Women, Geography and Health

medicinal plants and blessing as healing alternatives in the Kalunga territory

Abstract

In the Kalunga territory, women hold the responsibility for caring for families and the community. One of these responsibilities is entrusted to the guardians of knowledge who possess the know-how of preparing homemade remedies and performing blessings. Through a decolonial perspective, popular knowledge is analyzed as palliative measures to alleviate illnesses in the quilombos of Monte Alegre de Goiás. Employing a qualitative approach, this study investigates the relationship of these women with the promotion and care of health in that territory. This article presents preliminary results from a post-doctoral research that began with a bibliographic review and, in a subsequent phase, involved field activities, including participant observation and semi-structured interviews. It was observed that the adopted alternatives are responsible for alleviating diseases afflicting the quilombolas. The distance and difficulty of access to urban centers, as well as the limited infrastructure of health institutions, contribute to the resilience of popular knowledge among still marginalized groups.