Precisamos pisar no chão: plantas medicinais e ancestrais usos de práticas e saberes entre os quilombolas de Deus Ajude

Abstract

This research is carried out in a traditional territory recognized as Deus Ajude and investigates the relationship between the use of medicinal plants and the Quilombola identity in this community, located in the Marajó archipelago, Pará, Brazil. Motivated by the debates on the preservation of Quilombola territories, especially after the constitutional recognition of traditional lands by Art. 68 of the ADCT (1988), this anthropological and sociological research examines how ancestral knowledge linked to the use of plants strengthens the Quilombola cultural identity and contributes to territorial conservation. With a population of approximately 300 inhabitants, the community makes sustainable use of a biodiverse area composed of forests that provide the use of their fruits, ancestral and medicinal plants, lianas and rushes, in addition to rivers with fish and other aquatic animals that make up a rich scenario with potential for the development of different activities. The research also analyzes the challenges imposed by the expansion of agribusiness on these territories and the replacement of traditional knowledge by modern pharmacological practices, highlighting the relevance of traditional knowledge for cultural resistance and environmental sustainability.