Indigenous Medicine, Decolonization, Tukano People and Bahsesse: a narrative

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the work of Pajés and Benzedores, indigenous healing specialists, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 in the city of Manaus, home to the greatest diversity of indigenous peoples in Brazil. The research is based on a qualitative methodology, using narrative interviews to systematize the experiences of these caregivers. The results reinforce the critical importance of indigenous medicines in a context of collapsing biomedical health services. In addition, the work addresses the training of indigenous healing specialists, especially the Tukano people, highlighting the Kumuã's ability to offer healing practices and health care to indigenous and non-indigenous communities through a complex process of transmitting ancestral knowledge, reinforcing the epistemological, material and symbolic relevance of indigenous medicines in the face of the coloniality of knowledge. The study reinforces the urgent need to value the knowledge produced by indigenous peoples, the recognition of indigenous medicines as an indigenous medical rationality that promotes health, emphasizing their significant impact on collective health during the pandemic.