BETWEEN THE MANGROVE AND ANCESTRAL KNOWLEDGE
THE RESISTANCE OF WOMEN SHELLFISH GATHERERS
Keywords:
women gender; traditional kowledges; shellfish-gathering; decolonialityAbstract
This research is based on the recognition that the knowledge produced by women shellfish gatherers from the Z-6 Arnaldo Luz Fishing Colony, in Bayeux, Paraíba, Brazil, can be examined through the lenses of Information Science, decolonial studies, and gender studies. The general objective is to analyze how the knowledge of women shellfish gatherers challenges and re-signifies hegemonic conceptions of information, considering gender relations and decolonial perspectives. The theoretical framework draws upon studies of the decoloniality of knowledge, gender studies, and intersectionality. A qualitative approach was adopted as the methodological procedure, using focus groups as the data collection technique and Bardinian content analysis for corpus treatment. The analytical categories developed highlight processes related to territorial knowledge, intergenerational transmission, conditions of survival, epistemicide and delegitimization, identity pride, and territorial belonging among the shellfish gatherers. Finally, the findings reveal that these women produce complex and diverse forms of territorial, cultural, and relational knowledge; however, they remain marginalized and rendered invisible by Eurocentric models of science, research, and extension practices. Therefore, the study contributes to the intercultural paradigm in Information Science by recognizing such knowledge as a legitimate and viable form of epistemic resistance.