PRESERVING MALAYSIAN INDIGENOUS AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES’ ASTRONOMICAL KNOWLEDGE THROUGH ASTROTOURISM TO MAINTAIN ITS CULTURAL SECURITY

Abstract

The Malays in northern Peninsular Malaysia, the Orang Asli, Dayak-Iban and Kadazan-Dusun in East Malaysia possess their own astronomical knowledge to predict suitable seasons for paddy planting and navigation. This knowledge may soon be extinct because the indigenous and local communities almost no longer practise their astronomical knowledge because modern machinery permits paddy planting twice per year and also on account of restrictions by Islam and Christianity. Astrotourism could revive such practice by promoting cultural astronomy. This study’s main objective is to investigate the extent that astrotourism can play a part in preserving the astronomical knowledge of Malaysia’s indigenous and local communities that contributes to their cultural security. This is a qualitative study that refers to documents of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), the 1977 Bangui Agreement on the Creation of an African Intellectual Property Organisation, Malaysia’s National Heritage Act 2005 and the Cook Islands Traditional Knowledge Act 2013.   Secondary resources were also consulted for an overview of the astronomical knowledge possessed by the mentioned Malaysian indigenous and local communities. Textual and content analysis were used to analyse primary and secondary resources where appropriate as this is socio-legal research. The results of this study show that promoting astrotourism together with the astronomical knowledge of these indigenous and local communities is still in its infancy and very few tour packages promote such initiatives. The results also show Malaysia lacks a sui generis law specifically to protect traditional knowledge that encompasses astronomical knowledge making possible for the exploitation of this knowledge for commercialisation. The implication is for the younger generation among these indigenous and local communities to learn the astronomical knowledge from the custodians to become tour guides to disseminate this information through astrotourism so that the legacy lives on. Malaysia also needs to draft a sui generis law specifically protecting traditional knowledge that covers astronomical knowledge or amend its intangible cultural heritage aspect in its National Heritage Act 2005 to include astronomical knowledge and navigation skills.