The paramount chief of the Burebasaga confederacy the Marama na Roko Tui Dreketi Ro Teimumu Kepa with village representatives, chiefs and conference participants called for the inclusion of indigenous knowledge in the country’s education curriculum.
“We all believe that this is one of the places we should be looking at,” said Ro Teimumu Kepa.
“And this is from pre-school right through to Year 13 and perhaps also at university.”
She urged the conference organisers to make a submission to the upcoming education summit to ensure that indigenous knowledge is included in the curriculum.
Participants gathered as matanitu vanua or confederacies – Burebasaga, Tovata and Kubuna to articulate conference outcomes.
Representatives of the Tovata confederacy explained the importance of a specialised indigenous knowledge curriculum on tovo or vakarau (behaviour-manners), kakana (food), vosavosa (language) and i-sulusulu (dressing).
The representative from the Burebasaga confederacy retired teacher Napolioni Silatolu said special knowledge like that related to fishing, farming and reading the weather while engaging in these skill areas needs to be transmitted to the next generation.
“We need to take stock of the knowledge and the wisdom of the elders, keep them through videos and use it in teaching,” Mr Silatolu said.
“Many young people don’t know why yams are planted in a certain season in relation to favourable weather system.
“When we go fishing, the weather is observed in order to go fishing at the right time.
“Now we depend on special weather applications to read the weather but back in the day, our elders didn’t need apps and just read the weather.
“It is our duty to teach the next generation in order to raise and nurture our young people to keep and protect the vanua.”
He added there were special rituals and knowledge that is observed only after several years when events are held and the time lapse can result in the loss of indigenous knowledge.
“There needs to be a continuous teaching of the knowledge so it is not lost,” said Mr Silatolu.
The inclusion of indigenous knowledge in the education curriculum is one of 20 outcomes the conference participants agreed to as part of their communique or outcomes statement handed over to the Ministry of iTaukei Affairs permanent secretary Pita Tagicakirewa.
