Infected by the Devil, Cured by Calundu: African Healers in Eighteenth-century Minas Gerais, Brazil

Soc Hist Med (2016) 29 (3): 490-511.doi: 10.1093/shm/hkv145

1. Kalle Kananoja*

1. ↵*Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of World Cultures, PO Box 59, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland. E-mail: kalle.kananoja@helsinki.fi

Abstract

African slaves played a key role in the colonization of Minas Gerais in the interior of Brazil during the eighteenth century. Popular healers from Africa and of African descent were important providers of health care in the region during the colonial period. Relying on a variety of healing practices, their activities often came under the scrutiny of religious authorities as they were denounced to the commissioners of the Inquisition of Lisbon or to priests in the local parishes. The most commonly denounced healing practice was a spirit possession ritual referred to as calundu. Besides organizing healing rituals, African healers offered herbal remedies to their patients. In some cases, the mixing of African, Amerindian and European practices resulted in hybrid forms of healing, which appealed to a wide array of clients, including blacks as well as whites seeking remedies to their illness.

Key words

• Minas Gerais
 
• Colonial Brazil
 
• popular healers
 
• African diaspora
• spirit possession

• © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for the Social History of Medicine