Uma abordagem educacional na prática para o sistema de numeração dos Baniwa

Abstract

This undergraduate thesis aimed to validate a teaching proposal designed for addressing the traditional Baniwa numeral system within the context of Indigenous School Education. Grounded in Ethnomathematics and an intercultural perspective, the study was implemented at the Escola Municipal Baniwa Eeno Hiepole, located in the Canadá community, within the municipality of São Gabriel da Cachoeira (AM). The proposal consisted of didactic activities that value the ancestral mathematical knowledge of the Baniwa, exploring their counting principles based on quinary and vigesimal structures. For validation, participatory methodological strategies were adopted in partnership with the community teacher, focusing on sensitive listening and the cultural adaptation of activities. The qualitative analysis of the results revealed advances in students’ learning and significant contributions to the strengthening of cultural identity through mathematics taught at school. Furthermore, the work proposed written symbolic representations inspired by elements of Baniwa material culture, such as açaí seeds and arumã strips, aiming at the preservation and transmission of this traditional knowledge. The experience highlighted the potential of Ethnomathematics as a pathway to a contextualized, critical, and culturally meaningful Indigenous school education.