ETHNOMATHEMATICS AND INDIGENOUS SCHOOL EDUCATION: MATHEMATICAL LEARNING IN CULTURAL PRACTICES OF THE KALAPALO/NAFUKUÁ PEOPLES

Abstract

This article sought to understand how cultural practices of the Kalapalo and Nafukuá peoples function as ethnomathematical learning environments within Indigenous school education. The study aimed to analyze how activities such as timbó fishing and the creation of traditional graphic designs support the development of concepts related to bodily measurement, spatial organization, proportionality, symmetry, and pattern recognition. A qualitative approach was adopted, combining ethnographic accounts, descriptions of community practices, and legal documents that structure Indigenous education in Brazil. The analysis showed that children learn by observing, imitating, and participating in collective activities, incorporating reasoning processes rooted in the relationship between body, environment, and tradition. The results indicate that timbó fishing involves decisions based on empirical estimation, coordinated group action, and the use of bodily measures, while graphic designs reveal mastery of symmetry and visual structures transmitted across generations. The study concludes that these practices constitute complete ethnomathematical systems legitimized by the legal framework of Indigenous education, offering schools meaningful ways to integrate traditional knowledge into the curriculum without altering its cultural integrity.