Since the Beginning of the World: Decolonial Knowledge and Healing Practices among Pitaguary Elders in Brazil

Abstract

This paper presents a decolonial trajectory of Participatory Action Research (PAR) conducted with the Pitaguary Indigenous people of Ceará, Brazil. The research emerged in response to a collective demand to strengthen the psychosocial care network for Pitaguary elders, the guardians of ancestral knowledge and traditional healing practices. Through community-based actions including workshops, storytelling, and artistic production, the project co-constructed a space for the revitalisation of Indigenous knowledge. Drawing on oral histories and field diaries, the paper explores Pitaguary's understanding of health as deeply interconnected with territory, ancestry, spirituality, and art. Traditional practices such as ceramic and straw weaving are highlighted as both therapeutic and acts of resistance. By privileging indigenous epistemologies, the paper affirms health as a collective, relational, and aesthetic process, challenging Western paradigms and contributing to epistemic justice and the defence of cultural sovereignty.