This South African Scholar Earned Africa's First Ph.D. in Infi genous Astronomy

This South African Scholar Earned Africa's First Ph.D. in Infigenous Astronomy By Dana Givens

ONE SOUTH AFRICAN

ACCOMPLISHED a milestone that made him go down in his history. Motheo Koitsiwe became the fi rst African man to receive a Ph.D. in African

Indigenous Astronomy

from North-West University (NWU). He also holds a B.A. in social sciences, and master’s in Indigenous Knowledge Systems.

Koitsiwe says he was inspired by years of listening to oral traditions in his local community and hearing stories from an early age from his grandmother. He began to start learning more about the African indigenous astronomy in South Africa and Botswana.

“This passion was ignited by my late grandmother, Mmamodiagane Tladinyane, when she narrated stories, poems, riddles, [and] songs of African night skies and cosmologies around the fi replace,” Dr. Koitsiwe said in a university press release.

“The study revealed that the Batswana use their indigenous knowledge of celestial bodies for agriculture, reproductive health, navigation, time calculation, calendar making, rainmaking and thanksgiving ceremonies, and for natural disaster management,” according to the university.

Koitsiwe also added that he was happy to complete his degree during the same time that the country passed the Indigenous Knowledge Systems Act to help provide more resources

Dr. Motheo Koitsiwe image via North-West University

to teaching those in the country about their indigenous roots.

“The [university] campus in Mahikeng is the pioneer of IKS in South Africa and started with teaching, learning, and research in IKS in 2001,” he says. “It is the fi rst higher institution of learning in the country to have a registered teaching, learning, and research program in IKS, accredited by the South African Qualifi cation Authority (SAQA).”

According to the university, Koitsiwe is currently working on translating his thesis in the Tswana language with aspirations to pursue a career in academia. www.blackenterprise.com/this-south-africanscholar-earned-africas-fi rst-ph-d-in-indigenousastronomy