INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE; PEOPLE, TOTEMS AND NATURE CONSERVATION

Abstract

The recent rise of indigenous knowledge, is embedded in the community unique to a given culture or location. This body of knowledge has been developed outside the formal educational system, generated over centuries enabling communities to survive in a balanced relation with their natural and social environment. But the dominance of the western knowledge system has largely led to a situation in which indigenous knowledge is ignored and neglected. This study was carried out in Kayoro in the Upper East Region, to examine why there is the undervaluing and lack of recognition of the relevance of totems for nature conservation in Ghana.The act of this indigenous study was holistic, methodology employed was of a qualitative continuum blended with participatory tools such as Discourse analyses, Vocabulary mapping, Resource mapping basically in interactive interviews, guided by an open ended questionnaire, semi structured in form for collecting primary data. Secondary data was gathered from books, articles, journals and other relevant materials. Grounded theory approach was my aid in analyzing findings.The study revealed that totemism, has helped in conserving nature in the area. It brings a sense of identity, unity, social stability and cooperation, as such totems and all its associations (nature) must be protected.The findings recommend that resource managers and policy makers need to create more practical participatory strategies to secure representation and participation of indigenous knowledge, beliefs systems, structures and practices, not just on paper but in practice, for an appropriate way forward to nature conservation.