Fado, spirituality and healing: Sensing, performing and embodying emotion in Lisbon, Portugal

Abstract

Drawing on long-term fieldwork in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, this article examines anthropologically the practice of fado through a novel prism, that of spirituality and healing. Adopting an auto-ethnographic perspective, and following the biography of a particular fado singer, emphasis is placed on the significant role of sensory perception and emotional embodiment in fado delivery, as well as the dynamic and fluid interaction between fado singers and their audience. While attempting to demonstrate an innovative aspect of fado that is directly linked to “alternative” spirituality and “holistic healing” and which has not been studied before in depth or at all, it shows how fado performance can be perceived as ritualistic and sacred. Fado is approached here as a newly added yet integral part of contemporary Portuguese religiosity, which has been going through a creative transformation, especially in the context of recent and current socioeconomic and global health crises.