SHEN CHA E XIAN CHA DE MACAU. O SOBRENATURAL NA MEDICINA POPULAR DA CHINA DO SUL
This article explores the role of the Supernatural in the popular medicine of Macao, articulating how Chinese therapeutic practices in southern China intertwine with magical and religious components. The central hypothesis holds that popular medicine is not reduced to empirical instruments, but is i...
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| Published in: | Review of Culture |
|---|---|
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Articles |
| Published: |
Instituto Cultural de Macau
April 2003
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/pdfViewerParts/40006/2714 |
| _version_ | 1877196271410741248 |
|---|---|
| author | Ana Maria Amaro |
| author_autocomplete | Ana Maria Amaro |
| author_browse | Ana Maria Amaro |
| author_facet | Ana Maria Amaro Ana Maria Amaro |
| author_sort | Ana Maria Amaro |
| container_title | Review of Culture |
| container_title_str | Review of Culture |
| container_volume | 6 |
| container_volume_str | 6 |
| description | This article explores the role of the Supernatural in the popular medicine of Macao, articulating how Chinese therapeutic practices in southern China intertwine with magical and religious components. The central hypothesis holds that popular medicine is not reduced to empirical instruments, but is inserted into a constellation of magical-religious meanings that guide both individual care and social organization. The argument is based on the notion of the magical-religious ethneme (Bernardi) and on the three components of medicine according to Sigerist (empirical, magical, and religious), to demonstrate that, even in contexts with writing, medical knowledge retains traces of Theurgy, Magic, and Priesthood. The methodology, essentially ethnographic and comparative, combines a bibliographic review of studies in the History of Medicine with observations of Macanese medicine, including non-therapeutic samples present in clinical practice, such as amulets, bones, stones, as well as rituals and symbols that function as means of communication with the Supernatural (examples of sam kók fu). The results show that the magical-religious domain is not the exclusive preserve of non-literate peoples: throughout history and in Macao, it remains a constitutive element of traditional medicine, influencing values, norms of conduct, and strategies of cultural adaptation—including the integration of Portuguese traits into Macanese practice. It concludes that the cosmos represents the totality of relationships between beings and things, making it difficult to separate the sacred from the profane in Macanese health care. |
| first_indexed | 2026-09-11T02:56:51Z |
| format | Articles |
| genre | Articles |
| genre_facet | Articles |
| hierarchy_browse | Review of Culture{{{_ID_}}}zotero-coll-76L3BRGH |
| hierarchy_parent_id | zotero-coll-76L3BRGH |
| hierarchy_parent_title | Review of Culture |
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| hierarchy_top_title | News |
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| issn | 1682-1106 |
| last_indexed | 2026-09-11T02:56:51Z |
| latest_content_date | 2026-09-11T02:56:51Z |
| publishDate | April 2003 |
| publishDateRange | 2003 |
| publishDateSort | 2003 |
| publishPlace | Macau |
| publisher | Instituto Cultural de Macau |
| publisherStr | Instituto Cultural de Macau |
| record_format | zotero |
| spelling | SHEN CHA E XIAN CHA DE MACAU. O SOBRENATURAL NA MEDICINA POPULAR DA CHINA DO SUL This article explores the role of the Supernatural in the popular medicine of Macao, articulating how Chinese therapeutic practices in southern China intertwine with magical and religious components. The central hypothesis holds that popular medicine is not reduced to empirical instruments, but is inserted into a constellation of magical-religious meanings that guide both individual care and social organization. The argument is based on the notion of the magical-religious ethneme (Bernardi) and on the three components of medicine according to Sigerist (empirical, magical, and religious), to demonstrate that, even in contexts with writing, medical knowledge retains traces of Theurgy, Magic, and Priesthood. The methodology, essentially ethnographic and comparative, combines a bibliographic review of studies in the History of Medicine with observations of Macanese medicine, including non-therapeutic samples present in clinical practice, such as amulets, bones, stones, as well as rituals and symbols that function as means of communication with the Supernatural (examples of sam kók fu). The results show that the magical-religious domain is not the exclusive preserve of non-literate peoples: throughout history and in Macao, it remains a constitutive element of traditional medicine, influencing values, norms of conduct, and strategies of cultural adaptation—including the integration of Portuguese traits into Macanese practice. It concludes that the cosmos represents the totality of relationships between beings and things, making it difficult to separate the sacred from the profane in Macanese health care. Instituto Cultural de Macau Macau Review of Culture Articles April 2003 Ana Maria Amaro |
| spellingShingle | SHEN CHA E XIAN CHA DE MACAU. O SOBRENATURAL NA MEDICINA POPULAR DA CHINA DO SUL Ana Maria Amaro |
| title | SHEN CHA E XIAN CHA DE MACAU. O SOBRENATURAL NA MEDICINA POPULAR DA CHINA DO SUL |
| title_autocomplete | SHEN CHA E XIAN CHA DE MACAU. O SOBRENATURAL NA MEDICINA POPULAR DA CHINA DO SUL |
| title_full | SHEN CHA E XIAN CHA DE MACAU. O SOBRENATURAL NA MEDICINA POPULAR DA CHINA DO SUL |
| title_fullStr | SHEN CHA E XIAN CHA DE MACAU. O SOBRENATURAL NA MEDICINA POPULAR DA CHINA DO SUL |
| title_full_unstemmed | SHEN CHA E XIAN CHA DE MACAU. O SOBRENATURAL NA MEDICINA POPULAR DA CHINA DO SUL |
| title_short | SHEN CHA E XIAN CHA DE MACAU. O SOBRENATURAL NA MEDICINA POPULAR DA CHINA DO SUL |
| title_sort | shen cha e xian cha de macau. o sobrenatural na medicina popular da china do sul |
| url | https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/pdfViewerParts/40006/2714 |
| zotero_collection_key | 76L3BRGH |