Spirits Reconfigured
June 3, 2026 Khachülo Zehol Kevekha, Lucy Zehol
Christian faith healing in Nagaland reconfigures rather than displaces pre-Christian Naga shamanic cosmologies of spirits, affliction, and healing. Through oral histories, ethnographic fieldwork, and discourse analysis, the chapter traces how elements such as spirit possession, affliction by unseen forces, and visionary intermediaries persist beneath Christian prayer healing. The demonization of shamanic spirits under Christian theology masks syncretic continuity, where older understandings of the spirit world are translated into Christian terms of demonic forces and divine intervention. Both shamans and faith healers claim spiritual authority through charismatic experiences, dreams, and supernatural encounters. The chapter argues that faith healing may function as covert Indigenous knowledge survival under Christian orthodoxy, complicating binary oppositions between Indigenous religion and Christianity.