Possession Cults Research Articles

Ansiedade e reciprocidade: a Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus além das fronteiras

Abstract: The message of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG), a centralized transnational organization, is gloomy and not at all optimistic, with limited, though real, influence from prosperity theology. It emphasizes diabolical forces and encourages followers to be suspicious of others and even their own motivations when praying, supplicating, and giving. In ritual performances, pastors warn followers not to expect anything in return. Rituals are described as "disruptive." The text compares the Church's treatment of possession cults in Brazil, Mozambique and South Africa. Healing and exorcism are considered in the context of relationships of reciprocity, with examples of "popular psychotherapy" observed on television in Brazil. The research was carried out in several countries.

Possession and exorcism on the margins of Islam: Mali

This article focuses on three different patterns of spirit possession in Mali, a country where spirits interact with human beings. Some Malian cases – but not all of them – comfort the well-received theory asserting that possession is a form of protest and is related to a historical crisis. African possession cults are generally considered as characteristics of marginal groups in response to the domination of a monotheist religion, especially Islam and Christianity, but several cults from the Minianka area contradict this ideal type. At a national level, some cults look for a compromise with the spirits, while others are aimed to get rid of them.

Hijras, Sangomas, and their Translects

This essay focuses on hijras in India and on male women sangomas in Zulu gender-differentiated possession cults in South Africa. We approach these individuals through the travelling concept of “translects”, in the sense in which hijras and sangomas as “transgender individuals” cultivating a culture-specific, gender liminality use words to refer to themselves, their body parts, sexual orientation, societal rituals and practices, usually not in the dominant or standard language and often in a language form intelligible only to them. While these words were pushed out of the public domain and were colonized, subjugated, or expunged from history, the essay seeks to find out how these individuals and their translects survived their subjugation by leaving their heterotopic traces across time, punctuated by four “moments”: the implicit divide; the explicit divide; the post-/re-colonial moment; decolonizing translects. Hinging on “transing” and “translating”, the essay also evokes how decolonizing attempts oscillate between two extremes: on the one hand, translects are made gradually to come to terms with the modern and dominant language of “law”, “reason” and “contract” and, on the other hand, seek to subvert the hegemony of the standard languages. The essay concludes by showing how the incorporation of translects into the western-style transsexual grid often results in the erasure of gender-variant translects. If translects were to survive, they could only do so through being used as coded language and subterfuge practices in what we call “the public sphere of the hinterlands” – constantly interrogating the legitimacy of the dominant languages and standard sexual practices.

Sound production as a cultural practice

Referring to a notion of cultural practice understood as a constitution of social identity and meaningful everyday performance, this paper questions the practice of music production outside the technological centers of the global North. The author traces relations between the global standards of studio work and the case of “record culture” in Mzuzu, Malawi. On a tangible level, the production of sound and music in Mzuzu is bricolage, a creative combination of varied devices and means within an economy of scarcity.However, sound production in its intangible dimension reveals itself as a practice of mediation between material and immaterial spheres. Spatially, it combines local aesthetics with globally unified technologies. This mediation gathers different temporalities (old, “tribal” rhythms and digital sounds) with cosmologies (i.e. invocation to holy ghosts with gospel music, in contrast to local possession cults). Moreover, people embody many of these practices as opposed to expressing them discursively. As an embodied practice, the production contains social, non-discursive memory while, at the same time, it has a potential for construction of social worlds. Hence, sound production constitutes a sense-making practice that establishes relations between musicians, listeners, and other social actors.
 
 NB: The article contains sound examples. In order to listen to embedded audio files, you must first download the pdf file and then open it with Adobe Acrobat.

Trance, Dissociation, and Shamanism: A Cross-Cultural Model

AbstractReligious practices centered on controlled trance states, such as Siberian shamanism or North African zar, are ubiquitous, yet their characteristics vary. In particular, cross-cultural research finds that female-dominated spirit possession cults are common in stratified societies, whereas male-dominated shamanism predominates in structurally flatter cultures. Here, we present an agent-based model that explores factors, including social stratification and psychological dissociation, that may partially account for this pattern. We posit that, in more stratified societies, female agents suffer from higher levels of psychosocial trauma, whereas male agents are more vulnerable in flatter societies. In societies with fewer levels of formal hierarchy, males come into informal social competition more regularly than in stratified contexts. This instability leads to a cultural feedback effect in which dissociative experiences deriving from chronic psychosocial stress become canalized into a male religious trance role. The model reproduces these patterns under plausible parameter configurations.

The Dreadful Dance of the Goddess: Creativity and Mimesis in a Possession Cult of Assam

Every year in August devotees flock to the Kāmākhyā temple (Guwahati, Assam), to attend and observe the Deodhāni-nāc, (the dance [nāc] of the sound [dhāni] of god [deo]). The main feature of this three-day festival is the dance of the deodhās. The deodhās, Assamese males, become possessed by the goddess Kāmākhyā (and the other deities connected to her) and dance to the beat of drums. The dance of deodhās reproduces to some extent the character and iconography of the possessing deities, but is not limited to that. Through the use of his body, each deodhā actively interprets this shared image of the deity, dancing in a singular way. The paper focuses on the creative, yet unconscious process through which each deodhā shapes his peculiar dancing style.

Possessed for Success: Prosperity Buddhism and the Cult of the Guardians of the Treasure Trove in Upper Burma

Following the global spread of capitalism from the early 1990s, individualistic, non-institutionalised prosperity religion and ‘occult economies’ have emerged throughout the world, including South-East Asia, but have seemingly not yet been investigated with respect to Burma/Myanmar. This article focuses on the cult of the guardians of the treasure trove – a form of ‘prosperity Buddhism’ – in Upper Burma, wherein predominantly business women of lower middle classes perform possession dances to become successful in business. It has partly evolved from the lower status ‘traditional’ possession cult of the 37 Lords. The aim of this article is threefold. Firstly, it examines novel kinds of ‘Buddhicised’ possession rituals of higher status that discard religious specialists. These practices represent a democratisation of public spirit-mediumship and provide a route for success in business, agency and empowerment. Secondly, it is demonstrated that these cults seek to preserve Buddhism in the face of the current rapid changes in Burma. Thirdly, this article shows how these novel cults emerged in dynamic interplay with recent economic, social and political changes in Burma, as well as an increasing impact of globalisation.

Le retour des ancêtres royaux suicidés : une histoire régressive malgache

Since 1990, a royal possession cult has been spreading to the cities and villages of a sacred kingship in the Northern Madagascar. This religious tradition is based on narratives relating how some royal ancestors preferred mass suicide by drowning rather than submit to the yoke of the Malagasy pre-colonial Empire in the 19th century. Today, these royal spirits possess some constituents of this kingdom as well as Malagasy and Comorians migrants who settled down in the province during the 20th century. When taking control of people’s minds and bodies, these spirits ask for transforming the different places of their drowning into sacred sites. Royal and common dignitaries use this religious tradition for defending their land tenure rights and claiming their autochthony against the postcolonial Malagasy State, migrants, reformist religious movements, and multinational firms establishing on their lands. Each year, more than 5000 people participate to this possession cult, re-enacting and performing the way these royal ancestors committed suicide into the sea. State officials, Secretaries and mass media attend to this event and are taught about this religious tradition. But my fieldwork and historiographical survey demonstrated several facts which are antithetical to this official version: this tragic event took place in the 17th century, these royal ancestors tried to escape from their aggressive kin before funding this kingdom, this dynastic branch was drowned into a coastal area which never belonged to its territory, and this religious tradition has been introduced into the kingdom in the 20th century by Malagasy migrants and descendants of slaves affiliated to a neighboring divine kingship. How should we deal with these two antithetical narratives?

Traumatic Experience and Somatoform Dissociation Among Spirit Possession Practitioners in the Dominican Republic.

Recent studies in African contexts have revealed a strong association between spirit possession and severe trauma, with inclusion into a possession cult serving at times a therapeutic function. Research on spirit possession in the Dominican Republic has so far not included quantitative studies of trauma and dissociation. This study evaluated demographic variables, somatoform dissociative symptoms, and potentially traumatizing events in the Dominican Republic with a group of Vodou practitioners that either do or do not experience spirit possession. Inter-group comparisons revealed that in contrast to non-possessed participants (n = 38), those experiencing spirit possession (n = 47) reported greater somatoform dissociation, more problems with sleep, and previous exposure to mortal danger such as assaults, accidents, or diseases. The two groups did not differ significantly in other types of trauma. The best predictor variable for group classification was somatoform dissociation, although those items could also reflect the experience of followers during a possession episode. A factor analysis across variables resulted in three factors: having to take responsibility early on in life and taking on a professional spiritual role; traumatic events and pain; and distress/dissociation. In comparison with the non-possessed individuals, the possessed ones did not seem to overall have a remarkably more severe story of trauma and seemed to derive economic gains from possession practice.

The role of dance and what it teaches about the transcendence in possession and efficacy among the Brekete Gatsi cult

This research was conducted on the Brekete Gatsi cult in Ghana to investigate the use of the body in action during the dance in the ritual context. Brekete is a possession cult found among the Ewe’s of the Volta Region-Ghana. Devotees in this cult worship the deities Kunde and Ablewa on every Friday, Sunday and during ceremonial days. They also propitiate other pantheons who are children of Kunde and Ablewa. During ritual moments they call on these deities, who manifest themselves by embodying trained mediums to enter into an act of communion with the religious community. This state of embodiment is manipulated by rhythms paralleled with ritual sacrifices and dance which the community believes attains efficacy through possession. Therefore, this article will discuss the role of two dances which are performed during the ritual of the cult. Both dances occur during the same ritual events but may be distinguished by the fact that one of them is accompanied by possession and the other is not. I have therefore labelled them as Wu (Dance) and Trɔwo le ewu du (deities are dancing). It is through the analysis of these dances that it is possible for the reader to understand the relationship between the mundane world and the supernatural world of the people who perform in this cult. The methodology used has been that of classical anthropological research approach and more particularly of participant observation of events of which I had no prior knowledge due to my Christian urban upbringing. I wish to highlight the exoticism of the experience for a researcher who, despite his own upbringing, tackled a different religious phenomenon irrespective of his social and religious affiliations. Thus, with my focus on the bodily actions and how they are used to gain access into the celestial world, I identify dance as an instrument and a medium by which the physical evidence of possession comes about. To that effect, and through the phenomenon that religious possession dance is laden with complexities and meaning, this article will hereby develop how the ritual processes and the differences between the movement of “Wu and Trɔwo le ewu du” teaches us about the ritual efficacy of possession dance. I argue here that both possession dance and the dance without possession (i) are contra-kinetically constructed, (ii) have movement sequences employing sagittal symmetrical principles, and (iii) although they have limited motifs of the steps and arm gesture, the possession dance has many variations. Finally, the Wu serves as a prelude to Trɔ di amedzi (deity has embodied or mounted its medium) and Trɔwo le ewu du, which has the concept of possession among the Brekete Gatsi cult based on the philosophy of repetitive motif characterised by intense energy, rhythmic tempo and musicality (multidi-mensional, accentuation and phrasing) from the brekete drum.

Il turismo religioso nello Himachal Pradesh. Prospettive antropologiche

This paper focuses on the dynamics of religious tourism in the State of Himachal Pradesh (north-western India), with particular reference to the Kulu district. Popularly known as «Devbhumi», «the land of Gods», the Himachal Pradesh is receiving huge tourism flows, with arrivals from both the Indian sub-continent and from abroad, because of the beauty of its landscapes but also due to its religious attractions. A peculiar religious horizon characterises this geographical and cultural context; along with a traditional religiosity, linked to the Hinduism, there are intensive practices of oracular possession cults to the main local aboriginal deities, whose temples are a place of pilgrimage.

Understanding Possession in Jainism: A Study of Oracular Possession in Nakoda

AbstractPossession among Jains remains an almost unexplored field of study. Based on fieldwork at a Jain pilgrimage site in India, this paper presents ethnographical material on a hitherto unknown oracular possession cult. The paper looks at the ways in which Jains themselves understand and sometimes critique possessions, as a way of understanding Jainism itself. The ethnographic material is presented on the background of other cases of Jain possession, both in scriptures and other accounts, in an attempt to show how possessions challenge our understanding of Jainism as a religion. Furthermore, possession is not one thing. There are various types of possession—depending for instance on who possesses—and they have different implications in the Jain scheme of things.

Gods in the Flesh: Learning Emotions in the Xangô Possession Cult (Brazil)

Drawing on first-hand ethnographical data from the Xang"ô, an Afro-Brazilian Cult in Recife (Brazil), I defend that learning possession means in the first place to learn to identify and react to specific emotional states in accordance with cultural representations and expectations. This emotional learning would take place through two potential processes during ritual activity. On the one hand a powerful coupling process linking “uncanny” body arousals to mythological imagination captured by the highly evocative content of songs, invocations, objects and substances during ritual activity. Ritual features such as archetypality, rigidity, regularity, redundancy and spatial and temporal delimitation are propitious for eliciting and “boosting” this coupling process. On the other hand, a social referencing process through which emotional and behavioral reactions towards possessed persons act for novices as reliable indicators of how to recognize, interpret and regulate their own emotional states associated with possession. With growing familiarity with possession's conceptual and experiential background, their emotional reactions might evolve from largely undifferentiated arousal states to “orixa´-specific” somatic signature and novices might become more active towards their own possession. They also demonstrate an increasing sensitivity to isolated emotional elicitors of possession as well as a better control over their emotional reaction.

BD]From Weikzahood to Mediumship: How to Master the World in Contemporary Burma

AbstractIn this paper, I bring into focus the biography of a Burmese ritual specialist who combines in her practice different spiritual resources in order to master her changing world. By analysing the way in which she positions herself between different fields of practice, namely the weikza path and the spirit possession cult, I aim to show that beliefs and practices considered normatively distinct according to their relative distance from the core of Buddhism actually converge in her personal history. By bringing to light the evolution of such a specialist in terms of a “spiritual career,” I seek to illuminate changes in the religious landscape that reflect those of the overall social context. Finally, this case demonstrates that magic, as a field of practice, is fully constitutive of the way the Burmese Buddhists of today think about and manage their lives, even if it has often been regarded as deviant from normative Buddhism.

Learning Possession Trance and Evaluating Oracles’ Truthfulness in Jinè Cults of Bèlèdugu (Mali)

AbstractIn Mali, during the 1980s Islamization of Beledugu, the local dismantling of secret societies has been followed by an increase of spirit possession cults (jineton). Their expansion was made possible by their therapeutic success and by their ability to use their initiatory worship apparatus to convert novice “possessees” to a form of relationship with the jinn that was experienced and understood according to the “possession trance” and “executive possession” models. This text describes and analyses how afflicted villagers acquired the singular ability to experience the relinquishing of their own agency and the concomitant take-over of their body by this kind of invisible agent. It argues that these learning processes rely on the prior existence of a type of declarative and procedural religious knowledge regarding other ritualised forms of possession practised in the region. Moreover, it claims that these learning processes consist in the double triggering of an intuitive mind-body dualism and of neurocognitive modules connected to the Theory of Mind.

Inhabitants of the Screen

In Bahia, Brazil, the public articulation of religious authority comes to depend more and more on celebrity discourses. This article takes the Afro-Brazilian spirit possession cult Candomblé as an example to show how in media-saturated societies religious and media imaginaries become inextricably entangled. In their struggle to be publicly recognized as a proper ‘religion’, Candomblé priests ?nd themselves overcoming their media-shyness. Televisual fame is a value understood by the public at large, and its acquisition adds weight to the status and prestige of Candomblé priests in ways that religious criteria for priestly authority cannot accomplish.

Photography and the Religious Encounter: Ambiguity and Aesthetics in Missionary Representations of the Luba of South East Belgian Congo

William F. P. Burton's career straddled several worlds that seemed at odds with each other. As a first-generation Pentecostal he pioneered, with James Salter, the Congo Evangelistic Mission (CEM) at Mwanza, Belgian Congo in 1915. The CEM became a paradigm for future Pentecostal Faith Mission work in Africa, thanks to Burton's propagandist writings that were published in at least thirty European and North American missionary periodicals. His extensive publications, some twenty-eight books, excluding tracts and articles in mission journals, reveal that the CEM was a missionary movement animated by a relentless proselytism, divine healing, exorcism, and the destruction of so-called “fetishes.” The CEM's Christocentric message required the new believer to make a public confession of sin and reject practices relating to ancestor religion, possession cults, divination, and witchcraft. It was a deeply iconoclastic form of Protestantism that maintained a strong distinction between an “advanced” Christian religion, mediated by the Bible, and an idolatrous primitive pagan religion. Burton's Pentecostalism had many of its own primitive urges, harkening back to an age where miraculous signs and wonders were the stuff of daily life, dreams and visions constituted normative authority, and the Bible was immune to higher criticism. But his vision also embraced social modernization and he preached the virtues of schooling and western styles of clothing, architecture, and agriculture. It was this combination of primitive and pragmatic tendencies that shaped the CEM's tense relations with the Belgian colonial state.

Healing Evil Possession

Summer 2011 - Volume 15 Number 3 “Healing Evil Possession” 24x36 acrylic on canvas Mohamed Osman, MD A variety of evil possession cults are practiced in many regions of the world. In such cultures, people believe that many s

‘Wij zijn geen folklore, wij zijn een religie!’

‘An increasing number of priests from candomblé – an Afro-Brazilian spirit possession cult – publicly demand that their creed is recognized as a full-fledged ‘religion’. In this article I discuss how this demand is part of a larger political project whereby candomblé priests seek to assert their voice in the public sphere of Salvador, Bahia, thus to counter the all out appropriation of candomblé myths, symbols and aesthetics by cultural entrepreneurs, tourist organizations and other outsiders. While candomblé has proven quite successful in these attempts, I show that the demand to be recognized as a ‘religion’ comes at a price: far from being a neutral term, ‘religion’ is a thoroughly Christian format. All creeds that make a public claim to be a ‘religion’ thus require to refashion themselves along this Christian model.

Religious mobility and body language in Kubandwa possession cults

Spirit possession was first observed by European travellers in the second half of the nineteenth century, and was later studied by numerous authors during the twentieth century. This paper reflects on the trans-national dimension of the practice, analysing examples of Kubandwa rituals from various places and periods: Kubandwa tends to cross linguistic, political and temporal frontiers, reappearing in different forms, often having been renovated but still clearly recognisable. Despite the variety of the spirits – forming a dynamic pantheon which is continuously increasing – the ritual, based on the mechanism of spirit possession and a specific body language, tends to remain constant throughout the region. While the discourse of ethnicity in the Great Lakes region has come to underline political divisions and separations, this religious and healing tradition can be presented as an alternative cultural discourse of trans-nationality and multi-ethnicity.