The trade of zootherapeutical products in the city of Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brazil

Abstract

This article deals with the use of animals commercialized as medicinal and magical-ritual resources in the city of Feira de Santana, Bahia State, northeastern Brazil. Data were obtained in October-November 2003 by means of open-ended interviews carried out with five men and four women, whose ages ranged from 17 to 54 years old. The interviewees were shopkeepers and informal sellers. Some of the interviews were tape-recorded, and both the transcriptions and tapes are kept in the Laboratory of Ethnobiology at the Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana. Sixteen types of animals were recorded in the interviews. They are traded for several medicinal and magical-ritual purposes. Traders have provided data on the following aspects: how to prepare and administer the animal-based products; the way these resources are obtained; the purchase and sale prices; the segment of the population who acquire these products; and how they acquired their knowledge of zootherapeutic practice. The sale of animal products in shops, markets and street stalls is a risky practice, since it is illegal to make commercialized products from wild native animal species. However, these products are significant both for those who sell them and for those who that buy them. Efforts should thus be made to achieve more ecologically and ethically sustainable uses of animal resources.