Los procesos empíricos, simbólicos y mágicos en la sanación popular de Canarias: Un enfoque antropológico médico, cultural y simbólico

Popular healing in the Canary Islands represents a privileged space for understanding the intersection of empirical knowledge, cultural beliefs, and ritual practices that shape health and illness processes. This text emerges within the framework of my doctoral thesis, aiming to delve into the core of my research and offer a panoramic overview of the themes and approaches addressed. This article analyzes curative and blessing practices which, through physical, symbolic, and magical elements, remain active and demonstrate undeniable cultural significance. Drawing on an extensive documentary and ethnographic corpus—with historical references, testimonials, and case studies—it examines cultural illnesses (such as the evil eye, fright, buche virado, and erysipelas) along with the rituals associated with care and cure. The contemporary anthropological literature on symbolic efficacy, therapeutic effect, and the relationship between popular medicine and biomedicine is also reviewed. Furthermore, the analysis considers how these practices have adapted to modernity, incorporating digital networks to disseminate prayers and incantations. Finally, the text reflects on the possible complementarity between the biomedical perspective and medical anthropology, emphasizing the importance of cultural and symbolic factors in the experience of health and illness.