Healers and Magare: Women’s Knowledge in Twentieth-Century Calabrian Folk Medicine

In this chapter, a study is proposed on Calabrian folk medicine, focusing primarily on female knowledge in the medical field and on the dual role of women as both healers and magare. Given the oral transmission of folk medicine practices and the scarcity of written records, a two-pronged analytical approach has proven necessary. First, the research began by examining studies carried out in Southern Italy during the twentieth century by ethnologists, anthropologists, and physicians, which highlight the close connection between medicine, religion, and magic. However, these studies—which are few in number and mostly focused on areas of Southern Italy other than Calabria—have not adequately emphasized the central role that women played in the development and transmission of medical-magical practices. To address this gap, a small ethnographic field study was conducted in the summer of 2024 across various locations in northern Calabria, complementing the desk-based research and seeking to gather information specifically on the role of women in relation to magical-medical knowledge. This chapter aims to synthesize the findings from both lines of inquiry.