Introduc)on  to  Spirit  Possession  and  Communica)on  

Part  2  

Precondi)ons  for  Spirit  Possession  and/or  communica)on  

•  1.  A  belief  that  spirits  exist,  and  that  they  (can)  have  the  desire  to  communicate  with  humans.  

•  2.  A  belief  that  spirits  can  cross  the  barrier  between  their  level  of  existence,  however  conceived,  and  ours,  in  order  to  take  possession  of  or  influence  the  human  body  in  terms  of  speech,  hearing,  other  senses,  and/or  the  ac)ons  of  individuals.  

•  3.  A  belief  that  a  person  possessed  by  or  in  communica)on  with  a  spirit  would  behave  as  people  who  claim  to  be  possessed  do  behave.  

What  kinds  of  spirits  might  exist?  •  a)  gods  &  goddesses    •  b)  devils/demons  •  c)  angels    

     •  d)  ancestors  •  e)  other  human  spirits  (dead)

       •  f)  human  spirits  (living)  •  g)  animal  spirits  

   •  h)  elementals  •  i)  nature  spirits  

   •  i)  aliens  •  What  else?  

Wandjina,  pain)ng  by  Donny  Woolagoodja.  

What  mo)va)ons  might  they  have?  

•  a)  to  command  behaviour  •  b)  to  give  moral  guidance  •  c)  to  teach/reveal  knowledge    •  d)  to  heal  •  e)  to  affirm  faith/prove  their  

presence/existencef)  to  punish  •  g)  to  cause  sickness        •  h)  to  kill  •  i)    to  communicate/nego)ate  •  j)  to  experience  human  senses  •  j)  to  breed?  •  What  else?  

Shringar  lila  (Radha  Krishna),  Vrindavan  Das  

 

Spirits  and  mo)va)ons  •  Spirit  possession  and  communica)on  prac)ces,  as  found  in  various  religious  tradi)ons  throughout  the  world,  rarely  include  all  of  these  types  of  spirits,  and  all  of  these  mo)va)ons,  within  any  one  religious  system.    

•  Religious  tradi)ons  generally  incorporate  several  elements  in  "clusters,"  and  exclude  others,  according  to  broader  understandings  about  the  nature  of  the  world,  humans,  animals,  nature,  supernatural  forces,  etc.  also  accepted  as  true  within  the  society.    

The  Spirit’s  fingerprints  

•  For  those  who  believe  in  spirit  possession  and/or  communica)on,  the  human  body  is  like  a  car,  and  the  person’s  soul/personality  is  like  the  driver  of  the  car.  

•  It  is  possible  to  lend  your  “car”  to  another  –  either  voluntarily,  or  involuntarily.  

•  But  –  not  just  any  spirit  can  “borrow”  your  car  –  it  has  to  be  a  spirit  recognized  within  your  cultural  framework.  

•  The  “cultural  constructedness”  of  spirit  possession  

•  Example:  Windigo  

Windigo,  Norval  Morrisseau  

The  cultural  constructedness  of  spirit  possession/communica)on  

•  Spirit  possession  and/or  communica)on  is  like  a  language  –  some  languages  have  certain  sounds  in  them,  others  have  other  sounds  -­‐  the  kind  of  spirits,  and  the  kinds  of  mo)va)ons  those  spirits  are  understood  to  possess,  are  like  vowels  or  consonants,  like  nouns  and  verbs,  like  specific  vocabulary,  within  a  given  language.    

•  Like  vowel  sounds,  or  vocabulary,  spirit  possession  belief  elements  are  taken  for  granted  –  they  just  ARE,  they  are  not  subject  to  conscious  choice.  

Bridging  the  gap  •  Three  main  "types"  or  "ways"  that  spirits  

are  understood  to  "bridge"  the  gap  between  their  level  of  existence,  and  ours:  

•  Full  possession    –  the  possessing  spirit  takes  control  of  the  

body,  the  person  may  or  may  not  be  aware.  

–  Bodily  posture,  intona)on,  behaviour,  etc.  change.  

–  Variously  interpreted  as  an  honour,  an  aaack,  a  marriage,  an  imposi)on,  etc  –  good  or  bad  is  not  inherent  in  the  experience.  

–   it  is  an  unequal  power  rela)onship  –  the  possessing  spirit  is  understood  to  have  more  power  than  the  human  host  

Bridging  the  gap  

•  Mediumship  –  the  possessing  spirit  influences  

the  human  host  (makes  them  hear  things,  feel  things,  etc.  but  the  host  remains  in  control  of  their  own  body  and  remains  aware  of  their  surroundings.  

–  Bodily  posture,  intona)on,  behaviour,  etc.  may  or  may  not  change.    S)gmata  may  occur.  

–  Usually  interpreted  posi)vely  –  resistance  of  the  host  makes  communica)on  difficult.  

–   Somewhat  more  equal  a  power  rela)onship  –  the  spirit  requests,  the  host  complies.  

Séance  conducted  by  John  Beafe,  Bristol,  England,  1872  

Bridging  the  gap  •  Shamanic  Possession  

–  The  shaman  exerts  an  element  of  control  over  the  spirit  –  through  invoca)on,  coercion,  etc.  

–  Bodily  posture,  intona)on,  behaviour,  etc.  may  or  may  not  change.    S)gmata  may  occur.  

–  Shaman  frequently  sends  own  soul  to  the  spirit  world,  rather  than  opening  self  to  the  spirit  in  this  world.  

–   oien  an  unequal  power  rela)onship  –  the  shaman  compels,  bribes,  blackmails,  pays,  etc.  the  spirits.  

Shaman  beckoning  Sedna,  Abraham  Anghik  Ruben  Front  and  back  views  

 

Things  to  note:  •  These  three  types  of  spirit  possession/communica)on  are  not  

mutually  exclusive,  either  within  a  given  religious  tradi)on  or  within  an  individual  person's  life)me.    

•  Frequently  within  religious  contexts,  full  possession,  mediumship  and  shamanism  coexist,  in  various  combina)ons.      

•  Frequently,  within  the  life  of  an  individual,  possession  experiences  might  begin  with  involuntary  experiences,  either  full  possession  or  mediumship,  then  move  into  voluntary  possession  or  mediumship  or  shamanism  through  training.      

•  The  issue  of  control  -­‐  who  controls  who  -­‐  may  be  less  significant  in  terms  of  the  experience  of  those  possessed  than  it  is  to  those  who  study  and  categorize  the  whole  phenomenon.  

The  third  precondi)on  …  •  …the  belief  that  people  who  are  

possessed  by  a  spirit  would  behave  as  the  people  who  claim  to  be  possessed  actually  do  behave.    What  does  that  mean?  

•  Possession/communica)on  is  in  the  eyes  of  societal  beholders  –  some  socie)es  only  recognize  spirit  possession  in  illness,  others  only  if  accompanied  by  trance,  etc.  

•  Failure  to  meet  cultural  expecta)ons  in  terms  of  possession-­‐behaviour  means,  for  all  intents  and  purposes,  that  the  person  is  not  possessed,  even  if  they  claim  to  be  so.  

The  Rake  in  Bedlam,  William  Hogarth,  1733  

The  Spirit’s  Key  •  According  to  Goodman,  a  spirit  cannot  be  said  to  “possess”  a  person,  

unless  the  spirit  has  a  par)cular  “key”  to  get  in  the  doorway.    That  key  is  the  “trigger”  for  the  possession  experience.    

•  Although  “wild”  ini)al  possessions  do  take  place,  part  of  the  emphasis  of  religions  which  prac)ce  spirit  possession  is  to  train  the  spirit  possessed  to  go  into  possession  trance  only  when  culturally  mandated  to  do  so.    

•  Such  keys,  or  triggers,  can  be  any  culturally  validated  cue:  a  ritual  dance,  a  ritual  phrase,  ritual  clothing,  etc.    Without  the  key,  the  spirit  cannot  get  in  the  “car,”  unless  they  break  and  enter,  so  to  speak.  

•  All  spirit  possession/communica)on  religions  require  some  kind  of  induc)on  technique  that  involves  3  things  –  ritual  ac)on,  expecta)on,  and  concentra)on.  

•  If  an  individual  cannot  be  trained  to  allow  entry  of  spirits  only  in  response  to  the  use  of  a  key  as  based  in  these  three  things,  and  instead  persists  in  exhibi)ng  possession-­‐like  syptoms  in  random  violent  fashion,  they  are  likely  to  be  labeled  crazy,  or  sick,  rather  than  spirit  inspired.  

Training  in  possession  

The  Spirit’s  Door  

•  According  to  Goodman,  “trance”  is  the  “door”  through  which  spirit  possession  and  communica)on  take  place.  

•  In  order  to  be  spirit  possessed,  the  individual  human  host  must  undergo  specific  altera)ons  of  consciousness.    Such  altera)ons  of  consciousness  are  associated  with  specific  physical  changes  -­‐  change  of  heartbeat,  brainwave  paaern,  behaviour.    Without  this  “door,”  no  individual  can  be  considered  spirit  possessed.    

The  Spirit’s  Door  

•  Trance,  or  “the  door”,  is    an  altered  non-­‐pathological  state  of  consciousness.    It  has  the  following  indicators:  

•  1.    Cross  cultural  prac)ce  and  ins)tu)onaliza)on  (Given  that  90%  of  488  socie)es  have  ins)tu)onalized  the  prac)ce,  it  is  unlikely  that  all  would  have  right  pathology  at  right  )me  to  prac)ce  it)  

•  2.    Glossolalia  paaerning  -­‐  transcends  cultural  language  differences  -­‐  rhythmic,  consonant  to  vowel  syllables,  emphasis/peak  on  third  syllable  of  four,  etc.  -­‐  accent,  rhythm,  and  intona)on.  

•  3.  Observable  physiological  symptoms  -­‐  transcending  cultural  paaerning  -­‐  muscle  tension,  swea)ng,  excess  tears  or  saliva.  

•  4.  Medically-­‐iden)fied  physiological  symptoms  -­‐  blood  pressure  drop,  heart  rate  increase,  beta-­‐endorphin  increase,  theta  waves.  

Ini)atory  illness  •  The“key,”  and  the  “door,”  to  possession  are  usually  the  

result  of  religious  training,  but  frequently  in  the  world’s  religions,  such  training  follows  a  “natural”  outbreak  of  altered  states  of  consciousness  that  can  be  violent  and  unpleasant.      

•  People  who  are  prone  to  possession  experiences,  or  who  might  become  good  candidates  given  sufficient  training,  frequently  experience  a  period  of  what  is  called  “ini)atory  illness.”      

•  Oien,  such  illness  if  very  physical  -­‐  trembling  fits,  epilep)c  seizures,  dizzy  spells,  migraines,  etc.    Some)mes,  such  illness  is  psychological  -­‐  phobias,  obsessions,  compulsions.      

Cultural  Valida)on  •  In  socie)es  and  religions  which  recognize  such  symptoms  as  indicators  of  possession,  the  afflicted  will  be  “diagnosed”  as  spirit  possessed.    

•   In  socie)es  and  religions  which  do  not  acknowledge  the  possibility  of  spirit  possession,  the  afflicted  will  be  diagnosed  as  physically  or  mentally  ill.      

•  Where  the  idiom  of  spirit  possession  does  not  exist,  the  symptoms  of  it  do  no  exist  either  -­‐  similar  physiological  responses  are  seen  as  indicators  of  something  else  .  

•  The  paranoid  vs  the  possessed  –  the  difference  lies  in  cultural  valida)on  for  his  or  her  experiences.