Intersecting Gender and Culture:Indigenous Andragogical Practices in Western Kenya

Abstract

Ethnoknowledge is practical information inherently accumulated by humanity and passed on from one generation to the next mostly by word of mouth in time and space. The knowledge is mainly esoteric, localized, and manifests in many different, unique, and useful formats with ethnopractitioners. This chapter demonstrates that the AbaWanga people of Kenya have developed potentially useful ethnomedicine systems based on ethnobotany, with more males than females participating as ethnopractitioners. This gendered divide is shaped and influenced by culture and practices that privilege men in the ethnopractitioner profession. In part, then, this chapter is anchored in feminist pedagogy and andragogy theories. Communities of practice and use of technology are offered as part of the strategies that can democratize and change learning processes amongst ethnopractitioners. Lastly, the chapter offers recommendations, suggests future research possibilities, and provides implications for ethnopractitioner learning.