Pescadores e coletoras de Patané/Camocim: aspectos da adaptação humana aos manguezais do Rio Grande do Norte

Abstract

ABSTRACT

This study was carried out at the outlet of the Guaraíras lake in the community of Patané/Camocim, Municipality of Arês, State of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. It s purpose is to understand the importance of the mangrove swamp for the populations which use it as a means of subsistence, which should be clear from the knowledge which the collectors and fishermen have about this ecosystem and it s characteristics. Starting from the categories of the people themselves, we use the technique of direct observation plus open interviews. Here we deal with the identifications and categorization of lilius (aquatic moluscs) by the wives and daughters of the fisher-farmers who, besides attributing them with economic value, consider them as an important source of protein for the family. The theorectical approach here used are principally that of etho-science. We also examine, in the light of practice, the hypothesis of the American structuralists, that culture is so highly patterned and shared that one or two informants are enough as sources of information. Through this study, we hope to show that the traditional knowledge so neglected by modern science, has diagnostics and characteristics just as usful as those legitimized by scientific useage. The collectors and fishermen studied have detailed knowledge of the lunar fases, tides and winds, which interfere with fishering and colleting in the estuary. In the classification of molluscs made by the collectors of the communities mentioned, we find morphological, ecological, behavioral and sense (taste) criterias. Although we are dealing with an indigenous population, it continues to be a case of adaptation to the same American tropics, with the possibility of some indigenous cultural continuity. The fact that many families state that their grandparents came from Amazonia, specifically Belém do Pará, may indicate that there may be more than one source of indigenous influence in the region. The data here related may furnish basic information for projects of sustainable development or for transference of technology, since, to do this, it is necessary to know not only the potentials of the ecosystem, but also the values and tradictions which form the decisory process and the preferences and choices made by the community.