STARVING THE DEAD, OUR IDEA OF FOOD: AN EXPOSITION OF INDIGENOUS FOOD SCIENCE AMONG THE GONJAS IN THE EAST GONJA DISTRICT OF THE NORTHERN REGION

Abstract

‘Starving the Dead’ is a critical theoretical revelation of indigenous people’s experiences, realities, rationality and interpretation of ‘food’ as a socio-spiritual construct that transcends the materialist meaning of food as ‘nutrition’. It has been necessitated by the criticisim rather than critique of indigenous (food) knowledge by modern science as primitive, superstitious, irrational and therefore ‘unscientific’. This power-based criticism has disrupted the evolution and development of indigenous food science as a body of knowledge through contamination and eminent extinction leading to unsustainable agriculture, hunger, food insecurity, complex food related ill-health and misplaced food policy priorities. This study therefore aims to (a) investigate ‘food science’ among the Gonjas if any b) identify the conceptual and theoretical framework on food among the Gonjas (c) investigate the power dynamics between indigenous and modern food science (d) identify, compare and contrast the relative strengths and weaknesses of indigenous and modern food sciences and (e) recommend an appropriate framework for complimentarity. Ethnophilosophy, philosophic sagacity, relational (decolonized) interviews, observation, storey telling and a case study were the main research methods used for data collection while analysis were done using grounded theory. The main findings of the study are; the ‘Trilogic Food Theory as the science of food among the Gonjas’, there is empirical evidence that corroborates this science; there are useful strengths (and weaknesses) of indigenous food science. It concludes that ‘food’ is a context and culture driven construct with a rationality that transcends nutrition. It recommends the adoption of the Trilogic Food Theory and Framework for further research, teaching and policy; greater complimentarity and inter-science diaglogue between indigenous and modern food science/scientists; establishment of indigenous food (seed) preservation banks for biocultural diversity; and further research that focuses on indigenous food science and philosophy.