Reima, resguardo e gênero na etnoictiologia da Comunidade de Espírito Santo do Tauá-PA.

Abstract

Food goes beyond satisfying our hunger: it has its own history, flavors, techniques, respect, beliefs, rites, offerings, celebrations, and so on. This study investigates the traditional practices involved in the category of reima (noun) or reimoso ) adjective) as applied to the fish consumed in the community of Espírito do Tauá, Pará. Reima is a complex concept that refers to the sensorial and nutritional qualities of different species of fish and other foods, some of which have harmful impacts on people with certain health conditions or other vulnerabilities. The concept of reima is usually invoked the practice of resguardo, which involves dietary restrictions at vulnerable moments in the life cycle, especially among women. To better understand this knowledge that I have inherited from my ancestors, I developed a methodology inspired by the methods of ethnoscience and descriptive, participatory auto-ethnography. The methodology involves “free listing” with children, young people and elderly people of both sexes from the community about fish that are reimoso as well as situations that require resguardo practices. Aiming to understand variation by gender and age, I will analyzeresults of free-listing exercises using the “Cognitive Salience Index”, which measures the degree of consensus among different collaborators about each species considered reimoso or not, and different situations that require resguardo protective practices. In this way, I hope to build a systematic and in-depth analysis of the traditional knowledge associated with the category of reima and resguardo in my own home community, with a special focus on variation by gender and across the generations.