Emergent Geometry in Ikan Keturi Piring: A Generative Ethnomathematical Model of Cultural Cognition
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31571/ijcmasted.v1i1.1092Keywords:
Ethnomathematics, Emergent Geometry, Geometry Learning, Cultural Practice, Spatial ReasoningAbstract
The persistent disconnection between abstract geometry and students’ lived cultural experience—particularly in Indonesian junior high school contexts—continues to limit meaningful mathematical understanding. Although ethnomathematics has established that mathematical ideas are embedded in cultural practices, existing studies remain largely descriptive and fail to explain how geometric reasoning emerges or how it can be systematically integrated into instruction. Addressing this gap, this study investigates the geometric structures embedded in the cultural practice of Ikan Keturi Piring, the mechanisms through which these structures emerge, and their transformation into meaningful geometry learning. Using a qualitative approach with focused ethnography, data were collected through participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and documentation involving 12 participants, including practitioners, cultural elders, and mathematics teachers. The findings indicate that geometric reasoning—reflected in circularity, radial symmetry, proportional spacing, and implicit angular partitioning—emerges through iterative spatial regulation guided by cultural principles of balance and harmony. These results demonstrate that geometry is not merely learned as formal abstraction but constructed as a culturally mediated cognitive process that links cultural activity with mathematical reasoning. Theoretically, this study advances ethnomathematics toward a generative epistemological framework that models the emergence of geometry from the interaction between cultural rules and cognitive constraints. Practically, it provides a pedagogical pathway, such as analyzing circular arrangements and determining central angles (360° divided by the number of elements), to support contextual and embodied learning. This study redefines geometry as a culturally grounded system that transforms how mathematical knowledge is understood and taught.
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