Social representation of spiritual surgeries in Umbanda: culture, religion and contributions of nursing theory

Abstract

Objective: to analyze the social representation of spiritual surgeries in Umbanda for Bantu-Amerindian ritual mediums and their contributions to the cross-cultural care proposed by Madeleine Leininger. Methods: a descriptive-exploratory, qualitative study, supported by the procedural approach of Social Representation Theory and Transcultural Nursing Theory, carried out with 30 Umbanda mediums of the Bantu-Amerindian ritual through interviews, submitted to the Iramuteq software for lexical analysis. Results: mostly women, white, with an average of 46 years old and approximately 14 years of practice in Umbanda participated. The social representation of spiritual surgeries in Umbanda is objectified and anchored through a biomedical vision of care, encompassing a set of beliefs, values and practices as religious treatments, through faith, whose main objective is healing. Final considerations: spiritual surgeries are a form of transcultural care, according to Madeleine Leininger’s propositions, as they integrate the culture of a group through health care in Umbanda.