Spirit Possession and Deprivation Cults

Willing the Spirits to Reveal Themselves: Rural Kenyan Mothers' Responsibility to Restore Their Children's Health

“…The participation of women in the spirit world is, however, not unique to the Duruma. Lewis (1966) has cited several communities in which women are the main participants of healing rituals as patients, healers, aides, or observers. He, however, does not link women's participation to their children's health problems.…”

Self, Spirit Possession and World View: an Illustration From Egypt

“…According to some scholars, the zar cult was originally introduced into the Egyptian Turkish upper class harems by Abyssinian and Sudanese slaves during the latter part of the 19th century (Cerulli, 1927(Cerulli, :1217 In recent years several publications have appeared explaining the zar ceremony from the perspective of functionalism. That is, these authors see the zar serving the function of a therapeutic outlet for women who suffer from the social and psychological pressures of a submerged social status (Messing, 1959;Lewis, 1966;Kennedy, 1967). What has been overlooked in this search for functional explanations is the view that the zar symbolises more fundamental motifs of the culture, that is (as a symbolic act) the zar expresses basic conceptions of self and the world including the entire realm of the man-woman relationship much as do other symbolic acts like seclusion or the modesty code (Antoun, 1968;Nelson, 1969).…”

Culture-Bound Dissociation: A Comparative Analysis

“…Clearly, these syndromes also have personal meaning and ameliorative functions for the characteristically socially weak protagonists, who can thereby regulate their circumstances in otherwise uncontrollable and generally depriving or oppressive conditions. This outcome can be achieved by invoking consensual, often sanctified community beliefs [92]. In more individualistic and modern societies, most oppressive structures operate within the family.…”