The Pitaguary Ethnicity Sociobiodiversity and Sustainability Practices in Maracanaú, Ceará, Brazil

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to identify the socio biodiversity practices that take place in the Pitaguary community and how these cultural practices reflects in the sustainability of their space. Socio biodiversity and sustainability are two concepts which belong to the life of indigenous people. They are fundamental to an ecological balanced environment and to the quality of life of human beings. The relationship established with nature combined with the traditional knowledge in the natural resources management to produce many items of the biodiversity make these people real natural universe specialists. The indigenous people possess an immeasurable cultural legacy in regard of the biodiversity and sustainability. The natural resources extraction and the harmonic relationship established with the nature elements are undoubtedly unique and it results in sustainability. It was carried out an ethnography study investigating the ancestral traditional practices of socio biodiversity and sustainability in the Pitaguary ethnicity known as “Santo Antônio do Pitaguary”. The community is located closest to the Santo Antônio dam in the Maracanaú city, Fortaleza metropolitan region in the Ceará State, Brazil. The method consisted of an exploratory-descriptive study with a qualitative approach and the use of interviews and direct observation as techniques. The results highlight that the ancestral culture and memory are present in the socio biodiversity practices of the Pitaguary community. Moreover, they reveal the importance of the traditional knowledge in the biodiversity preservation for sustainability.