We aim to reflect on the anthropological approach of suffering in the African-Brazilian religions, considering from those focused on the symbolic dimension to those more related to phenomenology and symmetrical anthropology. Therefore, initially we will make a brief statement about the structural and symbolic paradigms in anthropology, focusing on Lévi-Strauss and Clifford Geertz. Then we discuss the appropriation of the phenomenological theory for the social sciences and the perspectives more focused on the problems of practice, emphasizing authors as Alfred Schütz and Annemarie Mol. Finally, we propose a new theoretical and methodological approach named cartoetnografia - based on the concept of modes of existence developed by Bruno Latour - as a kind of hybrid that allows us, without neglecting the symbolic dimension, to explore the problem of distress in the African-Brazilian religions from the fruition of affections, giving visibility to the construction of this experience through the practices that shape it.
anthropology of health; Afro-Brazilian religions; suffering; cartography; etnography