Socioterminologia de plantas medicinais em Parkatêjê

Abstract

The present work consists of the study of the medicinal plants terminology used in the production of medicines for treatment and cure of diseases by the Indians of the Parkatêjê Community located in the Mãe Maria Indigenous Land, at kilometer 30 of the BR 222 highway in Bom Jesus do Tocantins, in the southeastern of Pará state. The main objective of this research is to elaborate a semi-bilingual glossary, in its printed version, about the specialized terms of medicinal plants that emerge from the speech of the shaman, considered an expert in indigenous health, according to Athias (2015). Among the specific objectives, we sought to describe and analyze the morphological aspects of these specialized terms based on Ferreira (2003). The work is guided by the theoretical-methodological assumptions of Socioterminology in the light of Gaudin’s (1993, 2003) and Faulstich’s (1995a, 1998, 1999, 2006, 2010a, 2010b, 2012, 2014) ideas; As an approached support, the research is based on Cultural Terminology (TC), postulated by Diki-Kidire (2002, 2007, 2009). We understand that these theories are adequate to the elaboration of the glossary proposed here, considering the specificities of the Parkatêjê language. The choice of the semantic field of medicinal plants is justified by the social and cultural importance of such practice of their usage, which is constituted in societies, guided by oral tradition, such as Parkatêjê, and should therefore be analyzed, but also described and documented for the purpose of contributing to the strengthening and preservation of the traditional language. Data collection was carried out in the indigenous community, mentioned previously, through interviews with the pajé and other research collaborators. For the organization and treatment of the data, we use Flex software; For the preparation of the glossary, we use the Lexique Pro software. The glossary contains 111 entries, which are presented in alphabetical order, some of which are accompanied by illustrations. We hope that this terminological work will be useful for future research in this area, and may also contribute to the preservation of the cultural and linguistic knowledge of the Parkatêjê.