Bridging indigenous knowledge and formal mathematics: an ethnomathematical analysis of traditional Growol production
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30659/iem.v1i2.55619Keywords:
Ethnomathematics, Growol, Cultural Context, Mathematics LearningAbstract
Formal school mathematics is frequently taught in isolation from the cultural practices in which students live, so that many learners perceive it as abstract and irrelevant. This qualitative ethnographic study investigates the ethnomathematical concepts embedded within the traditional production of Growol, a fermented cassava staple from Kulon Progo, Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Data were collected through participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and field documentation, and were analyzed using Spradley’s four-stage framework (domain, taxonomic, componential, and cultural theme analysis). The field data reveal five mathematical domains in the artisans’ practices: ratio and proportion in relating the quantities of cassava and soaking water; measurement in quantities of mass and volume and a multi-day fermentation period; social arithmetic in costing and pricing; geometry in containers and packaging; and patterns and algorithms in the ordered and interdependent sequence of production stages. The overarching cultural theme is guided by intuitive precision and ancestral tradition passed down through generations. These findings show that Growol production contains implicit mathematical structures that can be translated into formal mathematical representations. As an educational implication rather than a tested outcome, the documented practices offer authentic contexts for designing culturally responsive mathematics tasks, whose effects on students’ learning should be examined in future classroom studies.
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