Reflections on traditional systems of knowledge. Undersdanding and caring for the unrest of the young in Kanak country

Résumé 0

In this text, we will not discuss the epistemological status of indigenous, local or community knowledge. We refer to traditional knowledge as knowledge related to a lived tradition, to the practice of custom and the arts, and to the daily life of the tribe. For some years now, this knowledge has been ardently mobilised in New Caledonia to help Kanak youth in difficulty. But is it enough to ensure the transmission of knowledge, even though traditional, to “redress” this youth and help them overcome their discomfort? We will therefore engage in a critical reflection on the very concept of traditional knowledge because, in educational and social support at least, it is not so much their transmission that matters as the creativity to which they give access. This knowledge is only the witnesses of the Kanak presence, of its system of knowledge and of its relation to the world itself. However, such a singularity touches a point of universality. This is what this text seeks to show.