Geometric and algorithmic practices in oral tradition societies: the case of sand drawings and string-figures from Vanuatu
Vandendriessche Eric. 2018. .
BOOKPART, (2018 ) - PUBLISHEDVERSION - English (en-GB)
OPENACCESS -
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Audience : OTHER
HAL CCSD
Subject
Ethnomathematics, mathematical practices, sand drawing, string-figure making, [SHS.ANTHRO-SE]Humanities and Social Sciences/Social Anthropology and ethnology, [SHS.HISPHILSO]Humanities and Social Sciences/History, Philosophy and Sociology of Sciences
Domains
Sociologie, Anthropologie, Histoire, Mathématiques, Ethnologie, Philosophie
Description
International audience This paper aims to compare—through an ethnomathematical approach—two activities carried out by the Northern Ambrym Islanders (Vanuatu, South Pacific), and locally termed using the same vernacular verb tu (lit. “to write”). These practices consist in making a figure, either with a loop of string (“string-figure making”, using fingers and sometimes feet and mouth) or by drawing a continuous line in the sand with one finger (“sand drawing”). Initially, we examine thecultural and symbolic aspects of both practices, bringing to light that the making of string-figures and sand drawings are both means of recording and expressing knowledge relating to particular mythological entities, or environmental elements in Northern Ambrym society. Secondly, by focusing on concepts such as operation, procedure, sub-procedure, symmetry and iteration, we demonstrate that both practices share geometric and algorithmic properties. Concomitantly, we investigate the links between the procedures involved in the making of these figures and particular forms of memory and tradition embedded in these practices. We conclude that this comparative study of activities bearing a mathematical character should contribute to revealing criteria for identifying “mathematical practices” in an oral tradition cultural context, which is a core issue in ethnomathematics.
Creators
Vandendriessche, Eric
Contributors
Sciences, Philosophie, Histoire (SPHERE UMR 7219) ; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité), M. Pillar Grossi, S. Da Silva, I. Porfirio, C. Dos Santos, G. Zamora, G. Tertuliano, M. Scheren, F. Galueio, ANR-16-CE27-0005,ETKnoS,Encoder et transmettre des savoirs avec une ficelle : étude comparée des usages culturels de pratiques mathématiques dans la réalisation de figures de fil (Océanie, Amérique du Nord, Amérique du Sud).(2016)
Sources
World (of) Encounters, The past, Present, and Future of Anthropological KnowledgeAnnals of the 18th International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES) World Congress,, M. Pillar Grossi; S. Da Silva; I. Porfirio; C. Dos Santos; G. Zamora; G. Tertuliano; M. Scheren; F. Galueio. World (of) Encounters, The past, Present, and Future of Anthropological Knowledge Annals of the 18th International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES) World Congress,, 2, , pp.1763-1780, 2018, ISBN: 978-85-62946-96-7, https://www.iuaes2018.org/conteudo/view?ID_CONTEUDO=767
