"Wild" Spirit Possession In The Dominican Republic: Parallels And Differences Between Local And Euro-American Therapeutic Approaches.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) September 25, 2017 preprint DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.995966 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case study Case report |
|---|---|
| Population | A young woman in the Dominican Republic experiencing chronic unbidden possession |
| Key findings | The article argues that in this case, possession served as an idiom of distress, allowing a young woman to communicate past traumatic experience in a culturally acceptable way and to receive attention and comfort. It also proposes that Vodou and psychodrama share a basis in experiencing and making visible the soul in action, while differing in other respects. |
Abstract
This article explores a variety of spirit possession within Vodou in the Dominican Republic that is unbidden and characterized by uncontrolled movement. Local explanatory models for states of distressing possession are being overwhelmed or punished by the spirits. While in most cases possession behavior becomes more organized and rich in symbolic meaning as an individual progresses on her spiritual path there also exist (rare) cases of chronic unbidden possession with violent features. The article draws on such case, in which dissociative states reflecting the dynamics of trauma are locally interpreted as possession by an unruly Indian spirit. In this case possession functions as an idiom of distress, allowing a young woman to communicate her past traumatic experience in a culturally acceptable way, which opens the possibility to receive attention and comfort. Since both Vodou and psychodrama are based on experiencing and making visible the soul in action, communalities and differences between the two therapeutic systems are elaborated and juxtaposed.