Heading towards the setting sun!!!

On the way of getting the end she is lost in the horizon

There are ways to go but without destination

She is dragging her workless body to ups and downs

There is no chance to find the end

Just she is heading towards the setting sun

There is nobody to give company to her journey

The journey that nobody has traveled yet

She doesn’t know who and what is leading her

To the horizon without conclusion

Just she is heading towards the setting sun

Under the asylum of black and white clouds

She is lost, as she never knows where she is

Trying to find the real man inside her

She is traveling the journey of her own

So she is heading towards the setting sun

She doesn’t know who she is and what she has done

She wants to go where nobody has gone

She wants to be what nobody has been

But still she has not figured out who she is

Just she is heading towards the setting sun

How far she should go and how long does it take

Did she travel the difficult and tough parts?

Or is it still far to be reached?

She doesn’t know whether she should stop or go on

Just she is heading towards the setting sun

Is she dreaming or is this the reality?

What role is she playing?

How long does her acting take place?

Is she the audience or the actress acting on?

Or just she is heading towards the setting sun

Feels there is no easy part to travel

She has never found a place to rest

Neither anyone came to give a pal

Can almighty god bless her to born again?

Just she is heading towards the setting sun

Budhathum

Where is Budhathum?
Somewhere among 170 billion galaxies … somewhere in the Milky Way Galaxy … somewhere in the Solar System … somewhere in the Earth … somewhere in Asia continent …somewhere in South Asia … somewhere in Nepal… somewhere in Dhading district there is a small village … people call it Budhathum. 

I don’t know where was Budhathum when the Big Bang occurred about 13.7 billion years ago … I don’t where was it when Pangaea separated into continents about 250 million years ago … I don’t know where was it when a big asteroid struck the earth about 65 million years ago killing dinosaurs and 70% of earthlings …I don’t know where was it when human beings separated from primate chimpanzees about 4.1 million years ago … I don’t know where was it at the time of Manu and Adam …and I don’t know who was the first person that first walked on the land of Budhathum and when he/she settled … as every small place in this vast and complex universe Budhathum has a long history shrouded in the mysteries – unraveling of which will be interesting but is impossible due to the limit of human mind… … … . I have tried to describe the present day Budhathum i.e. the Budhathum of my time with some of the empirical evidences so far available.
 

There are 75 districts in Nepal. Among them Dhading is a hilly district that lies in the Central Development Region of Nepal. Budhathum is one of the 50 Village Development Committees (VDCs) of Dhading. It is about 15 miles far from its headquarters Dhading Besi and about 39 miles from Capital City Kathmandu.
Budhathum borders with Mulpani to the East, Phulkharka to the North, and Baseri to the South. To the Western edge of it Budhi Gandaki River flows, which is the boarder river that separates not only Gorkha and Dhading Districts, Bagmati and Gandaki Zones but also Central and Western Development Regions of Nepal. Budhathum is one of the extreme parts of Central Development Region.
 

Geography
    Budhathum is a slope land surrounded by hills and hillocks. The hills of Murchok, Mulpani, Thumi, Khatri Swanra (of Gorkha district) surround it and it seems that it has been hidden inside the hills. There are many places in Budhathum each having unique settlements in terms of culture, language, tradition and festivals. Some of the important settlements are Jagarboat (my exact birthplace), Pithe, Galane, Budhathum Besi, Ambate, Banskharka, Bhorle, Dadagaun, Dandaghar, Kalimati, etc. Budhathum is divided in 9 administrative divisions known as Wards. Each ward is separated by small streams and rivulets. There are some important streams such as Manpang Khola, Khahare Khola, Narkate Khola, Budhi Khola, Andheri Khola, etc. 

Transportation
Though Dhading seems to be at the center of Nepal, the village Budhathum is far from the imagination of ordinary people who have not gone there. Though the distance is not so long, because of uneven land topography the trek to Budhathum becomes really exhaustive. Few years back people could hardly reach to this place from Dhading Besi. But now, a graveled serpentine road links it with the district headquarters and it has become easier for everyone to reach there within a single day. Every day 1-2 buses reach Budhathum these days. However, as the road becomes muddy and the streams do not allow vehicles to move during rainy months, you have to walk on foot from Dhading Besi that takes 7 to 9 hours.
During non-rainy seasons (November to May) commodities are carried by trucks which are owned by local villagers of Budhathum these days.  But when the stocks run out and the legacy of traditional vehicles mules and even porters are responsible of carrying goods. There is no ambulance facility yet. Cycles, motor cycles and cars are rare sightings.
 
Demography
According to the official website of District Development Committee, Dhading (http://www.ddcdhading.gov.np/) the total population of Budhathum is 10, 390 with 5119 females and 5271 males. The number of household is 1747. It seems that there is a high birth rate when we compare the data with the data of Census 2001.

According to Census Report 2001 total population of Budhathum was 4575. There were Chhetri (1446), Gurung (1101), Newar (662), Brahmin-Hill (488), Sarki (315), Magar (255), Kami (166), Damai (117), Thakuri (17), and others (8). Majority of the people speak Nepali (4182) as their mother tongue including Sarkis. Some of the other languages include Ghale (156), Newar (129), Magar (72), and Tamang (20). The number of people following Hindu religion is 3841 which is followed by Boudha (722) and Islam (4). Sarkis claim that they follow Hindu religion but the rituals they perform are different from Brahmins and Chhetries.
 
Language and culture 

Almost all of the people of Budhathum speak Nepali as mother tongue. There are a large number of people of Gurung and Newar culture, but their languages have almost disappeared for the young generation. It is a sad story as the diversity in culture and other symbolisms are reflected through diversity in language.
The Nepali language spoken in Budhathum is almost similar to the standard variety of Nepali language except some local terminologies. People great with “Namaste” and ask “how are you” in local tone to greet anyone in the village. There is less caste discrimination and the gap between rich and poor is also reduced to a heavy extent in recent days. 

Dashain, Tihar, Maghe Sankranti, etc. are important festivals. There are important places such as Kot (the temple of goddess Kali), Budhathum Kulain (the major god of Adhikari clan of Budhathum), Besare Devi (the goddess) etc. are the places in which local festivals are celebrated which are known as jatra in local jargon. 
People were simple dress. Among adults daura and suruwal are still popular where as youths and children prefer fashionable cloths but they are not completely westernized as every traditional eye can observe it. 

Socioeconomic status
Most of the people of Budhathum are farmers. There are irrigable fields in every part of the village where farmers are found working for planting seasonal crops. During the time of planting and harvesting crops the farmlands look really beautiful.
The people in the village used to be very poor, even unable to feed their children, but these days there is no such condition. The remittances from foreign countries have helped them to ameliorate their economic condition very much. There is no official data; however it can be guessed that the next occupation after agriculture is the job in Nepal Army and Nepal Police followed by teaching and foreign employment. 

In the past the economy of Budhathum was held by few Chhetries and Brahmins, but now dalits have become equally prosperous with their involvement in different jobs and purchase of land for agriculture. There is no caste, religious and even notable political conflicts in the village.   
 
Education 
In comparison to other VDCs of Nepal Budhathum has a good educational status. Almost 95% of the children attend school and there are more than hundred graduates in the village pursuing different jobs in and out of the country. There are schools in each Ward and all these schools are led by Shree Badri Vishal Higher Secondary School that was established in 2029 BS. It provides Higher Secondary (+2) courses in Education and Commerce streams besides regular classes from Grade One to Ten.
 

Lakuwa: My Birthplace
In the middle of Budhathum there is a small beautiful village called Lakuwa. The word 'Lakuwa' comes from Nepali word 'Lukuwa' that means 'hidden itself'. Lakuwa is hidden inside beautiful green hills. To the western part of Lakuwa you can see a hill of Gorkha District. It is covered by snow during winter. It is called the hill of Thumi. To the eastern part of Lakuwa there are small hills of Mulpani and Ganga Jamuna. To the northern part there lies Danda Gaun of Baseri VDC. 

Nearby my village there is a forest. Few years ago it was going to be barren but now we can see Sal trees growing faster to cover the whole forest area. It is protected by the community of Budhathum. To the west part of my village there is green pastureland. Almost all people have small piece of farmland where they grow rice, maize, mustard, wheat etc. 

In the middle of Budhathum VDC there is a Secondary School. The name of this school is Shree Badri Vishal Secondary School. The teachers are friendly and co-operative. The school runs class 11 and 12 with the initiative of local people these days. 

A health center is set up to the western part of the village. In the middle of thin community forest the white buildings of the health center attracts everybody's attention. People get health facilities from this health center.
To the northern part of Lakuwa village there is temple of goddess Kali. Which people called Kot. People worship Kali during Dashain. People in my village are theist. They believe that goddess Kali has a great faith on them.

People have generated hydro-electricity from the water of Manapang Stream. Besides this people of my village involve in various developmental activities such as irrigation, clean drinking water, etc. I feel proud of my village.

Tihar in Nepal

Remembering Tihar from foreign land...
Tihar is one of the two great festivals in Nepal. Though Dashain is taken as the greatest one, Tihar brings a lot of happiness and solidarity among brothers and sisters. Another reason, perhaps the most effective one these days, that helps Tihar to outsmart Dashain is that it is the festival of only vegetarian items. A typical Nepali family does not make any animal slaughter like in Dashain. The special food item typical to Tihar is a type of circular bread knows as cell roti.
Instead of killing animal, during Tihar many animals are worshiped. Actually this is the festival of animals too. There are five days known as yam panchak (which I will discuss later) five different animals including brothers are worshiped. That is why this festival is getting more and more popularity among the increasing number of populace who are opting vegetarian diet leaving their habit of eating meat. Above all Tihar has the following features worth mentioning here.

1. Tihar is also known as Laxmi Pooja. Laxmi symbolizes for money or the economy. Economy is the first factor that determines many factors related to socioeconomic and other related aspects of a family. There is no doubt that ancient Harappa civilization and subsequent Hindu philosophy was aware of this fact. In every civilization of the world every aspect of social life relates with a deity and economy is the no exception. Tihar is the festival of goddess Laxmi who provides wealth to her devotees. People worship her and ask for prosperity of their family on the third day of Tihar.
2. Tihar is the festival of brothers and sisters. It keeps an endless bond between the two siblings sharing same blood. Sisters, normally, depart from their beloved brothers when they are married as they belong to the family of their laws after that. Tihar brings these sisters in a warmly kinship with their brothers. On the fifth day of Tihar, brothers receive garland, tika and gifts from sisters. The garland is the symbol of bonds that their parents had arranged then giving births one after another.
3. Tihar is the festival of singing and dancing. Two typical songs with their unique melody, unique lyric, and unique tune are sung among Nepalese youths during Tihar. They are known as bhailo and deusi in Nepal. Bhailo is especially of girls and deusi is of their boy counterparts. Bhailo song is sung before the fifth day i.e. bhai tika by girls. They visit every household, especially, during the night and sing the song if praise and give lots of blessings and receive some bread, money and fruits from the house owners. On the other hand, the boys of the village gather, make a team and start playing deusi. They also sing songs but a repeated phrase ‘deusi re’ is drilled after every clause of blessing uttered by the leader of the team. The celebration of deusi lasts for more than a week visiting every nearby village. These days, the occasion is utilized for collecting money for a social and communal development such as setting up a school or hospital.
4. Tihar is also the festival of lights. There is a special evening on the day of Laxmi Pooja. The cleaned and decorated house illuminates with hundreds of lights. The lights are holy and calm. A kind of small pot known as pyala (oil lamp) which is made up of china clay is used to illume the house. Some amount of mustard oil is poured into the pyala and it is ignited with the help of a small piece of holy thread. People, normally, do not sleep, neither do they close doors and windows throughout the night because Laxmi needs these opening to get inside. The whole village seems like a sky full of twinkling starts.
5. Tihar is also the festival of games. Even some of the illegal games such as cards and gambling are made free during Tihar. In a typical Nepali house it is simply a family game that involves pleasures and enjoyment. Money counts nothing – it is just for fun. Brothers including father, uncle even grandfather sit in together and play cards – the items of games that make fun such as dahar mara.

The five days of Tihar are special for five animals including brothers:

1. Kag Tihar (the Tihar of crows): It is the first day of Tihar when crow the messenger Yam god – the god of death – is worshiped. Food, roti, flower etc. are given to the crow before eating them by the family members themselves. It seems that the crows come hovering over the house and take the food on top of nearby tree and eat happily.
2. Kukur Tihar (the Tihar of dogs): This is the second day of yam panchak when dogs – the security of every household is worshiped with a garland on their neck, tika on their forehead and sweet foods on their tongue. They seem to be so happy. It feels early in the morning, because of their activities of roaming around, as if they know this day.
3. Gai Tihar (the Tihar of cows): Cows are worshipped as the symbol of goddess Laxmi herself. With ablution of whole body the senior family members worship cows followed by all junior members. They are given special granulated grain food called dau. They look so happy and beautiful with garland, tika and decorated stamp on their back.
4. Goru Tihar (the Tihar of oxen): On the fourth day of Tihar the most contributive animal of human civilization, the genesis of agricultural invention is worshiped with full respect. Actually the oxen are the animals that are used for cultivating lands that yields subsistence to almost 80 percent of Nepali people.
5. Bhai tika (the Tihar of brothers): This day needs not much description here. Sisters put tika and garland and give delicious food items to their beloved brothers. This is the most important and the last day of Tihar.

Notes on Indigenous Knowledge (IK)

What is IK?

• - Knowledge passed down from generations and internalized by the communities through a process of socialization
• - Part of their lifestyles
• - What is suitable Indigenous knowledge or indigenous education: education is the transmission of values and the accumulated knowledge of a society whereas knowledge is state of knowing or understanding gained or retained through experience or study
• - Over many generations IPs have developed a holistic knowledge of their lands, natural resources and environment, which has been recorded within oral traditions
• - IK refers to detailed and complex systems of knowledge the IPs have gathered and developed of their natural environment, including plant and animal ecology, climate and other local conditions and resource management
• - IK is key element of the social capital of the poor and constitutes their main asset in their efforts to gain control of their lives. It is an integral part of the culture and history of a local community
• - IK is not confined to IPs alone – all communities have developed their own body of knowledge over generations
• - IK systems are dynamic: new knowledge is continuously added. Such systems do innovate form within and also will internalize use and adapt external knowledge to suit the local situation
• - IK systems are cumulative, representing generations of experiences, careful observations, and trial and error experiments
• - Biodiversity and indigenous nationalities are indeed very much interconnected and sociocultural diversity is characterized by diversity in caste, ethnicity, language and religion, culture and region

Use of IK

• - Disaster management – human practices that evolved over centuries i.e. IKs have been tested by time and proven to be sustainable and effective in both reducing disasters and avoiding unavoidable hazards
• - Promote sustainable development
• - To solve global environmental, social and economic problems in the forms of increased poverty, human induced climate change, depletion of natural resources, spread of infectious diseases, violation of human rights
• - Developing IK as career. Some of the careers can be – trapping, hunting, fishing, guiding, skinning, wood-making, herbal medicine, wild-rice harvesting, etc.

Western Knowledge System (WKS) and Indigenous Knowledge System (IKS)

• - Amalgamation of WKS and IKS can bring a paradigm shift in education – indigenous scholars have discovered that IK is far more than the binary opposite of western knowledge. IK fills the ethical and knowledge gaps in Eurocentric education, research and scholarship
• - The authorization approach of most education systems imposed on IPs didn’t take into considerations the importance of the traditional and cultural values these societies. Rather, the educational system emphasized assimilation of indigenous peoples into the national mold. Most indigenous children failed to adapt these systems and, as a result, indigenous communities have very high illiteracy rates and poor educational qualifications
• - Although there are apparent attractions in meaningful dialogue between western science and IK, in reality there remains tensions

Incorporating IK in formal education system

• - There is a need for new lines of communication between WKS and IKS for valuing indigenous knowledge in formal education system, examining governments’ efforts to indigenize curricula
• - We need to explore the academic performance of indigenous children at their school and compare it with non-indigenous counterparts
• - Teacher must understand the unique background knowledge of indigenous students in order to best help them meet the learning needs
• - The best way of teaching is helping students know how to apply what they already know to novel learning opportunities
• - According to Ignas (……) curriculum design should be based on
• a. Community based research
• b. Understanding of students (what they know already
• c. Unique situation of indigenous communities
• - Many course books and its contents are ethnocentric, Eurocentric and sexist which are harmful for indigenous children in building their confidence and self-respect
• - The western knowledge has been documented and has become easy to include in curricula. If we have to do so to IK then we must identify and document them. It needs more research
• - The new paradigm in education emphasize the localism and globalism, making the enshrinement of indigenous and traditional knowledge in national curricula – an ideal situation from which to begin developing the necessary social, cultural and educational capital necessary for indigenous, rural and local peoples to become the participants in the global community
• - The education system of developing countries like Nepal has been unsuccessful because curricula are designed for a mainstream and largely urban populace. It has limited utility for remote rural communities. This tendency has ensued rampant unemployment.

Fusion of IK and western science

• - Western science and IK are represented as two different, competing knowledge systems, characterized by binary divide, a divide arguable evolving out of the epistemological foundations of the two knowledge systems.
• - Education and knowledge existed in the form of IK and skills before the intrusion of WKS into our educational practices
• - Sustainable development can be achieved by integrating the two
• - Education is the most elementary and important tool for the revival and application of IK. Education can establish linkage between IK and modern technology, and also bring about the connections with local context and knowledge
• - A solution to soothe the conflict between Eurocentric knowledge and indigenous knowledge is to recognize the existence of different knowledge systems, different world views, and sciences and aims at making a contribution to education with multicultural face
• - The two knowledge systems may in fact be closer than the dichotomy implies. The critical difference between IK and scientific knowledge lies in their relationship to power that it is not the holder of IK who exercise the power to marginalize
• - Knowledge is too vast and exalted a subject to be compartmentalized into watertight chambers with names like indigenous or scientific. Nor are the terms indigenous and scientific mutually exclusive
• - We need to explore traditional native knowledge and western science, then we should find common grounds between them – neither we can neglect western epistemology, nor can we leave indigenous knowledge in the same stage
• - Keeping all three options of learning (formal, non-formal and informal) open, we need to make a fusion between western science and indigenous knowledge. Challenges are many, but it is the only option we can take for sustainable development and proliferation of all forms of knowledge and skills so far neglected due to a hegemonic and colonial influence western world

Valuing/promoting Indigenous Knowledge

• - “When a knowledgeable old person dies, a whole library disappears” – An old African proverb
• - IK has an advantage over western science in the context of poor communities, in that information is tested in the context of survival and the means of existence

Practices

• - Hybridization of WKS and IKS has been taking place in some forms: a farmer uses both natural and chemical fertilizers
• - In recent years IK has been the subject of congresses, conferences, meetings, as well as countless papers, articles and reports
• - Traditional economies are the basis of indigenous and tribal people’s economic survival. IK is supporting rural economy through the expertise of farmers in animal breeding
• - Longing for genuineness, Eurocentric scholars are now struggling to respect IK
• - The interests of outsiders in the IK have emerged in tandem with the politicization of indigenous groups and the indigenous-rights movement. Many IPs are demanding that their rights to be heard in development decisions
• - Development efforts that ignore local circumstances, local technologies, and local system of knowledge have wasted enormous amount of time and resources

Prospects

• - Indigenous students need the opportunities to explore and study how their culture constructs its own knowledge
• - We need to learn from local communities to enrich the development process
• - If IK is leveraged with modern technologies, it certainly help to enhance development activities
• - IK is very much driven by the pragmatic, utilitarian and everyday demands of life
• - In IK development there exist a real danger of over-valorizing and over-romanticizing indigenous knowledge in practice
• - The IK is an autumn seed (covered with Eurocentric snow) and when spring comes it will emerge to nourish nations, languages, heritages and communities. The autumn seed lies within the mind of and spirit of every child, it lies inherent and latent. The autumn seed requires only a nourishing educational system and direct experience with the good road to unfold its ancient wisdom and teaching
• - The countries like Nepal, where majority of the people live in rural areas, acquiring IK of how to navigate and survive on the land, and how to use local resources to feed, clothe, and provide one’s family, may be much greater relevance for the context in which many indigenous groups continue to live today

Why IK deteriorated

• - The authorization approach of most education systems imposed on IPs didn’t take into considerations the importance of the traditional and cultural values these societies. Rather, the educational system emphasized assimilation of indigenous peoples into the national mold. Most indigenous children failed to adapt these systems and, as a result, indigenous communities have very high illiteracy rates and poor educational qualifications
• - Indigenous youths are often forced to leave their traditional communities and move to urban areas to pursue employment or education opportunities. Young people who wish to learn and engage in traditional careers frequently leave school at early age. This detachment is not only the economic obligation of supporting their family but also the overemphasis on Eurocentric education and neglect to the indigenous knowledge possessed by these youths
• - IK is often undervalued relative to western scientific knowledge, both by nonlocal project managers and local communities themselves
• - WKS caused IPs to be viewed as backward and passive recipients and IK became invisible to Eurocentric knowledge in latter’s theory and global science
• - Erosion in IK has occurred due to rapid population growth, growth of international markets, educational systems, environmental degradation, and development pressures related to rapid modernization and cultural homogenization
• - More and more knowledge are being lost as a result of disruption of traditional channels or oral communication. Neither children nor adults spend as much time in their communities anymore. It is harder for older generations to transmit their knowledge to young people
• - In the past, outsiders (for example, social, physical, and agricultural scientists, biologists, colonial powers) ignored IK, depicting it as primitive, simple, static, and “not knowledge”. This historic neglect has contributed to the decline of IK systems
• - Eurocentric thinkers dismissed IK in the same way they dismissed any sociopolitical cultural life they didn’t understand; they found it to be unsystematic and incapable of meeting the productivity needs of the modern world (Battiste, 2002, p. 5)
• - Besides western science that is formal education, the colonial language as the medium of instruction has further hastened the decline of indigenous language, culture and knowledge itself
• - ILO (2005) found that IPs were generally not involved, their priorities were generally not involved, not reflected and the PRSPs were therefore not likely to solve the poverty situation of IPs.

Globalization, industrialization and IK

• - Industrial countries should bear the brunt of climate change impacts where the indigenous peoples will share their knowledge on bio-diversity and land management to develop national mitigation strategies
• - The globalization process facilitated by the western/global education system, is systematically universalizing the world knowledge system and weeding out all other forms of knowledge systems, institutions and resources that are not western in origin
• - The balanced education system will incorporate both indigenous and Eurocentric knowledge – this should be reflected in world education systems. It will be a harbinger for creating a balanced globalization
• - IPs represents about 5% of the world population, but over 15% of the poor.

Gender and IK

• - In indigenous communities, women have taken on the great responsibility of transmitting traditional knowledge, skill and intangible heritage from one generation to the next, however, when foreign values are introduced, this conception is severely affected or even destroyed. As a result there is negative impact on the relationship between men and women
• - Male to male and female to female transfer of generational indigenous knowledge is one of the practical phenomenon in some parts of the world
• - Through their daily works, rural women have accumulated intimate knowledge of their ecosystem, including the management of pests, the conservation of soil and the development of plant and animal genetic resources
• - Women farmers are largely responsible for the selection, implementation and adaptation of plant varieties. In many regions, women are also responsible for the management of small livestock, including their reproduction. Women often have highly specialized knowledge of wild plants used for food, fodder and medicine than men.

IK in Nepal

• - At the time of contact with European colonizers the Nepalese had achieved true civilization: they (Nepalese) didn’t abuse earth, they promoted communal responsibility, they practiced equality in gender relations, and they respected individual freedom
• - We need to resurrect Nepalese indigenous epistemology
• - In a ‘food for work’ program in Nepal, IK has been a more effective agent of development than modern technology (WB, n. d.)
• - Indigenous peoples (or Janajatis as they are known in Nepal) make up at least 36.31% of the population and comprise of 59 officially recognized distinct groups with their own languages, cultures and belief systems
• - GON initiatives: protection and development of IPs (Interim Constitution); National Committee for Development of Nationalities (1997); Formation of National Foundation for the Development of Indigenous Nationalities (2003); social inclusion, participation of IPs in decision making, special programs for IPs, positive discrimination or reservation in education, employment, etc.; proportional representation in development; socially exclusive economic framework, etc. (Three Year Interim Plan).
• - Although the modern development indicators show that Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world, it is very rich in bio and sociocultural diversity

Some questions

• - What legal provisions should be made to enhance indigenous knowledge to ensure sustainable development?
• - What are international practices to promote indigenous knowledge in order to avail them for reducing some pertinent global problems?
• - What are the challenges in incorporating indigenous knowledge in environmental education and science education?
• - How to develop traditional occupations as careers?
• - Should we commercialize IK?
• - What type of Nepalese traditional knowledge should be taught or included in the curricula?
• - How to leverage technology for promotion of IK in the digital age?
• - How recognize the knowledge and skill of IPs?
• - How to harness indigenous environmental knowledge?
• - What should be the role of education to preserve and maintain the knowledge of IPs and local communities?
• - Should we pursue international legal measures to extend intellectual property rights to cover IK or to treat it as a public good?
• - How to enhance IK research in higher education in Nepal?
• - How effective are the contributions of INGOs such as ILO, UNESCO, WB, etc. to preserve and promote IKs?
• - Have the member countries been following ILO Convention No. 169 that deals with the rights indigenous and tribal peoples?
• - How much intervention is acceptable in the idyllic IKs?
• - Have IPs participated in the development of MDG strategies? What is lacking in MDG strategies?

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)

• - IPRs are mechanisms to protect individual and industrial inventions and are usually in effect for a specified period. Legal rights prevent others from copying, selling or importing a product without authorization. In essence there are six forms of IPRs: patents, plant breeding rights, copyright, trademark, industrial design, and trade secrets. Among them, patents and plant-breeders’ are most relevant to IKS.
• - Some scholar’s argue that for IPs, life is a common property which can’t be owned, commercialized and monopolized by individuals…Accordingly, the patenting of any life forms and processes is unacceptable to indigenous peoples
• - We reaffirms that imperialism is perpetuated through IPR systems, science and modern technology to control and exploit the lands, territories and resources of IPs – CS Canada, (1996a) as cited in Grenier (1998)

Brainstorming Indigenous Knowledge

• Indigenous people have right to live in their own state of origin, if they want
• They have vast treasure of knowledge that could be used to combat some of the global problems such as global warming, the effect of global economic crisis in developing nations, sustainable development, pollution, disaster, diseases, etc.
• Indigenous people are found in all parts of the world. In cities the knowledge has been overshadowed and in villages such knowledges have become passive due to the lack of preservation, promotion and recognition.
• All modern knowledge and skill might have come from indigenous epistemology, it needs more rigorous researches to find the link. It will certainly promote indigenous knowledge and provides an impetus to the indigenous people further advance their knowledge and skill
• One of the best means of achieving Millennium Development Goals is promoting indigenous knowledge
• Indigenous knowledge and skills can be included in school and college curriculum. It will make learning more meaningful and productive. The world divided into two strata: developed and developing will end as both of them will be advancing in their own ways.
• One of the issues related to the promotion of indigenous knowledge is supporting indigenous knowledge with technology. It will create a kind of fusion between western and eastern epistemology, ending the long standing notion of knowledge producer and knowledge receiver. Technological promotion in indigenous knowledge will enable eastern world as a knowledge producer.
• All developing countries including Nepal should develop indigenous education as one of the subjects in school and university curricula.

some words

1. Wangle - finagle; achieve something by means of trickery or devious method
2. Wean - to stop nursing milk to baby
3. Welt - mark from the beating
4. Welter - a large and confusing amount of something "a welter of information"
5. Whiff - puff or gust of air, scent
6. Whinny - neigh like a horse
7. Whittle - to cut small bits of wood/clothes to create design
8. Whorl - ring of leaves around stem
9. Wily - cunning or artful
10. Wince - shrink back, flinch
11. Bullion - a mass of precious metal
12. Pantry - a small storeroom for storing foods or wines
13. Prosthesis - an artificial part of the body
14. Protracted - relatively long in duration
15. Hourglass - a sandglass than runs for sixty minutes
16. Francophone - someone who speaks French, especially as their first language
17. Precarious - not secure; beset with difficulties
18. Leech - carnivorous or bloodsucking aquatic or terristrial worms typically having a sucker at each end
19. Stalk - walk
20. Traverse - travel across or pass over
21. Citadel - a stronghold into which people could go for shelter during battle "bastion"
22. Hallmark - distinctive characterstic or attitude trademark, a mark on an article of trade to indicate its origi and authenticity
23. Booty - goods or money obtained illegally
24. Syncretism - the union (or attempted fusion) of different systems of thought or belief, especially in religion or philosophy
25. Numismatics - the collection and study of money, especially coins
26. Foray - a sudden short attack
27. Foothold - an area in hostile territory that has been captured and is held awaiting further troops and supplies
28. Intrigue - a crafty and involved plot to achieve sinister end
29. Mutiny - open rebellion against constituted authority
30. Affront - a deliberately offensive act or sth producing the effect of deliberate disrespect
31. Stupendous - so great in size, for extent as to elicit awe

Words Starting with "T - Z"

1.  sTangential – going off topic; digressing; diverging; tangential writing
2. Tawdry - showy but without taste or elegance; flashy; gaudy; garish; meretricious
3. Tensile (A) – capable of extension
4. Torpor – apathy; profound lack of energy or activity; lethargy
5. Treacly (A) – overly sweet; saccharine; schmaltzy
6. Trenchant (A) - Having keenness and forcefulness and penetration in thought, expression, or intellect; trenchant criticism
7. Tribunals (N) – an assembly including one or more judges to conduct judicial business; courts
8. Turgid – swollen; bloated; inflated; esoteric writing
9. Unction (N) - the act of pouring oil on somebody’s head or another part of their body as part of an important religious ceremony; behavior or speech that is not sincere and that expresses too much praise or admiration of somebody
10. Unfettered – not bound by shackles and chains
11. Unperturbed (A) – not perturbed; not anxious or worried
12. Vacuous – empty, inane, lacking in ideas, stupid; vacuous lectures of Prof. Sharma made the class monotonous.
13. Vagary – whim, caprice
14. Vagrant – homeless wanderer
15. Vainglorious – boastful, excessively conceited, narcissist, bigheaded, feeling self-importance
16. Valor – bravery
17. Vanguard – forerunners, advance forces; front group; leading edge; the front part of an army
18. Vapid (A) – lacking taste or flavor or tang; insipid; bland
19. Vehement - marked by extreme intensity, inclined to react violently
20. Veil – to obscure, conceal
21. Veneer – coating consisting of a thin layer of wood; “veneer blackboard”
22. Vicissitude (N) – a variation in circumstances or fortune at different times in your life or in the development of something; fluctuations; immutabilities
23. Voyeur (N) – tom peeper
24. Waffle (V) – to write or speak in a vague manner; to be unable to decide between things
25. Waggish (adj) – funny, clever and not serious; mischievous in sports; frolicsome; “waggish remarks
26. Wan (A) – having a pale or sickly color; pallid; the wan face of my mother revealed that father was sick
27. Wangle (V) - to get something that you or another person wants by persuading somebody or by a clever plan: She had wangled an invitation to the opening night. I’ll try to wangle some money out of my parents. We should be able to wangle it so that you can start tomorrow. He managed to wangle his way onto the course. He had wangled her a seat on the plane; wiggle out; fake
28. Warble (V) – sing; babble; I woke up with the bird that was warbling at my window
29. Wastrel (N) – profligate; a lazy person who spends their time and/or money in a careless and stupid way
30. Waylay (V) - to stop somebody who is going somewhere, especially in order to talk to them or attack them; I got waylaid on my way here.
31. Wean (V) – accustom a baby not to nurse; give up a cherished activity; He decided he would wean himself away from eating junk food and stick to fruits and vegetables
32. Welter (V) – wallow; “When Hector killed thousands of troops in the battle field the Greeks weltered to get help from Achilles”; - N – turmoil
33. Wheedle (V) – cajole; coax; deceive by flattery
34. Whelp (N) – a young wolf or lion
35. Whet (V) – sharpen; stimulate; “The odors from the kitchen are whetting my appetite, I will be ravenous (extremely hungry) by the time the meal is served”
36. Whiff (N) – puff or gust of air, scent, etc.
37. Whinny (V) – neigh like a horse
38. Wily (A) – cunning; artful
39. Wince (V) – shrink back; flinch; cringe
40. Wispy (A) – thin and weak; a wispy little fellow with thin hands and legs; lacking clarity; barely discernible
41. Wistful (A) – vaguely longing; sadly pensive
42. Zany – comical in foolish or slapstick way

Words Starting With "S"

1. Sabotage – deliberate destruction
2. Sacrilegious (A) – desecrating; profane
3. Sacrosanct (A) – most sacred; very holy; inviolable
4. Sagacious (A) – perceptive; shrewd; having insight; clever
5. Sage (N) – person celebrated for wisdom
6. Salacious (A) – lascivious; lustful; lecherous; randy;
7. Sallow (A) – yellowish; sickly in color; “We were disturbed by her sallow complexion due to jaundice"
8. Salutary (A) – tending to improve; beneficial; wholesome; “The punishment has salutary effect on the body, as he became a model student”
9. Salvage – to save, to rescue from destruction or harm
10. Sanctimonious (A) – showing that one feels morally better than other people; displaying ostentatious or hypocritical devoutness; “You don’t have to be so sanctimonious to prove that you are devout”
11. Sanctity (N) – holiness
12. Sanctum (N) – holy place
13. Sanguinary (A) – with much bloodshed; sanguinary battle
14. Sanguine (A) – cheerful, hopeful, optimistic; having a red complexion; “Let us not be too sanguine about the outcome, something could go wrong”
15. Sap (N) – liquid in a plant that carries food to all parts
16. Sap (V) – gradually weaken by taking away strength or vitality; diminish; undermine; “The element kryptonite had an unhealthy effect on superman; it sapped his strength”
17. Sardonic (A) – disdainful; sarcastic; cynical; mocking; scornful; a sardonic smile
18. Sate (V) – satisfy to the full; cloy; when hunger sated, the lion dozed
19. Saturnine (A) – gloomy; “Do not be misled by his saturnine countenance, he is not gloomy as he looks
20. Satyr (N) – half-human, half-bestial being in the court of Dionysus; portrayed as wanton and cunning; man with very strong sexual desire; “He was like a satyr in his lustful conduct”
21. Savant (N) – scholar; sage; “Our faculty includes many world famous savants”
22. Savory (V) – enjoy the taste or flavor of something; have a distinctive flavor of something
23. Scabbard (N) – case for a sword; sheath; “The drill master told the recruit to wipe the flood from his sword before slipping it back into the scabbard”
24. Scad (N) – plethora; a great quantity; I have a scad of clothes.
25. Scalpel (N) – surgical knife
26. Scanty (A) – meager; insufficient; “Thinking his helping of food was scanty, Oliver Twist asked for more”
27. Scapegoat (N) – someone who bears the blame for others
28. Scepter [N] - a decorated rod carried by a king or queen at ceremonies as a symbol of their power
29. Schematic (A) – relating to an outline or diagram; using a system of symbols
30. Schism (N) – division or split; strong disagreement, especially in religious organization over doctrine, in which one group stops recognizing the authority of others
31. Scintilla (N) – ‘not a scintilla of something’ means not the slightest amount of something; shred; least bit; “You have not produced a scintilla of evidence to support your argument
32. Scintillate (V) – give off sparks; sparkle; diamonds scintillating in the candlelight
33. Scoff (V) – gibe; mock; ridicule; “He scoffed at dentist until he had his first toothache”; speak contemptuously; eat greedily
34. Score (N) - A written form of a musical composition; parts for different instruments appear on separate staves on large pages
35. Scotch (V) – stop (especially a rumor etc.) being believed; thwart; stamp out; impede; hinder; “Ganesh tried to scotch the rumor that he had been lecherous towards his girl students”
36. Scourge (N) – lash; whip; severe punishment; whip for flogging people; person or thing that causes suffering; “The new boss was the scourge of the inefficient”
37. Scruple (N) – feeling that prevents one from doing or allowing something that one thinks may be wrong; “Have you no scruples about buying a stolen goods”; hesitation; also V
38. Scuffle (V) – struggle confusedly; scuffle between police and demonstrators
39. Scurrilous – very rude and damaging one’s reputation; offensive; indecent
40. Scurrilous (A) – obscene; indecent; abusive and insulting; “Your scurrilous remarks are especially offensive because they are untrue”
41. Scurry (V) – run with short quick step; move briskly
42. Scurvy (A) – contemptible; worthless; mean; despicable; “That was a scurvy trick to play on an old lady”
43. Scuttle (V) – sink; “The sailor decided to scuttle their vessel rather than surrender it to the enemy”
44. Seamy [A] – unattractive; sordid; unwholesome; the seamy side of life is crime and corruption
45. Sear [V] – char; burn; brand; “Accidentally brushing against the hot grill, she seared her hand badly”
46. Seasoned [V] – experienced
47. Secession [N] – withdrawal from a membership of an organization; “The secession of the southern states provided Lincoln with his first inauguration”
48. Sect [N] – separate religious body
49. Sedate [A] – composed; grave; calm and dignified (behavior of a person); “The parents were worried because they felt their son was too quiet and sedate”
50. Sedentary [A] – done sitting down; typing is a sedentary job
51. Sedulous – carefully organized; diligent; painstaking; laborious
52. Serendipity – the act of making fortunate discovery
53. Sermon (N) – an address of a religious nature usually delivered during a church service
54. Severance – payment that an employee receives upon leaving a job as compensation for the loss of employment
55. Sieve (N) - a tool for separating solids from liquids or larger solids from smaller solids, made of a wire or plastic net attached to a ring. The liquid or small pieces pass through the net but the larger pieces do not.
56. Skimp – to try to spend less time and money on something that is really needed
57. Spangle (N) - a small piece of shiny metal or plastic used to decorate clothes; also V; Laxmi wanted to spangle her sari.
58. Spangle (V) - to cover or to decorate something with small pieces of something shiny; a small piece of shiny metal or plastic used to decorate clothes (N); sequin
59. Specter (N) - something unpleasant that people are afraid might happen in the future; ghost
60. Squad (N) – a small unit of army
61. Steak (N) - A slice of meat cut from the fleshy part of an animal or large fish
62. Stentorian – extremely loud and powerful
63. Stultify (adj) – to make you feel very bored and make unable to think new ideas; “His ideas stultified the students’ creativity”
64. Subaltern – inferior in rank or status
65. Sublime (A) – exalted, grand or awesome quality; worthy of adoration or reverence
66. Subprime – collapsing banks and tumbling stock market
67. Succor (V) – to help somebody who is suffering or having problem
68. Sumptuous (A) – costly; lavish; luxurious to food or perhaps a room or the furnishings therein; “The king won the affections of his court by hosting sumptuous feasts (banquets)
69. Supine (adj) – lying on the back or face upward
70. Suppliant – asking earnestly and submissively; entreating; beseech
71. Surpass (V) – to go beyond in anything good or bad; to excel; to exceed
72. Surreptitious – clandestine
73. Swipe – to strike with swiping blow

Words Starting With "R"

1. Rapporteur – a recorder of meeting
2. Ratcheting – move by degrees in one direction
3. Raucous – wild, crazy and boisterous
4. Ravish – to transport with joy or delight; to delight to ecstasy; to seize or carry away by violence
5. Rebuff – rejection of friendly offer; they rebuffed her request for help
6. Rebuttal – the speech act of refuting by offering a contrary contention or argument
7. Recant (V) – take back; admit an error
8. Rectitude – honesty
9. Reel – walk as if unable to control one’s movement
10. Reel (V) – walk as if unable to control one’s movement
11. Refurbishing – making brighter and prettier
12. Relinquish (V) – give up
13. Reparations (N) - Compensation (given or received) for an insult or injury
14. Reprove (V) – to accuse; reprehend; express disapproval
15. Repugnant – offensive to the mind
16. Repulsion – a feeling of violent offence or disgust; repugnance; aversion;
17. Requiem – dirge, lament, threnody
18. Rescinded (V) – cancelled officially; annulled; countermanded; revoked
19. Resplendent – decorated elegantly and brightly; shinning with brilliance
20. Restive (A) - unable to stay still, or unwilling to be controlled, especially because you feel bored or not satisfied
21. Reticence (N) - The trait of being uncommunicative; not volunteering anything more than necessary; taciturnity; reserve
22. Revelry (N) – a noisy drinking party; merrymaking
23. Ribald (A) – humorously vulgar; bawdy; base; filthy; obscene; “a ribald person”
24. Rigmarole – a set of confused or meaningless statements; rambling; episodic; disconnected
25. Rigmarole (A) – episodic; rambling; disconnected speech; a long and complicated process, especially speech
26. Ruffian – an uncultured, aggressive, rude, noise, troublemaker
27. Ruminate – to think about something repeatedly

Words Starting With "P"

1. Pallid – deficient in color; pale; become pale because of illness
2. Palpitate – beat rapidly; heart palpitated rapidly
3. Pandemic – affecting a majority of nation or the world
4. Passion – a strong feeling or emotion, cacoethes, mania, rage, warmth
5. Perdition (N) – punishment that lasts forever after death
6. Peregrination – travelling or wandering around; pilgrimage
7. Perfunctory – routinely done; done with disinterest; cursory; for formality only; ceremonial
8. Perjury (N) - Criminal offense of making false statements under oath
9. Pernicious (A) - having a very harmful effect on somebody or something, especially in a way that is gradual and not easily noticed; invidious or harmful
10. Perspicacity (N) – good judgment; acute understanding; able to understand something quickly and accurately; “a perspicacious remark”; discerning; shrewdness; astuteness
11. Pertinacious (A) – determined to achieve a particular aim despite difficulties; stubbornly unyielding
12. Perturbation (N) – an unhappy and worried mental state
13. Philistine (N) – anti-intellectual; a person deficient in liberal cultural refinement; a person indifferent to cultural values, intellectual pursuits, aesthetic refinement
14. Pilfer (A) – steal something with less value; filch
15. Piquant (A) - having a pleasantly strong or spicy taste
16. Pique (V) – hurt the pride or self-respect of somebody; offend; “he was piqued to discover that he hadn’t been invited”
17. Platitude – a thought or remark which is flat, dull, trite or weak; commonplace; banality
18. Pod (N) – outer cover of beans
19. Poignant – deeply and sometimes painfully moving; pungent; arousing effect
20. Ponder [V] – consider; ponder about/on/over something carefully for a period of time; these days I have started to ponder on new words to find whether their meaning can be inferred
21. Pontiff (N) – the head of Roman Catholic Church
22. Potpourri – a collection containing a variety of sorts of things; medley; miscellanea; pastiche; salmagundi
23. Preponderance – a great amount of something
24. Procure – to come into possession; to gain; to get; to acquire
25. Profligate – reckless; extravagant; wasteful; prodigal; dissolute; debauch
26. Promontory (N) – a natural elevation, especially a rocky one that juts out into the sea; foreland; headland
27. Propensity – bias, bent, tendency
28. Propinquity – nearness in location or time, relationship or character
29. Propinquity (N) – nearness in location or time, or relationship or character; proximity
30. Propitiate – to win the favor of; cause to become favorably inclined; appease
31. Propitious – favorable to; advantageous; auspicious
32. Protrude – to thrust forward; shoot forth; bulge outward; pop out; project; jut out
33. Prudent (A) – cautious; Capable of exercising sound judgment in practical matters; conscientious; judicious
34. Puissance [N] – a competition in showjumping to test a horse’s ability to jump high fences; great power of influence
35. Pungent – stinging; sharp in taste or smell; caustic
36. Purdah – a state of social isolation
37. Quisling – someone who collaborates with enemy; a traitor; treasons; “Never trust a quisling”
38. Quotidian (A) – found in ordinary course of events; commonplace