Indigenous knowledge systems and the environment 

The word ‘indigenous’ can be traced back to French (indigène) and Latin (indigena). In both languages, the word means ‘sprung from the land’, a native or literally ‘in-born’. Thus, it can be comprehended that indigenous knowledge refers to the way of knowing and application of the resultant knowledge connected with a particular group of people in their native socio-geographical location. Indigenous knowledge can be referred to in several terms such as indigenous knowledge of knowing, traditional knowledge, rural knowledge as well as ethno science. Indigenous knowledge is generated by a particular society within a geographical area and transmitted from one generation to another in order to have history of an area or phenomenon, understand the background and offer solutions to the existing problems of that time.

Indigenous knowledge is part of Africa’s heritage, which dates back to the pre-colonial era. It’s a knowledge system that was designed to keep the people knowledgeable of what happened in and around them. The system was also developed in order to address various survival challenges. Unfortunately, the knowledge system has suffered a great deal from colonial racism. When the natives were removed from their indigenous communities, this resulted in the detachment from their familiar ecology and a loss of environmentally linked indigenous knowledge.

Indigenous knowledge systems manifest themselves through different dimensions. Among these are agriculture, medicine, security, botany, zoology, craft skills and linguistics. In Zimbabwe indigenous knowledge such as taboos, use of totems and respecting sacred places have been used to protect and preserve the environment.

One of the most popular traditions in Zimbabwe is totemism, which has been described as the practice of symbolically classifying people with non-human objects such as animals or plants. The classic case of totemism is when a clan claims an animal as a mythological ancestor. From an ecological point of view, this practice can be cherished for its role in the
conservation of biodiversity in a given area. In the case of hunting and gathering societies, it moderates competition for some edible animals, birds, reptiles, insects or plants. This is for the reason that it is considered a taboo for one to eat his or her totem animal; one risked losing teeth or some catastrophe would happen to him or her for violating this taboo. An example is that, during hunting, members of the zebra clan would not kill zebras as they were considered as sacred to them. The same applied to those who valued the buffalo, eland, lion, elephant, baboon, kudu, birds, snakes and ants. Therefore, totemism reinvigorated selective rather than indiscriminate hunting, in this manner preserving any endangered species from extinction. Some of the misfortunes, which were believed to befall transgressors included: bad luck, tooth decay or loss, madness, sickness and disease, infertility, death and the loss of ancestral protection. Offenders would also be disciplined through the payment of fines to the head of the clan or chief. In some cases, they would be expelled from their communities. Punishments such as these were effective in the conservation of various natural resources and species.

Indigenous knowledge has also been associated with maintaining clean surroundings. In an attempt to maintain clean surroundings, human waste was disposed in bushes or else buried in the grounds adjacent to homesteads. This reduced the spread of diseases through vectors such as flies. Burial places for human corpses were situated either close to homes or far away while strict rules on safeguarding sources of drinking water such as wells and springs were prescribed. Wooden fences were developed around them in order to prevent water pollution from children and livestock.

Water bodies were considered as sacred in that way preventing swimming, bathing and other activities, which could contaminate them. Fishing was forbidden in some rivers whereas veld fires were controlled using water or tree branches. Even if veld fire was intermittently used during hunting missions, it was controlled in order to safeguard pastures and the environment as a whole.

Respect for the natural environment and its conservation was reflected by some practices. Overstocking and overgrazing were managed through strategies such as loaning some cattle to friends and relatives, transhumance and swapping out surplus cattle. Woodlands were conserved in several ways including designating some as sacred places thereby protecting them from human activities like deforestation, settlement erection and cultivation.

Other pieces of traditional knowledge in Zimbabwe were geared at stimulating environmentally friendly ways of life. Examples include land management practices, natural resource conservation methods and environmentally sustainable traditions such as totemism, which protected and preserved biological diversity. However, colonialism, which brought capitalism and materialism, encourages greed thereby undermining sustainable development at both local and national levels. Today, Zimbabwe like any other African country is plagued with several environmental problems such as overpopulation, land degradation, deforestation, overgrazing, massive biodiversity loss, increased air and water pollution, and waste disposal problems in towns and cities. There are no easy solutions to most of these problems, but one thing is certain is that, there is need for societies to change their lifestyles from consumerism to environmentally friendly habits that are more sustainable. Zimbabweans can benefit from the combination of indigenous knowledge and modern methods in the country’s quest for environmental sustainability.