Spirit Possession and Role Stress among the Xesibe of Eastern Transkei

Abstract

The relationship between spirit possession and certain categories of people is now well known. Lewis (1966, 1969, 1971) has shown that possession usually occurs among marginal, subordinate, and underprivileged people, and that it is one of the ways in which such people gain recognition and improve their status or rights. However, not all such people suffer from possession. What accounts for the difference? What particular problems are associated with possession, and can possession be construed as an adaptive response to such problems? The present study is broadly concerned with the relationship between spirit possession and stress, specifically stress generated by an inability to meet role expectations among the Xesibe, a Xhosa-speaking people who inhabit the northeastern corner of Transkei. Role inadequacy is not the only source of stress, and it is not the only social problem associated with possession, but it does appear to be a significant factor in many cases of possession, not only among the Xesibe but among the southern Nguni as a whole. Spirit possession in Transkei and among the Nguni in general has been long and widely discussed in the anthropological literature (see Hunter 1935; Krige 1936; Kohler 1941; Hammond-Tooke 1957, 1962, 1974; de Jager and Gitywa 1963; Lamla 1975; Ngubane 1977; O'Connell 1980b; Raum 1973; duToit 1971; interested readers may also wish to consult some of the earlier literature such as Bryant 1917; Callaway 1870; Shooter 1857) and it has been given considerable attention in recent psychological literature (see Buhrmann 1977, 1978, 1979; Kruger 1974; Laubscher 1938; Lee 1969; Loudon 1959; Manganyi 1979; Schweitzer and Buhrmann 1978). The anthropological studies are largely descrip? tive and do not deal with categories of people in relation to possession. The general paucity of biographical data on individuals who are prone to possession prevents a description and analysis of possible patterns (see Hammond-Tooke I957> 1962; Buhrmann 1978; Raum 1973). The present study, then, begins to fill a large gap in the literature on the Nguni, and it complements material collected in other cultures (Crapanzano and Garrison 1977). Following a brief account of spirit possession and the ancestors, I discuss male and female roles in Xesibe society and provide nine case histories in relation to the role structure. Finally, some of the more important therapeutic techniques used in dealing with cases of possession are considered.