Myth and its importance in shaping Amazonian culture

The author's intention in this book is to encourage debate and reflection on the subject of myths, highlighting the good learning possibilities they can provide. The first stage of this book is a bibliographical survey, which deals with topics such as: the modern and post-modern attitude towards myth; explanations of what myth is, its functions and the transdisciplinary vision that schools can adopt. The bibliographical research also includes a comparative analysis of Greek and Amazonian myths. In this comparison, the universal mythical element, fire, serves as a reference point for analysing the myths, using twelve categories as an axis of approach. The second stage is the result of field observation, carried out in a direct, semi-intensive and non-participatory way. Over a period of six months during the 2005 school year in a state school, we checked how myths are dealt with in the classroom, how often mythical narratives are used and how students receive and understand the theme of myths. The bibliographical research, emphasising the educational value of myths, contrasted with the reality that they are not used in the classroom. Happy reading!