PRESERVING INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE THROUGH FOLK NARRATIVES: PODI AND NGOYU

Abstract

This paper explores the Indigenous Knowledge (IK) within Bidayuh folk narratives or dondan. It also discusses the importance of folk narratives, an intangible cultural heritage, with reference to the Bidayuh Bau-Jagoi community. Studies have looked into the preservation of tangible and intangible cultural heritage through the process of documenting and introducing them to younger generations through the state education system. However, documentation itself is not enough. Research needs to be done to discover and understand the IK embedded within these cultural heritages, particularly the intangible aspects. Cultural Linguistics (Sharifian, 2011) is the framework chosen for analysis. The findings of this study discuss two important types of IK which are significant to the Bidayuh Bau-Jagoi community, namely podi (paddy) planting and headhunting. These two types of IK are analysed within the context of the Gawai which is the cultural celebrations of the Bidayuh community