Cura, dom e dádiva: etnografia sobre parteiras tradicionais de Santana/AP

Abstract

This monography discusses the Traditional Midwives of the Santana Municipality, in the State of Amapá. The time period for the research was from 2013 to 2015, the first stage concerning the bibliographical survey of the subject and the following step concerning the ethnographical field work. Through participative observation I followed the exercises that took place three times a week, arriving before the starting time and leaving after their completion, in order to have time to talk informally to a maximum number of midwives. I registered images of their daily services and, sharpening my senses as anthropologist, I dedicated attention to the talking and behaviors of my interlocutors, attentively observing their routine. My objective in this monography is to present the services and the importance of traditional midwives of the Santana municipality in the processes of healing and care for the female body during the gestational period. I seek to demonstrate that this cannot be thought of, if not by means of a gift and counter-gift between humans and non-humans. Techniques used in the healing process and the handling of the pregnant person shall be illustrated, as well as the explanation of these agents to cure diseases through such methods and knowledge.