Possession as Discourse by Other Means

Abstract

Abstract This article is an open exploration of an understanding of colonial and post-colonial spirit possession phenomena as discourse by other means. I begin with Bernhard Leistle’s phenomenological interpretation of demon possession as an entry point to the sort of understanding of possession this article seeks to approximate. From there I turn to Frantz Fanon’s notion of possession as a means of self-explanation, and then follow the way that Zorodzai Dube draws on this insight to develop the notion of demon possession as coded protest. This article does not stake a solid claim on any one of these three different phenomenological takes on possession but employs them to indicate the range of ways in which a phenomenological take on possession can be made. I then turn to two forms of possession the emerge amongst amaXhosa, one originating in the colonial period (amafufunyana), and another after apartheid (amakhosi). This article probes the fact that with these two spirit possession phenomena there is an opting for an interaction with deep structural societal issues that is not political in nature (and is therefore discourse by other means) and invites theological reflection on this.