s

WORKING PAPER SERIES

EU-INDIA INNOVATION NETWORK PROJECT
Contract no. IND/B7-3001/95/115-31
Working Paper no: WP/EU-IND/WS15

Title
Communicating Tacit Knowledge across cultures:
a multimedia archive of the Bankura Dhokra
craft industry of West Bengal as a case of the
artificial

Author
David Smith
School of Art, Media and Design,
University of Wales College, Newport,
Wales, NP18 3YG UK

EU-India Cross Cultural Innovation Project

Communicating Tacit Knowledge across cultures: a multimedia

archive of the Bankura Dhokra craft industry of West Bengal as a
case of the artificial
David Smith, School of Art, Media and Design, University of Wales College,
Newport, Wales, NP18 3YG UK
Abstract
This paper describes an ongoing research project which seeks to create a
multimedia based 'tacit knowledge archive' relating to the craft practices
of small communities of traditional artisan brass workers in West Bengal,
India. The so-called Dhokra artisans are about to enter a period of rapid
technical change in their practices, and the importance of representing
their essential tacit knowledge base is set out. This is analysed and
discussed in the light of Massimo Negrotti's "Theory of the Artificial", and
the contribution which the concept of the 'artificial' can make to the
project is considered.
1. Introduction
The name Dhokra or Dokra was formerly used to indicate a group of nomadic
craftsmen, scattered over Bengal, Orissa and Madhya Pradash in India, and is now
generically applied to a variety of beautifully shaped and decorated brassware

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products created by the cire perdue or lost wax process. The tradition of lost-wax
casting is an ancient one in India, going back to the Indus valley civilisations. Today it
is carried on in the manufacture of small pieces by tribal groups (such as the Bankura
artisans) or in some cases by Hindu metalworkers for tribal clients. There is also a
small but increasing demand for the work from urban Indian families, as well as in the
tourist trade. The traditional themes of cast metal sculptures include images of Hindu
or tribal gods and goddesses, bowls, figures of people or deities riding elephants,
musicians, horse and rider figures, elephants, cattle, and other figures of people,
animals, and birds.
The Dhokra craftsmen gave up their nomadic life in the 1940s and 1950s and settled
down in a few areas of West Bengal, especially in the vicinity of Bankura. Most have
abandoned the craft, leaving only a few families to continue the trade. The Dhokra
industry of West Bengal, is noted for the production of a stylised horse (the Bankura
Horse) and a rather striking sun god image. These latter are particularly attractive to
people in Europe and the USA, and so there is considerable export potential for the
work. However,.
It is now very important to secure an accurate archival record both of the Dhokra
industry and of the way of life in which it is embedded. This ancient craft form is
now about to enter a period of rapid change. The Indian development agency
NISTADS (National Institute for Science, Technology and Development Studies)
propose to help to support the artisans by developing a more efficient form of furnace.
This is likely to catalyse other changes, which are likely to be social as well as
technological and creative. Little primary study of the Dhokra industry has been
undertaken since the early 1960s, and published materials are either out of date or
demonstrably inaccurate (See, for example, Reeves, 1962). Little is known about the
cultural history of the Dhokra people (for example, whether they are or were
associated with the mystical status accorded to some metalworkers in the European
tradition - see Aldhouse-Green 2002), or even about such fundamental matters as their
caste. No attempt has been made to elucidate the tacit knowledge aspects of the craft.
Preliminary fieldwork in November 2000 provided a basic digital video account of the
casting process, and this has now been edited into a continuous record at UWCN.
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Professor Rajesh Kochhar, Director of NISTADS, and David Smith plan to revisit the
Dhokra villages in the summer of 2001 to initiate the development of a definitive
documentary record. This research (which is partly funded by the EU-India Research
Programme and partly by a grant to David Smith from the UK Arts and Humanities
Research Board, AHRB) is the subject of this paper.

2. The Research Problem

The fundamental task is to capture and represent aspects of the tacit knowledge
content of the Dhokra craft in ways that can be interpreted by people who are not
technical specialists. In addition, it is crucial to do this in a way which does not
interpose unnecessary layers of re-interpretation or involve the loss of essential
information.
Using so-called Naturalistic Knowledge Engineering (Bell and Hardiman, 1989), we
propose to work with target artisans to capture as complete a representation as
possible of the Dhokra casting processes and of the tacit elements underlying their
skilled performance. Continuous activity shadowing with digital video and running
commentary will be used in conjunction with teachback and peer critique to obtain a
consensually validated description of the procedures.
Naturalistic Knowledge Engineering (NKE) has a number of advantages from the
point of view of our project:

It is a cooperative process, involving all stakeholders;

It takes place primarily in the natural setting in which the knowledge is

customarily used;

It is about tacit knowledge

It is an iterative process

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The approach has been used successfully in the field of medical informatics and in the
case of knowledge archiving in the aircraft engine repair industry.
Recent research and development carried out at UWCN (Smith and Hall, 2001)
suggests that that multimedia technologies make it possible to develop adequate
representations of skilled performance mediated by the craftsman him- or herself.
Particularly valuable in this respect is the capacity of multimedia systems to use a full
range of modalities of description, including video, sound, still image, conventional
text and technical diagrams. This technology makes it possible to present very
complex information in a variety of formats and contexts. We therefore propose to
use the capabilities of multimedia to present exemplars of skilled performance in
parallel with formal text descriptions in parallel languages and a commentary in
voice-over mode, again, offering parallel languages.

The object of the research is to produce something which will be potentially useful to
the Dhokra people themselves, as well as being of interest and value to academic
researchers. This raises a number of design issues. According to Karamjit Gill (1997)
"The challenge is to design human-machine collaboration which contributes
to new forms of communication, participation and inclusion. One way forward
is to shift the design focus from the technical interface to the sociocommunication interface. Such a shift of focus should aim at overcoming the
trends towards homogeneity of knowledge and communications, thereby
avoiding exclusion of diversity of languages, traditions and practices".

This dictum is a guiding principle for the project. team. We wish to approach the
status of knowledge, tacit or otherwise, from its location within the practices of the
specific communities within which it functions. This implies a methodology which
constructs representations of knowledge in action through appropriate social contexts,
rather than the implementation of a quasi-autonomously "knowing" artefact such as
an expert system.

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Two field visits are planned, each involving approximately five days of field research.
It is perhaps worth noting that the field locations are very remote, so that each visit
will involve two days of travel each way from and return to Delhi. In addition, two
periods, each of about five days will be spent working at NISTADS, Delhi and also
with graduate students at The University of Delhi Institute of Informatics and
Communication to produce definitive translations, write scripts and to create
culturally appropriate graphic designs.
Between visits, production of a "concept demonstrator" multimedia program will be
undertaken at UWCN. The concept demonstrator will then be taken back to the
Dhokra artisans, who will critique it and advise on the re-shooting of materials which
do not, in their estimation, adequately document the processes. The re-edited material
will then form the basis of the final version of a multimedia program. This program
will be made available to scholars both as a CD-ROM and on-line via the Internet.
We believe that the programs will address a number of overlapping audiences. Firstly
they will provide part of a valuable comprehensive record which will correct many
acknowledged defects in the existing ethnographic literature of craft industries in
India. This may in itself prove a useful teaching resource, not only in the field of
cultural studies, but also as a means of throwing light on archaeological and other
evidence of past metalworking processes. Secondly, they will form a future reference
source for members of the Dhokra artisan community relating to past practices and
providing a route of access to past practices in a social, cultural and technical context
which is likely to have radically changed over the next few years. Thirdly, they will
provide a framework for investigating the potential value of new media technologies
to traditional artisans in developing countries. Finally, they may be a source of
creative insight for artists, artisans and designer-makers from communities both
within and outside of India - including, of course, the Dhokra people.
3. Multimedia Knowledge Engineering as a Case of the Artificial
What has been described so far has been presented as an innovative case of the
application of knowledge engineering to ethnographic research. As such, it is (we
firmly believe) interesting, but it poses no particular problems in the context of the
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culture of the artificial. This is superficially in line with Adam (1998, cf footnote 4 to
p. 48), who is of the opinion that multimedia technologies currently attract more
cultural than philosophical interest, perhaps because they raise no fundamental issues.
On the contrary, however, it will be argued that the project represents a challenging
instance of the culture of the artificial, and that it poses the intriguing question of how
and to what extent the same artefact can function as, in Massimo Negrotti's terms
(1999a, pp 65-66), both an "analytical artificial" and an "aesthetic artificial".
Negrotti (1999b) defines an artificial technology as
"that which evinces or even explicitly declares its intention to reproduce
something existing in nature by means of materials and procedures different
from those occurring in nature."
The fundamental question, therefore, is "if we are indeed functioning at the level of
the artificial as understood in this context, just what is it that exists in nature and
which we are proposing to reproduce?" I have already implied above that the object
of our study is the creation of a tacit knowledge archive, but it would be both
simplistic and epistemologically nave to suggest that we were proposing to replicate
the tacit knowledge per se of the artisans. This would be contrary to all accepted
definitions of this frequently misapplied concept, and would in any case lapse into
existential incoherence, since, even if we could fully explicate a tacit knowledge base
as formal propositional knowledge, it would, by definition, require another level of
tacit knowledge in order to apply this in any meaningful way.
The term tacit knowledge as it is currently applied appears to have been coined by
Polanyi (See for, example, The Tacit Dimension, 1966) to describe, for example, the
knowledge gained through experience by artisans in the daily performance of skilled
actions, and which was expressed in doing, rather than in terms of a formal
explication. Such knowledge is additional to explicit (objective) knowledge, which
can be formally expressed and critically evaluated. Polanyi saw tacit 'knowing' as
one pole of a dimensional continuum in which cognitivity, awareness and activity
were in dynamic equilibrium. His concept was subsequently widely taken up, notably
by researchers working within the Scandinavian Dialogue tradition associated with
the Swedish Working Life Centre and extended to describe all aspects of knowledge
which cannot be formally codified.
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Mlander (1992) argued that all knowledge is in some way tacit. Whilst accepting the
epistemological legitimacy of Polanyis construct, he stressed the role of language in
the expression of knowledge within practice traditions. Mlander asserted that many
people have effectively been denied a voice to express what they know (whether by
educational, organisational or social constraints), and that the means available for
communication of knowledge should be taken into account. However, even if this
argument is taken fully on board, it is still impossible to reduce the whole question to
one of communication. Polanyi's dynamic three-dimensional formulation allows for
certain aspects of tacit knowledge to become accessible in some form. But the status
and location of the knowledge base remains problematic. The fundamental difficulty
is that, as Sierhuis and Clancy (1997) have argued:
knowledge is embodied in the practice of people. Knowledge does not exist
without practice. Practice does not exist without action. We cannot disembody
knowledge.
If we reject a formalist reductionist conception of knowledge, then we must seek
other, and necessarily indirect, means of casting some kind of light on the matter.
Multimedia technology appears to offer a way of circumventing at least some of the
constraints (whether epistemological or societal) which render knowledge and knowhow inaccessible, but do not necessarily render it any less tacit.
Negrotti (1999a) in presenting a cogent argument for considering technologicallymediated communication as a case of origination of an artificial, also makes the point
(ib. p. 55) that:
"When they communicate, people reduce exemplars and performances to some
type of familiar symbology or to shared reference concepts drawn from
disciplines or activities that, at least on a conventional basis offer a certain intersubjectivity."
This formulation reduces the problem not to one of complete explication, and hence,
of objective representation, but to the creation of the means of supporting the shared
meaning based on "inter-subjectivity" to which Negrotti refers.
We are, therefore, attempting to create an artificial series of indices which denote the
socio-cultural knowledge base at the heart of the Dhokra community, and which
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underpins the practice by which their characteristic artefacts are created. It is enough
for our purposes that the indexicality of the system should support the kinds of
probabilistic reasoning about underlying meanings to which Negrotti refers when he
speaks (ib. p. 57) of actors making "bets".
Negrotti further underlines this point when he points up (but does not expand on) the
cybernetic nature of the processes in inter-personal communication (ib. p. 55):
"the specific meaning of the message stored in A's mind is translated as
something artificial, constituted by the linguistic elements that A thinks of
sharing with B and is then deposited and reproduced in B's mind. But it also
returns to A, who judges the effectiveness of the message as if he were a
listener. Communication generates an artificial which, first of all, has to work
well according to the criteria of the transmitter: in this sense, the process of
communicating is sometimes persuading but is always self-persuading"
A basically similar point was made by Pask (1975), who proposed a mechanism
which could engage people in focussed conversations, archiving the 'precipitate' of
public knowledge in a knowledge base. This would be a 'living' entity, growing,
changing and adjusting.
It is ironic, therefore, that a primary condition for the design and creation of such an
indexical knowledge base, functioning as a communication artificial for the Dhokra
people is that it should satisfy the evaluation of the developers. It appears, in fact, that
the outcomes from this research will embody at least two forms, or levels, of
artificiality. The first relates to the role of the proposed multimedia program for the
Dhokra people as a community of practice (Wenger, 1998). The second relates it to
academic researchers as a community of practice. But what is the status of these
'artificials' in these specific contexts?
Negrotti (1999a, pp. 65-66) proposes the category of "Analytical Artificials" for:
"objects, machines or processes which pretend to be a reliable reproduction of
an exemplar and its essential performance and are based on some established
analytical theory or model or, at least, some established and shared
knowledge system"
In contrast, the category of "Aesthetical Artificials":
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"do not pretend to be a reliable reproduction of an exemplar and of its

essential performance, but seek only to reproduce them as an intentional fiction,
which is more or less easily recognisable"
The central problematic lies in the nature of the "essential performances" which are
being reproduced. By definition, tacit knowledge does not, and possibly cannot, exist
as a formulated idea which can function as an exemplar. Of course, we believe that it
supports and informs behaviours which can be so used, but the process of relating
performance to tacit knowledge in this sense is inferential and probabilistic. The
Dhokra artisans work in a tradition of practice, not of praxis, and the processes of that
tradition are deeply embedded in the whole day-to-day life of their community. In
this respect they are quite different from the Aircraft Industry Technicians previously
studied (Smith and Hall, 2001). The multimedia programs, as artificial products, have
an indeterminate intermediary role in disembedding knowledge from tradition, and
this is likely to be a complex process.
As far as the Dhokra artisans are concerned, we may conjecture that the knowledge
archive is likely to represent a kind of "analytical artificial". To them, their tradition
is their knowledge, and it is most improbable that they will ever have experienced the
need for deep epistemological analysis of it. As Heidegger (1927;1962, p. 43) noted:
"When tradition becomes master, it does so in such a way that what it
transmits is made so inaccessible that it rather becomes concealed. Tradition
takes what comes down to us and delivers it to self-evidence"
To the ethnographic community, on the other hand, the conditions for an analytical
artificial appear not to be satisfied At best the program represents a kind of consensual
fiction, becoming, rather, an instance of an "aesthetical artificial". We can perhaps
draw an analogy here between our work and that of the documentary photographer.
The general public tend to see such photographs as works of precise record (ie as
analytical artificials). To the photographer, however, they are "made" as part of a
process of creative interpretation. (ie aesthetical artificials).
Both communities are, in Negrotti's term, standing at different observation levels.
They may both be aware of the role of the program as artefact or tool, but find it
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convenient to overlook its indeterminate status in return for apparent gains in

understanding. One is brought to mind here of the dictum of the English philosopher
Francis Bacon regarding the "contract of error" (Bacon, 1605;1974 p. 134):
"For as knowledges are now delivered, there is a kind of contract of error
between the deliverer and the receiver. For he that delivereth knowledge
desireth to deliver it in such form as may be best delivered, and not as may be
best examined; and he that receiveth knowledge desireth rather present
satisfaction than expectant inquiry; and so rather not to doubt than not to err; "
If the cultural context is therefore critically important in determining the status of an
artificial, then it is also vitally important to be aware of its potential cultural impact.
Negrotti (1999a, p. 91) points to the way in which even something as seemingly
intangible as a message in social communication becomes in turn part of the
existential reality of a given cultural context:
"Being an artificial object [the message] soon ends in living its own life by
generating unforseeable collateral new phenomenologies. The example
becomes as crystallised and objectified as any 'technological' product"
A detailed discussion of such effects may be found in Sinding-Larsen's (1991)
treatment of what he calls "tools of description". He argues that (p. 109):
"A new tool of description makes it possible to make explicit (ie to give
external reality to) structures that had previously been implicit"
Sinding-Larsen demonstrates the impact of forms of musical notation on the practice
of certain traditional forms, notably the Gregorian Chant in monastic Catholicism. He
also goes on to discuss the ways in which the use (or non-use) of the tape recorder
affects the development and practice of folk musicianship in Norway. He concludes
that (p. 121):
"An improvement of the tools of description of a certain domain will, in
general, also be the starting point for a new design and prescription which will
change the domain originally to be described"
This is very close to what Wenger (1998, p. 65 et seq.) describes as 'reification', where
'objectification' of a practice develops to the point where there is little opportunity for
shared experience and interactive negotiation. While they may provide a quality of
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evidence which is particularly required for formal academic study, highly determined
tools of description may hasten the process of reification, to the eventual detriment of
the practice domain. It is necessary, therefore, to understand that the dual status of the
multimedia as a tool of description may have both desired and undesirable effects.
The Theory of the Artificial seems to be a useful conceptual platform for gaining
insight into this.

4. Conclusions
The knowledge embedded in the practice of the Dhokra artisans is part of their
cultural patrimony. It is manifested in a series of practices which have changed very
little since their origins in ancient craft traditions and it is part of the defining culture
which sets the Dhokra makers apart as a community. And yet this knowledge is very
vulnerable. As Polanyi (1958) pointed out, drawing on the loss of the violin-making
art of the Cremona school:
"an art which has fallen into disuse for the period of a generation is altogether
lost" (p. 53).
But the problem in the past has always been in accessing the furthest recesses of the
deep but inexpressible knowledge upon which such communities are built, and then in
formulating what has been brought to light in some way which does not distort its
essential meaning.
Mlander (ib. p. 12) observed:
"The expression 'tacit knowledge' has had an epistemological emancipatory
power. It is a good starting point from which to open up a number of related
problems, though it does not take us very far in the direction of solutions".
It has been argued here that the new technologies of multimedia communication,
together with the established methodology of Naturalistic Knowledge Engineering,

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and set in the context of the Theory of the Artificial appear to provide a means of
moving "in the direction of solutions".
5. References
Adam A (1998) Artificial Knowing: gender and the thinking machine. Routledge,
London.
Aldhouse-Green M (2002, in press) Any Old Iron! Symbolism and Ironworking in
Iron Age Europe. In Aldhouse-Green M & Webster P (eds) Footprints in the Sands of
Time. University of Wales Press, Cardiff.
Bacon F. (1605) The Advancement of Learning. Edited by Johnston A (1974).
Clarendon Press, Oxford.
Bell J. and R.J. Hardiman (1989) The Third Role The Naturalistic Knowledge
Engineer. In: Knowledge Elicitation, principles, techniques and applications. (D.
Diaper, ed.) pp 49-85 Ellis Horwood, Chichester.
Gill KS (1997) Knowledge Networking and Social Cohesion in the Information
Society: A study for the European Commission. Brussels, Directorate General XIII of
the European Commission.
Heidegger M (1927) Being and Time. Translated Macquarrie J. and Robinson E.
(1962). Blackwell, Oxford.
Mlander B (1992) Tacit Knowledge and Silenced Knowledge: Fundamental
Problems and Controversies. In: Skill and Education. (B. Granzon and M. Florin
eds.) pp 9-31. Springer-Verlag, London.
Negrotti M (1999a) The Theory of the Artificial. Intellect Books, Exeter.
Negrotti M (1999b) From the Art to the Artificial. Leonardo 32, 3, 183-189.
Pask G (1975) Conversation, Cognition and Learning. Elsevier, Amsterdam.
Polanyi M (1958) Personal Knowledge. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Polanyi M (1966) The Tacit Dimension. Routledge and Kegan Paul. London
Sinding-Larsen H (1991) Computers, Musical Notation and the Externalisation of
Knowledge: towards a comparative study in the history of Information Technology.

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In Negrotti M (ed.) Understanding the Artificial. pp. 101-125 Springer-Verlag,

London.
Reevers R (1962) Cire perdue casting in India. New Delhi. Crafts Museum pp 36-54.
Smith DJ & Hall J (2001) Multimedia Know-how archiving in aviation industry
training. In Proceedings of the 7th IFAC Symposium on Automation Based on Human
Skill: Joint Design of Technology and Organisation, ed. Brandt, D. and Cerenetic, J.,
Elesevier, Oxford.
Wenger E (1998) Communities of Practice: Learning, meaning and identity. CUP,
Cambridge.

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