The Tanda: A Practice at the Intersection of Mathematics, Culture, and Financial Goals

Abstract

We present an analysis and discussion of the tanda, a multiperson pooled credit and savings scheme (a rotating credit association or RCA), as described by two informants from Mexican immigrant communities in California. In the tanda, participants contribute regularly to a common fund which is distributed to participants on a rotating basis. We analyze the tanda at multiple levels (as a mathematical, cultural, and distributed practice) and identify points of intersection and conflict. Contrary to many formal or school-based conceptions of mathematics, mathematical work in the context of the tanda is in service of, and intimately tied up with, cultural goals and values. Likewise, cultural means and mathematics are employed to personal ends. We argue that the tanda should be of enduring interest, particularly among educators interested in bringing more authentic, culturally-relevant mathematics into classroom settings, because it so clearly illustrates how mathematical and cultural processes can interact in the context of personal goals, and provides a potentially valuable template for engaging, consequential, and successful mathematics.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We appreciate the time and generosity of our informants, Juan and Elena. Roy Pea, Kristen Pilner Blair, Angela Booker, and Indigo Esmonde, our colleagues in the Family Math Project, were central in the work and helped to produce this article. We also thank Anna Rios and Judit Moschkovich of the National Science Foundation (NSF) CEMELA Center, who collaborated in this interview work. This research is supported through the NSF LIFE Center, NSF Grant SLC-#0354453. The opinions expressed in this article are ours and not necessarily those of the granting agency.

Notes

¹The Family Math Project is a part of the Learning in Informal and Formal Environments (LIFE) Center, a National Science Foundation Science of Learning Center. For more about the LIFE Center, see http://life-slc.org.

²A quinceañera is a popular celebration held in Latin America, when a girl reaches 15 years of age. The significance of the quinceañera is to denote the girl's entrance into womanhood. Oftentimes the quinceañera can become as lavish and as expensive as a wedding.

³See Besley, Coate, and Loury (1992) for a detailed economic treatment of the financial benefits of RCAs as compared to individual saving, but note that the analysis therein includes assumptions, such as lack of access to credit markets, which are expressly violated by our cases.

⁴Some forms of RCAs do provide interest (see Ardener, 1964; Geertz, 1962). Regarding risk, RCAs are unusual in a modern economy in their reliance on “naked social trust” (Light et al., 2004).