumb
• Rules of the game A cow does not move on 3 legs,
  so the game does not end when 2 tokens are left
  but rather when 3 are left

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MORABARABA ON A STONE AT BASOTHO CULTURAL VILLAGE
- QWAQWA
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TEACHER AND LEARNERS PLAYING MORABARABA GAME
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LEARNERS DISCUSSING MORABARABA GAME
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MORUBA HISTORY AND BACKGROUND

• Mancala (Mankala) type games found in many parts
  of the world (Broline and Loeb, 1996).
• Mancala a generic name given by anthropologists
  to refer to a class of various board games
  (Ismael ,1997 Odeleye, 1997)
• Various names used in different African
  countries
• - Moruba Limpopo (mostly the North Sotho
  speaking parts) Province of South Africa
• - Ntchuva, Mpela, Thadji Mozambique
• - Oware Ghana
• - Ayo Nigeria
• - Soro Tanzania
• - Omweso Uganda

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SOME PERSPECTIVES ON MORUBA FROM INDIGENOUS
KNOWLEDGE HOLDERS

• It is predominantly a mens game used during war,
  as a result no women played the game as they were
  not allowed to go to war men played it the most
  when they went to the mines in the Gauteng
  Province However in recent days both boys and
  girls play the game
• Moruba a social activity where men strategised
  about a variety of activities and events relating
  to men, also shared advise and ideas
• Language, Expressions and Terminology used during
  the game even signify what happens when war takes
  place
• Two-Row Version (called Semmeh in Limpopo
  Province) very basic in the South of Africa
  although dominant in the North of Africa,
  Four-Row Version the most dominant version in the
  South of Africa
• Players have to be extremely capable of quick
  calculations to know how many takes are available
  at which stage of the game

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PLAYERS PLAYING MORUBA (FOUR-ROW VERSION)IN
MANKWENG TOWNSHIP, LIMPOPO PROVINCE
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STRING FIGURE GAMES (MALEPA) HISTORY AND
BACKGROUND

• The historical record of string figures in Africa
  dates back to almost 100 years
• Most of this work is found in Alfred Haddons
  work of 1906. This work refers to the pastime by
  Negro tribes, and most of these coming from
  Africa
• In the research by Mosimege, reference is made by
  the elderly that they used to play Malepa around
  the evening fires when they were young. This
  would at least be about 100 years ago.
• Most of the participants at the workshops I have
  attended indicate how they used to play these
  when they were young

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SOME PERSPECTIVES ON MALEPA FROM INDIGENOUS
KNOWLEDGE HOLDERS

• Name and meaning of game Even though it is
  generally known as Diheke because of the gates
  that appear on the string, the appropriate name
  is Malepa signifying the complexity of the
  manipulation the String as the Gates increase
• Making of String from animal skin Even though
  all kinds of strings are used today, the elderly
  used to make string from the skin of animals
  which they would kill as they were herding the
  cattle, or even from cattle and sheep skin
• Games played around the fire in the evenings
  during story telling time by the Grandfathers and
  Grandmothers

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LEARNER GIVING A DEMONSTRATION OF STRING FIGURE
GATE 2
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LEARNER GIVING A DEMONSTRATION OF STRING FIGURE
GATE 6
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SOME OF THE RESULTS OF THE STUDIES ON INDIGENOUS
GAMES

• Mathematical knowledge from the analysis of
  indigenous games
• Performance in specific mathematical concepts
  e.g. probability Moruba
• Socio-cultural interactions in the mathematics
  classroom during the play of games
• Acknowledgement and empowerment of learners
  through the use of indigenous games
• Relations between indigenous games and
  mathematics classroom activities
• Knowledge of games by the elders and elderly and
  knowledge holders and the implications for
  mathematics education
• History and Transportation of indigenous games
  and the impact of globalization
• Written records and verification processes of
  indigenous games
• Similarities and Differences in indigenous games
  across different countries
• Research Methodologies and Analytical Frameworks
  that may be used in the studies on Indigenous
  Games

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ROLE OF INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE HOLDERS (ELDERS) IN
ETHNOMATHEMATICAL STUDIES

• Their wealth of knowledge may be used to verify
  and correct the records that already exist, which
  at times may be incorrect
• They must not only serve as our source of
  knowledge and research material, but should as
  many times as possible and as far as possible,
  allow their voices to be heard
• They must be acknowledged correctly and
  appropriately (Contribution to making their
  knowledge eradicate their poverty)