Behavioral Manifestations
Possession and Trance
Erika Bourguignon
INTRODUCTION
The English term “possession” includes both the concept
of ownership and of control and domination. Belief in
possession by spirits, that is, the possibility that an
individual’s actions and behavior may be controlled by
spirits or demons, is attested in English usage from the
16th century. These beliefs have left their traces in every-
day language. Belief in spirit possession is both ancient
and very widespread as seen in the historical and ethno-
graphic record. One of the remarkable features of this
system of beliefs and associated ritual practices is its very
great flexibility and innovative potential. This is demon-
strated by its expansion and diffusion, where decline and
indeed disappearance might have been expected. In a
large-scale, cross-cultural study, some form of such
beliefs was found to be present in 77% of 488 sample
societies (Bourguignon, 1973). Given the terminological
confusion at the time of this research and a great deal of
ad hoc generalization in the literature on the basis of
single ethnographic cases, such systems of belief needed
to be studied in the larger context of their behavioral and
sociocultural correlates. Once the geographic distribu-
tions and the cultural linkages had been identified, the
special features of specific ethnographic instances could
be studied in depth. A distinction between beliefs and
behaviors revealed that certain types of behaviors reflect
general human physiological and psychological features
and that these are not necessarily associated with posses-
sion beliefs. A broad sampling of human societies made
it clear that what may be considered pathological in
Western bio-medicine is often conceptualized in radically
different ways in other cultures.
SOURCES AND TYPES OF BELIEFS
Possession beliefs are rooted in conceptions of the human
being as consisting of several elements (such as body,
mind, personhood, self, name, identity, soul or souls,
even part souls), where one or more of these may be
137
replaced, temporarily or permanently, by another entity.
More rarely, a second entity may also be thought to enter
the body without displacing the first, even though the
behavioral manifestations are those of this additional
presence. Such an explanation for possession by the spirit
of a dead sinner (dybbuk) is found in the Jewish tradition.
A belief in entities that may possess individuals is also
required, be they hostile or benevolent, spirits of the dead,
sometimes of animals or witchcraft beings. High gods are
rare among the spirits that are believed to possess
humans. It is apparent that beliefs in spirit possession are
linked to complex cosmologies, although the details of
such esoteric systems may be known only to ritual spe-
cialists. For the ritual participants, such cosmologies may
be more implicit than explicit. The behavior acted out is
largely learned and structured by local expectations.
Understanding the human being as consisting of
several potentially separable parts may be used to account
not only for “spirit possession,” but also for dreams,
hallucinations, seizures, and death.
BEHAVIORAL MANIFESTATIONS
The behavioral manifestations of such “possessions,” or
displacement of a person’s soul or other key element by
another entity, vary widely but fall into two main groups:
(1) negative changes in physical health or behavior or, on
the other hand, enhanced powers, and (2) alterations in
state of consciousness and behavior. Bourguignon (1973)
refers to the second type as Possession Trance and to the
former simply as Possession (or non-Trance Possession).
These two types have different geographic distributions
and are linked to different sociocultural and economic
variables. Also, where they occur in the same society,
they are likely to have different distributions within the
population. The second type, Possession Trance, is
significantly linked to female participation.
Trance (or dissociation), not linked to possession
belief (non-Possession Trance), may be sought intention-
ally, as in the vision quest of North American Indians.
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As such it refers to communication with spirits, usually
in visions. These may be auditory rather than visual in
nature. Although at times women have sought visions, the
typical seeker was a young man. Austerities (isolation,
exposure, fasting, and so forth) were used to induce the
trance state.
Trance may also occur spontaneously. How it will be
interpreted and evaluated will depend on the particular
cultural context. A distinction between Possession Trance
and non-Possession Trance corresponds roughly to a
distinction between possession religions and shamanism
(e.g., de Heusch, 1981). Others (e.g., Lewis, 1989)
generalize the term more widely, applying it to all who
control spirits, regardless of their manner of interaction.
The terms “shaman” and “shamanism” are also used
differently in different ethnographic regions. Since these
terms are used quite inconsistently in the ethnographic
and historical literature, shamanism is currently a
contested category (Bourguignon, 1989a; Kehoe, 2000).
As noted, for physical or behavioral changes to be
interpreted as due to possession, a belief in possession
must be available. Such beliefs, if not traditional in a
given community, may be adopted in contact situations.
It should be emphasized that “possession” is not directly
observable; it is an interpretation of behavior made by
participants, and it is statements of participants that must
be obtained by an outside observer or researcher to
discover it. There are situations in which it may appear
that an entity speaks through an individual—that is, an
example of “possession”—but where, upon investigation,
the individual may claim to be repeating what he hears,
and fully remembers the message after the event (for a
description of this situation among the Hunza of Northern
Pakistan, see Sidky, 1994). Amnesia, actual or normative,
full or partial, is frequently associated with Possession
Trance, but not with Trance where Possession is absent.
In this case, what the trancer sees or hears must be
remembered in order to be communicated to the group.
Ritual trancing is not idiosyncratic behavior, but is
carried out in a group context, often on behalf of the
group.
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTIONS AND
SOCIOCULTURAL CORRELATES
In the study cited above, Bourguignon (1973) found that
90% of sample societies had institutionalized Trance
Possession and Trance
(or altered state of consciousness) and/or Possession
Trance in a sacred context. That is to say, Trance states
interpreted as due to possession, or interpreted in some
other way, are here grouped together. For the remaining
10%, evidence on the subject was unavailable or inade-
quate. There were significant differences among ethno-
graphic regions in the utilization of trance states: they
ranged from a high of 97% of societies in Native
North America, to 94% each in the Insular Pacific and
East Eurasia, 84% in South America, 83% in Sub-Saharan
Africa, and to a low of 80% in the Circum-Mediterranean
region. A belief in spirit possession was found in 74% of
the world sample. Again, there was wide variation
between world regions, ranging from 88% of the societies
of the Insular Pacific and East Eurasia, to 81% of Sub-
Saharan societies, 80% in the Circum-Mediterranean, to
65% in South America, and finally North America with a
low of 52%. Here we are counting both societies that
either have a possession belief linked to trance states and
those where possession refers to some other change in the
host. With regard to possession beliefs, one might say that
the New World is indeed a world apart.
Possession Trance is significantly correlated with
Sub-Saharan Africa, where it appears in 45% of societies.
By contrast, non-Possession Trance is highly correlated
with North America, where it is found in 72% of sample
societies. In addition, both Possession Trance and Trance
are found in 20% of African societies. In North America,
both are found in 21% of societies. In other words,
while the most prominent form of sacred altered state of
consciousness in North America is Visionary Trance, in
Africa it is Possession Trance. Visionary Trance is more
likely to be found among men, Possession Trance among
women.
Belief in spirit possession is also widespread
(Bourguignon, 1976). It appears in 74% of sample soci-
eties. Because of the difference between the near univer-
sality of institutionalized trance and the much lower
incidence of possession beliefs, as well as other evidence,
such as the widespread existence of nonsacred forms of
trance, it may be argued that trance has its roots in human
physiology, whereas possession beliefs, which are highly
variable, are cultural phenomena. The human capacity for
trancing (or dissociation) thus may be seen as raw mate-
rial for cultural utilization.
It may be noted that Possession Trance involves the
enactment of multiple roles by human actors. This is
more likely to be the case in complex societies, where
Possession Beliefs in Western Thought
there exists a varied repertory of roles for individuals.
It is then not surprising that correlations were found
between the presence of Possession Trance and four vari-
ables showing degrees of societal complexity: estimated
population size over 100,000; present or recent presence
of slavery; permanent or semi-permanent settlements;
and a jurisdictional hierarchy above the local level.
Societies with Trance only were significantly less likely
to have these characteristics. Societies having both
Trance and Possession Trance were found to be interme-
diary between the other two types or to be the most
complex of all. These correlations have been confirmed
by restudies by other scholars (Shaara & Strathern,
1992; Winkelman, 1992).
Where both Possession Trance and non-Possession
Trance are found in the same society, it is often the case
that they involve different types of persons and different
contexts. The same applies to Possession and Possession
Trance. For example, among the Azande (Evans-
Pritchard, 1937) there is a belief in possession: certain
people—mostly men—have a witchcraft creature resid-
ing in their bodies which they can activate to cause harm
to others. There are also “witch doctors,” most of whom
also are men. They take “medicines which give them
power to see the unseen and to resist great fatigue”
(Evans-Pritchard, 1937, p.178). It is not known whether
these “medicines” are pharmacologically active. They are
taken in conjunction with drumming, singing, and active
dancing during which the witch doctors achieve a state of
dissociation in which they prophecy, and identify
witches. That is, there exists a ritual Trance state among
the Azande, which is not linked to a belief in possession.
However, Possession Trance did exist among the Azande,
for Evans-Pritchard (1962) tells us that they also had
women ghost diviners who went into trance and were
possessed.
In a study of a sample of African societies,
Greenbaum (1973) has found support for a hypothesis
suggesting a relationship between the presence of
Possession Trance and societal rigidity.
Winkelman (1992), focusing his attention on various
types of “trance-based healers”—that is, healers employ-
ing trance states—offers a four-fold classification:
Shaman; shaman/healer; healer; medium. These four
types are found linked to levels of societal complexity.
The difference between Sub-Saharan Africa and
Native North America suggests some explanatory
hypotheses: the ethnographic record of these two regions
139
shows major differences in the predominant economy
(hunting and gathering vs. agriculture), small versus large
population size, simple versus complex political struc-
tures, etc. as well as the differential participation of men
and women in religious rituals. In an early cross-cultural
statistical study, D’Andrade (1961) studied the use of
dreams (and visionary trances—the two are not clearly
distinguished in the literature) to seek and control super-
natural powers. He found that about 80% of hunting and
fishing societies use dreams in this way and only 20% of
societies that depend on agriculture and animal hus-
bandry do. But hunting and fishing was the predominant
type of economy in native North America and relatively
rare in Sub-Saharan Africa. Moreover, the seekers were
primarily men. D’Andrade (1961, p. 326) speaks of
“anxiety about being isolated and under pressure to be
self-reliant” and suggests that this may create “an
involvement with a type of fantasy about magical
helpers.” That the vision quest takes place at a time in the
lives of young men when they needed to become inde-
pendent and self-reliant in societies where self-reliance
and independence were necessary for the male role, is
also noteworthy. On the other hand, in the agricultural,
sedentary societies of Africa, Possession Trance, prac-
ticed in groups, addressed the concerns of women with
striking frequency. They often involve diagnoses of
problems, by means of divination, concern for long-term
relationship with spirits, as well as the opportunity to
act out various roles. When women are possessed by
powerful male spirits, these may be their spirit husbands.
POSSESSION BELIEFS IN
WESTERN THOUGHT
A difficulty with the concept of “possession” arises from
its history in the Western tradition, since ideas of some
types of demonic and other possessions come to us from
both Hebrew and Greek sources. For example, the New
Testament (Mark 5:1–17) describes Jesus exorcising a
mad man, whose possessing spirits then went into a herd
of swine who drowned themselves. This account has been
related to its political context: the Roman occupation of
Palestine (Crossan, 1994, p. 89). Luke (11:14–15) tells of
a mute man who was able to speak once the spirit that
possessed him was driven out. Numerous exorcists were
active in Galilee at the time, where there was probably a
mass of manuals and other literature available to them.
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The popular view of the day, as expressed in the New
Testament, was that evil spirits caused illness, physical
and mental, by possessing people (Guinebert, 1959). The
sophisticated view of the time, expressed by Jewish
writers such as Flavius Josephus and Philo Judaeus, was
rather that it was the souls of evildoers who possessed
individuals, a view that was elaborated later in Jewish
history, where a tradition of negative spontaneous
possession and exorcism continued.
As for the Greek tradition, where evidence is also
limited, sources available to scholars have been
interpreted as dealing with Possession Trance, rather than
possession as evidenced in mental or physical illness. The
examples given by Dodds (1957) refer to the Phythia, that
is, the Delphic oracle of Apollo, whose prophecies were
believed to be coming from the god (see also Maurizio,
1995). Dodds also considers the cult of Dionysius,
particularly as reflected in Euripides’ play, the Bacchae.
The French classicist, Jeanmaire (1951), compares the
fragmentary evidence on Greek Dyonesian religions with
the zar cult of modern Ethiopia. In both cases there
appears to be a curative function, and women are put into
Possession Trance with the use of drum rhythms. Here,
rather than exorcism, we find rituals of initiation and
attempts at meeting the demands of the possessing spirit,
thus turning a negative presence into an ally. In addition,
Johnston (2001) describes a form of Greek divination
using child mediums.
In the Christian tradition, demonic possession and
exorcism have, at times, played a significant role, some-
times involving important political issues. The case of
the possessed nuns of London in 17th-century France
represents a dramatic example (de Certeau, 2000).
As a result of this background, Western observers at
times have been tempted to read evidence of “posses-
sion,” where, in fact, such an understanding may not have
corresponded to the particular local tradition.
POSSESSION RELIGIONS, WOMEN, AND
MORALITY
It has been observed consistently that in most instances
of possession illness and Possession Trance, the majority
of spirit hosts are women. This was true of 19th-century
European spirit mediums as well as contemporary leaders
of Spiritualist churches in the United States, of Balinese
and Zulu healers and diviners, of possession trancers in
Haitian vodou, and Brazilian Afro-Catholic religions.
Possession and Trance
A variety of explanations have been offered, both by the
people themselves and by outside observers.
Lewis (1989) sees possession trance religions
as consisting of two types. He distinguishes between
central morality cults and amoral peripheral cults. The
central cults are dominated by men and support the offi-
cial morality of the society; the peripheral ones are
amoral and the possessed are mostly women and other
deprived persons. He argues that “for all their concern
with disease and its treatment, such women’s possession
cults … are thinly disguised protest movements directed
against the dominant sex” (Lewis, 1989, p. 31). Kendall
(1985) has challenged Lewis’s thesis, arguing that in
Korea the healing and Possession Trance activities pri-
marily controlled by women are complementary to the
male-dominated ancestor cult, and do not represent a
peripheral cult, nor are they amoral or protest movements
directed against men. Consequently, the Korean religious
and ritual system involves both sets of activities. Lewis
also claims that Possession Trance of the socially
deprived constitutes a means of manipulating the power-
ful through supernatural sanctions. He speaks of this as
an expression of the war between the sexes. He gives
Haiti as an example where, he claims, vodou is an amoral
peripheral cult. This is an inappropriate example.
Manipulation through supernatural sanctions can work
only if the powerful share the belief system of those who
would so manipulate them.
Brazilians explain the greater disposition of women
to become mediums by their view that the process of
developing their mediumistic capacities requires suffer-
ing, and women have a greater capacity for suffering
than men.
Nutritional explanations have also been proposed,
particularly with regard to calcium metabolism. The most
elegant model has been proposed by Raybeck et al.
(1989). These authors relate the problems encountered by
individual women at the sociocultural level on the one
hand to existing beliefs in possession by spirits, and to
stress and anxiety at the psychological level on the other.
This leads to physiological changes, notably a depressed
level of calcium in the blood, independent of dietary
calcium intake. It is known from substantial physiologi-
cal research that women’s calcium metabolism differs
from that of men. The resulting symptoms, such as dizzi-
ness, tremors, convulsions, and dissociation are then
interpreted as spirit possession at the cultural level.
This interesting model, however, remains to be tested in
field studies.
Possession and Healing
POSSESSION AND HEALING
In recent years there has been a great and continuous
increase in the literature dealing with possession, both
descriptively and analytically. This corresponds also to
the worldwide distribution of the phenomena in question,
as well as to greater interest in various aspects of this
complex subject by researchers. Beginning in the 1960s,
with the development of transcultural psychiatry,
Possession Trance religions and shamanism have been
considered with regard to their functions as healing
systems (e.g., Kiev, 1964; Prince, 1964). More recent
studies have focused on a broad range of other issues,
such as communication, discourse analysis, women’s
position, political resistance, reflections of history, and
social change. Not only do new Possession Trance reli-
gions spring up, but even among established religions,
such as Haitian vodou, new spirits make themselves
known. The focus of analysis varies with the individual
researcher and the specific local situation.
The rather rough grouping into two types of posses-
sion (see above) includes a variety of subtypes—for
example, the concerns with healing are much more
prominent in East Africa then in West Africa. The African
Diaspora, as in Brazil, has produced an emphasis on
mediumistic capacities, in which suffering—though not
necessarily illness—is seen as leading to spiritual devel-
opment. The Jewish, Christian, and Moslem traditions
see possession almost entirely as negative, due to
demonic or other hostile forces, and as requiring exor-
cism—that is, the driving out of the invading spirit that
produces manifestations that are interpreted as hostile to
religion. There are, however, some exceptions. For exam-
ple, the Protestant tradition understands glossolalia
(speaking in tongues) as a sign of possession by the Holy
Ghost. The Anastenaria ritual of Northern Greece (Greek
Macedonia and formerly also Thrace) involves a healing
tradition in which participants are possessed by Saints
Constantine and Helen while they dance on burning
embers. This practice is sanctioned within the Greek
Orthodox Church (Danforth, 1989).
In mystical Judaism, some scholars (Goldish,
personal communication, 2003) read the voice of a super-
natural entity (maggid), that speaks to or through mystics
and prophets as possessions, while others do not
(e.g., Bilu, 1996).
Islam, on the whole, has been tolerant of local spirit
beliefs. Thus, in various parts of North Africa as well as
in Sub-Saharan Africa, spirit cults are active in which
141
Possession Trance is part of the ritual activity, and
initially harmful spirits are transformed into allies and
helping spirits through the ritual process. This is true of
the zar cult in Sudan (e.g., Boddy, 1989), Egypt (e.g.,
Salima, 1902), and the Gnawa of Morocco (Chlyeh,
1999; Welte, 1990). This last is one of many groups
whose history reveals it to be a cult of the Sub-Saharan
Diaspora. Traditionally, men have been primarily drum-
mers and women mediums and healers. However, Welte
(1999) argues that, as a result of the worldwide pauper-
ization of peoples, men are now expressing depression in
psychosomatic symptoms interpreted, and treated, as
possession and requiring exorcism.
As noted earlier, there is a frequent linkage between
possession beliefs and altered states of consciousness
(trance). However, its precise nature varies substantially.
If we consider possession belief, trance state, and a third
variable, illness, then the following examples show this
variation very clearly. Thus, in the zar cult of Eastern
Africa (Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia), as mentioned
earlier, various types of illness or strange behavior may
be diagnosed as spirit possession. These include fugue
states, stomach aches, infertility, apathy, seizures, and
many other symptoms. On the basis of divination, the
possessing spirit is identified and will then be invited; that
is, possession trance is ritually induced. Over time,
through cult initiation, the spirit is placated and turned
into an ally. The result is a life-long cult membership.
In Possession Trance, the women enact complex person-
alities of individual zar spirits.
By contrast, Corin (1998) describes the Zebola cult
of the Congo, and particularly of Kinshasa. Here illness
is explained as due to the malevolence of others. It is
redefined as spirit possession by means of divination.
During divination, the spirit manifests itself, speaks
through the woman in Possession Trance, identifies itself,
and reveals the causes of the illness. A lengthy process of
initiation follows; it seeks to control the spirit by inhibit-
ing manifestations of trance. This is accomplished,
among other things, through medications, as well as the
teaching of complex dance performances. The woman
then maintains a relationship with the spirit which is now
her protector.
Haitian vodou presents quite a different picture.
Here illness and bad dreams are seen as harassment by
vodou spirits (lwa) to encourage the victim to seek initi-
ation. Possession Trance may also occur spontaneously,
and then require divination for the identification of the
spirit. Initiation and ritual participation are seen as
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religious and familial obligations. Possession Trance, in
which the complex characters of spirits are acted out, are
part of long-term relationships between humans and their
spirits who need to be fed, as well as entertained, in order
to give humans the support they need in their difficult lives.
THE RETURN OF EXORCISM
While exorcism had virtually disappeared as a practice in
Catholicism and mainstream Protestantism through most
of the 20th century, it has made a significant come back
in the last 30 years. It received great popular attention
with the publication of the book and the film The Exorcist
in the 1970s. In the same period, the exorcism of a
German girl attracted worldwide attention. When she
died, the priests/exorcists and the girl’s parents were con-
victed of unintended manslaughter. While the exorcisms
had continued over an extended period of time, she was
also diagnosed and treated for epilepsy by a physician
(Goodman, 1981). The Archbishop of New York permit-
ted an exorcism of a teenage girl to be broadcast on the
ABC program 20/20. In this case the girl had been
diagnosed and was under treatment for schizophrenia.
What is interpreted as possession requiring exorcism
in a given situation varies widely but seems to involve
some common features. One of these is uncharacteristic
behavior. Hensely (1993) tells the story of a man, in the
Ohio–Kentucky border area, who is believed by an exor-
cizing minister to be possessed. Carl, a humble and meek
man, has outbursts of violence. This is said to be due to
people who died violent deaths in a club location Carl
frequented, and whose spirits have not moved on.
As of 2001, there are frequent reports of exorcisms
in national newspapers and magazines; a Seattle radio
station reportedly conducts exorcisms over the air. (See
also Cuneo’s, 2001, review of the current state of
exorcism in America.)
POSSESSION RELIGIONS ARE
INCREASING IN NUMBERS
The great increase in the reporting of the phenomena in
question is likely to be due to both a growth of interest and
awareness by researchers, but also to an actual increase in
incidence. This in turn seems to be partly due to displace-
ment/diffusion of populations, and spread to others, partly
due to health crises (including both traditional healing and
Possession and Trance
searches for alternatives) and partly due to crises in iden-
tity. Examples include the presence of Caribbean reli-
gions in the United States and in the United Kingdom.
These were syncretic religions developed in the areas
from which the migrants have come. In Trinidad, for
example, we find both South Indian Kali religion and
Afro-Protestant groups, both of which are at this time rep-
resented in Britain. In a different vein, the development of
and interest in Channeling in the United States speaks to
a concern with identity and self help (M. Brown, 1997).
This pattern of mediumistic behavior is distinct from ear-
lier Spiritualism of the 19th and early 20th century, where
the spirits called up through mediums were those of the
recently dead. The spirits called on by channelers address
more distant, impersonal spirit guides. There is also a
belief in reincarnation and previous lives. Most channel-
ers are women; most spirits male.
Although Spiritualism was first developed in the
United States, it rapidly spread to Europe. A French
variety, as developed by Alain Kardec (pseudonym of
H. L. D. Rivail), has been most influential in Latin
America. Spiritistic religions and Protestant Evangelical
religions which encourage ecstatic experiences are the
most rapidly spreading forms of religion worldwide.
POSSESSION RELIGIONS AS WORSHIP
AND TRADITION
To see Possession Trance only in medical terms would be
a mistake. Behavior that might be seen as pathological in
the Western or bio-medical system, may be seen in terms
of a mythico-religious system in a traditional society.
Hollan (2000, pp. 546–547) notes that “possession behav-
ior that is culturally normative, no matter how bizarre or
irrational it appears from a Western point of view, should
never be considered pathological or psychotic …. [It] is
culturally constituted symbolic behavior ….”
As Suryani and Jensen (1993, p. 46) write: “In Bali,
ritual possession is common, controlled, desirable, socially
useful, highly valued, socially reinforced by society and
individually satisfying.” Balinese Possession Trance
occurs in numerous contexts: the work of traditional heal-
ers (balian), masked ritual dramas, kris dancers, hobby
horse dancers, little girl trance dancers, and so forth.
Among forms of Possession Trance considered aberrant
and sometimes requiring biomedical intervention are
incidents of collective dissociation among school girls and
attacks of amok among men.
Summary and Some Conclusions
Traditional people may be caught in a conflict
between two different explanatory systems (Kleinman,
1980). Possession Trance linked to long-term relation-
ships with one or more spirits involves the development of
what appear to be secondary or alternative personalities.
This may be seen by psychiatrists as D(issociative) I(den-
ity) D(isorder), often referred to as Multiple Personality
(Bourguignon, 1989b; Suryani & Jensen, 1993). Bizarre
behavior and speech may be diagnosed as psychotic by
psychiatrists. It might be noted that Suryani herself is both
a Western-trained physician and psychiatrist and a balian,
a Balinese trance healer.
In recent years, for example, zar beliefs and
practices have been brought to Israel by Jewish immi-
grants from Ethiopia. As reported by Witzum, Grizaru,
and Budowski (1996), some women who had brought zar
illness behavior from Ethiopia were inappropriately
referred to mental health clinics, hospitalized, and treated
with anti-psychotic medications. By contrast, having
their behavior labeled as zar possession provided them
and their families means of coping with distress and
avoided the stigma of mental illness. The zar ritual serves
as a curing ceremonial.
Kahn and Kelly (2001) conducted a study of Xhosa-
speaking psychiatric nurses in South Africa and note
“their dual allegiance to apparently competing and largely
incommensurate mental health paradigms” (pp. 34–35).
Here it is health care workers, as well as patients, who are
involved in the conflict between competing explanatory
systems. A major category of Xhosa traditional healers are
diviners, who are “called” to their profession by an initia-
tory illness, involving possession by ancestor spirits and
who in their divination practices go into Possession
Trance.
Possession Trance rituals, however, do not necessar-
ily deal with illness and curing. They may serve to alle-
viate many different kinds of stress, such as marital or
financial problems or concern over school examinations.
They may also be experienced as forms of devotion and
fulfillment of obligations to the spirits inherited in family
lines or revealed to specific individuals. As such they
reflect participants’ sense of self and of belonging.
For Caribbean people in the United States, for exam-
ple Haitians, Cubans, and Jamaicans, their Afro-Christian
religions, in which rituals center around various forms of
Possession Trance, have become significant elements
in their reaffirmation of their ethnic identities. This is
illustrated by the fact that, in the United States, some
143
members of the educated middle class among these
groups are now identifying themselves with religious
practices that were primarily linked to the poor in their
homelands. These were negatively sanctioned and often
denied by the earlier generations of their families (see
K. Brown, 1991; Palmié, 1991).
Pentecostal and Charismatic churches have a long
and variable history in this country. Here the faithful
experience possession by the Holy Spirit, speak in
tongues (glossolalia), and manifest other “Gifts of the
Spirit.” They are associated with healing only to a limited
extent. They have widespread appeal as well in Latin
America and Africa, where they may be in competition
with established Possession Trance religions.
Any consideration of rituals of Possession Trance
and, often also of Trance, must not neglect the esthetic
aspects of what are more or less complex performances.
The most famous are to be found in Bali, but also in India
on the one hand and in the Afro-American traditions of
Brazil. Possession Trance rituals only rarely involve the
use of masks, as in the trance dramas of Bali. More fre-
quently the possessed individuals act out the personalities
and activities of the possessing spirits in interactions
with the audience, in dance, and costumes, all of it
accompanied by music, frequently drumming, the whole
constituting a dramatic performance.
Moore (1982) discusses music and dance as expres-
sions of religious worship, with specific reference to
Cumina and Revival, two religious groups in Jamaica. He
notes that to participants these art forms are vehicles “for
self expression and release of inner tensions…[a]psychic
outpouring [that] restores vitality and refreshes the whole
person” (p. 299).
SUMMARY AND SOME CONCLUSIONS
Beliefs in the possibility of possession by spirits or other
entities has been found to be very widespread among the
societies of the world. However, there are regional varia-
tions in the percentage of societies that have such beliefs
and the manner in which these beliefs are formulated.
Such variations are not random or arbitrary but are related
to other sociocultural features predominant in a given
region or characteristic of particular societies. As the
societies change under impact of modernization and
globalization some of the beliefs and ritual practices
change also.
144
A study of ideas of possession by spirits and other
beings necessarily leads to an investigation of how this
possession is experienced and therefore to a study of the
ritualization of possession states and to trance (altered
states of consciousness, dissociation). It also leads to a
study of the relationship to other features of the societies
in which these occur, how they are distributed throughout
the world, who the participants are, how the states are
diagnosed and evaluated, and what social uses are made
of possession states.
Historically, the approach to both possession and
trance has reflected the interests of the investigators. In
Haiti, for example, the initial writings had to do with
demonology and then with ideas of pathology, specifically
hysteria. These were inherited from French psychiatry,
where Janet compared his hysterical patients to the cases
of possession and exorcism in French history. Anthropo-
logists, such as Herskovits (1937), emphasized cultural
relativism, and since the Haitians induced Possession
Trance in their rituals and valued these states, he argued
that they were normal and not to be seen as pathology. In
the 1960s some psychiatrists began to see Possession
Trance as therapeutic rather than pathological, and some-
times also a prophylactic. There also developed a view of
possession as political phenomenon, whether as resistance
to existing circumstances and conditions or as a means of
mobilization in a liberation struggle. More generally, the
relationship between possession and social change has
become a topic of great interest (e.g., Kenyon, 1995).
When computer analysis of data became possible,
the statistical comparative method could be utilized to
test hypotheses with regard to spirit possession beliefs.
Because of women’s strong presence in Possession
Trance religions, research into these groups became
relevant to gender studies. When still other approaches
developed in anthropology, these have been utilized in
related research, so that Lambeck (1989) speaks of a
move from disease to discourse. At that point the empha-
sis again turned to the workings of individual societies
rather than to comparative analysis. With the develop-
ment of New Age religions in the United States, still
another field of research on possession and trance opened
up, as took place when migrants from distant places
brought their Possession Trance religions to metropolitan
centers. In sum, the research reflects the reality on the
ground as well as the interests of the investigators.
Although much has been accomplished in the last
40 years, there is much that remains to be done.
Possession and Trance
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(e.g., Siikala, 1978), while others considered shamans to
be any practitioners who voluntarily enter altered states of
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