Possession and Transformation
May 25, 1994 DOI: 10.1525/california/9780520081321.003.0009 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key points | The text argues that spirit possession traditions distinguish between the uncontrolled seizures of novices and the controlled trances of authoritative mediums, and that an initial seizure is not always a call to mediumship. Malignant possession may cause illness, madness, or death unless the spirit is exorcized or appeased, and a calling may instead lead to the role of exorcist or diviner, who does not enter possession thereafter. |
Abstract
The literature of spirit possession repeatedly emphasizes the contrast between the convulsive spasms of the disoriented novice and the controlled trances of the authoritative medium who is no longer, in the Afro-Brazilian distinction, an undisciplined child, but a mother or father of the god. The initial seizure is not always a call to the medium's vocation. Unexpected encounters with the wild can lead to destruction as well as mastery, and malignant possession, whether from witchcraft or random demons of the bush, may result in wasting illness, madness, or death, unless the invading spirit is exorcized or appeased. If the seizure is diagnosed as a call, moreover, the vocation to which it summons may be that of an exorcist or diviner who will not thereafter enter possession, even if inducing it in others.