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Seeking ‘energy’ vs. pain relief in spas in Brazil (Caldas da Imperatriz) and Portugal (Termas da Sulfúrea)

This paper is a comparative ethnography of the therapeutic practices at two different spa locations: Caldas da Imperatriz, SC, Brazil, and Termas da Sulfúrea in Cabeço de Vide, Portugal. The comparison reveals the existence of contrasting ‘explanatory models’ held by the spa-goers as well as by the official medical systems. In the Portuguese context this model is highly medicalized; in the Brazilian case, spa treatments are viewed as ‘alternative’ or ‘complementary’ therapy and are also related to religious philosophies. Each model corresponds to a different idiom expressing certain experiences and world views, one focusing on ‘pains’ (dores) and the other on ‘energy’ (energia), the former leading to the rationale of ‘curing’, the latter to the notion of ‘energizing’. In this paper the author intends to analyze and contrast the categories found in these models, which originate from different conceptions of health, illness and healing for Brazilian and Portuguese spa-goers.