CONSIDERATIONS ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BELIEF SYSTEMS AND TRADITIONAL THERAPEUTICS: THE CASE OF SHAMANISM

Abstract

This article delves into the sphere of research that analyses the close relationship
between Health and Culture; between belief systems and traditional therapeutic practices in
the case of shamanism. This research is in the field of anthropologic investigation with focus
on indigenous people health, seeking to better understand the complex integration between
the cosmological system and the shamanic therapeutic system, and to mark the fundamental
elements that hinder the dialogue between shamanic practices and modern Western medicine
practices and with public policies of indigenous health. Without being an attempt to present
a general theory about the divers shamanic pratices, this article reviews some researchs and
draws some reflections on the phenomenon of shamanism, corroborating the importance of
particular cultural conceptions of illness and healing. This article aims presenting the complexity
of the problem and the challenge for the implementation of the National Policy of Health
Care for Indigenous Peoples integrated into Unified Health System.