For the Sakalava of northwest Madagascar, spirit possession and madness occupy opposing poles on a spectrum of experiences which, in indigenous terms, range from a good, powerful, and inescapable state to a destructive, dangerous, and frightening illness. While possession by the most powerful spirits is honorable and permanent, the excessive suffering that some mediums experience leads them to...
Spirit possession is a common experience shared by many women in northwest Madagascar. In the town of Ambanja, possession by volatile and dangerous Njarinintsy spirits is an affliction which strikes young, adolescent schoolgirls. When Njarinintsy is contrasted with tromba, another well-known class of spirits found in this region, it becomes clear that Njarinintsy possession is a relatively...