Abstract
Today as they seek treatment for diseases that result from being affected by spirits, the Karajá, a Central Brazilian indigenous people, turn to their own shamans, shamans from other indigenous groups, regional healers, as well as their faith in God. All of these healers, despite their different knowledges and techniques, are equally considered shamans, while non-indigenous doctors cannot cure these illnesses and are only sought out to treat ‘white people’s diseases’. This marked difference between diseases and doctors contrasts with the regime of absolute communication for healing spirit ailments, and is the subject of this analysis. In dialog with the anthropology of health on one hand and the question of religion on the other, I argue that what allows healers from different origins to treat bewitched persons (unlike doctors) is the fact that shamanism actualizes the regime of infinite difference or absolute transparency from primordial times into the present day.
Keywords
Karajá; Biomedicine; Shamanism; Regimes of difference