BANIWA ENTOMOLOGICAL ETHNOTAXONOMY IN THE CITY OF SÃO GABRIEL DA CACHOEIRA, AMAZONAS STATE, BRAZIL

Abstract

The biological knowledge of insects are perceived and constructed differently in each culture. Our purpose was to investigate Baniwa entomological knowledge (BEK) in the city of São Gabriel da Cachoeira. Data were collected through interviews with Baniwa families. The word “bug” to Baniwa encompasses animals other than Insecta, such as reptiles, amphibians, molluscs and other arthropods. This work will consider only the names referring to the class Insecta. The main characteristics used to identify Insecta are color and size. The construction of BEK begins in childhood, when children accompany their parents in field activities. The first insects to be learned are those that cause some type of accident or represent some kind of harmful. It’s possible to realize that the BEK is not dissociated from other zoos, cultural and social Baniwa knowledge. Keywords: ethnoscience, ethnobiology, entomology, coripaco, Upper Rio Negro.