HEALERS FROM THE COAST OF PARANÁ: BETWEEN ETHNOBOTANY AND MODERNITY

Abstract

The coast of Paraná has had a strong relationship with healers, specifically, the benzedeiras. Since the colonization of Brazil, when due to the absence of doctors, the benzedeiras assumed the role of health caretakers, as they had empirical knowledge about plants with medicinal properties and their uses to cure people. Despite their relevance, in recent decades, there has been a reduction in the number of benzedeiras in this region. Also, there is an absence of studies explaining the reason behind it and whether technology has influenced this matter. Thus, given the sparse information on this issue, our study aimed to investigate whether technology can cause the loss of traditional knowledge of the benzedeiras from the coast of Paraná. In this context, descriptive exploratory research was conducted with six benzedeiras residing in this geographical area. The interviewees’ average age of 77.5 years old (between 70 and 85 years old), with an average working time of 57 years. They consider that they have a gift that manifested itself in their youth (between 8 and 17 years old). The source of learning was orality. In addition, 80% of the services provided correspond to mothers seeking medicine for illnesses or spiritual encouragement for children. The interviewees believe that their wisdom is not valued as it used to be and that young people are no longer interested in the profession, mainly due to the ease of access to technology. In addition, discrimination towards mystical issues may decrease the profession's demand among new generations. Moreover, fifty plant species from twenty-seven botanical families were registered, revealing great ethnobotanical expertise by the benzedeiras. Finally, concerning the use of medicinal plants in healthcare, their knowledge proved to be vast and still enjoyed by those who seek it.