Desde dentro: processos de produção de saúde em uma comunidade tradicional de terreiro de matriz africana

Abstract

This thesis has as theoretical-paradigm referential the complex systemic thought and the traditional African philosophy. Accordingly, it proposes a reflection on the relationship between mythos and logos in traditional African thought, as well as on the dialogue between mythical thought and scientific thought. Its main objective is to understand the production processes of health in a traditional community of African origin terreiro, questioning the dialogue between the paradigm of Western civilization and the paradigm of black African civilization. It is a qualitative study that sought dialogue between what we used to call "recursive method" and ethnography. Twenty participants were experienced in a traditional African terreiro de batuque1 tradition Jeje-Nago in Porto Alegre, founded over 81 years and with about 150 supporters. In the process of production of information, we built a corpus of research based on participant observation, notes in a field diary, open interviews, a discussion group and a photographic production.The understanding of the empirical material came from the theoretical reflections about some black African invariants civilizing organizers of traditional communities of African terreiro, so that throughout this process revealed three organizers of the production of health: 1) cosmic unity and vital force; 2) mythical organization and individual-ancestor-deity relationship, 3) belonging and cultural identity. In the terreiro the concept of health transcends the perspective of the absence of disease, as it is conceived as vital force, as the very existence. Health operates from the perspective of complementarity and interdependence of human beings from a sense of wholeness, of completeness of life. The complexity of civilization dynamic of the terreiro cannot be understood by categories of analysis the of Western civilization paradigm. It is necessary to break the hegemony of Eurocentric thinking hoping, gradually, to enter and to visualize in the academic scene other ways of understanding the world, other rationalities in the study in the humanities, social and health.