I will be comparing the Brazilian and Mozambican cultures that we studied this semester, specifically spiritist healing in Brazil and “traditional” healing in Northern Mozambique. Spiritist healing treats a “perispirit” which causes changes in the physical body of the patient (Lynch 2005: 14). “Traditional” healing involves a medium using their “indigenous knowledge” to decide how to treat their patients (West 2006: 23). The main symbol for spiritist healing in Brazil is Dr. Fritz. Dr. Fritz is a German doctor whose spirit supposedly takes over the bodies of Brazilians. Dr. Fritz is not the only spirit that people believe in, but he is the most popular (Lynch 2005: 11). Some “traditional” healers also claim to have been possessed by spirits that allow them to treat
…show more content…
In “traditional” healing, spirits and “voices” make diagnoses known to the healers (West 2006: 27). For treatment, both types of healing involve a degree of spiritual aid. Treatments in “traditional” healing are most often noninvasive and involve eating or drinking various concoctions. Any incisions on patients are made using razor blades and are very minor. Some “traditional” healers show appropriation of Western public health symbols by wearing gloves and using new and clean instruments on each patient (West 2006: 31). Dr. Fritz’s patients are expected to pray, receive supernatural counseling from spirits, and go through a ritual preparation before treatment (Lynch 2005: 22). For his treatments, Dr. Fritz performs short surgeries on his patients. He usually inserts needles or scalpels into various parts of the body. As touched on earlier, the surgeries are not sanitary. However, patients do not claim to experience any infections, and some even say their procedure was painless (Lynch 2005:
In “traditional” healing, spirits and “voices” make diagnoses known to the healers (West 2006: 27). For treatment, both types of healing involve a degree of spiritual aid. Treatments in “traditional” healing are most often noninvasive and involve eating or drinking various concoctions. Any incisions on patients are made using razor blades and are very minor. Some “traditional” healers show appropriation of Western public health symbols by wearing gloves and using new and clean instruments on each patient (West 2006: 31). Dr. Fritz’s patients are expected to pray, receive supernatural counseling from spirits, and go through a ritual preparation before treatment (Lynch 2005: 22). For his treatments, Dr. Fritz performs short surgeries on his patients. He usually inserts needles or scalpels into various parts of the body. As touched on earlier, the surgeries are not sanitary. However, patients do not claim to experience any infections, and some even say their procedure was painless (Lynch 2005: