Spirit Possesion and Deprivation Cults

8/12/2019 Spirit Possesion and Deprivation Cults

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Spirit Possession and Deprivation Cults

Author(s): I. M. LewisReviewed work(s):Source: Man, New Series, Vol. 1, No. 3 (Sep., 1966), pp. 307-329Published by: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and IrelandStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2796794.

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SPIRIT POSSESSION AND DEPRIVATION CULTS*I. M. LEwiS

Universityollege,ondonIAnthropologists,o less han hepeople hey tudy,re much iven o theelaborationf those raditionsy whichmen verywhereeek o ustifyheir

currentnterestsnd ctivitiesn ermsf omemysticallyallowedast.Malinow-ski, ndeed, as among hefirsto explore he ociologicalmplicationsfsuch'mythologicalharters's hecalled hem. ndmy redecessorsnthesememoriallecturesn honour fhimhave hown emarkablengenuityn inking hat heyhavehad o say o hismany-sidedontributionso social nthropology.Myown charter'or hisecturesbriefMyfirstointsthatt eems ome, sto some fmy olleagues,hatmany f he resentmpassesn our ubject, hichresult rom too rigid dherenceo Radcliffe-Brown'seleological ystiquefstatusuomaintenance,ay e resolvedy view ftheworkingf ocial nsti-tutions hich wesmore oMalinowskindwhichs essentiallylexible,daptive,and tilitarian.his sthe ort f unctionalismhich hope odeployhis vening.Secondly, y ubjectmatteroncernseligionnd sex,topicswhich ertainlyengagedhe eriousttentionfMalinowskind edto the roductionf ome fhismostnspireds well s ofhismost opular orks. pirit ossession,rat eastthose spects ithwhich shall e concernedere,mbodiesoth hemes.nd yway fntroductionwould nlydd urtherhat,romhe endentiousominalismofcurrentinshipontroversyndthemechanical,f ofty, etaphysicf Levi-Strauss,hiss a subjecto which turn ith distinctense frelief. t east hephenomenahich e shall xaminehis veningave ome iscernibleelationoempiricaleality.Spirit ossession,rom ne point f viewtherootof mysticism,s, needscarcelyemind ou, vast ubject. s well sthe amiliarsf host f esswell-knownnd nonymoushamans,t embraces ithin single rame freferencesuchwell-establishediguress theHolyGhostnd KatieKing', he ontroversialmaterialisationroducedythe amous nglish edium lorence ook, nvesti-gated ndvouched or yno ess personhan irWilliam rookes,residentfthe Royal Society rom 9I3 to i9i5. Lest thisconjunctionmay seem undulyforced,et meremind ou that or ome theological riters,nd not east or heRev.J. D. Pearce-Higgins,prominent ember f theChurches' ellowshiporPsychical tudy,Katie King's ctivities avebeen een s providing orroborativeevidence or cientificelief n the ResurrectionfJesus hrist' Pearce-Higgins1957: 38).Equally,our topic ncludes uch other pectaculareaturess dervish ancing,* The MalinowskiMemorial ecture, elivered t theLondon School of Economics ndPolitical cience n 8 March 966.


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308 I. M. LEWISfire-walking,word-eatingnd ransvestitism-toay othingf uch echnicalitiesas 'automaticwriting'.n the realm f deas andemotions, e are at once con-fronted y suchcontradictoryhemes s innovativenspiration,nd conservativeresignationxpressedn catharsis; y thrusting essianicults, nd by establishedreligions asedon theconservativeultof a supreme piritualeity.Spirit ossession husoccupies central osition n comparativeeligion ndtheology,n religiousphenomenology,n the sociology of religion, nd inpsychology.With such a vast canvas, n theshort paceof this ecture, canscarcely ope to do more handaub out a rough utline f my subject. ertainlyI cannot o anythingike ustice o ts ormidableiterature.I shall, owever, ry odrawyour ttentiono certain eglectedspects f the ubjectwhich eem ome ofcrucial mportancen appreciatingts sociological ignificance.hese concernwhat nmedical arlance ouldbecalled he pidemiologyfpossession,ywhichin this ontext mean he xaminationfthekinds f categoriesfpersonwho aremostreadily rone to possessionn differentocieties. his, hope to show, ssociologically n illuminatingpproach nd an almostcompletely ovel one,strange hough his laimmay ound.The majority fwritersn spirit ossession,as even cursory lance t the iterature ill reveal,havebeen fascinatedytherichly ramatic spects f possession,nthralled y themore bizarre nd exoticshamanisticxercises, nd absorbed n controversiesoncerning he truth rfalsityf rance tates.nshort, heirmain nterestasbeen neverythingertainingtospirit ossession hich,nthe diom fthe astMalinowski ectureBeattie966),could be termedexpressive'.Suchsociological nalysiss has been offered as focused rimarily ponthesocial roles nd statuses f the chronicallyossessed-whetherhesebe identifiedas mediums, hamans, r prophets. his position s neatly ummed p inMirceaEliade'sbookLe chamanismei95 i), which s still he tandardompendiumnthesubject.Eliade writes f what he considers he sociologist's roper oncernnspirit ossessions followsmy translation):The sociologists preoccupied iththe social functionsf theshaman, fthepriest, fthemagician:he will studythe origin of mystical restige, ts role in the articulationf society, herelations etween eligioushiefs ndpolitical hiefs'Eliade 95i: 8).Eliade himself s primarilynterestedn the metaphysicalmplications fshamanismsa techniqueor he ttainmentfecstasynthe ourse fwhich heshamanmakesmystical oyages o heavenand mystical escents o hell. n its'true ense'all this sboundupwith hecultof a supreme elestial eing.Thus,spirit ossessions not forEliadeanessentialr ntrinsiclement,ut onewhich sincidentalo the haman'scstaticmysticallightsndhis ommunion ith upremecelestial eings.This conclusion eems omehighly ebatable-butwhatevermaybe thoughtof t,Eliade'sprogrammeor ociology epresentsfair tatementfwhat ocialanthropologistsnd othershave written n spirit ossessionn thepast.Thisconcentrationf nterest,nthe ocial oles erformednlybythosewhothroughregularly ecurrentossession nd dramatic itualsfunction s mediumsorshamans,tandsn sharp ontrast o theprevailing mphasisn anthropologicalstudies f magic, witchcraft,nd sorcery. here the trend stablishedy thepioneeringorks fEvans-PritchardI9 37), Kluckhohn I944) andMarwickI952)


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SPIRIT POSSESSION AND DEPRIVATION CULTS 309hasbeen o examinen detail he ocial exus nwhichealousies,nmities,ndfrustrationsetween ivals re transmutednto accusationsf witchcraftndsorcery.heritual nd magical cts fwitch-doctorsndsorcerers,fcourse,receive ue ttention,ut hey o notmonopolisehe tageothe xclusionf herelevantocial ensions hichmust eaturetronglyn any atisfactorypidemio-logicalpproachndhave een o adly eglectednmost tudiesf piritossession.This strikingifferencef emphasisnanalysisesultsartly,odoubt, romthe ramaticspectsfspiritossessionhichoreadilyeize he ttentionftheinvestigatornddeflectis nterestwayfromnydetailedxaminationfthecategoriesfpersons ho aremost rone o be selectedsmediumsy spirits.After ll, n contrasto their ttitudesowards itchcraftndsorcery, anyanthropologistseemobelieven piritossession,r t eastn ome f he owersattributedothose ossessedy spirits.husmuch ftheiteraturestaken p, sI have said,withdiscussionf thepsychologicaltatusf trancetatesnd ofthe xtentowhich hamanisticealingites ossess enuineherapeuticalue.Even theistsftenelievenextra-sensoryerception.2ecentnthropologicalwritingn witchcrafthowsno suchpreoccupation:herell is delusionndfantasy.Such onsiderationsofar, think,oexplainhis istinctifferencef mphasisinanthropologicaltudiesn the wo fields. ut whetherhey o ornot,whatI shall ow try o demonstrates that he ort f sociologicalpproach hich snow aken or rantednthe nalysisfwitchcraftnd orcerysequally evealingwhenppliedo piritossession.his pproachas he dditional eritfbringingwhat ashithertooo often een egardedsanesotericddityquarelynto helarger ield fthe ociologicaltudy fmysticalhenomenand of religionngeneral.

IILittlettention,have sserted,as o far eenpaidto thequestionf whatcategoriesfpersonmost requentlyuccumbospiritossessionndfigure ost

prominentlyn possessionults.Nevertheless,he iteratures studdedwithreferenceso the requentrominencefwomenn these ults; nd ome xplicitattemptsave eenmade oexplain,r at eastocommentpon,his exual iason the art f pirits.husW. G. Ivens otes hatmongheMelanesiansfthesouth-eastolomonslands,lthough omen re rigorouslyxcludedromhe'greater' eligiouseremonies,hey ave sharen the fferingfthe irstruits,and nother ccasionsecome ossessedndmay ivinend ntercedeor he ick(Ivens 927: 472). Similarly, ogbinnotes ow n Polynesia omen refrequentlythemediums onsultedn thosediseaseswhich re ascribed o possession y thespirits f the ancestors, his nvolving combination f both patrilinealndmatrilinealncestral ower (Hogbin I934: I44 sqq.). With more detail andsophistication,ortune as hownhow amongstheManusofNew Guinea,whilewomenare,as he puts t, spirituallyisenfranchisedn the[paternal] irGhostcult, hey respirituallynfranchisedn thetandritanitaniult' Fortune935: 95).This statement eferso the mystical ower of cursing nd blessing, nd theability o control he sex of children s well as family-planning,ested n the


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310 I. M. LEWISmatrilinealine.Moreover,whilethemorally ignificantatrilineal host ult scontrolled y men, t is womenwho consecratemale diviners nd practise smediums.Here, indeed,there s a complicated nterplay etweenmen's andwomen's rolescorresponding,o some extent, o the characterf thedescentsystemn Manus, any furtheriscussion f which would take us outside hescopeofthepresentrgument.Inthe amevein,A. J. A. Elliot nhisdetailed tudy f Chinese pirit ossessioncults n Singapore oteshow,as inManus,womenare theprincipalmediumsntheraising f the ouls f thedead, hough otnecessarilynthewiderpracticefspirit ediumship.et, lthoughere, nthismoregeneral ult tisnotonlywomenwhoact asmediums,t s womenwhoprovide hemain lienteleElliot 955: 7I,I34 sqq.). And in Africa, mongst he matrilineal uvale of western ambia,C. M. N. White has recentlyhown theprominentartplayedby women asthe victims f illnesses ttributedo possession y theirmatrilinealncestors(White 96I: 48 sqq.).3Again, n thatmagnificentecord f the ifeof an old Hausa woman,Baba ofKaro, the very marked bsorptionf women in the cult of bori pirits licitsthe comment romMary Smiththat n thismale-dominated oslemsocietythe inability f the Hausa womento participatedequatelyn theceremonialand public ifeof slam eaves gap which s filled ythespirit-possessionult'(Mary mith954: 27I).These and similar omments y many otherobservers f such cults,whichit would be only tedious o citefurthert thispoint, ypify hat ine of inter-pretationwhich views theprominent ole of women in spirit ossession s acompensationor heir xclusionnd ack of authorityn other pheres. similarcross-sexuallementsequally pparentn the magery nd ritual rama f posses-sionceremonies.or,whethert smenor womenwho are hevictims fpossession-and, ofcourse, amnotclaiminghat t sonlywomenwhoare thus ffected-the ntrusiveamiliars frequentlyf the opposite ex to itshost.With thishighincidence f the possession f menby female pirits, nd of women by malespirits,t s scarcely urprisinghat herelationshipetween medium ndhisorher ttendantamiliarhould egularlye expressednterms fmarriage.ndeed,inmany piritmediumshipults, ullntroductionnto he oterief he hronicallypossesseds accompanied y marriage eremonies nd gifts arallel o those fmortalunions.Thus in theflamboyantar cult n Ethiopia he new acolyte sreferredo as a 'bride' and is assigned wo human protectorsr 'bestmen'.These in ordinarymarriagesmayassist hehusband o deflower isbride, ndsubsequentlyct sher upportersnalldisputesetweenhewife nd herhusband(Messing 959: 327). In the samevein,whena medium xhibitsgitated odilymovementsn anecstaticrance,t sa commonplaceoregardhepossessed omanashavingntercourse ithher ncubus.

Thismatrimonialheme s of course ery amiliaro usfrom urownreligioustraditionn whicha nun'sfinalvows bind her n spiritual nion to the sacredbridegroom, hrist; ndin therather ifferentutequallywidespreaddiomofthe tables,nwhich herelationshipetween woman medium nd her piritsexpressedn terms f thefamiliar idingts mare', this ross-sexualmagerysequally apparent. his cross-sexuallement s also evoked in the ceremonial


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SPIRIT POSSESSION AND DEPRIVATION CULTS 3IItransvestitismhichccompaniesany ossessionituals,ndhasbeen aken ysome tudentsf the ubjectmongstarlier riters,otably yLeo Sternberg(I924), as n ssentialnd ndeedefinitiveharacteristicf hewhole henomenon.

IIII believe, owever,hat yadoptinghe pidemiologicalpproach ecangomuch urtherhan his n nterpretinghe ocialmplicationsfspiritossession.Letmestart,fterhemannerfMalinowski,y a brief xpositionfmyownSomali ieldmaterial.4he Somali astoral omads fnorthastAfricareapatrilinealoslemeople.Witchcraftnd orcery,sthesehenomenareusuallydefined,o notfigurerominentlyn Somali deasofcausation. heirmain

religiousifesconcernedith he ult fAllahwhom heypproachhroughhemediationf theprophet ohammednd a host f more mmediateineageancestorsnd thermen freal r mputediety ho, s nRomanCatholicism,play vital ole smediatingaints.his ublicults lmostxclusivelyominatedbymenwho holdall the mainpositionsfreligiousuthorityndprestige.Women nreligionremerely assivegents,nd, s inmany therMoslemcountries,re xcludedromhemosques. ore enerally,omen re egardedsweak, ubmissivereatures,espitehe xactingatureftheir omadicife ndthe rduous haracterf their erdingasksnthemanagementftheflocksfsheepndgoats ndthedraughtamels hich arryheir entsndeffectsromplace oplace.Milch amels,ycontrast,re he oncernfmen; nd lhoughwomenredisadvantageouslylacednthe nheritancefallformsfproperty,theyre speciallyxcludedromwnershipfthe amels hich ormheointstock-wealthfgroupsndrepresenthe tandardnit fwealth.In thismale-dominatedndhighlyuritanicalulture,piritossession,hichsregardeds onecause, mong thers,f a widerange f llnessesnd diseases(ranging rom lightmalaise o acuteorganicllnesses),ccurs n four airlywell-definedontexts.he first f these oncernsases f frustratedoveandpassion,nd nvolvesmotions hich, articularlyn thepart fmen, renottraditionallyecognisedrovertlycknowledged.f girlwhohasbeenilted ya boy he oved ndwhopromisedrivatelyomarryer xhibitsymptomsfextremeassitude, ithdrawal,r evenmoredistincthysicalymptomsfillness, er onditions attributedopossessionytheobject f her ffections.Here s nall otherasesnSomaliland,his ossessionsdescribedost enerallyby term hichmeansiterallyentering'.This nterpretationf thedisappointedirl's onditions consistentith hetraditionalexmorality here he onceptfromanticttachmentas, s havesaid, xcluded. nly pparentlyithinhe astgenerationas his igidttitudebegun ochange,nd odayhe xplicitecognitionnd cceptancefromanticlove s a very opular hemen currentomali oetrynd radiopop' songs.With hese nlightenediews, oungwestern-educatedomalisoday escribesuch asesnthe hakespeariandiom f ove-sickness.he raditionaliew, ntheother and,s muchmorenkeeping ith hat xhibitedy eventeenthenturyFrenchatholic cclesiasticsntheir reatmentfthehystericalistereanneesAnges, rioressf he onventchool tLoudon,ndher rustratednfatuationor


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3I2 1. M. LEW I Sthe notoriously morous Canon UrbainGrandier.As those who have readAldous Huxley's ively vocation n Thedevils fLoudonI952) will recall, hispoor nun's conditionwas attributed o possession y malevolent pirits ndGrandierwas held responsible. e was convicted fwitchcraftnd burned tthe take n i634.In Somaliland hesemattersre dealtwith ess drastically,nd no legal actioncan be taken gainst heman nvolved. ut it s not onlymenwho are the gentsandwomen hevictimsn this ype f ffliction.youth, orced ytheoverridingcontrol fhis lder insman o renounce hegirl fhisown choosing nd mpelledto marry nother,may, fhe evinces imilarymptomsf malaise r illness, eregarded s possessed y thetrue bjectof hisaffections.The interpretationhich give is virtually hatoffered y young educatedSomalis hemselves.n thecaseof the iltedgirl, o other nstitutionalisedeans savailable oexpress er utraged eelings. or t sonlywhere formalngagementhasbeencontracted iththe consent f thetwoparties fkinthat suit anbeplaced for breach of promise.Her private motions nd feelings re of littleconcernnthe ural worlddominated y men. llness,ndthe careandattentionwhich his rings,ffer er ome comfort.n thecase of thefrustratedouth, heassimilationf hisplight o an illness-forwhichhe cannotn Somalitheory eheldresponsible-similarlynableshimto drawattentiono hisplightwithoutopenly evealingheunmentionablendtotally nmanlymotionalttachmentfa man towards woman.5While these rebothexamples fcross-sexualossessionf oneperson yan-other, heunderlyingircumstancesre thoseofdeprivationn whichno otherjurally cceptable nd institutionalisedeans xist o enable he njured arty oseekredress. hissortofdirect, erson-to-personossession, as closeanalogieswith hemalevolentowerofthe vileyewhich sattributedoforlorn, eglectedoldwomen, obeggars,nd to thepoor ngeneral. fthe reatmentdministeredto thepossessed atientn these ases haveonlytimehere o say that, s withSister eanne es Anges, he nvading pirits exorcised ya cleric,6nthis aseaMoslemman ofreligion.7In theother hree ontexts f Somali spirit ossessionowhich wishto drawattention,hepossession llness,withparallel ymptoms eal or imagined ndranging rommild hysteria r depression o actual organic njury,s attributednot to the entering' f a personbut of a nature prite.Here I refer o thoseanthropomorphicinnswhich n Somaliland, s in otherMoslem ands, reheldto urknevery ark ndempty orner, oised ndready o strikeapriciouslyndwithoutwarningt theunwary asser-by. hesemalevolentpritesre saidto beconsumedby envy and greed, and to be particularlyovetous of luxuriousclothing, inery, erfumend dainty oods.They are knowngenerallys sar(cf Ethopian ar), a word whichdescribes oth the sprites hemselvesnd the

symptomsttributedo them; nd the fflictedictim s described s having een'entered', seized',or possessed'by the ar.These re the gencies o which esponsibilitys attributedorbouts f hysteriato whichyoungcamel-herdsmenresometimes rone.The circumstancesreasfollows. he camels, s I have said, reherded ythemen, ndmore pecificallyby boys and young unmarried ouths. n the charge f theseyoung men,the


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SPIRIT POSSESSION AND DEPRIVATION CULTS 3I3camelsorm herdingnit eparateromhe locksf heep ndgoatswhich reattachedo thenomadic amletsonsistingfwomen,married en, ndyoungchildren.his attererdingnit as muchmore ightlyircumscribedycle fmovementhan hat ollowed y thefree-rangingamelswhich, ven n thedriesteasons,ango without ater or p to twentyays ndgraze ar romnypermanentell.Thus he amelsnd heir oung ttendantsive secludedife ftheir wn, ftentationinghemselvesundredsfmiles romhehomehamletsand their omen-folk.n thedry easons,heymovemonotonouslyack ndforthetweenhe asturesnd hewells,ccordingo a strictegimeictatedythewateringeedsf heirtock. y any tandardsheir ry easonot s especiallyhardnddemanding:onstantlyarassedyfear f ttackromnemy aidersndmaraudingnimals,nd requentlyhortffood ndwater,heyre lsodeprivedof the pportunityf meetingnd chattingith hegirls fthehamlets. ithnoregular eansf cooking,heir iet onsists ainly fthemilk fthe amelsintheir are, ndoftenhey re s famishednd xhaustedstheirtock.Inthewet easons,hen hewater equirementsf heep ndgoats n the nehand, ndofcamels ntheother,remore qual, his rearyictureadicallychanges.hetwoherdingnits owmove loser ogethernd heyoung amel-herdsmenmergerom heir ry easonedusion nd privationo the omfortandexcitementfcamp-life.t s on theireturno this ther elcoming orld,withtsprospectsfmeetingirls fmarriageablege, hat ome ftheyoungherdsmenometimesevelopymptomsfhysteria.his s ttributedopossessionby ar pritesnd egardeds a mild, ndusuallyemporaryormfmadness:t snottaken ery eriously.he remedys provided y themountingf a dancecalled beating he ar', n which t s essentialhat irls hould articipatefthesmittenouthsreto recoverheirenses'. he ccompanyingongs,ung y heafflictedoys, ave ftenn mplicitexual ontent,ndthe xpressionbeatingthe ar' s nmodernrbanlang,t east,synonymor exualntercourse.nthistraditionalastoraletting,owever,heyouths ave o be contentith atharsisand ublimation.heresno open icensen these ccasions,nd he irginityfgirlsscarefullyuardedntil heymarry.oday, ven n thenterior,owever,the ositioneems obe changing.his ypef possession',amtold,snow ftenfeigned,ndused yyouthss a meansfpointinghe irectionf heirffectionstowardsparticularirlwho s thus rawnnto he ance.All I wish o emphasiseere, owever,s the elementf deprivationndfrustrationresentnthe ives f hese oungachelorerdsmen,nd ts raditionaloutletnthisnstitutionalisedorm fpossession.8Thisbrings s tothe hird ontextfSomali ossession,herewe touch n aphenomenonith,believe,hewidestignificancend orrespondenceslsewhere.The victimfthemalevolentar's ttentionss n this aseusuallywoman,ndparticularlymarried oman. he stockpidemiologicalituationsthat fthehard-pressedifetrugglingosurvivendfeed er hildrennthe arshomadicenvironment,nd iable o ome egreefneglect,eal r magined,nthe art fherhusband.ubjectedofrequent,udden ndeven rolongedbsencesyherhusbands hepursuesismanly astoralnterestsnd ffairs,otheealousiesndtensionsfpolygynyhich rehere otventilatednaccusationsfsorceryndwitchcraft,ndalwaysmenaced ytheprecariousnessf marriagena society


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3I4 I. M. LEWISwhere ivorces frequentndparticularlyasily btainedymen, heSomalimarried oman'sotoffersittletabilityr security.t is scarcelyurprising,therefore,hatmany omen'silments,hetherccompaniedydefinitehysicalsymptomsrnot, hould e soreadilynterpretedythem spossessionysarspirits hich emanduxuriouslothes,erfume,nddelicateoods rom heirmenfolk.t sonlywhen heseostlyemandsremet, nd ll the therxpensesinvolvednthemountingf a catharticance'beating he ar')directedy anexpertemalehaman,hat he ymptomsanbeexpectedodisappear.ven hen,reliefromhe fflictionay eonly emporary.Withoutnstancingll theevidence havecollected n such ases,et mesimplyecord ere hatnseveralfthemhe nsetfthis pritefflictionoin-cidedwith husband'speningmoves o marrynadditionalpouse,nd hatnevery xample nown ome somegrudge gainst er pousewas borne y thewoman oncerned.t scarcelyequireshe ophisticatedorensicechniquesfmodernnthropologyo discover hat s involved ere, nd,very roperly,Somalimen raw heir wn onclusions. hat hewives all ar ossession,heirhusbandsallmalingering,ndtheynterprethis fflictionsyet notherfthedeceitfulricksmployed ywomen gainstmen.Mensupporthis harge yalleginghat hencidencefthe iseases much ighermongsthewives f hewealthyhanmongsthose fthepoor.This nsinuationomenntheirurncounter ith he impleophistryhat herere ome ar prites hichttackhewealthy,ndothers hichmolesthe oor.Despitehis ociologicaliew fthesituation, en's ttitudesre nfactmbivalent;hey elieventhe xistencefthesearprites,utwith rue omali ragmatismheyre ery cepticalhenheirownwomenfolknd heir wnpocketsre ffected.Dependingpon hemaritalircumstancesnd he aluewhichs placed ponthewifeffected,he sual eactions for hehusbandoreluctantlycceptneortwoboutsf his ind. ut f he fflictionecomeshronic,nd hewife ecomesmore r ess egular emberf circle f ar evotees,avenexceptionalircum-stanceshehusband'satienceoonwears hin.f good hrashingillnotdothetrick,heresalwayshe hreatfdivorce,ndunlesshewoman erselfesiresthis,r sgenuinelysychologicallyisturbedndcannotontrol er ymptoms,this eems suallyo work.Leaving side hewidermplicationsfmembershipf regularssociationffemalear evotees,he ointwant o stresseres thatn generalhis haracter-istically oman's fflictionperatesmongstheSomali s a limited eterrentagainsthe buses fneglectnddeprivationna conjugalelationshiphich sheavilyiasednfavourf men. n a society hich ffershemittle omesticsecurityndvery nadequatelyrotectshem therwiseromhepressuresndexactionsfmen,women, amarguing, ay hus esorto spiritossessions ameans oth f iring heir rievancesbliquelyndofgainingome atisfaction.Thiswayof ooking t thephenomenonmmediatelyankstwith uch thermodes fmysticaletaliations witchcraftnd sorceryn societies ith therculturalraditionsnd osmologies.Thismay eem big ump.Butwhen he ocial exus s fullyonsidered,heanalogys, think,ustified,nd t may erhapseemmore cceptablehent srememberedhatnmanyocieties itchesnfacterformheirark cts ymeans


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SPIRIT POSSESSION AND DEPRIVATION CULTS 3I5of pirit amiliars.hus nmany ases heres notonly functionalarallel etweenthe effects f spirit ossessionnd of witchcraft,ut also an ideologicalone.I recognise,f course,hat t s nottheguilty usband utthe ggrieved ifewhoin the Somali case smysticallyfflicted.ut, s I shall ry o show presently,hisdifferenceetween n obliqueuse ofmystical owerwith, n effect,elf-inflictedinjury, nd the moredirect ine of attack n witchcraftnd sorcery s not socrucial s might t firstppear.Finally, mention erybrieflyhe astcontext f Somali possession ffliction.Thisprimarilyoncernsdultmen; and not o much definableocial ategoryfmen as simplypsychologicallyisturbedndividualswho, for one reasonoranother xperience articularifficultiesn bearing he pressuresndburdens ftheir ociety. ust s men are regarded s the dominantex and consequentlyessvulnerablehanwomen, the spirits ossessingheseunfortunatendividualsreconsideredobe particularlyeadly.Again, incemen hold the dominant ole nthecultof Islam, t is appropriate hat he powers nvolvedhere shouldbe re-garded otmerely s especiallyangerous, ut lsoas especially eligious. hey rein fact he piritualnalogues f humanMoslemclerics, o I call themclericalsprites'. heseclericalprites, hasten o add, arenot a uniqueSomali berration,buton the ontraryelong o a category fspirits ell-knownn otherMoslemcountriesndfor heexistencef whichtheres moreover criptural arrantntheQuran.9These four ontextsf Somali spirit ossessionre connected y the commontheme f onfinementnddeprivationhich ccurs n differentays nallof hem.This s perhapsmostevidentn the case of theaggrievedwiveswhere, o adoptcurrenthraseology,piritsnterhe sex-war'.Now the ar ulture-complexiththis mphasissnotconfined otheSomali lone. t exists lso nEthiopia aszar),where treaches tsgreatesthamanisticlaborationnd seems ohaveoriginated(Cerulli 923: 2); and it has spreadnotonly nto Somaliland ut also intothenorthernudan,Egypt, nd has even penetratedhe sacred ityof Mecca itself(Hurgronje888-9).In Ethiopia tspsychologicalnd dramatic spectshave been describedmostrecently,nthemanner fJaneHarrison, y theFrench urrealistoet andethno-grapherMichel Leiris I958). But greaterighton its social significanceheresshedby thework of an Americannthropologist,imon MessingI958; I959).Messing ecords ow wiveshaveused he ultnSomalifashiono extortconomicsacrificesrom heir usbands y threateningrelapsewhentheir emandswereignored.Much the ame ppears obe thecase nEgypt; nd n Cairo where hecult sprevalent,heresa particularhopwhich pecialisesnthe aleof the ppro-priate ostumesnd other egalia sed n the arceremoniesy thefemalebrides'of thespiritsKriss& Kriss-Heinrich962). This theme s even moreexplicitlydisplayedn thesuburbs f Khartoum.Here a recent ccountreports hat arspirits ossessing ivesmay not only demandgifts,ncludingn one casegoldteeth, utalsoroundly pbraid he atters' usbandsn termswhichwouldnot betoleratednother ircumstancesBarclay 964: I98).

2-M.


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3I6 I. M. LEWISIV

These sex-war' spectsre by no means estrictedo the ar-complex,utoccurwidelyn piritossessionn varietyf ocietiesnd laces.cannotretendto havemade nexhaustiveearch f the iteratureut record few catteredexamples.nAfricanthnographyneofthe arliestndbest escriptionsomesfrom indblom'study f theAkamba f eastAfricaLindblom920: 229-40).Here a sharp istinctions drawn etween heancestralpirits hich pholdmoralitynd representhe on-goingnterestsf their escendants,nd othercapriciouspirits.hese atterre ypicallyfneighbouringribes-Masai, alla,andWanyika,nd nclude uropeans.hey renotworshippedutfrequentlyplague ambawomenwhomust hen e exorcised.s with ossessionlsewhere,these fflictedomenpeakwith ongues'n an obscureargon-but espiteheproblemsf communication,heir emandsrequite lear.What hey eek sgiftsnd attentionrom heirmenfolk,sually usbands,ach piritsking orthingsppropriateo itsprovenance.husSwahilipiritsemand mbroideredArabhats, ndEuropeanpiritsrticlesfEuropeanrigin.Womenmake seofthe ult o force heir usbandso buynew kirtsor hem.n a poignantittlecase-historyindblomecordsow womanwith longingormeat ould nlygainherhusband'sonsento thekilling fananimal y resortopossessionnwhich er ravingsere oiced ythenvadingpirit. nfortunately,owever,shemade hemistake,nceherdesires ere atisfied,fvauntinger uccessfuldeceit ooopenlyndwas ent ack o her atheryher utragedpouse.Parallelnstancesre reportedrom anzaniawhere, ome hirty ears go,Koritschonerescribeshehigh ncidencenwomen f an afflictionopularlycalled devil's isease' n Swahili. gain, he ossessingpirit,hichmanifeststspresenceyhystericalnd therymptoms,emandsiftsome fwhich eflecttsprovenance.reatments a fairlyengthyusiness,nd nvolvesot nly he sualcostlyatharticances ut lso he resenceor ome ime f he herapistithinthe amilyf he fflictedoman.nthisnlightenedherapyhe fflictedomanis husmade ofeel he entref ttention,ndher usband ay ven econstrainedto modify isbehaviourowards er (Koritschoner936). Againfrom astAfrica,n an extremelynterestingtudy f theTaita of Kenya,GraceHarris(I957) describessimilar omen's ossessionfflictiony piritstherhan hose fthemain,morallyndowedndmale ominatedult, ndfunctioningna similarmanneroexertressurenmen.Here n mportantlement,resentn many fthe atharticitesssociatedith hesepiritfflictions,s he ssumptionywomenofmale osturesnddress.Analogous henomenaavebeendescribedy several bserversmong heBaThongaJunod922) andZulu Krige 936: 307; Gluckman954) of SouthAfrica;nd nthecaseofthe atterwo,recentsychologicaltudiesre alsoavailableLee I950; Loudon 959). Traditionallymongst unod's honga,womenwere fflictedyZuluandotheroreignpirits,nd heZulu womennturnyThonga evils.nboth ases heresthe amiliaratternfhystericalndothermanifestations,ndrequestsor iftsndfor hemountingfthe atharticdance aidfor ythehusband.mongstheZulutoday, owever,his fflictionwhichsknownocallys Bantudisease'nddiagnosedyLee as a form f


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SPIRIT POSSESSION AND DEPRIVATION CULTS 317conversion ysteria, ost ommonlynvolves ossession y ndian piritsndbythe tokoloshe,hoseobscene ittle priteswith thickset odiesand huge penises.All thisreadily ends tself o straighforwardreudian nterpretation,nd Leerecords ures ffectedn this asis.My nterestere s nthe nstitutionalisedoleofthis Zulu possession ult n the sex-war. n this connection note in passingLoudon's ntriguingbservationhat herise f these ypicallyeminineisordersseems o have coincidedwith the decline f thetraditionalgriculturalertilityritualsn whichwomenexchanged heir abitual oleof submission orone ofdominance. hesenow extinct ituals reamongsthose eferredobyGluckmaninhisFrazer ecture, ituals frebellionn south-eastfricaI952).Turning owtowestAfrica,imilar lementso thosewe havebeendiscussingmay, believe, e found n theSonghay ult ofholey pritesnd in thatof theHausa bori ult.FortheSonghay, admit, heevidence snotentirelylear.JeanRouch (I960: I78 sqq.) records hatpossession y theseholey piritsn thisIslamised ocietysmorefrequentlynvoked s anexplanationf llnessnwomenthan n men, lthough,s in many f the other aseswe havebeenconsidering,men of ow statusmayalsobe afflicted.gain, heres a wholefamily fthesesprites,ome ssociated ithneighbouringeoples such stheHausaandTuareg)and otherswith nimals.A recent ddition o this pirit ost s that fEuropeansprites ho increasinglyppearunbiddent the eancesnwhichwomenplay soimportant part.Here there s a well-organisedstablishmentf societies fmediums ndshamans,nwhich he ow-caste orkofisher-folklay crucial ole,and theusualdances, iftsndofferings.here sno explicitndication, owever,thatthe cult offers omen the directmeansof exertinghepressuren theirmenfolkhatwe have discoveredlsewhere. suggest hatfurtheresearchmayreveal hat t does.The Hausaboriult,Io which ike that f zar hasspreadnorthwardsnto northAfrica,s a similarhoughmore laborate ffair. ere there s a great antheon fsome two hundredndividually amedsprites,elated n variousways amongstthemselvesn a manner eminiscentf thegods of ancientGreece.Thesebori,accordingo TremearneI9I3), rangendescendingrder f mportancerom hemightyKingoftheinns' SarkinAljan) oa little luster f pritesnown amili-arly sthe Little pots',which, espiteheirnnocent-soundingame reheld tobe responsibleotonlyfora number fminor ilments ut also for mallpox.Thisbori antheons thusnotmerely census fspiritual orces, ut equallymedicaldictionary,ach spritebeing connectedwith a group of symptoms(someof which verlap).BothamongstheMoslemHausa nwestAfrica roper,and in itsnorthernxtension n Tunisia,Tripolitania,nd Egypt,thiscult isagain predominantlyne of women,women being the regulardevotees nshamanisticxercisesesignedo exorcisehegrounds f their ilments.But I believe hatwe cango furtherhan his nd bring ome elements f thiselaborate ultwithin urparticularurview.A search fthe catterediteraturesnotvery ewarding:hemost uggestivelueswhichdo emerge rethat heevileye sbelieved ooperate hroughhe gency fboripritesTremearne914: I79),and that despisedndneglected ife s known s a bora, termwhichTremearne(I9I4: 395) connects ithbori. do notknowwhetherhis s a valid tymology rnot.Buta morerecentbserver ecords hat hebori ulthas npracticewo main


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3I8 I. M. LEWISaspects; ne inside heHausa compound, nd theother utside t. It is the atterand widercultwhichhas hitherto eceivedmost ttentionrom nthropologists.In the nternal omesticult,whichhasbeen o neglected,ori ossession,nvolvingonlycertain elected piritsf thetotalpantheon,ppears o be usedespeciallyyjunior co-wives againsttheir enior colleagues nd particularlygainsttheirhusband,ndfigures rominentlyndisputes ithinhepolygynous amily. ere,as in the other aseswe have examined,wives possessed y bori xact giftsndeconomic acrificesrom heir usbands nd in this ashion ress heir laims orattentionndregard.IIFinally, utsideAfrica, more diligent earch f the iterature ill, I think,yieldfurtherxamples f the particularypeofmystical anctionwe havebeendiscussing. ertainly,s I pointed ut earlier, omen, nd other ubject ategoriesofperson, igure rominentlynmany pirit ults lsewherentheworld ndnotleast n our own shamanisticradition here he exual lements certainlyynomeans bsent. ne well-establishedon-Africanhenomennwhich eems ofit herubricwe have been applyingsthat ound mongsthepolarEskimos ndotherSiberian eoples ndknownusuallys arctic ysteria'.his s a hystericalfflictionmainly ffectingomen nd sparticularlyrevalentn theharshwintermonthsnnorthern reenland. ussowI960), who hasrecentlynterpretedhis onditionnFreudian erms, eferso thehystericallightsowhich hose ffectedreprone san unconsciouseductivemanceuvrend nvitationo malepursuit.t s,heargues,therefuge f thosewomenwho in situationsfhardshipnd crisis eek ovingreassurance.trippedf tsFreudian adences, hisnterpretationuggestsmyownlineof analysis.tis,moreover, articularlyignificantnthis onnectionhat hishystericalondition, hich sgenerallyttributedospirit ossession,lays vitalpart nthe election,rainingnd ritual erformancesfSiberianhamans-whoarefrequentlyomen Czaplicka 914: I69 sqq., 309-25).I2

VIt must ow beclear, think,hatweare oncernederewith widespreadseofspirit ossession, ymeans fwhichwomen nd other epressed ategoriesxertmystical ressures pon theirsuperiorsn circumstancesf deprivationndfrustrationhen few other anctions re availableto them.Of course, piritpossessionsonly nepossiblemystical ode, nd one which perates bliquelynthe ense hatt sthe ggrievedartywhich ubmitso afflictionatherhan eekingto inflictllness pontherealsourceof injury nd deprivation.Witchcraftndsorceryrefrom his oint f viewother,moredirect rocesses f retaliationndattack; ndI do notattempto answer hequestionwhy n certainocietiesnemode sfavouredatherhan nother. r, ndeed,whyn ome ases oth refound.Itmaybe worth oting, owever,hat nespecificharacteristicf pirit ossession

isthat, nlike t east ome forms fwitchcraftndsorcery,t appears sually ooffernexplanationnly fdiseasend llness.tdoesnotgenerallyxplain xternalmisfortunes,t leastnot directly,nd this eems to follow ogically rom heinherentndspecific ature fpossessions aninvasion f theperson.Whether r notthiswill turn uttobe a validandsignificantistinction,hereare important nalogiesbetweenthe two typesof mystical anction-spirit


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SPIRIT POSSESSION AND DEPRIVATION CULTS 3I9possession,nd witchcraftndsorcery-towhich havealreadyeferredndwould ikenow to press urther.t seems o mefor nstance,hatnNadel'sanalysisfNupewitchcrafte find kind fwitchcraftonverseothe nlistmentbywomen f piritsnthe sex-war'which asbeen urmain hemeofar. orhere,hroughheirnterprisentradendcommerce,hich ftenmakesheirhusbandsinanciallyndebtedo them,t swomenwhogetout ofhand ndcannot ebroughtoboot xcepty ccusinghem fbeingwitchesNadel952).Inpressinghis nalogynthe pplicationfthese ifferentysticalrocesses,theres a furtherointwhich eemsworthmaking. hebest nthropologicalanalysesfwitchcraftnd orcerytronglymphasisehenexus fconflicthichexists etweenhebewitchedr ensorceredictimndthewitch r sorcerer.They end oneglect,owever,ow npointinghefingerfaccusationtthewitch rsorcerer,hevictimlsodrawsttentiono himselfhis, suggest,asthe ffectotmerelyfmarshallingublic pinionehindhe ictimn hemannerofthe ypical itch unt, ut lso ofmaking imself,svictim,he entrefspecialare ndconsideration.his, t east,eems obe a common ffectfthewhole rocess hich asbeen ingularlyeglectednwitchcraftnalysis.In sofar mphasisinghe anctionndcontrolspect ftheusethusmadebywomen fspirit ossessiongainstmen, amnotforgettinghat therineofinterpretationhicheesn uch henomenahe ssertionfthenterdependencefthe exes,nd he onservationfthe xistingatternfrelationsetweenhem.This s themain mphasisf Gluckman'situalsfrebellion,nd reflectshetraditionaltructuralpproachfRadcliffe-Brown.hus forGluckmanuchconflictseallyepresentisguisedonservationnd tability.his salsothemainfocusf mphasisnGrace arris'snterpretationf heTaitawomen's ossessioncults owhich referredarlier.he,ikeGluckman,ouse he atter'serminology,sees epressedomen ot s uffragettesut spassiveubjects,ravelyhoulderingtheirman-imposedurdens,ndonlyperiodicallyeactinggainsthem n acatharticitualcceptancef he stablishedrder.n similarein,WerbnerI964)has fferedn laboratenalysisfKalangahonawomen'spiritossession;here,althoughe does howhowwomen sethese owers ogenerateressures,earguesif haveunderstoodim orrectly)hathisn the nd s tothe rofitfmen.Here, owever,he ult nquestionsmuchmore entralothe pholdingfthe raditionalribalmoralityhan s true ftheperipheralults romwhichhavedrawnmy onclusionsbout he pecialole fwomen's ossession.Inany ase, believe hat hematerialhave o far resentedntheseeripheralcultsupports y mphasishichs ess nthe onservative,tatusuomaintainingaspectshan nthedynamicoleofmysticalanctionsnthewarbetweenhesexes. n short,myarguments that f n these raditionallyale-dominatedsocieties omenrenot lwaysctuallyuffragettes,henheyan eadilyecomesowhen he ircumstancesre ppropriate.now referor upportingvidencefor his iew oa recenttudy yElizabetholson f he onga fZambia.13ycontrastinghe onservative,raditionalist,alley ongawithheir oreophisti-catednd cculturatedlateauountrymen,ndusing istoricalvidence,olson'smaterialeveals hat eallys atstaken these omen'seprivationults.Amongsthe PlateauTonga, ncreasinglynvolvedn the modemmarketeconomyf Zambia ince he 930's, andwithocalopportunitiesor arning


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320 I. M. LEWIScashwageswhich o notrequire heirmenfolko work xtensivelys absentmigrantabourers,here asbeen virtuallyarallelcculturationfmen ndofwomen.Moreover,he raditionalatternfrelationsetweenhe exess oneofequalityatherhannequalityColson958: I37). Thus,ikemen,whethern-marriedrmarried,omen articipatereelynmen'social ctivitiesnd renotstronglyedgedboutwithmysticalrother estraints.n thisituationossessionbyperipheralasabepiritsstoday are,nd nsofar s texists,ffectsen ndwomenqually.AmongstheValley onga he ituationsaltogetherifferent.ere, orong,men ave articipatedhroughabourmigrationnthewider uropean-orientatedworld, hilewomen ave emainedthome ascinatedy he own elightsndmysteriesrom hichhey avebeen xcluded.t stheseecludednd xcludedwiveswho re egularlyubjectopossessiony piritshichodayharacteristic-allydemandiftshat hesewomen ssociate ith heirlluringrban ounter-parts. swell sfor ay lothsnduxuryoods,ne f he ommonestemandsfthe piritssforoap. his eflectsgrowing ale ophisticationnd epugnanceortheoil andochre osmetics hichValleywomen raditionallypply o theirbodies,nd distinctreferenceymen or reshlyathedndfragrantlycentedpartners.t is inthis osmeticdiom hat, hroughheir ossessingpirits,heserural omen oday all ttentiono theirxclusionndneglectnd eek oover-come t. nthepast, heirpiritsesiredmen's armentsndpossessions.

Thus t is that hesewomen's eprivationultsmirrorhe hangingnterestsand desiresfthosewhosuccumbopossession.hese mbitionsnd ongingsarenolongertaticftheyver ruly ere,ndtheyannot hus ecompletelycontainedrexplainedntherepetitivediom fritual ebellion.qually hechangingharacterndimageryf thepossessingpirits, irrorshangingcircumstances.o theforeignribal nd animal prites hich verywherefigureoprominentlyntheseraditionalpirit antheonsre dded,while heyarestillnovelandmysterious,uchother lienpowers s thosemanifestnaeroplanesndtrains. uchthe ameoccurswith piritualorcesf Christianmissionrigin hichreequally eadilyssimilatednthese eripheralomen'scults.With hese ewaccretions,eflectingew contactsnd newexperiences,some f he ldspiritsisappear.Thus, ontrastinghis ecord f these ultsmongheValley ongawith hepositionnthe lateau,t sclear ow n the ormerasemuch f he raditionalinequalityetweenhe exes ontinuesnd othe ultsontinue,ithmodificationsinthe ast f nvadingpiritsorrespondingochangingxperiencef heworld.For he lateau onga,with heir oreiberalreatmentfwomen,uch ossessionof hisypesexistsontinuesoaffect en ndwomenqually. hismakesenseonlyfweacknowledgehe t east otentialynamismhich have tressedntheseults.

Now let metakeup another,utrelatedheme. have everal imes alledattentiono the act hat he ultswithwhichwe aremainlyoncernedere reperipheraln the ense hat hey o not embody hemainmoral odeof thesocietiesnwhich hey ccur.Thus, t seemsmore hanmerelyemanticallyappropriatehatmany f the pirits hich iguren them hould epresentndreflecteripheralontact ith oreigneoples ndtangentialxposureonovel


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SPIRIT POSSESSION AND DEPRIVATION CULTS 32Iexperiences.ut ofmuchgreaterelevance t east o my rgument,stheirpecialconnexion ithwomen.For,whetherr nottheymayberegardedspawns n themarriagelliance ameswhichLevi-Strauss' enplay, here s no doubt hat n agreatmany ocieties, ndperhapsmost,womenare in fact reated s peripheralcreatures.This hasteno add s not ome pecial eatureimited opatrilinealocieties: heValleyTongaarenotpatrilineal,or re many fthe xamples havereferredo.Here, mayperhaps epermittedo nterpolate,e have gain demonstrationftheunimportance,rommany oints fview, f hese raditionalescentategorieswithwhich nthropologistsave so long and so unproductivelyrestledn thesearch orfruitfulorrelations ithother ocialphenomena. t last, t east omeanthropologists'4rebeginning o realise hatdescent s a very haky eg uponwhich to hangsecurelymany mportantocialphenomena: nd thatgreat n-crusted eart ftraditionalnthropologystrembling,rshouldbe.Fortheperipheralityfwomen s, rrespectivefdescent,general eature fallsocietieswheremen hold a securemonopoly fthe majorpowerpositions nddeny heir artnersffectiveural rights. ere,ofcourse, here s an obvious ndvital ontradiction,incewhatever heural position fwomen, t s theywho areessentialo theperpetuationf ife ndof men. t is theywho produce nd rearchildren nd play a majorrole in their arly raining nd education. hus thetreatmentfwomen as peripheralreatures latlyontradictsheir undamentalbiological mportancend, nsocial erms,lasheswith heir eep ommitmentoaparticularociety ndculture. ence, f t s nterms fthe xclusion fwomen nsocial ndpoliticalife ndtheiruraldeprivationnrelation omen hatwe shouldseekto understandheir rominencen spirit ossession, e must lsorecognisethat hese ults, xpressings theydo sexual ensions,reyet llowedto existbymen.Here tseems o mepossible hat his oleranceymenofthese ults swellas theritual icenceand blessing lso allowedto womenmoregenerally,mayreflect shadowy ecognitionf this ontradictionetween he tatus fwomenand their ommitmento society. uch considerations,aturally, o not fullyexplain heexistencefthese ults.Up to a point, swithothermysticalxplan-ations f llness, he use of spirit ossessions a way ofclassifyingnd treatingdiseasempliesgnorance f,disregardor, rdissatisfactionith, he xplanationsofmodernmedical cience. t needhardly e added that t alsorequires certainprevalence f llness.

VILetmeconclude his,s t must eem osome, xcessive oncentrationnfemaleailments, ytryingo drawtogetherther trandsf thisdiscussionntoa widerschema f spirit ossession. adel (I946), as manyotherwriters n thesubject

before nd since,has drawn ttentionotmerely o thechanging, lexible,ndadaptive haracterf pirit ossessionultswhichwehave een xemplifiedmongtheTonga,but lsoto their ranklynnovativeotentialpitomisednthespeakingwith ongues' fprophets.etus note also thatnot onlyhavewe beenconcen-tratingnperipheralults onnected ithwomen, utthat ere nd thereociallydeprived ategoriesfmen, s well as ofmaladjustedndividualmen,havealso


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322 I. M. LEWISslippedn. ndeed,n the arcult n Ethiopia,s with he ori ndholeyults,ndotherslsewhere,heres evidencef a progressivelyideningpiritatchment.Not onlyworien, ut all therejectednd despised-whetherhey elong odistinguishableubordinateocial ategories,r as with omalimen mittenyderical prites,epresentndividualeviants-appearncreasinglyo be absorbedinto uch ults. hus n Ethiopia, hereasn thepastwomenwere hemaindevotees, ow ex-slavesnd peopleof servile rigin nd subordinatetatusgenerally,eem o findn chronicossessionndregular embershipfthe ultorganisationmeasuref ecurityndopportunitiesor he nhancementf heirposition Messing 959: 33 ). Membership f the zar club itself ffers omeemancipation rom rustratingraditionalonfinements,nd a new trend s alsoevident owardupwardmobilityn terms f the ncreasinglyxalted ank f thespirits hichpossess eople of ow status.Inthis onnexion, nd especially ith egard o therelief fferedo those evo-teeswho are genuinely sychologicallyisturbed, do not wishto minimise hepositive herapeuticunctionseemingly ulfilled y the regular se of catharticand other xpressiveechniquesnthese ults. Wherepossessionsperipheral,fcourse, ne cannot ay, s MarvinOpler I959: II2) in effectaysof the ndianpeyotecult,that t is the mescaline f the masses.But, even where uchcultsplay a subsidiaryole, here s evidence hat, s well as in some cases nticipatingFreud n their ecognitionf unconsciousmotions nd motivation,i6 any ribalpeopleshave developed urative echniquesn their hamanisticherapywhichmodern sychotherapyasonlyrecentlyediscovered.But am afraid hat am strayingrommywider chema r spectrumfposses-sioncults.Atoneend ofsuch spectrumie thephenomena hichhave beenourmainconcernhere. They can be characteriseds forms fhystericalossessionwhich relargelynstitutionaliseds a meansbywhichwomen, ndsometimesother ubject ategories,re enabled to protect heir nterestsnd preferheirclaims ndambitionshroughccasional ather han hronicffliction.ere, hereis little ormal laborationf a regular hamanisticult as such, nd therange fspiritsnvolvedmaybe relatively odest. pirit ossession ere, s wehavefoundit amongtheSomali,Kamba and Zulu etc.,has much the ame effectswitch-craftndsorcery lsewhere,lthoughtexpressesensionsmoreobliquely.In thenextbandon the pectrum,pirit ossession ecomesmoretheregular,stereotyped,nd thoroughlynstitutionalisedode of entryntoa specificallyshamanisticultgroup,withan organised eadershipnd following.Althoughstillperipheral o the mainreligious ult n terms fwhich men's actions reevaluatedndtheuniversenterpreted,tappeals rimarilyowomen ndto thoseof other xcluded nd subordinateategories,s well as to individual eviants.Heremore hanntheprevious asewhere he ccentwasprimarilynexorcism,theresa true ndregularult f pirits hichmaybehighlylaboratencharacterand encompass vastpantheon fpowers.This s the situationn Singapore,nHaitan voodoo (Metraux I959), and equally well-representedmongsttheMoslem Hausa and Songhay, ndtheMoslem and Christian thiopians,o saynothing fparallel ults n classical ntiquity.n these xamples t is primarilythrough egularmembershipfthecultorganisationith tsprominent sycho-dramatic eatures hat adherents ain assurance, ecuritynd enhancementf


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SPIRIT POSSESSION AND DEPRIVATION CULTS 323status,ven fonlyvicariously. lthough ssentiallyotthe bearers f themainmorality f the ocietynwhich hey re found, uchcultsmayhavegreat ocialas well as psychologicalmportance. ere refero muchmore han he haman'srole as fortune-teller,iviner,healer and mediator, ignificanthoughthesefunctionsndoubtedlyre.Think, orexample, fthe fascinating,hough s yethardly xplored,ocial mplicationsf heHausabori ultwithts mphasisotonlyontheoldest rade f ll,but lso uponprosperityntradengeneral; nd hence tsvitalmysticalonnexionwith hefounding nd success fmarket-centres,here,at the alons f therichly dorned ori ourtesans,obles s wellascommonersiewithone another orfavournthehighly tyliseddiom ofHausapraise-songs.Suchelaborate ossessionults sthis, ext hade nto rue ropheticmovements,where hepossessingmediums nd shamans otonlyanswer ecurringroblemswithin heir wn cultural radition,ut nresponseonewstimuli ndpressures,announcemessianic evelationsnd nauguratepirituallynspired eligions ithnew and wider appeal and a strong mbodiment f moralteaching. he pre-cipitating ircumstancesnd the salient haracteristicsf such religions f theoppressed' s Lanternariallsthem,have received greatdealofattention,othwithin nd outside heChristianradition.'7hus t sscarcely ecessaryoenume-rate examples,beyond pointingout that these ncludesuch embryonic ndinchoateforms s anti-witchcraftovements nd cargo cults as well as themessianic ults f Christianitynd Islam.What maybe ofgreater ignificancesto notehow often, nd perhapsgenerally, uch religions tress schatologicalnotions f a morally valuative fter-life.he moralorderssustained ot merelybyprosperityndhappinessnthis ife, utmore ignificantlyythe onfermentfthese ewardsnheaven.Finally, here re those horoughlystablished eligionswhere uch a centralmessianic evelationfmoralteaching asshrunko theproportionsf a meremyth fcreation ndofthe origins f man'smisery. ere, religion asbeensocompletelyssimilatedn social ife, ndso firmlymbeddednmorality,hat heeschatologicalraditionas also ost ts avour.Yet,suchreligionsre still erme-atedbythenotion f pirit, egularly anifestnthedefence fmoralityndpietythrough ossession fflictions.ndercurrentsfthe messianicradition ontinueintheoccasional mergence f revitalisingrophetsnveighinggainst ecadenceanddecay.Atthis nd of the pectrumamsketching e clearly avethereligionof theOld Testaments wellasthose f theNuer Evans-Pritchard956) and theDinka Lienhardt96I) where,nthe onvenientaradox fthe neand themany,thespirits nequivocally epresent an'sexperienceforder nd disordernhisuniverse.This typologicaleries races he ncreasingnvolvement f prophetsn theirsurroundingocial order until the point s reachedwhere theirrevolutionaryfervoursalmost ompletely issipated.his mplieshat he ype freligion hichcelebratesn accepted ode ofpublic moralityan as readily evelop from, sprecede messianicradition.or t seems hatnthehistoryfreligionst softenpossible o trace rendsnddevelopmentsn either irectionhroughhevariousphasesand pointsof emphasisn our simple chemaof spirit ossession ndinspiration.nd t salsoperhaps ecessaryostress,bvious houghhiss, hat o avariable egree everal f thephaseswhichwe haveseparatelyistinguished ay


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324 I. M. LEWISin fact o-existwithin particulareligiousystem t anypoint ntime.Thus, otake very imple xample, lthoughheprincipalmphasisn Somalilands onthe engagementfpossessionn the sex-war' in theparticularmanner haveindicated,heres also in this ase a lesssignificant,ut nonethe ess co-existentorganisationf spiritmedium oteries.

VIIWithout attemptingny verystrict pplication f this model to the datadiscussednthis ecture,tmaybeworthwhileo indicate omething oreof thewider emporalndcircumstantialettingf omeofthe ultswithwhichwe havedealt.Thus,as Cerulli rguesI923: 2), the ar cult nEthiopia odaymaywellrepresenthe ancient Cushiticreligioncentring n a sky-goddisplacedbyChristianitynd slam ndrelegatedo the tatusf peripheralult. nSomaliland,however, here s no directinguisticvidence orthis ssumptionnd the cultseemsmoresecurely egarded s an intrusivelement: hiscertainlys thecasewiththeafflictionttributedo clerical priteswhichhas made itsappearancewithin he astgenerationrso. InArabia, henorthernudan, ndEgypt he arcult s ikewisentrusivend ofscarcelymore han century'standing.nitsownlocalsetting,heboriult ssimilarlyenerallyegardeds thedisplacedraditionalreligion fthepre-Islamic ausa and there eemsno good reason o dispute his

view. In Haiti a rather imilar elationshipeemsto have existed ver severalcenturiesetweenhe lave nd the ater easant ult fvoodoo and ofChristianity(Metraux959).It seemsprobablethat such displaced nd peripherallyelegated ults mayprovide hekind f nstitutionalnd nspirationalontinuity hich,nappropriatehistoricalircumstances,nables ew messianicults o develop ndeventuallyoentrenchhemselvest the centre freligiousmorality. hissurelys one of theprincipal hemesn thehistoryf Christianity,nd iftheprophets f the OldTestamentnquestionablyerald hrist'smessianic ission,heultimatentrench-ment fthis eligionnpublicmoralityn ourown societynd the mplicit is-regardof eschatology xceptas a convenientmetaphor orsanctioning oodconductbring hecyclefullcircle.For the mainpubliccultofnineteenthndtwentiethenturyhristianityeemsmore nthemorality-upholdingpiritftheOld than f the allto salvationf theNew Testament. erewe should lsonotetheexplicit efutationf the Church's raditionalschatologyn thedoctrinesadvanced ymodern hristianpologists, ho argue hat eaven ndhell renotrealitiesnthetraditionalense, utexistentialtates fmind.By way of concluding, would onlyadd thatwe should also look morespecificallyt our own traditionfperipheralpirit ossession.n ourreligioushistory,heestablishmentf theHoly Spirit s the ole orthodoxource f divineinspirationutomaticallyisenfranchisedllother pirituallaimswhich ouldnotthusbe acceptably uthenticated,nd exposedthem to charges f fraud ndtrafficiththeDevil withconsequences hichwe all know. This s theofficialview,exposedwith characteristicasuistry,n the ate fifteenthenturyMalleusmaleficarumrittenytheDominican uthoritiesramer ndSprenger, hich, orat east wocenturies,eems o have served s theprincipalcclesiasticaluideon


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SPIRIT POSSESSION AND DEPRIVATION CULTS 325suchmatters. lthough he ncreasinglyiberal reatmenty theChurch fsuchpossessionswas assignedotheworkofSatan, nd therise f secularismndofmodern ciencen thenineteenthentury aturallyosteredwidening fscepti-cism n peripheralpirit ossession,hephenomenon id not entirely isappear.Indeed, n theVictorian ra, nd especiallyfter he hallenge o orthodox heologypresentedythepublicationn 859 ofDarwin'sOrigin f pecies,newupsurgefspiritualismlaiming, nd to some extent eceiving cientificpproval,made tsappearance. hiswas theheyday fthe Fox sistersnd of the celebratednglishmediumFlorenceCook, when, s TrevorHall aptlyputs t, as manyheadsastableswerebeing urned nd thevariousnterpretationsut uponthemysteriousdances f thefurnitureeflectedhe state fmindof thosewho advanced hem.Spiritualists ere certain hat the tablesmoved underthe influence f spirits;theclergy houghthat hiswas probably rue, utwhetherhesediscarnaten-tities eregoodorbad, angelic, rdemonic,wasopentoquestion' Hall 962: xi).Although, s the sustained urrent f spiritualisteances and publicationsindicates,pirit ossessionn itstraditionaluise s, withothermarginalmysticalpractices,ynomeans efunctoday,I8tcanhardly laim hewidespreadnterestand following hich t attractedmongst urgrandparents.his decline eems ocoincide airly loselywith the rise ofmodernpsychology nd psychoanalysis.Andno one, fancy, illquestion hatmany f themedical ymptomsssociatedwith piritualismnourownpast swellas ntraditionalocietiesre oday reatedon thepsychologist'souch.Butperhapshis nalogy an be pressed urther.or,,at east npsychoanalysis,otonly sthemode ofentryo theprofessionroadlysimilar o that fthe shaman's piritualravail ndapprenticeship,ut the treat-mentsituation f thepatient s implicitlynd increasinglyxplicitly sycho-dramatic n itsessential haracteristics.ertainlyn thefunctionalpproach npsychologicalmedicinewhich is so widely adopted todaywe have an inter-pretation f psychosomatic isorders, nd, according o somepractitionersfmore eriousmentalmaladies, hich elates hepatient'symptomso hispersonalpredicamentythe amekind ffunctionalogic hat havefollowednthisecture.In suggestinghis omparison,am not ofcourse rguinghat ll psychologicalillnessesanproperlye regardedsresponsesodeprivation,or am I proposingthat he wholeofmodernpsychotherapye viewedas a deprivationult.Theparallel eems ome best estrictedothe ncidence ndtreatmentf theneuroticdisorders,ndparticularlyo psychosomaticndhystericalfflictions. hateverother ypes fmaladymaybe catered or n tribal pirit ossession ults, hesestand out as the salient nd mostwidely reported ymptoms ssociatedwithperipheralossession.fthe nalogy amproposing as ome ubstance,t sthere-fore n thisfieldof mentaldisorders hatwe should eek correlationsetweenthese fflictionsnddeprivation. nfortunately,ut notsurprisinglyn view ofthe difficultiesnvolved n maintainingommon tandardsfdiagnosis, etailedstatisticalnformationn theepidemiologyfmentalllnessnwesternocietiessnot readily vailable.Nevertheless,wo recent tudies ontain uggestive ata.In a recent xaminationf mentalllness nNew Haven, Connecticut, ollings-head& Redlich I958) have found statisticallyignificantnverse elationshipbetween sychosomaticisordersndhystericaleactionsn the one hand, ndsocial lass n theother. isordersn these ategoriesremostprevalentmongst


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326 I. M. LEWISthemost ocially eprived ectionsf he ommunity. orerecently,n analysisfdiagnoses n neurosis ases from sample of generalpractices n this countryshowed noverwhelmingredominanceffemale isorders:he atio ffemale omaleneurotic atientss two to one.'9In thepresent tate f confusionn what t has nowbecomefashionableo calltrans-culturalsychology,t wouldbe extremely aive oplace too great elianceon suchfigures r to accept heparallel have drawnwithout eservations.ll Iamsuggesting,herefore,s that heres something orth onsideringurtherere.In thus ookingto psychology,s I think nthropologistsust ncreasinglyo(at east f we wantto know theanalogues n our own society f the syndromeswhichwe examine nd analysen other ultures), realise hat may attractheopprobrium f thosewho are still ndissolubly edded to the functionalismfRadcliffe-Brown.ut lest be too hastily ondemned,etme be more explicit.In thepsychologist'sxplanationf bizarre ehaviour n terms f unconsciousmotivation, rojection,onversion,nd the rest, do not hope to find finalexplanation f socially nstitutionalisedehaviourwhich closes the door toanthropologicalnalysis. n thecontrary,ll I wish o do is to be able to classifyand hold constant rangeof similarymptoms hich redealtwith n a widediversityfinstitutionalisedays ndifferentocieties. nd, fyoustill avedoubts,although hismaynotserve o quellthem, would onlysay n conclusionhatMalinowski, t least,was not too muchtroubled y scruples f thiskind.Thisreadinesso cross rontiersnd toopenhismind o other isciplinesssurelyne ofthemost nduringmarks fhisgenius.

NOTES'For an admirablyomprehensiveibliographyfworkspublished rior o I9so, seeBouteillerI950: 327-65).2 Cf Firth's ide-rangingiscussionf he ffectsnd mplicationsf he bserver'sersonalbias n religiousociologyFirth959).3 Whitesuggestshat hehigh ncidence f thesepossessionfflictionsmongst uvalewomen s, n this ontext,onnected ith hepracticefvirilocalmarriage hich eparateswife rom ernatal in ndpreventser rom egularlyarticipatingnofferingsade oherown ancestorsWhite 96I: 48).These pirit ossessionfflictionsave thus ad the ffectfremindingomen f heir in llegiancesndhelp o maintain atrilinealolidarity.4 Fora fuller iscussioneeLewis inpress).s The transitionrom he igid raditionalttitudeo themodem xplicit ecognitionf oveis clearlyhown nmany f thepoemsofIlmiBownderic. I908-I938) who is generallyregardeds thefirstmajorSomalipoetto composeworks n theclassical tyle reatinghistheme irectly.hefollowingines ddressedo thewoman e ovedbutwhowouldnotmarryhim, efer irectlyo theforms fpossessioniscussed ere:Rapt ndeceitfulrance,thoughthat wassleeping ithher,But t wasonly inncounterfeitinger mage,I tried o catch erbythehand, uttheplacebesideme was empty.When discoveredhat twasalone wasstriving,I wokeup abruptly,aving ossed rom ide oside,And ike prowlingion, rumpledmybed clothes,Attackingndpoundinghem,s if t were heywho had causedmydeprivationAnd ike hero gainst hommenhave combined o oppose, coveredmyface,I was humbledike heboywho, guarding ispeople's amels, asthem eizedfrom im,I felt isgracedike woman o whom hewordsI divorce ou' hadbeen poken,It sdegradingo yearn orwhatyoucannot ave,Alas, las,how disasteras overtaken e. ('Abdillahi Andrzejewski,npress).


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SPIRIT POSSESSION AND DEPRIVATION CULTS 3276 FollowingriminghamI959: 3I sqq.) use heword cleric' s a general urposeerm orthevariousMoslem olymen nd religiousunctionariesho, though otnecessarilyart fany cclesiasticalierarchy,igure o prominentlynall slamicocieties.7 Forfuller etails n theproceduref exorcismeeLewis in press).8 There reobvious nalogies erewith uch xoticphenomenas theso-calledWiitikopsychosis'oundmongst ree nd Ojibwa ndiansn thenorthernorestlandf Canada.Likethe omali amel-boys'ar, his fflictionainlyffects en, nd nthis ase, hosewhohavespentongperiodslone n the rozen orestn anunsuccessfuluest or ood Parker960: 603).Whatevertspsychologicaltatus,his ppearsobea parallelulturalhenomenon,ssociatedwith hysicalndsocial solation nddeprivation,ndexplainedn termsfpossessionyamonsterpiritalledWiitiko.9For accountsf these n theSudan nd north frica, eeTremeameI914) and Wester-marckI926).IO The best ublishedources n the ori ult re:TremeameI9I3; I9I4); GreenbergI946);Smith,Mary I954) and Smith,M. G., (I957; I962).II Mr MichaelOnwuejeogwu, ersonal ommunication.am also gratefulorhelpful

commentsrom r F. W. Parsons nd MallamEsa,of the School of Oriental ndAfricanStudies, ondon.I2 Wallace I96I), argueshat rctic ysteriainsome reas alled ibloktoq)s the esult facalcium eficiencynEskimo iet.Thisview,however, oesnot atisfactorilyccount or hedifferentialex ncidencef he ffliction.allace's ssertionhat he yndromesnot xplainedby Eskimonterms fspirit ossessionppears ocontradicthe vidence resentedyCzap-licka nd otheruthorities.I3 Colson inpress). ammost ratefuloDr Colsonfor ermissionoquote rom hissyetunpublishedaterial.I4 Cf. Leach (I96I) and Lewis (I965).IS Wallace I959) hasrecently ost nterestinglyrgued hat revailingrendsnpsycho-therapy ay erelatedo socio-culturalactors.n social ystems ith high evel forganisa-tion'the mphasisntherapyends o be on expressiveatharsis,hereasn thosewith 'low

level forganisation'he ias s towards ontrolherapywith go or superegoeinforcement).Thus, ccordingoWallace, n traditionalroquoisociety rior o 65o therapy asmainlyftheexpressive ind ssociated ith hamanisticituals. wo hundred ears ater, owever,after he miserynd dislocationntailed y colonisation,he emphasis ad shiftedowards'control'psychotherapyssociatedwith puritanicalropheticmovementsn whichcon-fessionlayed n mportantart.I6 See, e.g.,FortesI959), HortonI96I) andWalace, I96I: 28I sqq).I7 Prominentmongst ecent ynopticreatmentsf thesubject re: ThruppI962) andLanternariI963).I8 For a recenttudy f shamanisticracticesssociated ithhealingn rural rance,eeBouteilerI950: I99-248) and nrural taly, ennaI963).I9 SeeShepherdt l. I964; inpress). hisdifferentialex ncidencesalsoevident,houghless xtreme,n theRegistrar eneral's igures orhospitalisationn cases f mentalllnessn

this ountry. n thebasis f the 959 figures,ittleI965) has calculatedexpectancyates'which ndicatehat .f4 ofmen nd I -I ofwomen an xpecto be admittedor reatmenttoa mental ospitalnceduring heirives.REFERENCESAberle, . F. I952. Arctic ysteriand latahnMongolia.Trans. . Y. Acad. ci. Ser.2: 14,29I-7.'Abdillahi, . F. & Andrzejewski,. W. Inpress. he ife f Ilmi Bownderi, Somalipoetwho ssaid ohavediedof ove.J.Folkl.nst.Barclay,H. B. I964. Buuri l-Lamaab. suburbanillage n the udan.New York: CornellUniv. PressBeattie,J.96I Group spects f heNyoro pirit ediumshipult. .Rhodes-Livingstonenst. 0,II-38.I966. Ritual and social change. Man (N.S.) I, 60-74.Bouteiller, . I950. Chamanismetguerison agique.aris:Presses niversitairese France.Cerulli, . I923. Note sul movimento usulmanoellaSomalia.Riv. Stud.Orient.O, I-36.Colson,E. I958. Marriagend he amily monghe lateauTonga fNorthernhodesia. an-chester: anchester niv. Press.In press. pirit ossessionmong heTongaofZambia. n SpiritmediumshipultsnAfricaeds.)J.Beattie& J.Middleton. ondon:Routledge& KeganPaul.


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328 I. M. LEWISCzaplicka,M. A. I914. Aboriginaliberia. xford:Clarendon ress.Edel,M. M. I957. TheChiga fwesternganda.ondon:OxfordUniv.Press.Eliade,M. i95i. Le chamanisme.aris:Payot.Elliot,A. J.A. i955. Chinesepirit-mediumultsnSingapore.ondon:Athlone ress.Evans-Pritchard,. E. I937. Witchcraft,raclesndmagicmonghe zande.Oxford:ClarendonPress.I956. Nuer eligion.xford:Clarendonress.Firth, . i959. Problemnd ssumptionn ananthropologicaltudy freligion..R. anthrop.Inst. 9, 29-48.Fortes, . i959. OedipusndJobnwest fricaneligion.ambridge: ambridge niv. Press.Fortune, . I935. ManusreligionMem. Am.Phil. Soc. 3). Philadelphia,enna:AmericanPhilosophicalociety.Gifford,. W. I929. Tonganociety.onolulu:Bernice . BishopMuseum.Gluckman, . I954. Rituals frebellionnsouth-eastfrica.Manchester: anchester niv.Press.I954. Rituals f ebellionn south-eastfrica. anchester: niv.Press.Greenberg,. 946. The nfluencef slam na Sudaneseeligion.ew York:Americanthno-logical ociety.Gussow, . I960. Pibloktoqhysteria)mong hepolarEskimo. n Psychoanalysisnd he ocialsciences(ed.) W. Muensterberger.ew York: nternationalniv.Press.Hall, T. H. I962. The piritualists.ondon:Duckworth.Harris, . I957. Possessionhysteria'n a Kenyan ribe. m.Anthrop.9, 046-66.Hogbin,H. I. I934. Lawand rdernPolynesia.ondon:Christophers.Hollingshead, . B. & Redlich, . C. I958. Social lass ndmentalllness. ew York:JohnWiley.Horton, . I96I. Destinynd theunconsciousnwestAfrica. frica1, iio-6.Hsu, F. L. K. (ed.) 96I. Psychologicalnthropology:pproacheso ulturend ersonality.ome-wood, ll.: Dorsey ress.Hurgronje,. i888-9.Mekka. vols.The Hague.Huxley,A. I952. Thedevilsf oudon. ondon:Chatto& Windus.Ivens,W. G. I927. Melanesiansf he .E. Solomonslands. ondon:KeganPaul.Junod, . A. I922. The ife f South fricanribe. ew York:Universityooks.Kluckhohn,C. I944. Navahowitchcraft.ambridge, ass.: PeabodyMuseum.Koritschoner,. I936. Ngoma Ya Sheitani: n eastAfrican ative reatmentorpsychicaldisorder..R. anthrop.nst. 6, 09-I7.Krige, . J. 936. The ocialystemf he ulus.London:Longmans.Kriss,R. & Kriss-Heinrich,. I962. VolksglaubemBereich es slam.Wiesbaden:OttoHarrassowitz.Lanternari,. I963. Thereligionsf he ppressed.ondon:Macgibbon& Kee.Laubscher, . J. F. I937. Sex, custom,nd sychopathology.ondon:Routledge.Leach, . R. I96I. Rethinkingnthropology.ondon:Athlone ress.Lee,S. G. I950. Some Zuluconcepts fpsychogenicisorder.. Afr.J. oc.Res. , 9-I6.Legue,G. I 88o. Urbain randiert es osse'de'seLoudon. aris:Baschet.Leiris,M. I958. La possessiont es spectshe'dtrauxhez es thiopiense Gondar.aris:Plon.Lewis, . M. I965. Problemsn the omparativetudy f unilineal escent.n Therelevancefmodelsforocialnthropologyed.)M. Banton. ondon:Tavistockublications.Inpress. piritossessionnnorthernomaliland.nSpiritmediumshipultsnAfricaeds.)J.Beattie&J. Middleton. ondon:Routledge& KeganPaul.Lienhardt,. I96I. Divinitynd xperience:he eligionf he inka.Oxford:Clarendonress.Lindblom,G. I920. TheAkamba n British ast Africa. ppsala: Appelbergs oktrykeriAktiebolag.Linton, . I933. TheTantala: hill ribe fMadagascar.hicago:FieldMuseumofNaturalHistory.Little,A. I965. An 'expectancy' stimate fhospitalisationates ormentalllness. r.J.Sociol.6, 22I-3I.Loudon,J.B. I959. Psychogenicisordersndsocial onflictmong heZulu. InCulturendmentalealthed.)M. K. Opler.New York:Macmillan.Marwick,M. I952. Thesocial ontext f Cewa witch eliefs. frica2, I20-35, 21I5-53.Messing,. D. I958. Group herapynd ocial tatusnthe ar cult fEthiopia. m.Anthrop.o,I120-7.I959. Group herapynd social tatusn theZarcult fEthiopia.n Culturendmentalhealthed.)M. K. Opler.New York: Macmillan.Metraux, . i959. VoodoonHaiti.London:Andre eutsch.


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Spirit Possesion and Deprivation Cults

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