Saúde reprodutiva de mulheres indígenas no Nordeste brasileiro: sistema biomédico, cosmovisões e práticas de autocuidado

Abstract

How do Indigenous women in Northeastern Brazil construct and practise self-care in relation to their reproductive health? This question frames the central concern of the present monograph. Drawing on a bibliographic review, the study analyses the worldviews of four Indigenous peoples located in the states of Bahia, Pernambuco and Ceará: the Tupinambá of Serra do Padeiro, the Pankararu, the Tapeba and the Tremembé. The aim is to understand the conceptual context that underpins the ways in which these women care for their bodies throughout reproductive events, articulating notions such as techniques and fabrication of the body, habitus and personhood. The cosmologies of these peoples mobilise fundamental categories — such as the Open Body, Blood, and the Mother/Owner of the Body — which inform and structure their self-care practices. Although the Brazilian state partially recognises Indigenous specificities and provides a differentiated healthcare model through the Special Secretariat for Indigenous Health, operationalised by the Indigenous Special Health Districts, access to biomedical services remains fraught with challenges. Health professionals’ practices are frequently structured in hierarchical ways, giving rise to tensions with local Indigenous medical systems. It is therefore argued that the implementation of healthcare services in Indigenous contexts must take into account dynamics of interculturality and intermedicality, fostering effective dialogue with Indigenous medical systems and a deeper understanding of their worldviews.