Folklore and popular medicine in the Amazon

Abstract

This discussion of the relations between folklore and popular medicine in the Amazon takes Canuto Azevedo's story "Filhos do boto" (Children of the porpoise) as an analytical reference point. Replete with elements of cultural reality, folk tales can serve as historical testimonies expressing clashes between different traditions. Folk records are fruit of what is often a quarrelsome dialogue between folklorists, social scientists, physicians, and pajés and their followers, and their analysis should take into account the conditions under which they were produced. Based on the imaginary attached to the figure of the porpoise - a seductive creature with healing powers - the article explores how we might expand knowledge of popular medicine as practiced in the Amazon, where the shamanistic rite known as pajelança cabocla has a strong presence.