The Riparian children’s play on the Tapará River, Santarém, Pará

Abstract

Children’s play is set as a type of language, which means movement, knowledge exchange, and production of children’s cultures. In terms of goal, the following paper aims to depict 5- and 6-year-old riparian children’s plays from floodplains of Tapará Grande River, in Santarém, state of Pará, Brazil. It was used focus group interviews for the data collection and narrative-oriented analysis. Sixteen children from the community participated in this survey, and additional data were obtained in interviews with their parents and teachers. The findings displayed the influence of nature in children’s daily life, particularly represented by flood and drought seasons of Tapará River. Movements, spaces, playmates, and the kinds of play were chosen according to the river limits and possibilities by (re)building space, which is used according to the children’s rendering. The study showed that despite that these plays are being regarded as ordinary child behavior, cultural features influence it somehow, as well as its types, styles, and playtime in this community.