Today’s blog
post is dedicated to a discussion of cross-cultural phenomenon of spirit
possessions. Spirit possessions are identified
as changing individuals by a spirit entity or power who either strongly
influences but most often takes over the individual’s soul, personality, and/or
body. Cultural groups from all over the
world, particularly those in southeast Asia, Africa, and indigenous groups
across the New World, have recorded instances of spirit possession that have
and in many cases continue to occur today.
This blog post will discuss these cross cultural phenomenon of spirit
possessions, the actual causes of these phenomenon, as well as the cultural
explanations for their existence.
Spirit
possessions are common cross-culturally, but they only occur in cultures that
have an ideological belief in spirits or spirit-like creatures. These entities go by a variety of names, such
as djinns, demons, gheshi, and zar, just to name a few, and all are considered
to have malicious intents. In addition
to ideological foundations, there also tends to a lack of understanding of
health, disease, and mental illness (regardless of whether or not individuals
have access to and/or been informed of the realities of these) among believers
of spirit possessions. Possessions are
typically identified among individuals, particularly women, who act in abnormal
or socially unacceptable ways. For
example, the Catholic Church identifies possessed individuals having superhuman
strength, spitting, cursing, and practicing masturbation, while the Chuuk of
Micronesia associate possession with violent shaking, wild activity, moaning
and crying, screaming, and changes in voice pitch. All of these behaviors are considered deviant
in some way, which helps to identify them as being associated with spirit
possession, but in reality these behaviors may be acts of deviance undertaken
by the “possessed” or due to either a mental, emotional, or physical impairment. Medical professionals recognize that most “possessed”
individuals have a diagnosable (and sometimes treatable) illness, such as schizophrenia,
autism, depression, seizures/epilepsy, etc.
Spirit
possessions have occurred historically as well as continue today. Spirit possessions can occur in isolation or
in waves. Isolated incidents are common
among individuals who are experiencing some sort of personal turmoil, whereas epidemics
of spirit possessions tend occur when societies are experiencing economic,
political, or social unrest. In these
ways spirit possessions act as “culture free-zones”, which free the possessed from
cultural norms and allow possessed and those around him or her to cope with the
situation leading to the identification of possession, be it a legitimate
health concern or a personal incident.
It acts as a cultural time out, so to speak, to allow individuals to try
to understand their personal and cultural circumstances. This is not meant to downplay the severity of
the situation, particularly in the event of disruptions to health, but it
provides time and space for the individuals involved to cope with that which
they do not understand.
Similarly to
many other supernatural explanations of cultural phenomenon already discussed
on the blog (e.g. vampires, dibbuks, witchcraft, etc.) the pattern of trying to
understand the world seems to be a cultural universal, as well as evidence of
our higher order thinking that distinguishes humans from other primates and
animals. While the choice of seeking a
supernatural explanation for natural phenomenon may seem extreme it is actually
quite common, particularly as turning to ideological convictions occurs among
individuals who have a strong understanding of science.
Bibliography
Cohen, E. 2008. “What is Spirit Possession? Defining,
Comparing, and Explaining Two Possession Forms.” Ethnos
73: 1-25.
Jumreornvong,
N. 2015.
“Exorcism & Mental Illness Across Different Cultures.” Huntington’s Outreach Project for Education,
at Stanford.
Hezal,
F.X. No Date. “Spirit Possession in Chuuk: A Socio-Cultural
Interpretation” Micronesian
Seminar.
Mehraby,
N. 2009.
“Possessed or Crazy? Mental
Illness Across Cultures.” Interface:
Considerations of Difference.
No
Author. 2016. “Mediumship and Spirit Possession in a
Cross-Cultural Context.” Psi-Encyclopedia.
Radford,
B. 2013.
“Exorcism: Facts & Fiction About Demonic Possession.” Live Science.
Wedel,
J. 2012.
“Involuntary Mass Spirit Possession Among the Miskitu.” Anthropology & Medicine. 19: 303-314.
