Geographical Names and Traditional Knowledge
ISBN 978-85-88783-11-9
Authors
1Rainha Moreira, G.; 2Salgueiro Lage, C.L.; 3Rangel de Moraes Valente Fernandes, L.R.; 4Oliveira Nagem, V.
1ACADEMIA INPI - IBGE Email: graciosa_rainha@uol.com.br
2INPI Email: clage@inpi.gov.br
3INPI Email: luciareg@inpi.gov.br
4IBGE Email: vania.nagem@ibge.gov.br
Abstract
Every day we use names to identify the places where we are, where we are going to indicate directions to others and to describe our surroundings. These names often tell the story of the places they identify. This frame of reference and identity with the territory is called geographical name. Through the study of geographical names is possible, for example, to identify patterns of land use, to get to know the linguistic, social and cultural diversity of the regions and their inhabitants. In accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN) on the standardization of geographical names, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) has implemented the Brazilian Geographical Names Database (BNGB) to support the efforts of standardization of the geographical names of the National Cartographic System, as well as studies relevant to the knowledge and the protection of this important national cultural heritage. This work aims to present the potential of the BNGB as a source for research that can contribute to the protection of traditional knowledge and the Brazilian biodiversity, explicit in the Brazilian geographical names. For this paper some queries were made to the BNGB in order to build a small sample of geographical names with toponymic motivation type phyto. Once in possession of that small sample it was possible to consult, for example, the Dicionário Histórico das Palavras Portuguesas de Origem Tupi and other bibliographical sources of the collections of the Reference Center on Geographical Names of the IBGE, to identify the meaning of the term and its toponymic motivation. This small sample, obtained with the aid of the Brazilian Geographical Names Database made possible to observe that it is a large and consistent database, which can contribute to new research related to biodiversity, traditional knowledge, and intangible cultural heritage. It is noteworthy that the value of geographical names as cultural heritage has gained greater prominence with the creation in 2007 of the Working Group on Geographical Names as Cultural Heritage within the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names.