Le tatouage ésotérique. Récit de recherches en Birmanie

• Main Author: Lucie Friedrich
• Format: Article
• Language: fra
• Published: Association Anthropologie Médicale Appliquée au Développement et à la Santé 2020-11-01
• Series: Anthropologie & Santé
• Subjects: therapeutic pluralism; religiosity; care itinerary; traditional medicine; representations
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/anthropologiesante/7668

The notion of health in Burma is deeply linked to religion : Karma, the central notion of Theravada Buddhism practiced in this complex country, is supposed to be the generator of the events that conditions people’s lives, both at a physical and medical level. Through the study of tattooing in Burma, this text addresses three different situations related to health, which do not exclude the question of Burmese religion and esotericism but mix it with scientific or social considerations related to the therapeutic system(s) of this country. From the so-called “therapeutic” tattoo, which is invisible but circumscribes a wound in a circle to avoid infections, to protective tattoos that mobilize a set of various representations related to health and Karma, these situations illustrate a part of the therapeutic pluralism and the multiplicity of curative or preventive practices in Burma. Through an illustrated research story which intertwines some very personal field notebook extracts and descriptions written later, this article aims to transcribe a reflexion, observations and an atmosphere, taking the reader gently to the heart of the study that has been carried out.