Indigenous Knowledge and Its Implication for Agricultural Development and Agricultural Education: a Case Study of the Vedic Tradition in Nepal Anthony B

Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Retrospective Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 1993 Indigenous knowledge and its implication for agricultural development and agricultural education: a case study of the Vedic tradition in Nepal Anthony B. J. Willett Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd Part of the Agricultural Education Commons, Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Folklore Commons, Philosophy Commons, and the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Willett, Anthony B. J., "Indigenous knowledge and its implication for agricultural development and agricultural education: a case study of the Vedic tradition in Nepal " (1993). Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 10567. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/10567 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Retrospective Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. 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Contact UMI directly to order. University Microfilms International A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road. Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 Order Number 9414036 Indigenous knowledge and its implication for agricultural development and agricultural education: A case study of the Vedic tradition in Nepal Willett, Anthony B. J., Ph.D. Iowa State University, 1993 Copyright ©1998 by Willett, Anthony B. J. All rights reserved. UMI 300 N. Zeeb Rd. Ann Arbor, MI 48106 Indigenous knowledge and its implication for agricultural development and agricultural education: A case study of the Vedic tradition in Nepal by Anthony B. J. Willett A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate faculty in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department: Agricultural Education and Studies Major: Agricultural Education Approved: Signature was redacted for privacy. In Charge of Major Work Signature was redacted for privacy. I^or the Major Department Signature was redacted for privacy. For the Gradual >llege Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 1993 Copyright © Anthony B.J. Willett, 1993. All rights reserved. 11 DEDICATION In memory of: Kaviraj Narapati Pokhrel Bernard Ernest Willett Barbara Mary Willett Dedicated to: Samyog and Shristi iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vi CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 2. MAINSTREAM AND ALTERNATIVE DEVELOPMENT THOUGHT AND EXPERIENCE 9 The Development mainstream 10 Origins 10 Articles of faith of the dominant paradigm 11 Consequences of the mainstream approach 12 Revisions 15 Limits 16 Outstanding problems of the mainstream 22 Professional paternalism 22 Political-economy and human rights 23 Problems of understanding 25 Ethnocentrism and cultural dominance 28 Moral and spiritual consciousness 31 The mainstream's outer limits 33 Alternatives beyond the mainstream 34 New professionalism 35 Political and economic empowerment, self-determination and human rights 36 Consciousness and alternative comprehension 40 Cultural diversity 44 Moral and spiritual consciousness 47 The alternative paradigm as applied to agriculture 49 A philosophical choice 54 CHAPTER 3. INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE AND COSMOLOGY 61 Indigenous knowledge as it was 63 Destruction of indigenous knowledge: conscious vs. unconscious ignorance 65 Why indigenous knowledge? 68 Development applications of ethnoscience 68 iv Broader goals 70 Rationales 72 IK as it is 74 Defining and understanding indigenous knowledge 76 Terminological debate 76 Consensus 81 Distinguishing characteristics of IK 84 Processes of knowing 85 Indigenous knowledge as a system 88 Criteria for IK definition 90 Indigenous perspectives 92 Common socio-cultural traits 93 The indigenous relationship with nature 95 The sacred and spiritual dimension 98 Custodians of IK 103 Indigenous cosmology: Essence of IK 106 Conclusions 112 CHAPTER 4. METHODS AND PROCEDURES 119 Objectives 119 Research question 120 Background 120 Methods 122 Population and sample 125 Instruments 125 Procedures followed 127 Protection of rights of human subjects 129 Data analysis 129 Trustworthiness and limitations of this study 130 CHAPTER 5. VEDIC KNOWLEDGE AND AGRICULTURE IN NEPAL 134 The study region 134 Tlie respondents 143 What are the Vedas 144 Branches of the Vedas 148 Vedic knowledge 154 Socio-culture 159 Astrology 164 The Ayurveda 166 V Vedic agriculture 174 Respondents' views on indigenous (Vedic) knowledge in Nepal's agricultural development 180 Vedic pandits 181 Priests 193 Ayurvedic physicians 203 Astrologers 205 Farmers 207 The hill farmers 207 Tarai farmers 214 Nepali agricultural professionals 218 CHAPTER 6. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS 225 CHAPTER 7. SUMMARY 273 BIBLIOGRAPHY 282 APPENDIX I. CHAMBERS' ELEMENTS OF NEW PROFESSIONALISM 306 APPENDIX n. KEY ELEMENTS OF COMPETING AGRICULTURAL PARADIGMS 309 APPENDIX m. INTERVIEW SCHEDULES 311 APPENDIX IV. COVER LETTER 334 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study represents a great transition in my life as a "development professional". With it I graduate from the "mid-career break" I started in 1985 whose object, I recall, was to "span the disciplines" and "bridge the practitioner-academic divide", following the call of Robert Chambers in his book Rural Development: Putting the Last First. I want to thank him for that call, and for his example and long good friendship. My consciousness about "development" has undergone a profound transformation. I am also indebted to my former Harvard colleague and friend, Dr. Gerry Bodeker, who first inspired me to study Vedic knowledge of agriculture following his own excellent study of Ayurveda as a case of traditional medicine. For the hard work of data collection and interviewing respondents in Nepal, I am especially grateful to my research assistants Kabita Bhattarai, Sanjaya Dhakal, and Ramesh Khadka. I have described their role in chapter 4. Without their help the Nepal component of this study would have been difficult indeed. Naturally, I wish to thank all the Nepali farmers, Ayurvedic physicians, priests, astrologers, agricultural professionals, and pandits who gave interviews. I specially wish to mention my uncle. Pandit Chhabilal Pokhrel, who, though about ninety years of age, personally wrote a eighteen-page response to my questions. Next comes Iowa State University. There were times when I could hardly believe my good fortune in finding such tolerant, supportive, and interested faculty to work with on a subject so far removed from mainstream Agricultural Education. There seemed to be no limit to how generous with their time and genuine in their encouragement my committee members could be. I include here Dr. Wade Miller and Dr. Tony Netusil, my instructor in research methods. I particularly wish to thank Dr. Eric Abbott for his constant interest. It was he who introduced me to the Dancing Wu Li Masters. I most deeply appreciate my Major Professor, Dr. Kahler, for his warm friendship, his vision in initiating my philosophical quest into indigenous knowledge, and for his expert guidance in selecting research questions and guiding me through all stages vu of my work. Equally, I am grateful to Dr. Mike Warren whose renown as founder of the Center for Indigenous Knowledge for Agriculture and Rural Development brought me to ISU in the first place. Studying and working with him at CIKARD has been a great privilege. My main hope is to be able to continue to work closely with him for the rest of my career. What more can I say? He has been so good to me. Then there is my dear "philosopher-friend", Bob Hollinger, the first Philosophy Professor I ever met. How can I thank him for his patient Oxbridge-style tutoring, for all those hours of discourse? For all the books he would pull from his shelves, many of which out of his sweet generosity now grace my own library. For the gold watch? May he be blessed. There are always so many others to thank in endeavors of this kind. Raja, Gerry McKieman, and other colleagues at CIKARD. Friends

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