A prática educativa das rezadeiras de Pendências-RN: cuidar, rezar, curar

Abstract

This thesis aims to understand the educational practices of the prayer healers in Pendências/RN, Brazil. For many years, this region lacked medical professionals, leaving the art of caring for people’s health in the hands of these healers. These are women recognized in their communities as custodians of ancestral knowledge who have dedicated part of their lives to healing men, women, and children through prayer. This study arises from the problem question: How do prayer healers exercise their educational practice in the ritual of prayer to promote the healing of ailments present in people’s bodies? The literature used in this thesis favors decolonial authors such as Aníbal Quijano (2010), who discussed coloniality; Mary Del Priore (2014), with her understanding about women; Elda Oliveira (1985), with her definitions about blessing and prayer; Paulo Freire (2011), in the debate about educational practice; and Leonardo Boff (1999), in the discussion about care. Methodologically, I used the technique of construction and analysis of interviews, which I call “sidewalk conversation”, which allowed me to perform the analytical procedures capable of understanding how the prayer with the purpose of healing educates people who experience it. Five prayer healers who reside in the rural and urban areas of the city of Pendências, located in the interior of Rio Grande do Norte, were interviewed. It is concluded that there is an educational practice of healing through prayer responsible for instilling in patients knowledge that has become their own daily self-care actions.