Uma Viagem Pela História Do Povo Hexkaryana: Saúde, Doenças E Espiritualidade

Abstract

The indigenous people, today known as Hexkaryana, speak the Karib language and live in the floodplain areas of the Nhamundá River, one of the tributaries on the left bank of the Amazon River, in the North Amazon, numbering around 1,300 people. This work aimed to describe and analyze the history of the Hexkaryana people, with an emphasis on health practices, illnesses and spirituality in the Kassawa village. As data production instruments, a semi-structured questionnaire and on-site conversations with participants were used. Questionnaires were administered to 30 (thirty) Hexkaryana indigenous people, aged between 49 and 80 years. The participants' statements revealed that before the arrival of American missionaries, indigenous people, when sick, were cured through magic and medicine, made with medicinal plants and animal lard (oil). The Pajé was like a “doctor”. After the arrival of the missionaries, Christianization came. And pathologies began to be treated with laboratory medicines. According to reports, there are still some traditions of healing and spirituality among the Hexkaryana, however, many of their traditions have been lost. Healing rituals, using magic, are still performed, but in a hidden way, as such practices were prohibited in the villages by missionaries, throughout the imposition of Westernized knowledge.