Exploring indigenous knowledge practices concerning health and well-being: a case study of isiXhosa-speaking women in the rural Eastern Cape

• Main Author: Hobongwana-Duley, Helen Yolisa
• Other Authors: Cooper, Linda
• Format: Doctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: University of Cape Town 2015
• Subjects: Education
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15555

This thesis explores, analyzes and conceptualizes the indigenous knowledge practices concerning health and well-being held by different generations of women and how they are reproduced cross-generationally in a rural isiXhosa-speaking community. It also explores how the relationship between concepts of self, personhood and Ubuntu informs women's agency. Additionally, this thesis explores how the indigenous knowledge practices might have the potential to augment inclusive and relevant tools for learning for young women, girls and youth. This study adopts a critical, holistic and interpretive approach through an ethnographic case study. Qualitative data was gathered over an 18-month period, through ethnographic observations, informal interactions, semi-structured interviews and one focus group. Observations provided insight into the social structure of the community, women's agency, and indigenous knowledge practices that support well-being. They also brought a greater awareness of the ways in which Ubuntu philosophy is embedded within indigenous practices that support individual and collective wellbeing. Interviews created a deeper understanding of women's agency and the choices women make regarding well-being, and how knowledge practices are reproduced. Evidence from this study is presented and findings are analyzed drawing from Giddens’ critical theory, with emphasis on social structure and agency, the philosophy of Ubuntu, Engeström’s Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), literatures on indigenous knowledge practices and systems, and theories of informal and situated learning, in three chapters, each dealing with "the ecology of the homestead"; "health practices"; and "childbirth and childrearing" respectively. Central findings indicate that indigenous knowledge practices are usually reproduced informally through rituals, ceremonies, and everyday tasks and skills for living within the homestead and are often situated in communities of practice. Other findings indicate that women choose biomedicine for childbirth while also using indigenous practices for health and well-being; NGO outreach workers and mentors often act as ‘boundary workers’, helping to narrow the boundaries between activity and knowledge systems. However, knowledge that is reproduced in more formal settings such as school often results in gaps in knowledge reproduction, especially among youth. Due to multiple knowledges being harnessed and reproduced simultaneously, this thesis concludes that different knowledges are practised, are valued and are integral to the choices women make around well-being, which illuminates the value of indigenous knowledge practices in facilitating cultural identity and ontological security. This thesis contributes to theories of knowledge and how knowledge and knowledge reproduction may be viewed and understood, particularly with regard to informal learning. These insights can be applied to developing curricula that acknowledge and are inclusive of indigenous knowledge practices, processes of informal knowledge reproduction and multiple knowledge practices or ways of knowing.