Ancestors of the Future: Constructing Mathematics as Maya and Nawa Relationality in the Present

briana rodríguez

Grounded in plurality, mathematics for Maya and Nawa peoples in El Salvador acknowledges and fosters a connection between people and the cosmic ecosystem we share. In this work, mathematics is a living entity actively storying and weaving space-time informing where we will go and how we might become. This project understands mathematics as a practice of relationality for Maya and Nawa-Pipil communities. Grounded in Maya and Nawa normativity, I ask, "In what ways is Maya and Nawa-Pipil mathematics conceptualized and constructed in El Salvador?" Using Indigenous Storywork methodology, mathematics is examined as a technology of cosmology, history, astronomy, architecture, agriculture, and spiritual well-being. Maya and Nawa-Pipil mathematics is a mobility of relationality with land, water, plant relatives, sky relatives, ancestors, and all living beings, grounded in "el orden de la vida" (the order of life) as an expression of balance and equilibrium. It is mathematics for sustainability, where we - the ancestors of the future, as my nephew Jeriah Escobar names it - play an active role as caretakers in the ever-evolving present. How might we understand our responsibility in the present as ancestors of the future?

About briana rodríguez

briana k. n. rodríguez (Maya Ch'orti' and Nawa-Pipil) is a compassionate non-binary educator and thought partner. Their work reflects on questions such as, "What is the purpose of learning?" and "What is the purpose of mathematics learning?" Their research challenges the notion of mathematics as a universal language by asking, who's universe or worldview? Who's values? They collaborate and organize learning spaces with Maya and Nawa-Pipil communities in Los Angles and in El Salvador focused on stewarding community knowledge. Forever a learner, they are grateful to the many lineages of knowledge and love supporting them.