The Role of Kwa-Khaya Lendaba Cultural Village in the Preservation and Dissemination of Indigenous Knowledge

Abstract

Cultural villages have existed in Africa for many years, mainly for tourist attractions and for economic benefits. Many cultural villages deteriorate, are marginalized and vandalized by people who fail to understand their educational value, as well as to appropriately conserve the Indigenous Knowledge (IK) Contained within Cultural Villages (CVs). Therefore, the management and preservation of this knowledge is critical in academia. This research aims to underpin how Kwa-Khaya Lendaba (KKL) cultural village preserves, manages and promotes the valuable IK that it embodies including its dissemination using databases at libraries. The data was generated using in-depths interviews and the Knowledge, Attitude, and Perceptions (KAP) Likert scale was used to collect data on local people's perceptions of IK, CV, and management strategies at the cultural village. The data was analyzed using thematic analysis and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) for quantitative data. The study's findings revealed that cultural villages play a vital role in the community development and that CVs depict diverse African cultures. However, the knowledge behind the cultural village is not documented, preserved and managed.