Sacred Jurema and Public Health: Decolonial Approaches in the Family Health Strategy

Abstract

Decoloniality challenges the colonial/modern order and the hegemonic Eurocentric model of knowledge and healthcare, proposing new ways of thinking about health production. The traditional medicine of Jurema Sagrada, deeply rooted in Indigenous and Afro-Brazilian knowledge and present in Northeastern Brazil, integrates body, mind, and spirit through rituals, medicinal plants, and holistic healing practices. Recognizing Jurema Sagrada in public health entails a dialogue between different epistemologies and care approaches, promoting an inclusive and decolonized perspective. This theoretical essay explores key concepts of decoloniality in science and health, the traditional care practices of Jurema Sagrada, and the possibilities for integrating these knowledge systems into the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) and the Family Health Strategy (FHS). Valuing these ancestral practices challenges the hegemony of biomedical knowledge and proposes broader, integrative, and culturally sensitive care. Emphasis is placed on the need to make Jurema terreiros visible as health-producing spaces in communities, strengthening decolonial pathways of care and expanding the plurality of knowledge in the field of Public Health (PH).