Indigenous Cultural Practices to Build Peace Following Violent Conflict: A Literature Review

Résumé

In the aftermath of violent conflict, Indigenous cultural practices have played a significant role in restoring peaceful relations among former adversaries. Processes such as Mato Oput in Uganda, Gacaca in Rwanda, and Kukeleeku ka tonu in Liberia exemplify community-based approaches to reconciliation and social healing in post-conflict environments. Today, scholarly research has begun investigating and exploring the relevance and applicability of Indigenous cultural practices to conflict resolution and peacebuilding in post-conflict contexts. These practices have proven effective in addressing conflict and restoring social cohesion within Indigenous, conflict-affected communities. However, a comprehensive synthesis of the scholarly work on this subject is absent. This neglect is twofold: while there is growing recognition of ritual and cultural practices in peace studies more broadly, Indigenous practices remain underrepresented because existing literature often sidelines Indigenous voices and rarely grounds analysis in empirical work led by or with Indigenous communities. This neglect reflects broader assumptions that Indigenous knowledge is unscientific, lacking empirical validity, and insufficient for addressing structural drivers of conflict such as political exclusion or economic inequality. Consequently, Indigenous cultural practices remain underrepresented in conflict resolution and peacebuilding literature. This article seeks to address that disrepair by providing a systematic review of English-language scholarly literature on Indigenous cultural practices in post-conflict peacebuilding. It offers a thematic synthesis of key findings, outlines prevailing scholarly perspectives, highlights research gaps, and identifies directions for future research.