Preservation and Provision of Access to Indigenous Knowledge in Sri Lanka

Gives a brief overview of indigenous knowledge in Sri Lanka and examines the level of preservation and the provision of access to it through the libraries in Sri Lanka. Although the country inherits a vast amount of indigenous knowledge, the library system or any other institute in the country has not yet taken concerted effort to preserve and provide access to this knowledge. Indigenous Knowledge (IK ) The adjectival word “indigenous” means “belonging to a place, native”(OED). Thus IK can be defined as a corpus of knowledge belonging to a particular geographical area. Native knowledge, traditional knowledge, cultural knowledge and civilization knowledge are synonymous terms. It is unique to a given culture or a society or a country. “It is seen to contrast with knowledge generated within the international system of universities, research institutions and private firms” (IK papers, 2005). According to Grenier (1998) IK is “unique, traditional and local knowledge existing within and developed around specific conditions of women and men indigenous to particular geographic area”. It is stated that “indigenous knowledge system is a cumulative body of knowledge and belief, handed down through generation by cultural transmission, about the relationship of living beings (including humans) with one another and with their environment” (Kumaran, Dissanayake and Norbert, 2007, p.2). One of the salient features of IK is that it is a knowledge developed by tribal or rural communities living in a particular geographic location. These early tribal groups are generally called as aboriginal people. However, the term IK does not refer only to the