What a Cura work is
A Cura, or healing work, is typically held outside the main church space, often at a member's home or a dedicated house of healing, and gathers a small group whose attention is directed toward a particular person's wellbeing. The tradition holds that hymns sung during a Cura call on spiritual forces the doctrine understands as protective and healing, drawn from its broader syncretic roots in African-diaspora spiritist traditions, Christian devotion, and the healing lore of the Amazon.
For this work, the community commonly draws on a hymn collection called Cura, which includes the hymns Oração, Cura Part I and Part II, and Cruzeirinho, though other hinários — such as those of João Pedro, Madrinha Rita, or Padrinho Corrente — are also sung in this form.
Origins of the healing works
According to accounts from early members, the healing works began in 1931 as Wednesday concentrations held on behalf of a person in need, present or not, with the group holding silent concentration rather than singing hymns. Early practice reserved these sessions for cases of genuine need, gathered a small group, and closed, as other works did, with a set of traditional prayers.
The tradition holds that a Cura's purpose is spiritual: members recall Mestre Irineu describing his own role not as a healer in himself, but as someone who would take the matter to the Rainha da Floresta and act according to what she permitted. This distinction — that the outcome rests with a spiritual authority beyond the individual — remains part of how the community frames these works today.
How the tradition frames healing
Within the tradition, a Cura is understood as an act of spiritual care and shared intention on behalf of a member in need, carried out through prayer, concentration, and hymn — not as a form of medical diagnosis or treatment.