Saberes Etnomatemáticos na Aldeia São Francisco da Etnia Potiguara: algumas Grandezas e Medidas

Abstract

This work aims to identify the mathematical knowledge used in cultural practices by indigenous people of the Potiguara ethnic group in the village of São Francisco the city of Baía da Traição - PB, prioritizing mass units, measures and volumes. In order to reach our goal, we carried out observation of practical activities and interviews, which started with a different generating question, for each of the four elders. The theoretical foundation that supports the research is Ethnomathematics from the perspective of Ubiratan D'Ambrósio. The methodology used for the development of the research is characterized, with regard to the approach to the problem, as qualitative. As for its objectives, it is classified as exploratory and descriptive and, in relation to technical procedures, as a case study. As a result, we identified that the various cultural practices such as craftsmanship, agricultural production, land measurement to use of a system of measurements of its own meaning, linked to the instruments of measurement that belong to the body itself, or of objects of nature. We identify the use of measures such as, palmo, vara, braça, cuia, conta, many still used, but they already use the equivalence system to the Metric Decimal System that non-indigenous people use.