Diseases and therapeutic practices among the Teréna in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

Abstract

This article aims to describe the views of health and disease held by the Teréna people of the Buriti Indigenous Land, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, devoting closer attention to the iden tification and diagnostic interpretation of chronic disease and related therapeutic practices. Con ducted from March to August 2010, this qualitative study employed semi-structured interviews with 24 Teréna members and was complemented with field notes (participant observation). The understanding of health and disease held by the Teréna are integral to daily life issues such as diminishing land avail ability, climate change, influences of urban life, and rule-breaking. Observations regarding therapeutic processes revealed an interest in counseling, as well as in family and religious care, concurrently with the biomedical care obtained at the local health cen ter - resources that are seen as complementary. The interpretive schemes reported by the participants for the causality of hypertension bear relation with living conditions, environmental contamination, dietary changes, spell-casting, and disobedience to older adults. Understanding disease and seeking cure are experienced by the Teréna as processes stemming from local knowledge, involvement of various participants, and available resources and technologies, each of them part of a dynamic cul tural and social context.