Many Chamorro farmers know that when it’s full moon, the land crabs come out, so it’s the best time to hunt for them. During this time, the female crabs come out in plentiful amounts, and therefore your catch is bound to be a good one.
My father recalls the days when he would hunt for crabs during the time of the full moon and how he and his family would reap the rewards of their bountiful crab hunting. He mentioned of how he would get home with much enthusiasm, and how family members would grind the coconut, boil the coconut milk with the crab, cook hot rice, and then they would all sit down to eat together and count how many crabs they caught.
So what are the mathematics concepts involved in crab hunting? For one thing, the full moon is part of the lunar calendar. Secondly, on the day of the full moon, we are able to see that various living things feel and act differently, such as the case of the crabs that come out during this time. In some cases, the reproductive cycle is in sync with the moon's cycle. As the moon goes through its different phases we can see the different shapes that it takes, including the new moon, crescent moon, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, last quarter, another crescent, and then another new moon. All of these are concepts of mathematics with the different stages that occur, and that's not including the fun fact of counting how many crabs were actually caught!
Aside from land-crab hunting, there is the clam digging during low tide on our Tapon Dia (Clam Day). Growing up I would go to the beach every weekend with my family to dig for clams. My siblings and I would use our fingers to dig deep into the sand and pick as many clams as we could all day long. We’d often count the amount of clams we each gathered. It was like a contest for us, but that didn’t matter once we reaped the rewards of our efforts. The reward of eating what we had caught was a special time for all of us.
My mother or father would grind the coconut, so that we could boil the clams with coconut milk and eat it with hot rice. I can honestly say that after a hard day’s work, the harvest of clams, and then eating them, was well worth the effort.
Going back to mathematics, what exactly are the mathematics concepts involved in clam harvesting? For one thing, the digging occurs during certain times, most especially when it's low tide. Secondly, the time of the year or particular months/seasons of the year must also be considered. A mathematical formula is also used to determine the number of clams available, and we must be sure to harvest in a way that ensures we do not deplete the standing stock of clams. All of these elements deal with mathematics, and that's not including the fun fact of us counting how many clams we actually harvested!
Source:
Naputi, Joaquin. Personal INTERVIEW. 6 February 2010.
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