Ethnomathematics Exploration of Traditional Indonesian Soft Cakes

Abstract

The lack of teachers in providing visualization of abstract mathematical objects is an obstacle experienced by students during learning.  The purpose of this study was to analyze ethnomathematics contained in traditional wet cakes. The method used was qualitative research with an ethnographic approach. The total objects studied were 3 traditional wet cakes, namely pukis cake, ongol-ongol cake, and onde-onde cake.  The subjects of this study were cake traders. The research technique used observation, interviews, and documentation. The results of this study were obtained including on pukis cakes formed from half-cylinder geometric shapes, ongol-ongol cakes formed from cuboid geometric shapes, and onde-onde cakes formed from spherical geometric shapes. It is expected that contextual learning using traditional wet cakes as a learning medium can help and increase insight in understanding the concept of geometric shapes in mathematics.