THE REPRODUCTION OF MBYÀ TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE IN A RURAL SOCIAL SPACE IN TRANSFORMATION

Abstract

The tasks mbyà children perform in the woods and in the fields for the reproduction of the domestic unit are scarcely recognized as  learning experiences from both common sense and academy. More often, people define them as child labor; according to internationally anctioned children rights some situations are persecuted or eventually preventing schooling, without regard for the knowledge and skills they can produce. The participation of children in domestic household production can be understood as a learning experience when analyzed as part of the socialization process, where knowledge is produced from the action and reflection on the performed procedures. Therefore, it should be distinguished conceptually and empirically from situations where children labor is involved in routine tasks in which there is no production of knowledge on the social and natural world – although everyone has the ability, and this eventually can occur even without a formal or informal teaching device. In this article, I discuss the occupation and land use in an area that is home to several mbyà-guaraní groups (San Ignacio, provincia de Misiones, Argentina); I also examine the formative nature of the experiences involved in child participation in production activities, considering he implications of these processes in the reproduction of traditional indigenous knowledge in rural areas undergoing transformation.Keywords: Mbyà-Guarani, traditional knowledge, socialization, training experience, child labor.