(Re)configurações do sistema de crenças das benzedeiras em Borba-Am: práticas de benzeção e estratégias de resistência sociocultural na modernidade contemporânea

Abstract

This dissertation is the result of qualitative research developed within the scope of the Postgraduate Program in Society and Culture in the Amazon – PPGSCA, of the Federal University of Amazonas – UFAM and is entitled “(Re)configurations of the belief system of the healers in Borba-Am: practices of blessing and strategies of sociocultural resistance in contemporary modernity”. Its general objective is to analyze the (re)configurations of the belief system of the healers in Borba-Am, considering the processes of recurrence of their blessing practices and the strategic forms of sociocultural resistance in times of contemporary modernity. The work is inspired by ethnography, an approach that seeks to understand a culture, phenomenon or social group through observation and the immersion of the researcher in the context studied. The results show that despite the great social, scientific and technological transformations of the modern world, the healers of Borba-Am have not disappeared. On the contrary, they continue to demonstrate a remarkable capacity for adaptation and resistance. Based on a community relationship based on acceptance, respect for diversity, affection and mutual trust, they continue to be guardians of faith and hope in an increasingly unequal and unjust world. The expectation is that this dissertation can contribute to the valorization and conservation of ancestral beliefs and knowledge, awakening the academic community, the public authorities and the private sector to the promotion of new scientific research and epistemic approaches in the Amazonian cultural context.