EXCHANGING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

GROUP 7

‘Representation’ and maps and how they relate to each other

Comments on map

• Above is a topographic map of Ghana showing a school, park and a botanical garden

• Map does not give detailed information on the features for example history, type of park, type of animal and tree species

• Does not show the importance of the features to the communities

• Map lacks information about the culture and traditions of the place

How knowledge about spatial information can be communicated

• Historical descriptions from history books

• Traditional dances, poems, songs,

• Travelogues

• Inscriptions and paintings on rocks and caves

• Sculptures

• Photographs, videos

Direction Finding

• In India by the sun, pole stars and by natural land marks

• In Zimbabwe and Zambia they use physical features like rivers, trees, hills, houses etc

Cultural meaning of a place

• In India they attach different meanings to different locations like stones, rocks, trees, rivers, celestial bodies, mosque, temples churches carry a special cultural meaning

• In Africa generally the meanings are attached to historical sites, ancestral monuments, sanctuaries and burial sites

Why indigenous knowledge is important

• It has local scientific, knowledge

• Experiences are proven and tested

• They have physical evidence

Understanding each other’s concepts of space

• This can be through exchange of photographs

• Through talking to other people and sharing views

• Through drawings, paintings, dances, and poems

• Reading their cultural, religious and history books