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Using indigenous knowledge in psychology
By Steve Edwards
Introduction
A phenomenological approach begins with the attempt to suspend prior knowledge with regard to particular phenomena. While recognizing that such an attempt is ultimately impossible, it at least reminds us of the value of the ongoing intention and process of suspension or bracketing of preconceptions in any form of enquiry. Furthermore, in recognition that from a phenomenological perspective, we need to experience the meaning of the phenomena of indigenous knowledge and psychology before we understand them, let alone use them, it must be stated that the following discussion is based on and presumes some limited experience of the meaning of using indigenous knowledge in psychology.
When we are given a topic to discuss, we need to understand it first. If we take indigenous knowledge as referring to locally developed world-views of particular contextual relevance and psychology as the study of human behaviour and its improvement, we can simply conclude that the terms and their fields of application are overlapping and mutually compatible. However our title includes the term ‘use’, which is understood to mean the constructive and purposive employment of indigenous knowledge in the research, teaching and community application of psychology.
If we understand psychology in the broad sense as described above, we may argue that psychology is already implicit in any local world view, that, as a form of human perspective and behaviour, indigenous knowledge is in reality a form of local psychology and in fact the term ‘indigenous psychologies’ is commonly found in the psychological literature. We may also view all psychology as a form of indigenous knowledge in that human behaviour is always contextual. In fact, a leading social psychologist, Kurt Lewin (1951) defined psychology as a function of person environment interactions, in terms of the formula; B= F(P*E). Such arguments may be termed the universal and/or unique perspectives.
However our title also challenges us to distinguish psychology from indigenous knowledge in the formulation of differential perspectives. Here we may note that indigenous knowledge and/or psychology existed since earliest humanity in pre-reflective and reflective universal, unique and differential forms and localities in Africa, Asia, Europe and America long before the establishment of so called modern scientific psychology in the last two decades of the nineteenth century, through the laboratory research of such ‘founding fathers’ as Wilhelm Wundt in Germany and William James in the United States of America. However culturally and natural scientifically biased it was, the value of such research lay in its systematic approach to the study of psychological phenomena, as in the contemporary approach to the systematisation of indigenous knowledge.
It is appropriate to distinguish such universal, differential and unique perspectives because as human beings we are at one and the same time and place like all other people, like some other people and like no other person. Similarly, psychology may be conveniently conceptualised as existing in universal, differential and unique form. The rest of this paper is concerned with an explication of the use of indigenous knowledge, of the South African and Zulu variety in particular, in these three forms of psychology.
Universal forms of psychology
To bring about conscious, critical and creative enquiry into the universality, diversity and uniqueness of approach, method and content of psychology as science and art, academic and professional discipline, we consequently challenge psychology students with such questions as: How would you define psychology and what are the implications of your definition for the application of psychology?
The term psychology literally means ‘the study of the soul’. The concept of ‘psyche’ has as much relevance in South Africa today as it did in Ancient Greece in that it is a way of describing some essential characteristics of humanity such as breath/soul, personality spirit, ancestral shade and Being as conveyed by such Zulu terms as umphefumulo, isithunzi, umoya, idlozi and Ubukhona (Edwards 1982).
In its universal focus on all forms of human behaviour, where the term behaviour is used in a broad sense to include both actions and experiences in human relationships, psychology is appropriately described as a human, social and relationship science. From a local Zulu perspective the true subject matter of psychology is beautifully and poetically described in the saying umuntu umuntu ngabantu, in its recognition that we exist and become humanized and socialized in and through human relationships, which leads to a rather unique firm of community, therapeutic psychology characterized by ubuntu as will be discussed later. Just as one hand washes the other, isandla sigezesinye, such relationships are of necessity characterized by dialogue, indaba, respect and mutuality, kuhlonishwana kabili (Nyambezi, Ngubane1977, Edwards 1999).
Amongst others, Dreyer Kruger, Noel Chabani Mangany, Andy Dawes, John Domisse, and Saths Cooper’s psychological writings and activities have paved the way for such a phenomenologically based dialogical conceptualisation of psychology which has served as resource for research, teaching and community work at the University of Zululand Psychology Department and formed the basis for contextual relevancy, informed critique and action during the struggle against Apartheid as well as the ongoing struggle against all forms of illness, violence, poverty, crime, oppression and injustice by South African psychology in general (Kruger 1988, Nicholas and Cooper 1990, Manganyi, Dawes, Domisse, Edwards 1988).
Differential forms of psychology
Various differential forms of psychology can be distinguished reflecting our diversity as individuals, couples, families, communities, nations and society, as well as diversity in ways of conceptualising psychology, eg conceptually and in terms of academic and professional fields of study and practice.
The history of psychology is characterized by various schools of thought, many of which have provided very valuable knowledge and truths on the broad highway towards discovering and designing human behavioural truths and improving human life. From an international and South African indigenous knowledge perspective, Jan Smuts’ work on holism and evolution which paved the way for gestalt psychology and theory of general systems, Nelson Mandela’s community soul in bringing about democratic change, truth and reconciliation and the role played by the African Indigenous Churches in promoting communal spirituality, health and peace, deserve special mention (Oosthuizen et al 1989). We have already mentioned indigenous forms of phenomenological psychology. Utilizing scientific behavioural principles, Joseph Wolpe and Arnold Lazarus are credited with founding behaviour therapy in Johannesburg (Wollman 1966). South African forms of psychoanalysis have been valuable in understanding of violence as for example conceptualizing ubuthakathi as a form of thanathos (Ngcobo and Edwards) and our local PhD in Community Psychology, which is the first of its kind in the country, is based on local forms of communal psychology.
As the study and improvement of community behaviour, community psychology has been part of humanity long before one group of people made it into a distinct, academic and professional discipline at the Swampscott Conference in the USA IN 1965 (Rappaport and Seidman 2000). In Africa and Zululand, community psychology has been practised by indigenous healers such as izinyanga and izangoma from time immemorial. Previously doubly disadvantaged through Apartheid and modern medical ostracism in South Africa, a traditional healers council now leads to professional registration with full state support and modern medical collaboration as evidenced through Dr Zweli Mkhize, our local Minister of Health, delivering the guest speech on professional ethics and AIDS to a graduation of 338 traditional healers in the Dukuza Town Hall in 2000.
The use of local indigenous knowledge in contemporary research, teaching and community work may be illustrated in the following examples. An example of individual differences from the field of personality psychology could be illustrated in what a bottle of water may mean to man dying of thirst, a hydrological researcher and a Zionist priest. The value of social change psychology can be illustrated in the contemporary view of twins (amawele) being a blessing rather than requiring the death of the weaker one. Health psychology teaches of the danger of some forms of preserving customs (ukugina amasiko) such as contracting HIV/AIDS through scarification with used razor blades. In social psychology the powerful effect of unconscious values was illustrated in a classic study by (Lee 1958) who found that while woman who had been tending cattle in the local kraals (a traditional male activity occasioned by the unavailability of men in migrant labour) for the past 50 years in Ngutu, they did not dream of cattle, whereas men, who had not been caring for cattle, still dreamt of cattle. Changing patterns with regard to indigenous beliefs and practices related developmental stages of birth, weaning, adolescence, marriage transactions and death are wonderfully instructive in the field of developmental psychology.
Concerning our local professional and applied psychology, the necessity of understanding local indigenous beliefs and of communicating in the Zulu language are course requirements in the training of professional psychologists. For example students are trained in indigenous knowledge systems with special reference to the dynamics of phenomena, beliefs practices such as the following: ukufa kwabantu, ubuthakathi, ukuthwasa, umsebenzi, amadlozi (Berglund 1976, Ngubane1977, Gumede 1990, Edwards 1985, 2002). While individual forms of psychology are not neglected, particular attention is given to communal and social forms of psychology as appropriate to local indigenous knowledge systems and to balance the overemphasis in modern, northern, western textbooks on individualism leading to an alienated encapsulated view of the person. For example students gain a great appreciation for the influence of contextual, cultural, religious, linguistic, economic and political factors on individuals as reflected in relatively independent or interdependent self-concepts and permeable and impermeable body boundaries. Emphasis is on real people-in- the–world in ongoing relation to others.
In an article entitled “a future for community psychology: the contexts of diversity and the diversity of contexts”, Trickett (1996) has suggested that community psychology can make a distinctive future contribution by clarifying the many meanings of the concept of diversity through attention to the contexts in which diversity develops. The practice of community psychology in Zululand provides an instructive case study and resource from which to explore this theme. We negotiate meaning through language. The Zulu terms for context and diversity are instructively harmonized in this regard. “Ingqikithi” inclusively means both essence and context (Dent and Nyambezi 1995), while “ubunhlobonhlobo” implies diversity in all its fundamental relatedness.
Besides community psychology, special emphasis is given to culturally appropriate forms of research, psychological assessment and multicultural counselling as a corrective, balancing, problem solving and solution orientated intervention for our unique South African heritage of violence, oppression, injustice and relative overemphasis on race and ethnicity to the neglect of other universal and diverse cultural variables, such as language, gender, education, socio-economic background and life experience existing within and between individuals, groups families and communities. In this way our students become specially skilled in relevant South African psychology.
A unique form of psychology
Using indigenous knowledge in psychology may be said to have lead to a unique form of psychology at Zululand University, which may be described as human, relational, contextual, multicultural and community psychological in emphasis. As mentioned previously our professionally accredited masters and doctoral programmes have essentially developed out of indigenous knowledge systems. Let us now examine some of these in more detail.
· The community psychology of healthy relationships
Like all forms of psychology, community psychology is concerned with the study of human relationships, especially as revealed in everyday meeting and lived dialogue. In response to the question: "Kunjane," how are you, a Zulu comparison may answer in various ways:
Ø sihambanakho implies we going/living with it, e.g. as part of life's everyday survival struggle. Another similar response would be sikhona-nje.
Ø sikhona implies we are existing and present.
Ø siyaphila implies we are alive, healthy and well.
If one was very healthy and in excellent condition one might reply siyaphila kakhulu. If we experience being sound, complete and whole, we might respond - siphilile.
These responses reflect certain fundamental interrelated aspects of an indigenous model of community health psychology which may be explicated as follows:
§ The collective psyche. This is revealed through the plural prefix - si(ya). Being healthy and alive is a collective and communal rather than individual matter as conveyed in the idiom umuntu umuntu ngabantu, which literally means a human is a person through others, only through you do I become an I, I am because we are. Being alive and healthy (impilo is used for both concepts) implies healthy relationships with the source of being i.e. God (uNkulunkulu/Mvelinqgangi) and ancestors (amadlozi), with other people (abantu) and the natural environment/world (endaweni umhlaba). Health is thus a collective responsibility to harmonize such relationships by finding the right tune or path (indlela). (Ngubane 1977, Oosthuizen et al., 1989) towards the ideal of beneficial humane relationships filled with dignity and respect (ubuntu).
§ Communal spirituality. Responses such as sikhona and siyaphila imply that our extended family and community of ancestors both living and dead are present and well. Traditional views on survival, life and health are inextricably related in the emphasis on ensuring proper relationships with the body of ancestors and God. People work at this relationship through spiritual, ceremonial and ritual gatherings to prevent illness and promote health. Such gatherings become communal spiritual labours of love as conveyed by the term umsebenzi where ancestors are appropriately remembered in the provision of spiritual protection and social support for the collective. A great variety of ceremonies to mark special occasions have been extensively discussed (Ngubane 1977, Gumede 1990). From an African Indigenous Church perspective, the emphasis is on responsibility for management of the Holy Spirit (umoya).
§ A balanced environment. Ngubane (1977) and Gumede (1990) have also extensively described how traditional Zulu cosmology is permeated with beliefs and practices related to ecological influences on community health. Families and communities have a ongoing responsibility to strengthen (iqinisa) themselves against such ecological hazards as lightning (ukubethela ceremony) and various forms of social conflict, jealousy and sorcery (ubuthakathi) traditional healers, diviners (izangoma), doctors (izinyanga) and faith healers (abathandazi) are extensively consulted in order to balance and order the environment (ukulungisa endaweni). The vast majority of community health psychology in South Africa is in fact provided by these indigenous health practitioners (Edwards 1999).