“There are No Trees Here”: Understanding Perceived Intergenerational Erosion of Traditional Medicinal Knowledge among Kenyan Purko Maasai in Narok District

Abstract

Evidence in the literature suggests that traditional medicinal knowledge (TMK) among Indigenous populations is declining. This study focused on understanding influences underlying the perception of intergenerational erosion of TMK among Kenyan Purko Maasai. Methods included a combination of participant observation and in-depth interviews among 30 participants. Using a political ecology framework, results indicate a number of sociocultural factors contributing to local perceptions of decline in TMK among younger generations. Shifts in land tenure and changes in locality, for example, impact transmission of knowledge. While younger generations described a strong desire to learn TMK, they were at a loss as to how to gain the knowledge. Our findings suggest that limited in-situ learning opportunities within the local environment is a leading factor resulting in perceptions of intergenerational erosion of knowledge. We conclude that, to ensure the transmission of this valuable cultural resource, a shift is needed in educational strategies, both at the school and community level.

Locally Based, Regionally Manifested, and Globally Relevant: Indigenous and Local Knowledge, Values, and Practices for Nature

“…The growing emphasis on market-based conservation and more utilitarian views of nature conservation also pose challenges for how communities on the ground relate to nature (e.g., [173][174][175], for instance, balancing financial incentives and governance approaches based on relational values such as respect, humility, reciprocity, and gratitude for nature (e.g., 29,86,176). In some cases, formal governance regimes have undermined local institutions and community organization, eroding Indigenous values and lifestyles (177)(178)(179).…”

Whose Knowledge Counts? A Reflection on the Field Narratives of Indigenous Health Knowledge and Practices

“…Scholars have also pointed to the socio-economic change, increasing access to biomedicine, market influence, and loss of access to habitats of medicinal plants, erosion of indigenous language, culture and value system and lack of teaching-learning activities, and lack of documentation (Shah & Bhat, 2019, p. 245). Hedges et al (2020) point to the sociocultural factors contributing to local perceptions of a decline in indigenous medicinal knowledge among young generations. They state that the "limited in situ learning opportunities within the local environment is a leading factor in the perception of intergenerational erosion of knowledge."…”

Scientists' Warning to Humanity on Threats to Indigenous and Local Knowledge Systems

“…Furthermore, social-ecological changes happen today in many places at a rate that is incommensurate with intergenerational ILK transmission, experimentation, and development (Fernández-Llamazares et al 2015; Salomon et al 2019). Disruptions to social-ecological processes that integrate ILK into daily life (either implicitly or by force) have eroded and continue to impact the foundations of many ILK systems worldwide (e.g., Brosi et al 2007; Bussmann et al 2018; Hedges et al 2020).…”