Healing in the Barquinha Religion

Abstract

The article focuses on the healing service offered by Barquinha churches. The Barquinha religion is an Amazonian form of Christianity, with syncretic elements. The article surveys three recurrent methodological and theoretical approaches found in anthropological works on healing in the Barquinha religion, to which the author contributes with his own ethnographic research and analysis. On the one hand, analytical emphases are often located on the participants’ subjective and symbolic processes, in association with the ayahuasca experience. Ayahuasca—called Santo Daime by adherents—is the central sacrament of the religion, frequently implied in accounts of healing. Another common focus is on ritual settings and changing bodily dispositions. Thirdly, anthropologists have considered aspects of the social relations involved in the therapeutic process. This paper furthers reflections on social interactions during healing encounters. Such encounters typically involve healer-spirits incorporated in Barquinha spirit-mediums. The author suggests that the healing service may echo symbolic motifs associated with the historical experience of migration and rapidly changing living circumstances shared by many participants.

JSE 36:4 Winter 2022 Full Issue

“…Spiritists' core tenets are immortality of the soul, communication with spirits, and reincarnation (Fernandes, 2008;Kardec, 1858). For example, in the Barquinha religion, entheogenic healing rituals focus on spirit possession and exorcism, whereby church members take on a mediumship role to cast out the malevolent spirits believed to be the cause of patients' illnesses (Araújo, 2006;Frenopoulo, 2008).…”

“…After joining the church to become regular ceremonial participants, they Rituals: System of rituals using an entheogenic sacrament (also known as Santo Daime) from amazon plants. Alverga, 2010;Araújo, 2006;Cemin, 2010;Frenopoulo, 2008;Goldman, 2010Goldman, , 2014Labate & MacRae, 2016;Pantoja & da Silva Conceição, 2016;Tupper & Labate, 2014 Ritual Components: Music, dancing, singing of hymns, recitation of prayers, concentration.…”

“…Healing is also a significant motivation for ancestral reliance (Gordon Wasson et al, 2008;Muraresku, 2020;Piper, 2013;Ruck et al, 1979;Rush, 2013;Valamoti, 2013), for newcomers (Leger & Unterwald, 2022;Maia et al, 2022;Schimmel et al, 2022;Smith et al, 2021;M. J. Winkelman, 2007;Zeifman et al, 2022), and for continued modern entheogenic ritual practitioners to seek out the therapy in either context (Alverga, 2010;Fotiou, 2012;Frenopoulo, 2008;Goldman, 2010;Goulart, 2011;Labate et al, 2010). The scientific investigation on the healing effects of both contexts has centered on the clinical psychological and social outcomes of entheogen/psychedelic use.…”