Un rituel de soins au bord de l’eau et les images de l’autorité thérapeutique

Abstract

Through the images, the article analyses the relationship between healer/patient/ethnographer in a therapeutic context referring to a traditional care system, linked to the cult of the ancestors and the spirits of nature, in the country of Imerina region (Central Highlands) in Madagascar. The central question developed here is the relation of the ethnographer to this specific area, demonstrating the authority of the healer through images and, at the opposite, the posture of inferiority of the patients. This social relationship, clearly visible on images, shows a hierarchy between the actors involved in the therapeutic act. The domination of the healer leads to a tacit agreement in the ethnography sphere of activity or research field; it determines the actions to be taken on the site of the research and its achievement.

Keywords

• Madagascar
• cult of ancestors
• care
• ethnography
• methodology
• image