Abstract

LEMOS, Daniela Torres de Andrade  and  BAIRRAO, José Francisco Miguel Henriques. Illness and Death in the White Umbanda: The Master Jesus White Legion. Estud. pesqui. psicol. [online]. 2013, vol.13, n.2, pp.677-703. ISSN 1808-4281.

This article sets out and analyzes the concepts of illness and death present in a renowned center for spiritual healing, through ethnographic procedures and consideration of their implicit. Underlying the emergence of the Legião Branca Mestre Jesus tells the story of a family of Indians whose founders, when dead, have joined in the "spiritual plane" to attract and bring together its member, however, had dispersed to. This narrative seems to be a metaphor for the agreements and disagreements between settlers and their indigenous and africans victims. The disease is meant as a sign of belonging to this family and the fact that "doctors" are seen as dead, proposes a relationship of familiarity with death. The reincarnation concept enables the formation of bonds between various biographies, linking an examination of his social identity to memories of slavery, colonial oppression and ethnic cleansing of the indigenous.

Keywords : Ethnopsychology; Afro-brazilian cults; Cure rituals; Death and dying; Religion and health.

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