Local Wisdom and Ethnomathematics in Banyumulek Pottery from the Perspective of Sustainable Cultural Heritage
Keywords:
Ethnomathematics, Local Wisdom, Sustainable Cultural Heritage, Banyumulek Pottery, Traditional CraftsAbstract
This study investigates the Banyumulek pottery tradition in West Lombok, Indonesia, through the interconnected lenses of ethnomathematics and Sustainable Cultural Heritage. As globalization increasingly threatens traditional crafts, preserving the intangible knowledge embedded within these cultural practices has become imperative. This research aims to identify the values of local wisdom, describe the ethnomathematical concepts utilized in the pottery production process, and analyze their contribution to sustainable cultural preservation. Employing a qualitative ethnographic design, data were collected via participant observation, in-depth interviews with local artisans, and documentation. The findings reveal that the Banyumulek pottery tradition is deeply rooted in local wisdom, encompassing vital social cohesion, ecological sustainability, and cultural economy values. Furthermore, the production stages inherently apply diverse ethnomathematical concepts predominantly geometry, alongside measurement, proportion, symmetry, and patterns which have evolved naturally through collective community experience rather than formal education. This mathematical knowledge functions as a living cultural system transmitted intergenerationally. Consequently, the study formulates a conceptual preservation model that positions ethnomathematics as a crucial bridge connecting traditional knowledge with modern academic frameworks. In conclusion, Banyumulek pottery fulfills the social, economic, environmental, and educational dimensions of Sustainable Cultural Heritage. Preserving this craft necessitates safeguarding its underlying knowledge systems, underscoring the need for synergistic stakeholder support to leverage ethnomathematics in both cultural conservation and contextual education.
References
Anand, P., & Bhasin, A. (2019). Sustaining cultural heritage: Deriving the contemporary from traditional crafts. Lens Conference Proceedings.
D’Ambrosio, U. (2001). What is ethnomathematics, and how can it help children in schools? Teaching Children Mathematics, 7(6), 308–310.
D’Ambrosio, U. (2006). Ethnomathematics: Link between traditions and modernity. Sense Publishers.
D’Ambrosio, U., & Rosa, M. (2017). Ethnomathematics and its pedagogical action in mathematics education. In M. Rosa, U. D’Ambrosio, D. C. Orey, L. Shirley, W. V. Alangui, P. Palhares, & M. E. Gavarrete (Eds.), Current and future perspectives of ethnomathematics as a program (pp. 63–74). Springer.
Ding, C. (2025). Traditional handicrafts as intangible cultural heritage: A systematic literature review. SAGE Open, 15(1).
Gerdes, P. (1994). Reflections on ethnomathematics. For the Learning of Mathematics, 14(2), 19–22.
Iskandar, R. S. F., Karjanto, N., Kusumah, Y. S., & Ihsan, I. R. (2022). A systematic literature review on ethnomathematics in geometry. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 2438(1), 012026.
Jungic, V. (2021). On ethnomathematics: In memory of Ubiratan D’Ambrosio. arXiv Preprint arXiv:2109.02560.
Mabotja, K. (2025). Ethnomathematics in pre-service mathematics teacher education. In Contemporary Issues in Mathematics Education. IntechOpen.
Nuryanto. (2023). Traditional craftsmanship and intangible cultural heritage values in Indonesia. International Journal of Intangible Heritage, 18, 45–58.
Palhares, P. (2023). Ethno + mathema + tics: The legacy of Ubiratan D’Ambrosio. Accromath, 18(1), 12–20.
Rosa, M., & Orey, D. C. (2013). Ethnomodeling as a research theoretical framework on ethnomathematics and mathematical modeling. Journal of Urban Mathematics Education, 6(2), 62–80.
Rosa, M., & Orey, D. C. (2016). State of the art in ethnomathematics. In M. Rosa et al. (Eds.), Current and future perspectives of ethnomathematics as a program. Springer.
Sari, A. K., Widodo, S. A., & Prahmana, R. C. I. (2022). Ethnomathematics study: Cultural values and geometric concepts in Indonesian local culture. Journal of Research and Advances in Mathematics Education, 7(2), 115–128.
White, E. (2024). In the potter’s hand: Tourism and everyday practices of ceramic craft heritage. Journal of Heritage Tourism, 19(5), 620–637.
Wulandari, I. G. A. P. A., Payadnya, I. P. A. A., Puspadewi, K. R., & Saelee, S. (2024). The significance of ethnomathematics learning: A cross-cultural perspectives between Indonesian and Thailand educators. arXiv Preprint arXiv:2404.01648.
Xu, H., & Ball, R. (2024). Multiple forms of knowing in mathematics: A scoping literature study. arXiv Preprint arXiv:2406.16921.
Yang, Y., Shafi, M., Song, X., & Yang, R. (2018). Preservation of cultural heritage embodied in traditional crafts in developing countries. Sustainability, 10(5), 1336.
Zbuchea, A. (2021). Traditional crafts: A literature review focused on sustainable development. Sustainability, 13(5), 2737.
Zaslavsky, C. (1999). Africa counts: Number and pattern in African cultures (3rd ed.). Lawrence Hill Books.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Elnang Soewena
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
