March 18th talk by

1. “Indigenous Epistemology and
Scientific Discovery”
N. Gaugau Tavana, Ph.D.
Brigham Young University
(801) 422-1635
tavana@byu.edu
Elon University
March
17, 2014
Language Acquisition: Knowledge that Empowers

2. Indigenous Epistemology
Traditional behaviors are shaped by
indigenous epistemologies or traditional
way of thinking, creating, and conveying
knowledge.
Indigenous epistemologies are alive and
well and are also relevant and useful to
the societies to whom they belong

3. Cultural Values

4.  Cultures and Languages is a storehouse of
Indigenous Wisdom (IW)
 Loss of biological resources is a threat to the
survival of IW, cultures and languages
 IW is key to scientific discoveries and basic to
understanding of the natural world
 IW can be restored through local, national and
international collaborative efforts
 Educational programs greatly help with this work

5. Early Polynesian Settlements

6. 1. Cultures and Languages: A
Storehouse of Indigenous
Wisdom
Faiva o le tai (fishing and
gathering in the ocean
Faiva o le vao (hunting and
gathering on land

7. T R O P I C ST R O P I C S
Languages & cultures provide
understanding of biosphere on which we
depend for survival

8. Indigenous epistemology is acquired
through daily experimentation and
practice

9. Cultures transmit indigenous wisdom

10. Culture ofCulture of
voyagingvoyaging
10

11. Explicit Knowledge
Knowledge that is easy to communicate
“know what” (facts); “know why” (science);
“know who” (networking)

12. Tacit Knowledge
Knowledge that is hard to access,
provides context, highly valuable,
and is not easily shared

13. Codification
Process of transforming tacit knowledge into
explicit knowledge through training and direct
experience

14. Codification

15. Will IndigenousWill Indigenous
Wisdom Survive theWisdom Survive the
2121stst
Century?Century?

16. 2. Loss of biodiversity means loss of
languages and cultures
Weaving ma’ilo
(food plate)
Cocos nucifera
Making taufolo
Artocarpus altilis
Taupou’s dress
Pandanus tectorius

17. A threat to Indigenous Wisdom
And deeper understanding of
the natural world…

18. 0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
1900 2000
• Languages contain
explicit information
• Languages are
disappearing
Indigenous Language LossIndigenous Language Loss

19. 0
20
40
60
80
100
Spoken only
by elderly
people
Children
20%
80%
Remaining indigenous languagesRemaining indigenous languages
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
N. American Languages
280
20
Spoken
only by
elderly
people
Children

20. 3. Indigenous epistemology is key to
modern scientific discoveries
ethnomedicine
ethnotaxonomy

21. 21

22. “If a man plants
10 (breadfruit)
trees in his life
he would
completely fulfill
his duty to his
own as well as
future
generations.”
Sir Joseph Banks 1796

23. “What’s in a name?
That which we call a rose
By any other name
Would smell as sweet.”
(Romeo & Juliet, Act ii, Scene 1)
The Convergence of Indigenous &
Scientific Taxonomy

24. How Are Plants Named?
Prior to Linnaeus, there
was great confusion about
how to name plants.
Organisms were usually
grouped by common
characteristics.
Sometimes unrelated
organisms with superficial
resemblances were
grouped together.

26. Nomenclature of Breadfruit
Cultivars in Samoa
Invented by
Linnaeus in
response to
cumbersome
18th
century
systems
First used in Flora Lapponica
Expounded in Species
Plantarum & used to
organize Uppsala garden

27. Nomenclature of Breadfruit
Cultivars in Samoa
• Binomial nomenclature
consists of two names:
Artocarpus altilis
Genus species
• International Code of
Botanical Nomenclature
• Used by scientists
throughout the world.

28. The Convergence of Indigenous &
Scientific Taxonomy - Results
• 46 different varieties named
• Binomials & monomials used:
Binomial:
‘Ulu ma’a
Generic term specific
modifier
Monomial:
Ø maopo
Generic term specific
(understood) modifier

29. Rank Order – Frequency of Mention
Name Rank Percent Type Translation
ma'afala 1 90 UM
puou 2 81 UM
aveloloa 3 68 UM
maopo 4 62 UM
ulu ea 5 56 AB “Uvea island”
ulu ma’a 6 55 AB “solid”
ulu manu'a 7 37 AB “Manu’a ”
momolega 8 33 UM
ulu sina 9 22 AB “white”
sagosago 10 17 UM

30. Expert wisdom is disappearing fastExpert wisdom is disappearing fast
 Mean # names: 6.3
 Expert mean # names:11.5
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
# reported names
#respondents
common
knowledge
expert
knowledge
Two knowledge realms found:
common and expert

31. “Masi”
Preservation of
Culturally
Important Food

32. Nutritional analyses to identify nutrient-
rich varieties.
Molecular studies to help identify
clones.
In vitro propagation.
Product development, e.g., flour.
Base-line inventories of distribution and
use of breadfruit in Africa.

34. In vitro Regeneration and
Mass Propagation
Totipotency
1
2
3

35. In vitro propagation

37. In Vitro Germplasm Conservation
3-6 months
2-3 months
2 months
6 weeks
2-4 weeks
4-6 Years

38. Plants, Medicine & Biodiversity
265,000 flowering plant
species in the world

39.  85% of world depends on
phytotherapy
 25% of all prescription
drugs derive from plants
 <1% of plants have been
studied
Wisdom of Plants and Medicine
 265,000 flowering plant
species in the world

40. Ethnomedical knowledge developed
over years of experimentation

41. Ethnobotanical Lead Compounds
William Withering 1785
• Reduces dropsy
• Reduces heart rate
Digitalis
Digitalis purpurea (Foxglove)
“I was told…it had long been a kept
secret remedy of an old woman in
Shropshire”

42. Ethnobotanical Lead Compounds
Hypertension
Reserpine
Rauwolfia serpentina
Indian Snake-Root
Apocynaceae
Emil Schlittler
Analyzing Ayurvedic traditional
remedies used by people of Indian

43. Catharanthus roseus
Rosy periwinkle
Apocynaceae
Child leukemia
Ethnobotanical Lead Compounds
Hodgkin’s disease
Islands of Madagascar

44. Ethnobotanical DiscoveryEthnobotanical Discovery
Future Promise
Anti - viral
Anti – alzheimers
Anti –inflammatory
Erythrina
Wiliwili
Homalanthus
mamala
Cycad
Lau pama

45. Ethnobotanical Discovery Future
Promise
Dr. Paul A. Cox
discovered ‘Prostratin’
while speaking with a
taulasea - Samoan
healer