Inversion and other tropes in spirit possession rituals
Cambridge University Press eBooks February 16, 1995 DOI: 10.1017/cbo9780511521140.003 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Ethnography Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Kel Ewey Tuareg communities and participants in the possession ritual (t∂nde) |
| Key findings | Argues that the Tuareg possession ritual (t∂nde) is organized around symbolic inversions of everyday Kel Ewey social life. After sunset, normal roles and relationships are overturned: affines interact with less reserve, men and women may flirt regardless of marital status, and old women may dance. The ritual also inverts aesthetic and spatial norms, emphasizing glowing colors and close huddling over the usual dark styles, distance, and formal greetings. |
Abstract
There are numerous elements of reversal, or symbolic inversions, during the possession ritual that are apparent in the singing, dance motions, and ritual paraphernalia of the event. Possession songs begin only after sunset, when restrictions on behavior are relaxed, and when patients usually emerge from their tents (or, more rarely, are brought to the curing site away from their compound). After sundown, the usual roles and relationships in Tuareg society are overturned: affines may interact with less reserve; men and women, regardless of marital status, may flirt; and old women may dance. It is a time of courtship and sociability among different social strata, a time when spirits and the devil are believed to be walking about. Many Kel Ewey place a positive aesthetic value on dark colors and simple styles, but at the evening t∂nde there is, in contrast, an emphasis on colors and textures that glow in the dark, showing up from afar. Spatial arrangement The layout of the event and the spatial arrangement of the audience also display a marked contrast to the daily social and ritual patterns among Kel Ewey. Rather than the usual distance and reserve, performers, audience, and trancers all huddle together. Instead of the typical highly stylized and formal greetings, there is an emphasis on spontaneity, camaraderie, and mutual support.