A tradição das práticas do uso de plantas medicinais sendo reordenada no contexto urbano

Abstract

The typical scenario for selling medicinal plants in Belém is Ver-o-Peso, where the use of these plants is traditionally associated with umbandist practices (NAPOLEÃO, 1982). Nowadays, when traditional medicine is being rescued and valued worldwide (LAPLATINE, 1995), the points of sale of these plants in Belém are not limited to Ver-o-Peso, but are spread all over the city (from the outskirts to the center). Initially, through interviews with the plant sellers, we tried to report how the tradition about medicinal plants behaves in the current urban context, where it comes into contact with western therapeutic practices and different religious strands (mainly the Pentecostal churches). These have conquered a very significant place in the lives of people in the periphery, a region where there is a large number of migrants, who are more inserted in this type of practice.