Is traditional knowledge vanishing with new media or is it being documented?

Hans India

4 days ago

Inthe heart of a small village in Odisha, an old woman sings lullabies passed down from her grandmother. The songs speak of the changing seasons, planting rituals, and prayers to forgotten gods. Her granddaughter listens with half-heartedly by busy scrolling through reels of a trending dance challenge on Instagram. This everyday moment, seemingly trivial, holds the essence of a question many of us are asking today:
Is traditional knowledge vanishing in the age of new media, or is it finally finding a way to be documented and preserved?
The answer isn't as simple as choosing one over the other. It's layered with human choices, systemic neglect, promising innovations, and urgent questions about what we choose to value.
What Is Traditional Knowledge?
Traditional knowledge (TK) refers to the wisdom, practices, beliefs, and skills developed by communities over centuries, often orally transmitted. This includes herbal medicine, folklore, agricultural practices, textiles, ritual art, architecture, astrology, community governance, and more. It's more than just information; it's lived knowledge which is contextual, experiential, and deeply connected to place and culture.
For millennia, traditional knowledge systems were passed down through oral traditions, apprenticeship, songs, performances, stories, and observation. But with globalization, urbanization, and the rise of digital content, many of these systems are at risk which is not because of new media existence rather how we've prioritized it.
Vanishing or Evolving? Understanding the Current Reality
It's true that traditional knowledge is on the verge of extinction. Languages are dying at the rate of one every two weeks. Rituals are disappearing as younger generations migrate to cities. Sacred forests, once preserved by taboo and ritual, are now logged or turned into resorts.
Here's where new media plays a double-edged role.
The Threats:
Short-Form Culture:Platforms like Youtube's Shorts andFacebook's Instagram promote speed, trends, and aesthetic over depth. Traditional practices, which are often slow, ritualistic, and time-consuming, struggle to find a space.
Commercialization without Context:Yoga, for example, has been globalized yet often stripped of its basic essence, its spiritual and philosophical roots.
Cultural Homogenization:Global media often celebrates a narrow range of 'acceptable' or 'modern' lifestyles, eroding the perceived value of traditional ways.
But Here's the Paradox:
These very platforms are also enabling documentation like never before. YouTube channels run by village grandmothers explaining native recipes and traditional health tips. Podcasts reviving tribal local knowledge and oral epics. Instagram reels showcasing handmade tribal art or ancient weaving techniques.Virtual museums and archives using AR/VR to showcase lost dance forms, architecture, or tools. So, traditional knowledge is not vanishing only because of new media. The bigger challenge is how we choose to use media and for what purpose.
Documented, But How Much? lets look at the Facts,
UNESCO and WIPO Initiatives: Several programs by international bodies aim to safeguard intangible cultural heritage and protect traditional knowledge from misuse or exploitation.
Bharat's Digital Efforts:
Digital India Mission includes platforms like the National Digital Library and IGNCA's digital archives.
Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL), a collaboration between CSIR and AYUSH, has documented over 2 lakh formulations in Ayurveda, Unani, and Siddha systems, now used globally to prevent patent misuse. The National Mission on Manuscripts is digitizing lakhs of palm-leaf manuscripts.
Grassroots Initiatives:
Many NGOs and educational institutions now run digital storytelling workshops in rural communities to preserve and share knowledge locally and globally.
Yet, only a fraction of Bharat's traditional knowledge systems are currently documented or digitally archived.
Why Are We Losing So Much So Fast?
.Generational Disconnect: Young people don't always see the relevance of traditional knowledge in modern life.
Lack of Recognition: Traditional knowledge is often visualised from the lens of Western knowledge systems.
Economic Pressure: Many traditional practices are not monetizable or sustainable in the modern market, leading people to abandon them.
Language Loss: Much of this knowledge is embedded in local dialects and indigenous languages losing the language means losing the wisdom too.
Can New Media Be the Solution?
Yes, if used mindfully and inclusively, new media can be the bridge between tradition and tomorrow.
1. Digital Storytelling by the Bearers
Instead of documenting for communities, platforms can train them to document and share their own stories on their terms. For instance, a tribal youth making a short film on forest rituals or a weaver documenting dyeing techniques in a vlog or a grandmother curating lullabies as podcasts.
2. Technology for Translationand Accessibility
AI-powered translation tools can preserve dialects, translate chants, or subtitles for wider reach. Local folklore translated into English, Hindi, and regional languages. AR apps that explain rituals or temple architecture to school children.
3. Creative Economy Integration
Linking traditional knowledge to livelihoods can ensure sustainability. Reviving traditional textiles via e-commerce platforms. Monetizing tribal dances or folk theatre as part of tourism circuits. Culinary traditions presented through online cooking shows or food-tech startups.
4. Open-Source Cultural Archives
Platforms like Wikimedia Commons or community-run digital repositories can store songs, remedies, and oral histories with metadata, photos, and geotags.
5. Policy and Legal Protection
New media documentation should be accompanied by legal protection, so communities retain ownership. Misappropriation of sacred practices without consent must be addressed.
What Can We Do as Individuals?
Record your grandparents' stories and rituals. You can follow and support content creators preserving local culture. Volunteer with digital heritage projects, include local knowledge in your art, writing, or teaching.
(The writer is an Expert Creative Economy)