Abstract
Humans have always been concerned about health protection and searching a cure for diseases in order to lead a longer and better life. Proverbs are popular paremias that stand for a collection of values based on ancient knowledge transmitted through generations. The aim of this article is to analyze Portuguese proverbs about health and to find out what the proverbs' function is in expressing the human knowledge of «the art of healing». By analyzing a corpus of almost 500 Portuguese proverbs, we will examine traditional professions in the field of health, the pathologies and the therapies that are suggested in each case by traditional medicine. Finally, we will also analyze proverbs concerning medicinal herbs, their therapeutic properties, their preparation and the dangers of mishandling them.
Translated title of the contribution | Every man is a fool or a physician. Health in Portuguese proverbs |
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Original language | Spanish |
Pages (from-to) | 95-104 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Paremia |
Issue number | 27 |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2018 |
Keywords
- Paremiology
- Portuguese
- Proverb
- Traditional medicine