Ethnomathematics: Philosophical Values and Mathematical Concepts of Yogyakarta Batik Teachers as Modern and Contemporary Batik Motifs

Abstract

Ethnomathematics can be interpreted as a combination of mathematics and ethnography. In other words, ethnomathematics is a cultural group that applies mathematics. A country full of rich cultural heritage is Indonesia. Batik is one of Indonesia's cultural heritages that has been recognized by the world through UNESCO. Therefore, we as Indonesian citizens should defend our culture so that it is not recognized by other countries. One of the efforts that can be made is to recognize the diversity of batik types in Indonesia. One type of batik with unique characteristics by acculturating modern times is Brand Guru Batik in Sleman. The uniqueness of this batik design is that the motif is inspired by the lessons taught at school, namely Mathematics. The purpose of this research is to describe the mathematical concept and philosophical values in Guru Batik design. This research is a qualitative research with an ethnographic approach. The results of the research obtained are that the mathematical concepts contained in Guru Batik are the concepts of transformation, symmetry, and the concept of congruence besides that there are also philosophical values in it. The philosophical values contained in this batik include the use of the Surabaya symbol which means that humans must always keep their promises and the Wahyu Tumurun motif which means the descent of revelation on the night of Lailatul Qadar. Some of the motifs used in the Guru Batik design can be useful in strengthening students' memories of math subject matter, especially on the sub-matter of flat buildings. For example, the Luas Bangun Datar motif when used by students will certainly increase the memory of flat building materials such as the area of a circle, the area of a triangle, the area of a rectangle and the area of a kite.