“As feiticeiras do sertão”: das artes de cura e das vivências das rezadeiras no município de Cajazeiras - PB na contemporaneidade.

Abstract

In Sertão’s daily life, women known as "rezadeiras" play a significant role through their use of branches, rosaries, saints, and Catholic prayers, aimed at curing common popular illnesses such as the "mau-olhado", "quebranto", "espinhela-caída", "ventre-virado", and "peito aberto". Recognizing them as crucial figures in Brazilian and Sertão’s history, who offer assistance to those in need without charge, this research seeks to historicize the practices and memories of the “rezadeiras” in the city of Cajazeiras – PB, in contemporary times. This study addresses gender issues, exploring the origins of this knowledge in Colonial Brazil and the ways in which it has been and continues to be subjected to various forms of oppression, including symbolic violence from the Catholic Church and institutionalized medicine. Oral History as the methodological framework was employed, in accordance with Alberti (2005), to conduct four interviews with benzedeiras in both urban and rural settings of the city. This approach aimed to capture the possible differences in the rituals between these locations. Dialoguing with the works of Quintana (1999), Oliveira (1985), and Assis (2022), it becomes evident that the “rezadeiras” from Cajazeiras are distinctive in their practices and in their self-perception as agents of healing, drawing upon ancestral and feminine knowledge, and clearly delineating their areas of operation. Moreover, there is an expressed concern regarding the diminishing transmission of these healing prayers, which could lead to the erasure of this significant aspect of women's history in Brazil.