Cultural constraints on knowledge transmission and knowledge erosion: An indigenous community in India

Abstract

The paper aims to add a novel dimension to the ongoing discourses on the erosion of indigenous knowledge. The loss of indigenous knowledge as a result of external forces (of modernization, market economy, development, and globalization) has been well documented. There is, however, a lack of understanding about the internal constraints or cultural factors, which may be as important as external (outside) factors in the erosion of knowledge. Extending the focus to internal cultural factors for effective knowledge management is also imperative. Therefore, the present study will examine this issue from a different perspective and with specific reference to the ethnomedicinal knowledge among a tribal society (the Konda Reddis) in South India. The paper discusses how internal constraints– such as social restraints of supernatural forces, and disruptions in knowledge transmission – are playing a critical part in the erosion of indigenous medicinal knowledge.