Valorization and Digital Preservation of Indigenous Knowledge Systems in South African Indigenous Communities: Best Practices in the Digital Transformation Era

Introduction

Indigenous knowledge is largely tacit and stored in people’s minds and unequally shared in the communities where it had been generated. It is thus important to note that indigenous knowledge is becoming extinct due to the lack of adequate methods or techniques to preserve and share it. Digital preservation is thus regarded as one of the modern techniques for ensuring sustainable knowledge access and increasing knowledge sharing. Although indigenous knowledge may have ancient origins, however, it is relevant in the day-to-day lives of indigenous people and their communities, worldwide. This vital knowledge is used by indigenous communities as a basis for making decisions pertaining to food security, human and animal health, education, natural resources management and other vital activities (Gorjestani, 2000). Kaya and Seleti (2013) also noted that the wealth of knowledge that elders and other knowledge holders in African local communities still possess and demonstrates the vibrant intellectualism to which African researchers and intellectuals should turn. However, in the African context, the indigenous researchers and academics have still not done enough to redress this travesty of disseminating indigenous knowledge in ways that have no relevance for the original knowledge holders (Keane, Khupe & Seehawer, 2017), and are also conducting a research that is not benefitting the indigenous knowledge owners and their communities.

In most cases, indigenous knowledge is owned by an individual researcher or institution which limits who has access to this knowledge and how it can be used. indigenous knowledge holders, and their communities are getting any credit, recognition or compensation from that appropriation. For the past decades, indigenous knowledge has been transmitted orally from one generation to the other. As highlighted by Sithole (2007) the indigenous knowledge is mostly disseminated and preserved through various family histories, taboos, symbols, rituals, dances, festivals, poetries, folk stories, drama and other knowledge sharing methods. However, traditional cultures, history, languages, ancient knowledge and wisdom as well as many of our past lessons are slowly fading away among indigenous communities worldwide, as a result of decolonization, westernization, modernization and globalization. Most of young generations in African countries have also seen no relevance of this vital knowledge as they embraced western knowledge and civilisation. Therefore, this irreplaceable resource has rarely been recorded and is at the risk of being extinct for future generations, if there is little effort made towards valorizing and preserving. It might also end-up diminish with its owners and this will have a negative impact on lives of communities who depend or benefit from it (i.e. for economic empowerment, agriculture, social transformation, health benefits etc.)

A concern over the loss of indigenous knowledge has thus raised a need to preserve and document this knowledge in digital formats. Thus, more efforts should be made by reimagining new strategies and adopting digital technologies for promoting, managing and preserving this knowledge to ensure sustainable access and effective knowledge sharing. Digital preservation has become a popular method for valorising, safeguarding and enhancing long-term access to indigenous knowledge in the digital transformation era, characterized by globalization and digital knowledge-based economy. The rapidly increasing use of emerging new technologies thus creates opportunities in the valorisation, preservation and sharing of indigenous knowledge among indigenous communities, in digital and social media platforms. Digital preservation is perceived as the planning, resource allocation and application of preservation methods and technologies necessary to ensure continued access to digital materials of enduring value. Duranti (2010) also described digital preservation as the whole of the principles, policies, rules and strategies aimed at prolonging the existence of a digital object by maintaining it in a condition suitable for use, either in its original format or in a more persistent format, while protecting the object’s identity and integrity, that is, its authenticity. Increasing number of institutions and organization worldwide are actively adopting innovative technologies and digital preservation systems in creating, organizing, storing, managing, disseminating, preserving and enhancing access to their vital knowledge, and to extend their relevance in the digital era.