Household ecology, environments and technical processes among the Potiguara of Jaraguá village (Paraíba, Brazil)

Abstract

This article focuses on the technical activities carried out by members of Potiguara households within the diverse environments that constitute the territory inhabited by these indigenous people. Such activities are the result of choices and strategies organized to meet the needs of these households (family groups of at least three generations), properly conforming a household ecology. The technical processes that result from this ecology are centred on individual and collective experiences in mangroves, floodplains and the patchy remnants of the Atlantic Forest, as well as in urban contexts, enabling the development of diversified skills and the acquisition of knowledge about techniques and materials. In this way, the Potiguara at present engage in fishing, agricultural, grazing and extractive activities, building on a local traditional knowledge that allows them to effectively associate materials of diverse origins, both those found locally and those of industrial provenance.

Consumption and Preferences for Wild and Domestic Meat in Indigenous Communities in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

“…Fishermen and women have a very keen knowledge of the mangrove and are hence able to locate aquatic animals and develop efficient techniques for capturing them (Nishida et al, 2006; Rocha et al, 2012). Part of the fish is consumed or given to kinspeople and neighbors with whom one is on friendly terms, and part is sold in the village or the local market when the catch is bigger (Araújo, 2019).…”

“…Over time, conflicts have arisen between distinct modalities of management or access to and use of resources, and by the socially unequal display of the environmental damages and risks caused by industrial endeavors during the historical process. It is precisely against the conditions imposed by dominant policies that the Potiguara seek to impose their power, to access and control the resources present in their territory-through the household ecology, where they build domanial spaces and define mobilities (Araújo, 2019).…”