Towards Documenting Indigenous Knowledge Systems Through South African Universities: A Decolonial Approach

Abstract

In South Africa, documenting Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) is a means of safeguarding and preserving these knowledges. Since IKS are tacit, largely passed down over generations and deeply rooted in cultural norms, it can be difficult to accurately document them. Moreover, IKS is in danger of extinction if no actions are taken to ensure their documentation. Due to these challenges, a call for documentation of IKS in universities is necessary and need urgent response. Therefore, the study aims to investigate ways South African universities document IKS. This study used secondary data and drew pre-existing data from academic works such as books, articles and government documents. The results show that there is progress made by universities to document IKS through collaborating with government and other stakeholders. Despite these successes, there are still challenges with IKS documentation, thus the study recommends that other universities join this effort and seek out sustainable strategies to ensure IKS protection and accessibility.