Doppia possessione, doppia inversione: breve storia di una coppia in Marocco
Nico Staiti, Silvia Bruni
Antropologia e Teatro May 8, 2020 DOI: 10.6092/issn.2039-2281/10882 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Ethnography Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 2 |
| Population | A couple in Meknes, Morocco, involved in spirit possession cults |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key findings | The couple's possession by spirits of opposite gender and, in Iman's case, a Jewish spirit, integrates their personal drama with ritual expertise, demonstrating their authority in possession cults. |
Abstract
In Meknes over the last decade a couple consisting of a man possessed by a female spirit and a woman possessed by a male spirit has established themselves in the context of spirit possession. The events comprising their individual life stories and marital relationship are extraordinarily closely integrated with their experiences with the world of the invisible. The alliance with the spirits provides a picture of their personal drama, which unfolds around their daily lives and ritual activities, and is also proposed to the wider community of adepts in possession cults as proof of their expertise as rites officiants. Hamid is possessed by a female spirit, Lalla Malika, which makes him a specially qualified officiant of female possession rites. Iman is possessed by David, a Jewish spirit, which gives her a double otherness, of both gender and religious affiliation