Ethnomathematics between subordinated knowledge and epistemicide

the case of Mozambique

Abstract

This work aims at carrying out a reflection on the subaltern epistemologies, considering as an example the Ethnomathematics. The philosophical discourse on the “epistemicidy” of local and traditional knowledge by the dominant scientific paradigm can be applied to various disciplinary fields. Among them it is possible to find Mathematics, in its two main branches, arithmetic and geometry. Mathematics represents a paradigmatic and meaningful case. It has been theorized for the first time by the Brazilian D’Ambrosio and the Dutch-Mozambican Paulus Gerdes, ethnomathematics is living today a contradiction: it was accepted in epistemological terms, but, especially in Africa, it registered many problems in assert itself, showing difficulties in being accepted in official curricula. The research shows how this process occurred in Mozambique, a symbolic country for African ethnomathematics, both in consideration of Gerdes’ contribution and of the progressive education during the first phase of its independence.