No description available.

<p>This study describes and analyses understanding ‘illness’ among clients and</p><p>leaders of the spiritual tradition Candomblé in Rio de Janeiro. The study</p><p>focuses on the individuals’ narratives of illness and of healing rituals within</p><p>the cult. Particular attention is given to the consultation ritual called jogo de</p><p>búzios, which is one of the main practices of finding the reason for the illness</p><p>as well as its cure. The emphasis in this study is on the necessity to look at</p><p>medical pluralism, the socio-individual context of illness and narrativity as an</p><p>intersubjective practice. The conclusion is reached that illness within</p><p>Candomblé ideology can be understood as disequilibrium in a person’s</p><p>lifeworld.</p><p>The individual is approached from within the plurimedical context of</p><p>both biomedical and Candomblé healing tradition in Rio. Here it is argued that</p><p>the person creates meaning of the illness in relation to different aspects of his</p><p>lifeworld. The individual’s lifeworld includes the urban context of Rio de</p><p>Janeiro; therefore a brief discussion is developed about how this context</p><p>influences the individual meaning production of the illness. The Candomblé</p><p>house is described with its social structure and other elements that are</p><p>important for understanding how the cult might work for the clients as an</p><p>alternative and/or complementary medical treatment.</p><p>The study progressively introduces and analyses the lifestories of the</p><p>individuals that approach the Candomblé cult in order to seek treatment. It</p><p>also is concerned with stories of the Candomblé leaders and their view on the</p><p>phenomenology of the Body, the Self and the social milieu of the person.</p><p>Finally, the study emphasises the importance of studies that focus on the</p><p>individual’s interpretation of the relations between the Self and the Body, and</p><p>the individual’s understanding of medical knowledge and practice.</p>

<p>Anthropological data from fieldwork carried out among a fishing population in western Sicily show how related matrifocal nuclear families are tightly knit within larger, male-headed networks. The mother focus at the basic family level is thereby balanced and the system indicates that the mother-child unit does not function effectively on its own, as has often been argued for this type of family structure. As a result of dominating moral values which strongly emphasise the uniqueness of family and kin, people are brought up to depend heavily upon and to be loyal to their kin networks, to see themselves primarily as parts of these social units and less so as independent clearly bounded individuals, and to distinctly separate family members from non-family members. This dependence is further strengthened by matri- and/or patrivicinity being the dominant form of locality, by the traditional naming system as well as a continual use of kin terms, and by related people socialising and collaborating closely. The social and physical boundaries thus created around the family networks are further strengthened by local architecture that symbolically communicates the closed family unit; by the woman, who embodies her family as well as their house, having her outdoor movements restricted in order to shield both herself and her family; by self-mastery when it comes to skilfully calculating one's actions and words as a means of controlling the impression one makes on others; and by local patriotism that separates one's co-villagers from foreigners. Hospitality, which brings inclusion and exclusion into focus, is shown to be a means of ritually incorporating non-kin and thus containing the danger the stranger represents. </p><p>The author aims to answer the question of whether the social and physical boundaries around the family network, together with the distrust towards non-family members referred to by the informants themselves, constitute a hindrance as regards collaboration with non-kin, or if collaboration beyond the family boundaries is possible and, if so, whether or not this has to lead to the family's losing its position.</p>

No description available.

No description available.

Anthropological data from fieldwork carried out among a fishing population in western Sicily show how related matrifocal nuclear families are tightly knit within larger, male-headed networks. The mother focus at the basic family level is thereby balanced and the system indicates that the mother-child unit does not function effectively on its own, as has often been argued for this type of family structure. As a result of dominating moral values which strongly emphasise the uniqueness of family and kin, people are brought up to depend heavily upon and to be loyal to their kin networks, to see themselves primarily as parts of these social units and less so as independent clearly bounded individuals, and to distinctly separate family members from non-family members. This dependence is further strengthened by matri- and/or patrivicinity being the dominant form of locality, by the traditional naming system as well as a continual use of kin terms, and by related people socialising and collaborating closely. The social and physical boundaries thus created around the family networks are further strengthened by local architecture that symbolically communicates the closed family unit; by the woman, who embodies her family as well as their house, having her outdoor movements restricted in order to shield both herself and her family; by self-mastery when it comes to skilfully calculating one's actions and words as a means of controlling the impression one makes on others; and by local patriotism that separates one's co-villagers from foreigners. Hospitality, which brings inclusion and exclusion into focus, is shown to be a means of ritually incorporating non-kin and thus containing the danger the stranger represents. The author aims to answer the question of whether the social and physical boundaries around the family network, together with the distrust towards non-family members referred to by the informants themselves, constitute a hindrance as regards collaboration with non-kin, or if collaboration beyond the family boundaries is possible and, if so, whether or not this has to lead to the family's losing its position.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.