Abstract:
Recently, culture has been known to be near extinction but indigenous knowledge has served as a panacea to revive relevance of cultural resources. Evaluation of the significance of intangible cultural resources to heritage conservation in Ekiti State was carried out to ascertain the values attached to the resources. Data were collected through structured questionnaire, direct field observation and oral interview. The selected communities in the study areas are Ekiti North (Ewu and Ayetoro) (n=38), Ekiti South (Afao and Agbado) (n=43) and Ekiti Central (Erinijiyan and Ipole) (n=303). A total of 36 interviewees were purposively selected as key informant to establish in-depth indigenous knowledge of heritage resources in their communities. A multi-stage sampling
technique was adopted to select sample respondents. A total sample size of 384 respondents were drawn for the target population in Ekiti state using Krejice and Morgan (1970) method while the questionnaire was randomly administered to the respondents on their willingness to participate in the study. The data collected was rated on a five-point likert scale and then subjected to weighted mean analysis while descriptive and inferential statistics were also carried out. Binary logistic regression and Pearson correlation were used to test hypotheses in order to establish relationship between socio-demographic characteristics and involvement in the preservation of intangible cultural resources; and level of participation in management and values attached to the resources.
The result of the study established the presence of intangible cultural resources in Ekiti State. The result reviewed that the respondent sometimes takes part in conservation of intangible cultural resources in Ekiti North and Ekiti South while they occasionally take part in Ekiti Central. The respondents frequently abide with rules and regulation safeguarding intangible cultural resources. There is significant relationship between socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents (Age, gender and religion) with involvement in preservation of intangible cultural resources. Also, the Pearson correlation result revealed that there is significant relationship between the perceived values (cultural, historical, social, aesthetic, and economic value). Output from this research will
assist the host communities and other relevant stakeholders in sustainable conservation and management of cultural resources.
