SPIRIT POSSESSION: AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION ON THE PRACTICE OF DEOUTHA AMONG THE DEORIS OF ASSAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH
Anup Jyoti Bharali
PARIPEX INDIAN JOURNAL OF RESEARCH September 15, 2023 DOI: 10.36106/paripex/2900715 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Ethnography Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mysticism |
| Keywords | Possession linguistics Trance Ethnography Phenomenon Interpretation philosophy Emic and etic Meaning existential Religious experience Aesthetics Religious studies Anthropology Literature Epistemology |
| Key findings | Spirit possession is a culture-bound, emic phenomenon that is a temporary and reversible religious and folk tradition, and among the Deori it is considered a benevolent and integral part of the social system. |
Abstract
Spirit possession can be considered as a complex phenomenon found to be still in practice in many societies around the world. Anthropologists have spent long years of time conducting ethnographic field studies on spirit possession and possession-trance in different societies around the world.Belief in spirit possession and possession-trance are ancient and very widespread as seen in the historical and ethnographic records. Spirit possession in man is connected with religion and considered as religious and folk tradition which is a temporary and reversible phenomenon. Spirit possession is a phenomenon that is culture-bound i.e.it is intimately related to the beliefs, customs and attitudes of the particular cultural group in which it is found and is a purely emic term which contains “a meaning which believers themselves attached to what they believe happen during a spirit possession ritual.The “religious possession of spirits”is considered a benevolent entity and considered as an integral part of the Deori social system.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on mysticism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qualitative and Quantitative Features of Music Reported to Support Peak Mystical Experiences during Psychedelic Therapy Sessions Individuals with extensive experience administering psilocybin or psilocybin-containing... | 2017 | Survey and qualitative/quantitative analysis | n = 10 |
| Common Core Thesis and Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Mysticism in Chinese Buddhist Monks and Nuns Chinese Pure Land and Chan Buddhist monks and nuns | 2011 | Mixed-methods study | n = 139 |
| Do Drugs Have Religious Import? A 40-Year Retrospective | 2004 | Interview | |
| Narratives of the mystical among users of psychedelics Psychedelic drug users | 2021 | Qualitative study | n = 50 |
| Auras in mysticism and synaesthesia: a comparison. Synaesthetes who experience colors in response to human faces and figures | 2012 | Qualitative study | n = 4 |