Ethnomathematics : pranatamangsa system and the birth-death ceremonial in Yogyakarta.

Abstract

Mathematics exists as rooted in human ideas, ways, and techniques to respond to their environments. Along with its development, mathematics has been taught through formal education or schooling in the flat- not flexible ways and far from students' social and cultural lives. Indonesia is rich with culture, including the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY). It is called a city of culture. Educators are not yet aware of this richness in the learning process to integrate it as the starting point. It is hard to find in mathematics textbooks in Indonesia, which put cultural context as starting points. Therefore, this study aims to explore Yogyakarta's culture in terms of contexts used in mathematics learning. It is an ethnography study. Furthermore, the data was collected through literature artifacts, field observation, and interviews with resource persons who understand the seasons, system, and calculation of birth and death days. It is to clarify the researcher's understanding of the literature. This study showed that Yogyakarta's people use mathematical modeling to determine the seasons' system and funerary dates. These models have the potential to be used as a starting point in learning mathematics.