The dissertation Guardians of the cure: the knowledge of the healers of Vale do Paraíba do Sul Fluminense has as main objective to reflect on the oral practices and traditions of healers in the region of Vale do Paraíba do Sul Fluminense, having its locus in the city of Valença, RJ. First, a brief history of the region is proposed. Marked by coffee production during the imperial period, the present work raises the analysis of whatwould be a traditional Valencian identity; of a glorious; past. Then, the focus passes to the narratives about healing traditions and articulations of forces in the Quilombo São José da Serra territory, also located in the region. With the expanded concept of performance as a theoretical tool, the analysis reaches its main point: the wisdoms that resist and re-exist through oral technology. In retrieving individual experiences and notes taken in field studies, results of research in different areas of knowledge are combined. In summary, the present study consists in the recognition of this set of knowledge of the healers of the region as a seam against the current, which shows social and cultural gaps through the enchantments by the word and as a strategy for maintaining life.