View source for Spirit possession

{{short description|Purported control of a human body by spirits, ghosts, demons, or gods}}
{{distinguish|Obsession (Spiritism)|Mediumship}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Paranormal}}
{{Anthropology of religion}}

'''Spirit possession''' is an [[altered state of consciousness]] and associated behaviors purportedly caused by the control of a human body and its functions by [[Supernatural#Spirit|spirit]]s, [[ghost]]s, [[demon]]s, [[angel]]s, or [[Deity|god]]s.{{sfnp|Jones|2005|page=8687}} The concept of spirit possession exists in many cultures and religions, including [[Buddhism]], [[Christianity]],<ref name="new1">Mark 5:9, Luke 8:30</ref> [[Dominican Vudú]], [[Haitian Vodou]], [[Hinduism]], [[Islam]], [[Judaism]], [[Wicca]], and [[Southeast Asia]]n, [[Africa]]n, and [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] traditions. Depending on the cultural context in which it is found, possession may be thought of as voluntary or involuntary and may be considered to have beneficial or detrimental effects on the host.<ref name="HAU 2021">{{cite journal |author-last= Santiago |author-first= Christopher |date= Autumn 2021 |title= Twilight states: Comparing case studies of hysteria and demonic possession |editor1-last= Costa |editor1-first= Luiz |editor2-last= Ferme |editor2-first= Marianne |editor3-last= Kaur |editor3-first= Raminder |editor4-last= Kipnis |editor4-first= Andrew B. |journal= [[HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory]] |publisher= [[University of Chicago Press]] |volume= 11 |issue= 2 |pages  = 635–659 |doi= 10.1086/715812 |doi-access= free |issn= 2049-1115}}</ref> The experience of spirit possession sometimes serves as evidence in support of belief in the existence of spirits, deities or demons.<ref> {{cite book |first= Hans| last= Van Eyghen| title= The Epistemology of Spirit Beliefs | publisher= Routledge | date= 14 April 2023| isbn= 978-1-003-28113-9 | url = https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-mono/10.4324/9781003281139/epistemology-spirit-beliefs-hans-van-eyghen | series = Routledge Studies in the Philosophy of Religion | pages = 118, 127 | quote = Regarding an experience as a possession-experience can serve a psychological need and be veridical at the same time. [...] [...] possession-experiences [...] can [...] provide prima facie justification for a set of beliefs regarding spirits and their natures.]}}</ref> In a 1969 study funded by the [[National Institute of Mental Health]], spirit-possession beliefs were found to exist in 74% of a sample of 488 societies in all parts of the world, with the highest numbers of believing societies in Pacific cultures and the lowest incidence among [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]] of both [[Indigenous peoples of north america|North]] and [[Indigenous peoples of South America|South America]].{{sfnp|Jones|2005|page= 8687}}{{sfnp|Bourguignon|Ucko|1969}} As [[Pentecostalism|Pentecostal]] and [[Charismatic Christianity|Charismatic]] [[Christian church (denomination)|Christian churches]] move into both African and Oceanic areas, a merger of belief can take place, with demons becoming representative of the "old" indigenous religions, which Christian ministers attempt to [[Exorcism|exorcise]].{{sfnp|Robbins|2004a|pp=117–143}}

== Organized religions ==
=== Christianity ===
{{see also|Baptism with the Holy Spirit|Holy laughter}}
{{Further|Exorcism in Christianity}}
From the beginning of [[Christianity]], adherents have held that possession derives from the [[Devil]] (i.e. [[Satan]]) and demons. In the battle between Satan and [[Heaven]], Satan is believed to engage in "spiritual attacks", including [[demonic possession]], against human beings by the use of [[supernatural]] powers to harm them physically or psychologically.{{sfnp|Jones|2005|page=8687}} [[Prayer]] for deliverance, [[blessing]]s upon the person's house or body, [[sacraments]], and [[exorcisms]] are generally used to drive the demon out.

Some [[Theology|theologians]], such as [[Ángel Manuel Rodríguez]], say that [[Mediumship|mediums]], like the ones mentioned in [[Leviticus 20]]:27, were possessed by demons. Another possible case of demonic possession in the [[Old Testament]] includes the [[false prophet]]s that King [[Ahab]] relied upon before re-capturing [[Ramoth-Gilead]] in [[1 Kings 22]]. They were described as being empowered by a deceiving spirit.{{sfnp|Rodríguez|1998|pp=5–7}}

{{anchor|New Testament}}
The [[New Testament]] mentions several episodes in which [[Miracles of Jesus#Exorcisms|Jesus drove out demons from persons]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2019&version=NIV|title=The New Testament|date=2011|website=Bible Gateway|access-date=November 21, 2019}}</ref> Whilst most Christians believe that demonic possession is an involuntary affliction,{{sfnp|Malachi|1976|p=462}} some biblical verses have been interpreted as indicating that possession can be voluntary. For example, Alfred Plummer writes that when Satan entered into [[Judas Iscariot]] in [[John 13]]:27, this was because Judas had continually agreed to Satan's suggestions to betray [[Jesus]] and had wholly submitted to him.<ref>{{Cite web|title=John 13:27 |work=Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges|url=https://biblehub.com/commentaries/cambridge/john/13.htm|via=Bible Hub}}</ref>

The [[New Testament]] indicates that people can be possessed by demons, but that the demons respond and submit to Jesus Christ's authority:
{{blockquote|In the [[synagogue]], there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, "Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!" "Be quiet!" Jesus said sternly. "Come out of him!" Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him. All the people were amazed and said to each other, "What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!" And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area|Luke 4:33–35<ref>{{bibleverse|Luke| 4:33–35|NIV}}</ref>}} and {{blockquote|And when He came to the other side into the country of the [Gadarenes]([[Gergesa]]), two demon-possessed men confronted Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way. 29 And they cried out, saying, "What business do You have with us, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?" 30 Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding at a distance from them. 31 And the demons begged Him, saying, "If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of pigs." 32 And He said to them, "Go!" And they came out and went into the pigs; and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and [c]drowned in the waters. 33 And the herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they pleaded with Him to leave their region.|Matthew 8:28–34<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew| 8:28–34|NASB}}</ref>}}

It also indicates that demons can possess animals as in the [[exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac]].
This is dramatic in European literature and for adherents to Christianity.
See also Luke 8:26-37.
The Gospel writings state that [[Mary Magdelene]] had demons cast out as well.

{{anchor|Catholicism}}

==== Catholicism ====
{{Main|Exorcism in the Catholic Church}}
[[Roman Catholic doctrine]] states that [[angel]]s are [[Non-physical entity|non-corporeal]], spiritual beings<ref>Catechism of the [[Catholic Church]], paragraph 328.</ref> with intelligence and [[Will (philosophy)|will]].<ref>Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 330.</ref> [[Fallen angel]]s, or [[demon]]s, are able to "demonically possess" individuals without the victim's knowledge or consent, leaving them morally blameless.{{sfnp|Amorth|1999|p=33}}

{{anchor|Old Testament}}
The ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]'' says that there is only one apparent case of demonic possession in the Old Testament, of King [[Saul]] being tormented by an "evil spirit" ([[Books of Samuel#1 Samuel|1 Samuel]] 16:14), but this depends on interpreting the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] word "''rûah''" as implying a personal influence which it may not; as a result, even this example is described as "not very certain". In addition, Saul was only described to be tormented, rather than possessed, and he was relieved from these torments by having [[David]] play the [[Kinnor|lyre]] to him.<ref>{{CathEncy|wstitle=Demoniacal Possession}}</ref>

[[File:Ottheinrich_Folio018v_Mt8F.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Exorcism of the Gerasene Demoniac]]
Catholic exorcists differentiate between "ordinary" Satanic/demonic activity or influence (mundane everyday ''temptations'') and "extraordinary" Satanic/demonic activity, which can take six different forms, ranging from complete control by Satan or demons to voluntary submission:{{sfnp|Amorth|1999|p=33}}
# Possession, in which Satan or demons take full possession of a person's body without their consent. This possession usually comes as a result of a person's actions; actions that lead to an increased susceptibility to Satan's influence.
# Obsession, which typically influences dreams. It includes sudden attacks of irrationally [[obsessive thought]]s, usually culminating in [[suicidal ideation]].
# [[Oppression]], in which there is no loss of consciousness or involuntary action, such as in the biblical [[Book of Job]] in which [[Job (biblical figure)|Job]] was tormented by Satan through a series of misfortunes in business, material possessions, family, and health.
# External physical pain caused by Satan or demons.
# Infestation, which affects houses, objects/things, or animals; and
# Subjection, in which a person voluntarily submits to Satan or demons.

In the [[Roman Ritual]], true demonic or Satanic possession has been characterized since the [[Middle Ages]], by the following four typical characteristics:{{sfnp|Wilkinson|2007|p=25}}{{sfnp|Baglio|2009}}
# Manifestation of [[superhuman strength]].
# [[Speaking in tongues]] or languages that the victim cannot know.
# [[Revelation]] of [[knowledge]], distant or hidden, that the victim cannot know.
# [[Blasphemy|Blasphemous]] rage, [[Obscene gesture|obscene hand gestures]], using [[profanity]] and an [[wikt:Special:Search/aversion|aversion]] to holy symbols, names, [[relic]]s or places.

The ''[[New Catholic Encyclopedia]]'' states, "[[Ecclesiastical polity|Ecclesiastical authorities]] are reluctant to admit diabolical possession in most cases, because many can be explained by physical or mental illness alone. Therefore, medical and psychological examinations are necessary before the performance of major [[exorcism]]. The standard that must be met is that of moral certitude (''De exorcismis'', 16). For an exorcist to be morally certain, or beyond reasonable doubt, that he is dealing with a genuine case of demonic possession, there must be no other reasonable explanation for the phenomena in question".<ref>{{Cite book|title=New Catholic Encyclopedia Supplement|publisher=Gale|year=2009|location=Detroit, MI|page=359}}</ref>

Official [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]] doctrine affirms that demonic possession can occur as distinguished from [[mental illness]],{{sfnp|Netzley|2002}} but stresses that cases of mental illness should not be misdiagnosed as demonic influence. Catholic exorcisms can occur only under the authority of a [[Bishop (Catholic Church)|bishop]] and in accordance with strict rules; a simple exorcism also occurs during [[baptism]].{{sfnp|Jones|2005|page=8687}}

{{anchor|Reformed}}

==== Anglican ====
The infliction of demonic torment upon an individual has been chronicled in premodern [[Protestantism|Protestant]] literature. In 1597, [[King James VI and I|King James]] discussed four methods of daemonic influence upon an individual in his book [[Daemonologie]]:{{sfnp|Warren|2019|p=69}}
# Spectra, being the haunting and troubling of certain houses or solitary places.
# Obsession, the following and outwardly torment of an individual at diverse hours to either weaken or cast diseases upon the body, as in the [[Book of Job]].
# Possession, the entrance inwardly into an individual to beget uncontrollable fits, induce blasphemies, 
# Faerie, being the influence those who voluntarily submit to consort, prophesy, or servitude.

King James attested that the symptoms derived from demonic possession could be discernible from natural diseases. He rejected the symptoms and signs prescribed by the Catholic church as vain (e.g. rage begotten from [[Holy Water]], fear of the [[Crucifix|Cross]], etc.) and found the [[exorcism]] rites to be troublesome and ineffective to recite. The [[Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites|Rites of the Catholic Church]] to remedy the torment of demonic spirits were rejected as counterfeit since few possessed could be cured by them. In James' view: "It is easy then to understand that the casting out of Devils, is by virtue of fasting and prayer, and in-calling of the name of God, suppose many imperfections be in the person that is the instrument, as CHRIST himself teaches us (Mat. 7) of the power that false [[Prophet|Prophets]] all have cast out devils".{{sfnp|Warren|2019|pp=84–86}}

In [[Middle Ages|medieval]] [[Great Britain]], the Christian church had offered suggestions on safeguarding one's home. Suggestions ranged from dousing a household with [[holy water]], placing wax and herbs on thresholds to "ward off [[Witchcraft|witches]] [[occult]]", and avoiding certain areas of townships known to be frequented by witches and Devil worshippers after dark.{{sfnp|Broedel|2003|pp=32–33}} Afflicted persons were restricted from entering the church, but might share the shelter of the [[church porch|porch]] with [[leprosy|lepers]] and persons of offensive life. After the prayers, if quiet, they might come in to receive the bishop's blessing and listen to the [[sermon]]. They were fed daily and prayed over by the exorcists and, in case of recovery, after a fast of from 20 to 40 days, were admitted to the [[Eucharist]], and their names and cures entered in the church records.<ref>{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Energici|volume=9|page=398}}</ref> In 1603, the [[Church of England]] forbade its clergy from performing exorcisms because of numerous fraudulent cases of demonic possession.{{sfnp|Netzley|2002}}

{{anchor|Baptist}}

==== Baptist ====
In May 2021, the Baptist Deliverance Study Group of the [[Baptist Union of Great Britain]], a [[Christian denomination]], issued a "warning against occult spirituality following the rise in people trying to communicate with the dead". The commission reported that "becoming involved in activities such as Spiritualism can open up a doorway to great spiritual oppression which requires a Christian rite to set that person free".{{sfnp|Showalter|2021}}

In September 2023, Pastor Rick Morrow of Beulah Church in [[Richland, Missouri]] gave a sermon in which he presented the cause of [[Autism spectrum|autism]] in the following way: "the devil's attacked them, he's brought this infirmity upon them, he's got them where he wants them". He asserted that the cure for the [[neurodevelopmental disorder]] was prayer by claiming to "know a minister who has seen lots of kids that are autistic, that he cast that demon out, and they were healed, and then he had to pray and their brain was rewired and they were fixed."<ref name="FA">{{cite web |last1=Mehta |first1=Hemant |title=Baptist pastor falsely claims autism is demonic: "My God doesn't make junk" |url=https://www.friendlyatheist.com/p/baptist-pastor-falsely-claims-autism |website=Friendly Atheist |access-date=18 September 2023}}</ref>
Members of the pastor's community found his comment to be "derogatory toward individuals with certain disabilities." Their public outcry led to Morrow's resignation from the [[Board of education|school board]] on which he was a member.<ref name="KY3">{{cite web |last1=Hoffman |first1=Michael |title=Pastor resigns from Stoutland School Board amidst backlash from autism comments during sermon |url=https://www.ky3.com/2023/09/13/richland-mo-pastor-resigns-stoutland-mo-school-board-amidst-backlash-autism-comments-during-sermon/ |website=KY3 |date=13 September 2023 |access-date=18 September 2023}}</ref>

{{anchor|Evangelical}}

====Evangelical====
In both [[Charismatic movement|charismatic]] and [[Evangelicalism|evangelical]] Christianity, exorcisms of demons are often carried out by individuals or groups belong to the [[Deliverance ministry|deliverance ministries]] movement.{{sfnp|Cuneo|1999}} According to these groups, symptoms of such possessions can include [[chronic fatigue syndrome]], [[homosexuality]], addiction to [[pornography]], and [[alcoholism]].{{sfnp|Tennant|2001}} The New Testament's description of people who had evil spirits includes a knowledge of future events (Acts 16:16) and great strength (Act 19:13–16),<ref name=":1" /> among others, and shows that those with evil spirits can speak of Christ (Mark 3:7–11).<ref name=":1" /> Some Evangelical denominations believe that demonic possession is not possible if one has already professed their faith in Christ, because the [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|Holy Spirit]] already occupies the body and a demon cannot enter.

=== Islam ===
Various types of creatures, such as ''[[jinn]]'', ''[[Shaitan|shayatin]]'', ''[[Ifrit|ʻafarit]]'', found within [[Islam]]ic culture, are often held to be responsible for spirit possession. Spirit possession appears in both [[Islamic theology]] and wider cultural tradition.

{{anchor|Ifrit|Afarit}}
Although opposed by some Muslim scholars, sleeping near a graveyard or a tomb is believed to enable contact with the [[ghost]]s of the dead, who visit the sleeper in dreams and provide hidden knowledge.{{sfnp|Diem|Schöller|2004|p=144}} Possession by ''ʻafarit'' (a vengeful ghost) are said to grant the possessed some supernatural powers, but it drives them insane as well.{{sfnp|Westermarck|2014|pp=263–264}}

{{anchor|Jinn|Geni}}
''[[Jinn]]'' (singular ''jinni'') are much more physical than spirits.{{sfnp|Chodkiewicz|2012}} Due to their [[Subtle body|subtle bodies]], which are composed of fire and air (''marijin min nar''), they are purported to be able to possess the bodies of humans. Such physical intrusion of the jinn is conceptually different from the whisperings of the devils.<ref name="Böttcher–2021">{{cite book|last=Krawietz|first=B.|year=2021|title=Islam, Migration and Jinn: Spiritual Medicine in Muslim Health Management|location=Deutschland|publisher=Springer International Publishing}}</ref>{{rp|67}} Since ''jinn'' are not necessarily evil, they are distinguished from cultural concepts of possession by devils/demons.{{sfnp|Al-Krenawi|Graham|1997|p=211}}

Since such ''jinn'' are said to have [[Predestination in Islam#Qadar and free will|free will]], they can have their own reasons to possess humans and are not necessarily harmful. There are various reasons given as to why a ''jinni'' might seek to possess an individual, such as falling in love with them, taking revenge for hurting them or their relatives, or other undefined reasons.{{sfnp|Rassool|2015}}{{sfnp|Bulkeley|Adams|Davis|2009}} At an intended possession, the covenant with the ''jinni'' must be renewed.{{sfnp|Maʻrūf|2007|p=2}} Soothsayers (''kāhin'' pl. ''kuhhān''), would use such possession to gain hidden knowledge. Inspirations from jinn by poets requires neither possession nor obedience to the jinn. Their relationship is rather described as mutual.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Yosefi, Maxim|title=The origins of the traditional approach towards the jinn of poetic inspiration in tribal Arab culture|journal=Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies|volume=49|publisher=Archaeopress|pages=293–302|year=2019|jstor=27014158}}</ref>

The concept of jinn-possession is alien to the Quran and derives from pagan notions.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Islam, F.|author2=Campbell, R.A.|title=Satan Has Afflicted Me!" Jinn-Possession and Mental Illness in the Qur'an|journal=J Relig Health|volume=53|pages=229–243 |year=2014|issue=1 |doi=10.1007/s10943-012-9626-5|pmid=22688386 }}</ref> It is widespread among Muslims and also accepted by most Islamic scholars.{{sfnp|Dein|2013|pp=290-293}} It is part of the ''[[aqida]]'' (theological doctrines) in the tradition of [[Ashari]],<ref name="Böttcher–2021"/> and the [[Atharism|Atharis]], such as [[ibn Taimiyya]] and [[ibn Qayyim]].<ref name="Böttcher–2021"/>{{rp|56}} Among [[Maturidites]] it is debated, as some accept it, but it has been challenged since the early years by Maturidite scholars such as [[al-Rustughfanī]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Harvey|first=Ramon|title=Transcendent God, Rational World: A Maturidi Theology|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|year=2021|page= 164}}</ref> The [[Mu'tazila]] are associated with substituting jinn-possession by devilish-whisperings, denying bodily possession altogether.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Dein, Simon|author2=Abdool Samad Illaiee|title=Jinn and mental health: looking at jinn possession in modern psychiatric practice|journal=The Psychiatrist|volume=37|issue=9 |year=2013|pages=290–293|doi=10.1192/pb.bp.113.042721 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

{{anchor|Shaitan|Shayatin}}
In contrast to ''jinn'', the devils (''[[Shaitan|shayatin]]'') are inherently evil.{{sfnp|Meldon|1908|pp=123–146}} [[Iblis]], the father of the devils, dwells in the fires of hell, although not suffering wherein, he and his children try to draw people into damnation of hell.<ref>{{cite book|author=Bullard, A.|year=2022|title=Spiritual and Mental Health Crisis in Globalizing Senegal: A History of Transcultural Psychiatry|location=US|publisher=Taylor & Francis}}</ref> Devils don't physically possess people, they only tempt humans into sin by following their lower ''[[nafs]]''.{{sfnp|Sells|1996|p=143}}{{sfnp|Griffel|2005|p=103}} [[Hadith]]s suggest that the devils whisper from within the human body, within or next to the [[Qalb|heart]], and so "devilish whisperings" ({{langx|ar|waswās}} <big>وَسْوَاس</big>) are sometimes thought of as a kind of possession.{{sfnp|Szombathy|2014}} Unlike possession by ''jinn'', the whispering of devils affects the soul instead of the body. Inspiration by angels, on the other hand, is called {{langx|ar|ilhām}}.<ref>MacDonald, D.B. (2012). Ilhām. In P. Bearman (ed.), Encyclopaedia of Islam New Edition Online (EI-2 English). Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_3533</ref>

Demons (also known as ''[[Div (mythology)|div]]''), though part of the human conception, get stronger through acts of sin.<ref>{{cite periodical |first=Moiseeva Anna |last=Vladimirovna |year=2020 |title=Prophet Sulaimān v klassische persische Poesie: Semantik und struktur des Bildes |lang=de |trans-title=The prophet Solomon in classical Persian poetry: Semantics and structuring of images |periodical=Orientalistik. Afrikanistik. |number=3 |url=https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/prorok-sulaym-n-v-klassicheskoy-persidskoy-poezii-semantika-i-struktura-obraza |access-date=14 October 2021}}</ref> By acts of obedience (to God), they get weaker. Although a human might find pleasure in obeying the demons first, according to Islamic thought, the human soul can only be free if the demons are bound by the spirit (ruh).<ref>{{cite journal|author=Shalinsky, Audrey C.|title=Reason, Desire, and Sexuality: The Meaning of Gender in Northern Afghanistan|journal=Ethos|volume=14|issue=4|year=1986|pages=323–43|publisher=JSTOR|doi=10.1525/eth.1986.14.4.02a00010 |jstor=640408}}</ref> Sufi literature, as in the writings of [[Rumi]] and [[Attar of Nishapur]], pay a lot of attention to how to bind the inner demons. Attar of Nishapur writes: "If you bind the ''div'', you will set out for the royal pavilion with Solomon" and "You have no command over your self's kingdom [body and mind], for in your case the ''div'' is in the place of Solomon".<ref>{{cite book |author=Hamori, Andras |year=2015 |title=On the Art of Medieval Arabic Literature |place=US |publisher=Princeton University Press |page=158}}</ref> He further links the demons to the story alluded in the Quran (38:34) that a demon replaced the prophet Solomon: one must behave like a triumphant 'Solomon' and chain the demons of the ''[[nafs]]'' or lower self, locking the demon-prince into a 'rock', before the ''[[rūḥ]]'' (soul) can make the first steps to the Divine.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Lewisohn, L.|author2=Shackle, C.|year=2006|title=Attar and the Persian Sufi Tradition: The Art of Spiritual Flight|location=Vereinigtes Königreich|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|page=156}}</ref>

=== Judaism ===
{{anchor|Shedim}}{{anchor|Dybbuk}}
{{main|Shedim|Shade (mythology)|Dybbuk}}
Although forbidden in the [[Hebrew Bible]], magic was widely practiced in the late [[Second Temple Period]] and well documented in the period following the destruction of the Temple into the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries C.E.{{sfnp|Bohak|2008|p={{page needed|date=November 2020}}}}{{sfnp|Wahlen|2004|p=19}} [[Jewish magical papyri]] were inscriptions on [[amulets]], [[ostraca]] and [[incantation bowls]] used in Jewish magical practices against ''shedim'' and other [[unclean spirit]]s. According to the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'', Jewish methods of exorcism were described in the [[Book of Tobit|Book of Tobias]].<ref name="CathEncy|wstitle=Exorcism">{{CathEncy|wstitle=Exorcism}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/demons-and-demonology|title=Demons and demonology|date=2008|website=Jewish Virtual Library|access-date=November 20, 2019}}</ref>

In the [[16th century]], [[Isaac Luria]], a Jewish [[Mysticism|mystic]], wrote about the [[Transmigration of a soul|transmigration of souls]] seeking perfection. His disciples took his idea a step further, creating the idea of a ''dybbuk'', a soul inhabiting a victim until it had accomplished its task or atoned for its sin.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/dybbuk-Jewish-folklore|title=Dybbuk|website=Encyclopaedia Britannica|access-date=November 20, 2019}}</ref> The ''dybbuk'' appears in Jewish folklore and literature, as well as in chronicles of Jewish life.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/dibbuk-dybbuk|title=Dybbuk|website=Jewish Virtual Library|access-date=November 21, 2019}}</ref> In [[Jewish folklore]], a ''dybbuk'' is a disembodied spirit that wanders restlessly until it inhabits the body of a living person. The [[Baal Shem]] could expel a harmful ''dybbuk'' through [[exorcism]].<ref>{{Cite web| title=Dybbuk| url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/174964/dybbuk| website=Encyclopædia Britannica Online| access-date=10 June 2009}}</ref>

Possession-trance and [[adorcism]] are also engaged with by some Jews. Notably, Ethiopian Jewish women may participate in [[zār]], and Tuisinian Jewish women have a practice called Stambali.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last1=Somer |first1=Eli |last2=Saadon |first2=Meir |date=December 2000 |title=Stambali: Dissociative Possession and Trance in a Tunisian Healing Dance |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/136346150003700406 |journal=Transcultural Psychiatry |language=en |volume=37 |issue=4 |pages=580–600 |doi=10.1177/136346150003700406 |issn=1363-4615|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Stambali uses incense, music (traditionally performed by Black musicians from fraternal orders), dance, animal sacrifice, and large spreads of food to induce trance and to appease jinn which may be afflicting someone, and ceremonies may be regularly repeated by that person. Stambali is also sometimes done preventatively as part of wedding, bnei mitzvah, and housewarming festivities to ward away the evil eye. The afflictions of jinn may simply be buildups of emotional stress or more serious illness. During trance, the jinn enter the body, and the participants do not remember what occurred during trance afterwards. If a particular person has needed a Stambali ceremony organized, the jinn afflicting them will be asked what it wants as it possesses them. Usually requests involve clothes and an animal for sacrifice. The atmosphere is festive, and participants wear bright clothes and henna. Aside from musicians, the participants are all women. The dances and lyrics are improvised. Those seen as particularly susceptible to jinn affliction are the victims and perpetrators of aggression, those who are frightened, and those who may have the evil eye directed at them. Showers are also seen as particularly vulnerable places where a jinn may attach themselves to a person.<ref name=":5" />

== African traditions ==

===Central Africa===
{{anchor|Congo|Democratic Republic of the Congo}}

====Democratic Republic of the Congo====
[[Zebola]]<ref>[http://www.aequatoria.be/04common/020publications_pdf/Etudes%20Aequatoria%20-%206%20Jebola.pdf ETUDES AEQUATORIA·6 JEBOLA Textes, rites et signification Thérapie traditionnelle mongo Piet KORSE MONDJULU Lokonga BONGONDO Bonje wa Mpay  Centre IEquatoria B. P. 276 Bamanya -Mbandaka-Zaire 1990]</ref> is a women's spirit possession dance ritual practised by certain ethnic groups of the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]]. It is believed to have therapeutic qualities and has been noted in the West as a traditional form of [[psychotherapy]].

It originated among the [[Mongo people]] but is also practised among various ethnic groups in [[Kinshasa]].<ref>{{cite book | last=Lambek | first=Michael |author-link=Michael Lambek| title=Bodies and persons: comparative perspectives from Africa and Melanesia | publisher=Cambridge University Press | publication-place=Cambridge, U.K. New York | year=1998 | isbn=978-0-521-62737-5 | oclc=39035692|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q8RI22OdxFQC&pg=PA87 | page=87}}</ref>

===Horn of Africa===

====Ethiopia====
Among the [[Gurage people]] of Ethiopia, spirit possession is a common belief. William A. Shack postulated that it is caused by Gurage cultural attitudes about food and hunger, while they have a plentiful food supply, cultural pressures that force the Gurage to either share it to meet social obligations, or hoard it and eat it secretly cause feelings of anxiety. Distinctions are drawn between spirits that strictly possess men, spirits that possess women, and spirits that possess victims of either sex. A ritual illness that only affects men is believed to be caused by a spirit called ''awre''. This affliction presents itself by loss of appetite, nausea, and attacks from severe stomach pains. If it persists, the victim may enter a trance-like stupor, in which he sometimes regains consciousness long enough to take food and water. Breathing is often labored. Seizures and trembling overcome the patient, and in extreme cases, partial paralysis of the extremities.{{sfnp|Shack|1971|pp=40–43}}

If the victim does not recover naturally, a traditional healer, or ''sagwara'', is summoned. Once the ''sagwara'' has determined the spirit's name through the use of divination, he prescribes a routine formula to exorcise the spirit. This is not a permanent cure, it merely allows the victim to form a relationship with the spirit while subject to chronic repossession, which is treated by repeating the formula. This formula involves the preparation and consumption of a dish of ''[[ensete]]'', butter, and red pepper. During this ritual, the victim's head is covered with a drape, and he eats the ''ensete'' ravenously while other ritual participants participate by chanting. The ritual ends when the possessing spirit announces that it is satisfied. Shack notes that the victims are overwhelmingly poor men, and that women are not as food-deprived as men, due to ritual activities that involve food redistribution and consumption. Shack postulates that the ''awre'' serves to bring the possessed man to the center of social attention, and to relieve his anxieties over his inability to gain prestige from redistributing food, which is the primary way in which Gurage men gain status in their society.{{sfnp|Shack|1971|pp=40–43}}

The belief in spirit possession is part of the native culture of the [[Sidama people]] of southwest [[Ethiopia]]. [[Anthropologist]]s Irene and John Hamer postulated that it is a form of compensation for being deprived within Sidama society, although they do not draw from I.M. Lewis (see Cultural anthropology section under Scientific views). The majority of the possessed are women whose spirits demand luxury goods to alleviate their condition, but men can be possessed as well. Possessed individuals of both sexes can become healers due to their condition. Hamer and Hamer suggest that this is a form of compensation among deprived men in the deeply competitive society of the Sidama, for if a man cannot gain prestige as an [[orator]], warrior, or farmer, he may still gain prestige as a spirit healer. Women are sometimes accused of faking possession, but men never are.{{sfnp|Hamer|Hamer|1966}}

===East Africa===
{{anchor|Kenya}}'''Kenya'''
{{See also|Ufufunyane|label 1=Saka}}
* The [[Digo people]] of [[Kenya]] refer to the spirits that supposedly possess them as ''shaitani''. These ''shaitani'' typically demand luxury items to make the patient well again. Despite the fact that men sometimes accuse women of faking the possessions in order to get luxury items, attention, and sympathy, they do generally regard spirit possession as a genuine condition and view victims of it as being ill through no fault of their own. Other men suspect women of actively colluding with spirits in order to be possessed.{{sfnp|Gomm|1975}}
* The [[Giriama people]] of coastal Kenya believe in spirit possession.{{sfnp|McIntosh|2004}}

{{anchor|Mayotte}}'''Mayote'''
* In [[Mayotte]], approximately 25% of the adult population, and five times as many women as men, enter trance states in which they are supposedly possessed by certain identifiable spirits who maintain stable and coherent identities from one possession to the next.{{sfnp|Lambek|1988|pp=710–731}}

{{anchor|Mozambique}}'''Mozambique'''
* In [[Mozambique]], a new belief in spirit possession appeared after the [[Mozambican Civil War]]. These spirits, called ''gamba'', are said to be identified as dead soldiers, and allegedly overwhelmingly possess women. Prior to the war, spirit possession was limited to certain families and was less common.{{sfnp|Igreja|Dias-Lambranca|Richters|2008|pages=353–371}}

{{anchor|Uganda}}'''Uganda'''
* In [[Uganda]], a woman named [[Alice Auma]] was reportedly possessed by the spirit of a male Italian soldier named Lakwena ('messenger'). She ultimately led a failed insurrection against governmental forces.{{sfnp|Allen|1991|pp=370–399}}

{{anchor|Tanzania}}'''Tanzania'''
* The [[Sukuma people]] of [[Tanzania]] believe in spirit possession.{{sfnp|Tanner|1955|pp=274–279}}
* A now-extinct spirit possession cult existed among the [[Hadimu]] women of [[Zanzibar]], revering a spirit called ''kitimiri''. This cult was described in an 1869 account by a French missionary. The cult faded by the 1920s and was virtually unknown by the 1960s.{{sfnp|Alpers|1984|pp=677–702}}

===Southern Africa===
{{See also|Amafufunyana}}
* A belief in spirit possession appears among the [[Xesibe]], a [[Xhosa language|Xhosa]]-speaking people from [[Transkei]], [[South Africa]]. The majority of the supposedly possessed are married women. The condition of spirit possession among them is called ''intwaso''. Those who develop the condition of ''intwaso'' are regarded as having a special calling to divine the future. They are first treated with sympathy, and then with respect as they allegedly develop their abilities to foretell the future.{{sfnp|O'Connell|1982|pp=21–37}}

===West Africa===
* One religion among [[Hausa people]] of West Africa is that of [[Hausa animism]], in which belief in spirit possession is prevalent.

==African diasporic traditions==
Most, if not all, Afro-diasporic traditions actively practice spirit possession.<ref>{{cite web|title= Philosophy of African Diaspora Religions|last=Van Eyghen|first=Hans|date=2025|website=The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy|url=https://iep.utm.edu/african-diaspora/}}</ref> In many of the [[African diaspora religions]] possessing spirits are not necessarily harmful or evil, but are rather seeking to rebuke misconduct in the living.{{sfnp|Verter|1999|p=187}} Possession by a spirit in the African diaspora and traditional African religions can result in healing for the person possessed and information gained from possession as the spirit provides knowledge to the one they possessed.<ref name="University of Georgia Press">{{cite book |last1=Pollitzer |first1=William |title=The Gullah People and Their African Heritage |date=2005 |publisher=University of Georgia Press |isbn=978-0-8203-2783-9 |page=138 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2efDSQdNq-cC&q=possession}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Harper |first1=Peggy |title=African Dance |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/African-dance |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=31 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Fernandez Olmos |last2=Paravisini-Gebert |title=Sacred Possessions Vodou, Santería, Obeah, and the Caribbean |date=1997 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |isbn=978-0-8135-2361-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EvOEdueU4GkC&q=possession}}</ref>

===Haitian Vodou===
In [[Haitian Vodou]] and related African diaspora religions, one way that those who participate or practice can have a spiritual experience is by being possessed by the ''[[Loa]]'' (or ''lwa''). When the ''Loa'' descends upon a practitioner, the practitioner's body is being used by the spirit, according to the tradition. Some spirits are believed to be able to give prophecies of upcoming events or situations pertaining to the possessed one, also called a ''Chwal'' or the "Horse of the Spirit". Practitioners describe this as a beautiful but very tiring experience. Most people who are possessed by the spirit describe the onset as a feeling of blackness or energy flowing through their body.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fernandez Olmos |last2=Paravisini-Gebert |title=Sacred Possessions Vodou, Santería, Obeah, and the Caribbean |date=1997 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |isbn=978-0-8135-2361-3 |pages=19–22 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EvOEdueU4GkC&q=loa}}</ref>

===Umbanda===
The concept of spirit possession is also found in [[Umbanda]], an [[Afro-Brazilians|Afro-Brazilian]] [[folk religion]] that has origins in [[Yoruba people]]. According to tradition, there are some guiding spirits that possess a voluntary person, which is normally done when there is a person that wants to ask for some guidance. When the person is possessed by a guiding spirit, the possessed person gives guidance to people that ask for consultation, by answering questions and sometimes explaining rituals to help the consulting person to achieve their goals or solve problems in their life. Examples of such spirits are [[Pomba Gira]] (female guardian spirit) or [[Exú|Exu]] (male guardian spirit), who possesses both women and men. According to the tradition everyone has a Pomba Gira and a Exu who they can call for help and protection, even if they don't possess the person asking for help, and they can always be called when the person feels it to be necessary.{{sfnp|Hayes|2008|pp=1–21}}

===Hoodoo===
The culture of [[Hoodoo (spirituality)|Hoodoo]] was created by African-Americans. There are regional styles to this tradition, and as African-Americans traveled, the tradition of Hoodoo changed according to African-Americans' environment. Hoodoo includes [[Ancestor worship|reverence to ancestral spirits]], African-American [[Quilting|quilt making]], [[Herbal medicine|herbal healing]], [[Kongo religion|Bakongo]] and [[Odinala|Igbo burial practices]], [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|Holy Ghost]] shouting, [[Mary Jenkins Community Praise House|praise houses]], [[Snake worship|snake reverence]], [[Black church|African-American churches]], spirit possession, some [[Nkisi|Nkisi practices]], [[Spiritual church movement|Black Spiritual churches]], [[Black theology]], the [[ring shout]], the [[Kongo cosmogram]], [[Simbi]] water spirits, graveyard [[Evocation|conjuring]], the [[crossroads spirit]], making [[conjure cane]]s, incorporating animal parts, pouring of [[libation]]s, [[Bible conjuring]], and conjuring in the African-American tradition. In Hoodoo, people become possessed by the Holy Ghost. Spirit possession in Hoodoo was influenced by [[West African Vodun]] spirit possession. As Africans were enslaved in the United States, the Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost) replaced the African gods during possession.<ref>{{cite web |title=Uncovering the Power of Hoodoo: An Ancestral Journey |url=https://www.pbs.org/video/uncovering-the-power-of-hoodoo-an-ancestral-journey-skgy16/ |website=Public Broadcasting Service |publisher=PBS |access-date=25 May 2023}}</ref> "Spirit possession was reinterpreted in Christian terms."<ref name="University of Georgia Press"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Opala |title=Gullah Customs and Traditions |url=https://glc.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Gullah%20Customs%20and%20traditions.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160907122717/http://glc.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Gullah%20Customs%20and%20traditions.pdf |archive-date=2016-09-07 |url-status=live |website=Yale University |access-date=24 May 2022}}</ref> In African-American churches this is called being filled with the [[Shout (Black gospel music)|Holy Ghost]]. "Walter Pitts (1993) has demonstrated the modern importance of 'possession' within African- American Baptist ritual, tracing the origins of the ecstatic state (often referred to as 'getting the spirit') to African possessions."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wilkie |first1=Laurie |title=Magic and Empowerment on the Plantation: An Archaeological Consideration of African-American World View |journal=Southeastern Archaeology |date=1995 |volume=14 |issue=2 |page=141 |jstor=40713617 }}</ref> Church members in Black Spiritual churches become possessed by spirits of deceased family members, the Holy Spirit, Christian saints, and other [[List of biblical figures identified in extra-biblical sources|biblical figures]] from the Old and New Testament of the Bible. It is believed when people become possessed by these spirits they gain knowledge and wisdom and act as intercessors between people and God.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jacobs |title=Spirit Guides and Possession in the New Orleans Black Spiritual Churches |journal=The Journal of American Folklore |date=1989 |volume=102 |issue=403 |pages=46–48 |doi=10.2307/540080 |jstor=540080 }}</ref> [[W. E. B. Du Bois|William Edward Burghardt Du Bois]] (W. E. B. Du Bois) studied African-American churches in the early twentieth century. Du Bois asserts that the early years of the Black church during slavery on plantations was influenced by Voodooism.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wortham |first1=Robert |title=W. E. B. Du Bois and the Sociology of the Black Church and Religion, 1897–1914 |date=2017 |publisher=Lexington Books |page=153 |isbn=978-1-4985-3036-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=opY-DwAAQBAJ&q=voodooism}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hucks |title=African-Derived American Religions |journal=Religion and American Cultures an Encyclopedia of Traditions, Diversity, and Popular Expressions · Volume 1 |date=2003 |page=20 |isbn=978-1-57607-238-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9RYs-Z6AdpQC&pg=PA20}}</ref>
[[File:Yowa (b8b4e9d1-581f-4325-bc6b-e9ef5739ff33).jpg|thumb|The Kongo cosmogram inspired the ring shout, a sacred dance in Hoodoo performed to become possessed by the Holy Spirit or ancestral spirits.]]
Through counterclockwise circle dancing, ring shouters built up spiritual energy that resulted in the communication with ancestral spirits, and led to spirit possession. Enslaved African Americans performed the counterclockwise circle dance until someone was pulled into the center of the ring by the spiritual vortex at the center. The spiritual vortex at the center of the ring shout was a sacred spiritual realm. The center of the ring shout is where the ancestors and the Holy Spirit reside at the center.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hazzard-Donald |first1=Katrina |title=Hoodoo Religion and American Dance Traditions: Rethinking the Ring Shout |journal=The Journal of Pan African Studies |date= 2011 |volume=4 |issue=6 |page=203 |url=http://www.jpanafrican.org/docs/vol4no6/4.6-11HoodooReligion.pdf |access-date=2 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Lincoln |first1=C. Eric |title=The Black Church in the African American Experience |date=1990 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=978-0-8223-1073-0 |pages=5–8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W_oSBFOgzJYC&q=possessed%20by%20the%20Holy%20Ghost}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Pollitzer |first1=William |title=The Gullah People and Their African Heritage |date=2005 |publisher=University of Georgia Press |isbn=978-0-8203-2783-9 |pages=8, 138, 142 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2efDSQdNq-cC&q=possession}}</ref> The Ring Shout (a sacred dance in Hoodoo) in Black churches results in spirit possession. The Ring Shout is a counterclockwise circle dance with singing and clapping that results in possession by the Holy Spirit. It is believed when people become possessed by the Holy Spirit their hearts become filled with the Holy Ghost which purifies their heart and soul from evil and replace it with joy.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stuckey |first1=Sterling |title=Reflections on the Scholarship of African Origins and Influence in American Slavery |journal=The Journal of African American History |date=2006 |volume=91 |issue=4 |pages=438–440 |doi=10.1086/JAAHv91n4p425 |jstor=20064125 |s2cid=140776130 }}</ref> The Ring Shout in Hoodoo was influenced by the [[Kongo cosmogram]] a sacred symbol of the [[Kongo people|Bantu-Kongo]] people in Central Africa. It symbolizes the cyclical nature of life of birth, life, death, and rebirth (reincarnation of the soul). The Kongo cosmogram also symbolizes the rising and setting of the sun, the sun rising in the east and setting in the west that is counterclockwise, which is why ring shouters dance in a circle counterclockwise to invoke the spirit.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hazzard-Donald |first1=Katrina |title=Hoodoo Religion and American Dance Traditions: Rethinking the Ring Shout |journal=The Journal of Pan African Studies |date= 2011 |volume=4 |issue=6 |page=203 |url=http://www.jpanafrican.org/docs/vol4no6/4.6-11HoodooReligion.pdf |access-date=2 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Ferguson |title=Magic Bowls |url=https://www.nps.gov/ethnography/aah/aaheritage/lowCountry_furthRdg4.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100830161931/http://www.nps.gov/ethnography/aah/aaheritage/lowCountry_furthRdg4.htm |archive-date=30 August 2010 |website=African American Heritage and Ethnography |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=2 December 2021}}</ref>

===Mardi Gras Indians===

In [[New Orleans|New Orleans, Louisiana]] the practice of spirit possession continues in the cultural traditions of [[Mardi Gras Indians]]. Mardi Gras Indians are [[African Americans]] that practice a masking creole tradition that combines Native American traditions from Louisiana, [[Traditional African masks|West African masking]] traditions, and [[List of Caribbean carnivals around the world|Afro-Caribbean carnival]] practices. During Mardi Gras, some Black maskers wear masks and suits (regalia) to invite the spirits and gods to possess them. This is a continued African tradition of spirit communication and possession.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Roy |first1=Ariel |title="The Freedom to Express Yourself:"The National Park Service and the African Diasporic Roots of Black Dance in New Orleans |journal=University of New Orleans Thesis and Dissertations |date=2023 |pages=30, 45 |url=https://scholarworks.uno.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4319&context=td/ |access-date=12 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Chester |first1=Tim |title=Stunning Portraits of New Orleans's Black Masking Indians |url=https://www.afar.com/magazine/stunning-portraits-of-new-orleanss-black-masking-indians |website=AFAR |date=April 9, 2019 |access-date=12 November 2024}}</ref> Masking Indian "Big Chief" [[Allison Montana]] said: "...You're dancing with a spirit, with a feeling. If there are five or six chiefs in my practice, I'll out dance all of them until they short-winded and they have to run outside looking for air. I'll still be on the dance floor soaking wet. Look like I can't stop. My duty was to out dance every one of them. I'm just dancing with a spirit. I'm not just dancing to be dancing."<ref>{{cite web |title=He's The Prettiest: A Tribute To Big Chief Allison "Tootie" Montana's 50 Years Of Mardi Gras Indian Suiting |url=https://www.louisianafolklife.org/lt/virtual_books/hes_prettiest/hes_the_prettiest_tootie_montana.html |website=Folklife In Louisiana |publisher=Louisiana Division of Arts |access-date=12 November 2024}}</ref>

==Asian traditions==

===Yahwism===
There are indications that trance-related practices might have played a role in the prophetic experiences of adherents of [[Yahwism]]. According to [[Martti Nissinen]], Yahwist prophets may have received messages from the different gods and goddesses in the [[Canaanite Religion|Yahwist Pantheon]] through a state of trance possession. This theory can be reconstructed from [[Sumerian Mythology]], a similar theology to that of Yahwism, where the standard prophetic designations in the [[Akkadian language]], muḫḫûm/muḫḫūtum (masc./fem., Old Babylonian) and maḫḫû/maḫḫūtu (masc./fem., Neo-Assyrian), are derived from the Akkadian verb maḫû "to become crazy, to go into a frenzy."<ref name="nissinen">{{cite web |last1=Nissinen |first1=Martti |title='Prophecy and Ecstasy', Ancient Prophecy: Near Eastern, Biblical, and Greek Perspectives |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/25797/chapter/193398813#401699355 |website=Oxford |publisher=Oxford Academic |access-date=22 August 2023}}</ref> According to bible scholar Simon B. Parker, trance rituals may have occurred such as nudity or a less extreme alternative, a trance where the person to enter trance receives the god or spirit into their body.<ref name=":4">{{cite journal |last1=Parker |first1=Simon B. |title="Possession Trance and Prophecy in Pre-Exilic Israel." |journal=Vetus Testamentum |date=4 September 1978 |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=271–285 |publisher=Simon B. Parker|doi=10.1163/156853378X00518 |jstor=1517036 }}</ref>

Further according to Nissinen, the [[Hebrew Bible]], may contain evidence that trance-related practices may have been the origins of the Jewish traditions of [[Prophets in Judaism|prophetic messages]].<ref name="nissinen" /> However, these instances may have been limited, with trance instead being a way of confirming divine appointment to a leadership position.<ref name=":4" />

Nissinen also recorded that music was an essential part to these trance-ceremonies in the Ancient Near-East and so it can be reconstructed it could have been found in Yahwism.<ref name="nissinen" /> Instruments such as the tambourine, harps, lyres, and flutes may have been utilized, as those were common instruments in Ancient Israel.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Sounds of Music in Ancient Israel |url=https://www.jw.org/en/library/magazines/g201103/The-Sounds-of-Music-in-Ancient-Israel/ |website=Jehovah's Witnesses}}</ref> Along with music, incense may have also been used, either as an offering,  or to be used as an [[entheogen]], or possibly as both.

[[Exorcisms]] were also common. They can be reconstructed from both Medieval Jewish texts and texts from neighboring ancient cultures that practiced exorcisms. Exorcists acting almost like shamans would do rituals to exorcise one of a "demon" or evil spirit. According to Gina Konstantopoulos, a figure named an "Āshipu" acted as an exorcist in Mesopotamia and were trained in many fields of occultism, priesthood and herbalism.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Konstantopoulos |first1=Gina |title=Demons and exorcism in ancient Mesopotamia |url=https://hcommons.org/deposits/objects/hc:33220/datastreams/CONTENT/content |publisher=Gina Konstantopoulos}}</ref> As amulets (called teraphim) were also used in Yahwism to ward off evil spirits, it may also be reconstructed that there were people in Ancient Israel who acted as exorcists or shamans who would do specific rituals to ward off evil spirits. As mentioned previously, these may have included music, incense, prayers, and trance-rituals. According to Reimund Leicht, formulae was used ward off the evil, along with ritualistic sacrifices.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Leicht |first1=Reimund |title=Mashbiaʿ Ani ʿAlekha: Types and Patterns of Ancient Jewish and Christian Exorcism Formulae |journal=Jewish Studies Quarterly |date=4 September 2023 |volume=13 |issue=4 |pages=319–343 |publisher=Reimund Leicht|doi=10.1628/094457006780130466 |jstor=40753414 }}</ref>

===Buddhism===
According to the Indian medical literature and [[Vajrayana|Tantric Buddhist]] scriptures, most of the "seizers", or those that threaten the lives of young children, appear in animal form: cow, lion, fox, monkey, horse, dog, pig, cat, crow, pheasant, owl, and snake. Apart from these "nightmare shapes", the impersonation or incarnation of animals can in some circumstances also be highly beneficial, according to Michel Strickmann.{{sfnp|Strickmann|2002|p=251}}

Ch'i Chung-fu, a Chinese gynecologist writing early in the 13th century, wrote that in addition to five sorts of falling frenzy classified according to their causative factors, there were also four types of other frenzies distinguished by the sounds and movements given off by the victim during his seizure: cow, horse, pig, and dog frenzies.{{sfnp|Strickmann|2002|p=251}}

[[File:Buddha,_resisting_the_demons_of_Mara,_Wellcome_V0046085.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Buddha, resisting the demons of Mara]]
{{anchor|Māra|Mara}}
In [[Buddhism]], a ''[[Mara (demon)|māra]]'', sometimes translated as "demon", can either be a being suffering in the [[Naraka|hell realm]]{{sfnp|Sutherland|2013}} or a delusion.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tibetan Buddhist Psychology and Psychotherapy|url=http://www.tibetanmedicine-edu.org/index.php/psychology-and-psychotherapy/34-tibetan-buddhist-psychology-and-psychotherapy|website=Tibetan Medicine Education center|access-date=December 12, 2019}}</ref> Before Siddhartha became [[Gautama Buddha]], He was challenged by [[Mara (demon)|Mara]], the embodiment of temptation, and overcame it.{{sfnp|Kinnard|2006}} In traditional Buddhism, four forms of ''māra'' are enumerated:{{sfnp|Buswell|Lopez|2013}}
* ''Kleśa-māra'', or '' māra'' as the embodiment of all [[Kleshas (Buddhism)|unskillful emotions]], such as greed, hate, and delusion.
* ''Mṛtyu-māra'', or ''māra'' as [[Mrtyu|death]].
* ''Skandha-māra'', or ''māra'' as [[metaphor]] for the entirety of conditioned existence. 
* ''Devaputra-māra'', the [[Deva (Buddhism)|deva]] of the sensuous realm, who tried to prevent Gautama Buddha from attaining liberation from the [[Samsara|cycle of rebirth]] on the night of the Buddha's enlightenment.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lamayeshe.com/glossary/four-maras|title=Four maras|date=2019|work=Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive|access-date=December 8, 2019}}</ref>

It is believed that a ''māra'' will depart to a different realm once it is appeased.{{sfnp|Sutherland|2013}}

===East Asia===
{{See also|East Asian religions}}
Certain sects of [[Taoism]], [[Korean shamanism]], [[Shinto]], some [[Japanese new religions|Japanese new religious movements]], and other East Asian religions feature the idea of spirit possession. Some sects feature [[Shamanism|shamans]] who supposedly become possessed; [[Mediumship|mediums]] who allegedly channel beings' supernatural power; or [[Enchanter (paranormal)|enchanters]] are said to imbue or foster spirits within objects, like [[samurai swords]].{{sfnp|Oxtoby|Amore|2010|pp=256–319}} The Hong Kong film ''Super Normal II'' (''大迷信'', 1993) shows the famous true story of a young lady in [[Taiwan]] who possesses the dead body of a married woman to live her pre-determined remaining life.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://tsasf.myweb.hinet.net/asf_5a.htm| title = 朱秀華借屍回陽記}}</ref> She is still serving in the Zhen Tian Temple in [[Yunlin County]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.ztg.com.tw| title = 豐原鎮天宮全球資訊網}}</ref>

{{anchor|China}}

====China====
{{main|Chinese spirit possession}}

===== Background =====
China is a country where 73.56% of the population is defined as [[Chinese folk religion]]/unaffiliated (nonreligion). Therefore, the Chinese population's knowledge of spirit possession is not majorly obtained from religion. Instead, the concept is spread through fairy tales/folk tales and literary works of its traditional culture. In essence, the concept of soul possession has penetrated into all aspects of Chinese life, from people's superstitions, folk taboos, and funeral rituals, to various ghost-themed literary works, and has continued to spread to people's lives today.

===== Development =====
Spirit possession in China was prominent until the [[Chinese Communist Revolution|Communist victory]] in the [[Chinese Civil War|Chinese civil war]] and most of the data gathered on this topic will be from the late 18th century. Some Chinese believe that illnesses to man is due to the possession of an evil yin spirit (kuei). These evil spirits become such when the deceased are not worshiped by the family, they have died unexpectedly, or did not follow Confucius's ideals of filial piety and ancestral reverence accordingly. These evil spirits cause unexplainable disasters, agricultural shocks and possessions. Disease is the cause of the supernatural where they do not have control over. Usually in the writings about this, the healers are the ones being described with detail, not so much the patient. Magical practices are sometimes what spirit possession is referred to as. It is very hard to distinguish between the religion, magic and local traditions. This is because many times, all three are fused together, so sometimes trying to distinguish between them is hard.

===== Shaman =====
Another type of spirit possession works through a [[shaman]], a prophet, healer and religious figure with the power to partially control spirits and communicate for them. Messages, remedies and even oracles are delivered through the shaman. This is sometimes used by people who would like to become important figures. Usually, shamans give guidance that reflects the customer's existing values.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Spirit-Writing and the Development of Chinese Cults |url=https://jstor-jac.orc.scoolaid.net/stable/3712120?searchText=Chinese+spirit+possession&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DChinese%2Bspirit%2Bpossession%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A805862bf6169d3d628b6d045776b6bdb&seq=2}}</ref>

===== Yin-yang theory =====
The yin-yang theory is one of the most important bases and components of Chinese traditional culture. The yin-yang theory has penetrated into various traditional Chinese cultural things including calendar, astronomy, meteorology, Chinese medicine, martial arts, calligraphy, architecture, religion, feng shui, divination, etc. The yin-yang theory also applies to spirit possession. In general, one is considered to be "weak", when the yin and yang in the body are imbalanced, especially when the yin is on the dominant side. The spirits, which are categorized as the yin side, will then take control of these individuals with the imbalanced and yin-dominant situation more easily.
* [[Shi (personator)|Shi]] ([[Chinese ancestor veneration]])
* [[Solon people#Shamanism|Shamanism of the Solon People]] ([[Inner Mongolia]])
* [[Tangki]]

{{anchor|Japan}}

====Japan====
* [[Misaki#Spirit possession|Misaki]]

===India===
{{anchor|Ayurveda}}

====Ayurveda====
''Bhūtavidyā'', the exorcism of possessing spirits, is traditionally one of the [[Ayurveda#Eight components|eight limbs of Ayurveda]].

{{anchor|Rajasthan}}

====Rajasthan====
The concept of spirit possession exists in the culture of modern [[Rajasthan]]. Some of the spirits allegedly possessing Rajasthanis are seen as good and beneficial, while others are seen as malevolent. The good spirits are said to include murdered royalty, the underworld god [[Bhaironji]], and [[Muslim]] saints and fakirs. Bad spirits are believed to include perpetual debtors who die in debt, stillborn infants, deceased widows, and foreign tourists. The supposedly possessed individual is referred to as a ''ghorala'', or "mount". Possession, even if by a benign spirit, is regarded as undesirable, as it is seen to entail loss of self-control, and violent emotional outbursts.{{sfnp|Snodgrass|2002|pp=32–64}}

{{anchor|Tamik Nadu}}

====Tamil Nadu====
{{see also|Buta Kola}}
[[Tamil people|Tamil]] women in India are said to experience possession by ''peye'' spirits. According to tradition, these spirits overwhelmingly possess new brides, are usually identified as the ghosts of young men who died while romantically or sexually frustrated, and are ritually    exorcised. 
{{sfnp|Nabokov|1997|pp=297–316}}

{{anchor|Sri Lanka}}

====Sri Lanka====
The [[Coast Veddas]], a social group within the minority group of [[Sri Lankan Tamil people]] in [[Eastern Province, Sri Lanka]], enter trances during religious festivals in which they are regarded as being possessed by a spirit. Although they speak a dialect of [[Sri Lankan Tamil dialect|Tamil]], during trances they will sometimes use a mixed language that contains words from the [[Vedda language]].{{sfnp|Dart|1990|p=83}}


===Southeast Asia===

{{anchor|Indonesia}}

====Indonesia====
In Bali, the animist traditions of the island include a practice called ''[[sanghyang]]'', induction of voluntary possession trance states for specific purposes. Roughly similar to voluntary possession in [[Vaudon]] (Voodoo), ''sanghyang'' is considered a sacred state in which [[hyang]]s (deities) or helpful spirits temporarily inhabit the bodies of participants. The purpose of sanghyang is believed to be to cleanse people and places of evil influences and restore spiritual balance. Thus, it is often referred to as an exorcism ceremony.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}} In Sulawesi, the women of the [[Bonerate people]] of [[Sulawesi]] practice a possession-trance ritual in which they smother glowing embers with their bare feet at the climax. The fact that they are not burned in the process is considered proof of the authenticity of the possession.{{sfnp|Broch|1985|pp=262–282}}

Influenced by the religion of Islam, among the several spirits in Indonesian belief are demons (''[[Shaitan|setan]]''), composed of fire, prone to anger and passion. They envy humans for their physical body, and try to gain control of it. When they assault a human, they would intrude their mind, trying to displace the human spirit. The human's mind would adapt to the passions of anger, violence, irrationality and greed, the intruding demon is composed of. The demon is believed to alter the person, giving him supernatural attributes, like strength of many men, ability to appear in more than one place, or assume the form of an animal, such as a tiger or a pig, or to kill without touching. Others become lunatics, resembling epilepsy. In extreme cases, the presence of the demon may alter the condition of the body, matching its own spiritual qualities, turning into a ''[[raksasha]]''.<ref>Woodward,&nbsp;Mark.&nbsp;Java, Indonesia and Islam.&nbsp;Deutschland,&nbsp;Springer Netherlands,&nbsp;2010. p. 88</ref>

{{anchor|Malaysia}}

====Malaysia====
Female workers in [[Malaysia]]n factories have allegedly become possessed by spirits, and factory owners generally regard it as [[mass hysteria]] and an intrusion of irrational and archaic beliefs into a modern setting.{{sfnp|Ong|1988|pp=28–42}}
Anthropologist [[Aihwa Ong]] noted that spirit possession beliefs in Malaysia were typically held by older, married women, whereas the female factory workers are typically young and unmarried. She connects this to the rapid industrialization and modernization of Malaysia. Ong argued that spirit possession is a traditional way of rebelling against authority without punishment, and suggests that it is a means of protesting the untenable working conditions and sexual harassment that the women were compelled to endure.{{sfnp|Ong|1988|pp=28–42}}

====Thailand====
The roles and cultures of each region have different reputations, for example the northern region is called fon phi (ฟ้อนผี) or the southern region is divided into two groups are thai folk religion and chinese folk religion. <ref>https://arit.kpru.ac.th/ap2/local/?nu=pages&page_id=2251&code_db=610004&code_type=01</ref><ref>https://www.sac.or.th/portal/th/article/detail/316</ref><ref>https://so06.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/Vanam_434/article/view/247662</ref>

====Myanmanr====
See more : [[Burmese folk religion|Nat-kadaw and nat-pwe]]

==The Americas and Caribbean==

===Indo-Caribbean Shaktism===
In [[Caribbean Shaktism|Indo-Caribbean Madrasi Religion]], a state of trance-possession known as "Sami Aduthal" in Tamil and as a "manifestation" in English occurs whence a devotee enters a trance state after praying. It is an essential part to Indo-Caribbean Shakti ceremonies, being accompanied by Tappu drumming, the singing of devotional songs, and the drumming of [[Udukai]] drums.

Ceremonies called Pujas often include the drumming of three to five [[Parai|tappu]] to invoke the deity to the space.<ref name=":3">{{cite journal |url=https://journals.openedition.org/civilisations/4822?lang=en |title=Invoking the supernatural and the supranational: Tappu, trance and Tamil recordings in Indo-Guyanese 'Madras Religion' and the politics of sonic presence|journal=Civilisations. Revue Internationale d'Anthropologie et de Sciences Humaines |date=12 August 2018 |issue=67 |pages=41–56 |doi=10.4000/civilisations.4822 |last1=George |first1=Stephanie Lou }}</ref> Then, the head pujari receives the God or Goddess into their body, acting as a medium. A mixture of water, [[turmeric]] powder, and [[Azadirachta indica|neem]] leaves are poured onto the medium, as it is believed that the God's energy heats up the body while the water and turmeric with the neem leaves cools it down again.<ref>{{cite web |title=Un Karagam Perantha Amma | date=28 August 2021 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqZEecfr6bE&t |publisher=Shri Maha Kali Ammaa Mandir}}</ref> Puja services are often held once a week.

==Oceanic traditions==

===Melanesia===
The [[Urapmin people]] of the [[New Guinea Highlands]] practice a form of group possession known as the "spirit disco" ({{langx|tpi|spirit disko}}).{{sfnp|Robbins|1998|pp=299–316}} Men and women gather in church buildings, dancing in circles and jumping up and down while women sing Christian songs; this is called "pulling the [Holy] spirit" ({{langx|tpi|pulim spirit|links=no}}, [[Urapmin language|Urap]]: {{lang|urm|Sinik dagamin}}).{{sfnp|Robbins|1998|pp=299–316}}{{sfnp|Robbins|2004b|p=284}} The songs' melodies are borrowed from traditional women's songs sung at drum dances (Urap: {{lang|urm|wat dalamin}}), and the lyrics are typically in Telefol or other [[Mountain Ok languages]].{{sfnp|Robbins|2004b|p=284}} If successful, some dancers will "get the spirit" ({{langx|tpi|kisim spirit|links=no}}), flailing wildly and careening about the dance floor.{{sfnp|Robbins|1998|pp=299–316}} After an hour or more, those possessed will collapse, the singing will end, and the spirit disco will end with a prayer and, if there is time, a Bible reading and sermon.{{sfnp|Robbins|1998|pp=299–316}} The body is believed to normally be "heavy" ({{lang|urm|ilum}}) with sin, and possession is the process of the Holy Spirit throwing the sins from one's body, making the person "light" ({{lang|urm|fong}}) again.{{sfnp|Robbins|1998|pp=299–316}} This is a completely new ritual for the Urapmin, who have no indigenous tradition of spirit-possession.{{sfnp|Robbins|1998|pp=299–316}}

===Micronesia===
The concept of spirit possession appears in [[Chuuk State]], one of the four states of [[Federated States of Micronesia]]. Although Chuuk is an overwhelmingly Christian society, traditional beliefs in spirit possession by the dead still exist, usually held by women, and "events" are usually brought on by family conflicts. The supposed spirits, speaking through the women, typically admonish family members to treat each other better.{{sfnp|Hezel|1993}}

== European traditions ==

=== Ancient Greece ===
{{further|Nympholepsy}}

=== Italian folk magic ===
In traditional Italian folk magic spirit possessions are not uncommon. It is known in this culture that a person may be possessed by multiple entities at once. The way to be rid of the spirit(s) would be to call for a ''curatore, guaritore'' or ''pratico'' which all translate to healer or knowledgeable one from Italian. These healers would perform sacred rituals to be rid of the spirits; the rituals are passed down through generations and vary based on the region in Italy. It is said that for many Italian rituals specifically those to be rid of negative spirits, that the information may only be shared on Christmas Eve (specifically for ''il malocchio''). If the family is religious they may even call in a priest to perform a traditional catholic exorcism on the spirit(s).<ref>{{cite book | url=https://www.manchesteropenhive.com/view/9781526137975/9781526137975.00012.xml | isbn=978-1-5261-3797-5 | title=Witchcraft, healing and vernacular magic in Italy | date=January 2020 | pages=151–173 | publisher=Manchester University Press }}</ref>

==Shamanic traditions==
{{further|Shamanism#Beliefs}}
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner who is believed to interact with a spirit world through [[Altered state of consciousness|altered states of consciousness]], such as [[trance]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.britannica.com/topic/shamanism|title= Shamanism|last1= Mircea Eliade|last2= Vilmos Diószegi|date= May 12, 2020|website= Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date= May 20, 2020|quote= Shamanism, religious phenomenon centred on the shaman, a person believed to achieve various powers through trance or ecstatic religious experience. Although shamans' repertoires vary from one culture to the next, they are typically thought to have the ability to heal the sick, to communicate with the otherworld, and often to escort the souls of the dead to that otherworld.}}</ref> The goal of this is usually to direct these spirits or spiritual energies into the physical world, for healing or another purpose.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Singh|first=Manvir|title=The cultural evolution of shamanism|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318255042|journal=Behavioral and Brain Sciences|volume=41|pages=e66: 1–61|doi=10.1017/S0140525X17001893|pmid=28679454|year=2018|s2cid=206264885}}</ref>

==New religious movements==

===Wicca===
[[Wicca]]ns believe in voluntary possession by the [[Goddess]], connected with the sacred ceremony of [[Drawing Down the Moon (ritual)|Drawing Down the Moon]]. The high priestess solicits the Goddess to possess her and speak through her.{{sfnp|Adler|1997|p={{page needed|date=November 2020}}}}

==Scientific views==

===Cultural anthropology===
The works of [[Jean Rouch]], [[Germaine Dieterlen]], and [[Marcel Griaule]] have been extensively cited in research studies on possession in [[Western Africa]] that extended to [[Brazil]] and North America due to the [[History of slavery|slave trade]].{{sfnp|Queiroz|2012|pp=184–211}}{{sfnp|De Heusch|2007|pp=365–386}}

The anthropologist I.M. Lewis noted that women are more likely to be involved in spirit possession cults than men are, and postulated that such cults act as a means of compensation for their exclusion from other spheres within their respective cultures.{{sfnp|Lewis|1966|pp=307–329}}

===Physical anthropology===
Anthropologists [[Alice Beck Kehoe|Alice B. Kehoe]] and Dody H. Giletti argued that women are more commonly seen in [[Afro-Eurasia]]n spirit possession cults because of deficiencies in [[thiamine]], [[tryptophan]]-[[Niacin (substance)|niacin]], [[calcium]], and [[vitamin D]]. They argued that a combination of poverty and diet causes this problem, and that it is exacerbated by the strains of pregnancy and lactation. They postulated that the involuntary symptoms of these deficiencies affecting their nervous systems have been institutionalized as spirit possession.{{sfnp|Kehoe|Giletti|1981|pp=549–561}}

===Medicine and psychology===
{{see also|Culture-bound syndrome|Bicameral mentality}}
Spirit possession of any kind, including demonic, is just one [[psychiatry|psychiatric]] or medical diagnosis recognized by the [[DSM-5]] or the [[ICD-10]]: "F44.3 Trance and possession disorders".{{sfnp|Henderson|1981|pp=129–134}} In clinical psychiatry, trance and possession disorders are defined as "states involving a temporary loss of the sense of personal identity and full awareness of the surroundings" and generally classed as a type of dissociative disorder.{{sfnp|Bhavsar|Ventriglio|Dinesh|2016|pp=551–559}}

People alleged to be possessed by spirits sometimes exhibit symptoms similar to those associated with [[mental illness]]es such as [[derealization]], [[hallucinogen]] abuse, [[psychosis]], [[catatonia]], [[mania]], [[Tourette's syndrome]], [[epilepsy]], [[schizophrenia]], or [[dissociative identity disorder]],<ref name="How Exorcism Works">{{cite web|url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/exorcism5.htm|title=How Exorcism Works|date=8 September 2005}}</ref>{{sfnp|Goodwin|Hill|Attias|1990|pp=94–101}}{{sfnp|Ferracuti|Sacco|Lazzari|1996|pp=525–539}} including involuntary, uncensored behavior, and an extra-human, extra-social aspect to the individual's actions.{{sfnp|Strickmann|2002|p=65}} It is not uncommon to ascribe the experience of [[sleep paralysis]] to demonic possession, although it's not a physical or mental illness.{{sfnp|Beyerstein|1995|pp=544–552}} Studies have found that alleged demonic possessions can be related to trauma.{{sfnp|Braitmayer|Hecker|Van Duijl|2015}}

In entry article on [[dissociative identity disorder]], the [[DSM-5]] states, "possession-form identities in dissociative identity disorder typically manifest as behaviors that appear as if a 'spirit,' supernatural being, or outside person has taken control such that the individual begins speaking or acting in a distinctly different manner".<ref>{{Cite book|title=Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders|publisher=American Psychiatric Publishing|year=2013|isbn=978-0-89042-554-1|location=Washington, DC|url=https://archive.org/details/diagnosticstatis0005unse/page/293|pages=[https://archive.org/details/diagnosticstatis0005unse/page/293 293]}}</ref> The symptoms vary across cultures.{{sfnp|Bhavsar|Ventriglio|Dinesh|2016|pp=551–559}} The DSM-5 indicates that personality states of dissociative identity disorder may be interpreted as possession in some cultures, and instances of spirit possession are often related to traumatic experiences—suggesting that possession experiences may be caused by mental distress.{{sfnp|Braitmayer|Hecker|Van Duijl|2015}} In cases of dissociative identity disorder in which the [[Alter ego|alter]] personality is questioned as to its identity, 29 percent are reported to identify themselves as demons.{{sfnp|Erlendsson|2003}} A 19th century term for a mental disorder in which the patient believes that they are possessed by demons or evil spirits is demonomania or cacodemonomanis.{{sfnp|Noll|2009}}

Some have expressed concern that belief in demonic possession can limit access to health care for the mentally ill.{{sfnp|Karanci|2014}}

==Notable examples==

===Purported demonic possessions===
In chronological order:
{{div col|content=
* [[Exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac|Legion]] ([[1st century]])
* [[Martha Brossier]] (1578)
* [[Aix-en-Provence possessions]] (1611)
* [[Traité sur les apparitions des esprits et sur les vampires ou les revenans de Hongrie, de Moravie, &c.#Demonic possession|Mademoiselle Elizabeth de Ranfaing]] (1621)
* [[Loudun possessions]] (1634)
* [[Dorothy Talbye trial]] (1639)
* [[Louviers possessions]] (1647)
* [[The Possession of Elizabeth Knapp]] (1671)
* [[George Lukins]] (1788)
* [[Johann Blumhardt|Gottliebin Dittus]] (1842)
* [[Antoine Gay]] (1871)
* [[Clara Germana Cele]] (1906)
* [[Exorcism of Roland Doe]] (1940)
* [[Anneliese Michel]] (1968)
* [[Michael Taylor (demoniac)|Michael Taylor]] (1974)
*[[Arne Cheyenne Johnson]] (1981)
*[[Tanacu exorcism]] (2005)
}}

==See also==
{{portal|Religion}}
{{columns-list|colwidth=15em|
* [[Adorcism]]
* [[Automatic writing]]
* [[Body hopping]]
* ''[[Chinkon kishin]]''
* [[Demonology]]
* [[Dissociative Identity Disorder]]
* [[Divine madness]]
* [[Enthusiasm]]
* [[Epiphany (feeling)]]
* [[Jamaican Maroon spirit-possession language]]
* [[List of exorcists]]
* [[Necromancy]]
* [[Sexuality in Christian demonology]]
* [[Spirit spouse]]
* [[Spiritualist Church]]
* ''[[The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner]]''
* [[Unclean spirit]]
* [[Walk-in (concept)|Walk-in]]
}}

==References==
{{reflist|20em}}

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* {{Cite book|last1=Griffel|first1=Frank|title=Islam and rationality : the impact of al-Ghazālī: papers collected on his 900th anniversary|publisher=Brill|year=2005|isbn=978-9-004-29095-2|location=Leiden, Netherlands|page=103}}
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* {{cite journal |last1=Hamer |first1=John |last2=Hamer |first2=Irene |title=Spirit Possession and Its Socio-Psychological Implications among the Sidamo of Southwest Ethiopia |journal=Ethnology |year=1966 |volume=5 |issue=4 |pages=392–408 |doi=10.2307/3772719 |jstor=3772719|doi-access=free }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Hayes |first1=Kelly E. |title=Wicked Women and Femmes Fatales: Gender, Power, and Pomba Gira in Brazil |journal=History of Religions |year=2008 |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=1–21 |doi=10.1086/592152 |s2cid=162196759}}
* {{cite book |last1=Henderson |first1=J. |year=1981 |title=Exorcism and Possession in Psychotherapy Practice |publisher=[[The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry]] |volume=2 |pages=129–134}}
* {{cite book |last1=Hezel |first1= Francis X. |year=1993 |title=Spirit Possession in Chuuk: Socio-Cultural Interpretation |publisher=Micronesian Counselor |volume=11}}
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* {{cite journal |last1=Igreja |first1=Victor |last2=Dias-Lambranca |first2=Béatrice |last3=Richters |first3=Annemiek |title=Gamba spirits, gender relations, and healing in post-civil war Gorongosa, Mozambique |journal=Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute |year=2008 |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=353–371 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-9655.2008.00506.x|doi-access=free }}
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* {{Cite book|last= Jones|first= Lindsay|title= Encyclopedia of Religion|volume=13|edition=2|publisher=Macmillan Reference USA|year= 2005|isbn= 0-02-865733-0|location= Detroit, MI|page=8687|url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3424502953/GVRL?u=epfl&sid=GVRL}}
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* {{cite journal|last1=Karanci|first1=A. Nuray|title=Concerns About Schizophrenia or Possession?|journal=Journal of Religion and Health|volume=53|issue=6|pages=1691–1692|year=2014|doi=10.1007/s10943-014-9910-7|pmid=25056667|s2cid=34949947}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Kehoe |first1=Alice B. |last2=Giletti |first2=Dody H. |title=Women's Preponderance in Possession Cults: The Calcium-Deficiency Hypothesis Extended |journal=American Anthropologist |date=September 1981 |volume=83 |issue=3 |pages=549–561 |doi=10.1525/aa.1981.83.3.02a00030 |doi-access=free}}
* {{Cite book|last1=Kinnard|first1=Jacob|title=Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practice|url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3437900018/GVRL?u=epfl&sid=GVRL|publisher=Gale|year=2006|location=Gale Virtual Reference Library}}
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* {{cite journal |last1=Lambek |first1=Michael |title=spirit possession/spirit succession: aspects of social continuity among Malagasy speakers in Mayotte |journal=American Ethnologist |date=November 1988 |volume=15 |issue=4 |pages=710–731 |doi=10.1525/ae.1988.15.4.02a00070}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Lewis |first1=I. M. |title=Spirit Possession and Deprivation Cults |journal=Man |date=1966 |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=307–329 |doi=10.2307/2796794 |jstor=2796794}}
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* {{cite book |last1=Maʻrūf |first1=Muḥammad |title=Jinn Eviction as a Discourse of Power: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Modern Moroccan Magical Beliefs and Practices |publisher=Brill |year=2007 |isbn=978-90-04-16099-6 |page=2}}
* {{cite book |last1=Malachi |first1=M. |year=1976 |title=Hostage to the Devil: the possession and exorcism of five living Americans |location=San Francisco |publisher=Harpercollins |page=462 |isbn=0-06-065337-X}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Meldon|first=J.A.|year=1908|title=Notes on the Sudanese in Uganda|journal=Journal of the Royal African Society|volume=7|issue=26|pages=123–146|jstor=715079}}
* {{cite journal |last1=McIntosh |first1=Janet |title=Reluctant Muslims: embodied hegemony and moral resistance in a Giriama spirit possession complex |journal=Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute |date=March 2004 |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=91–112 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-9655.2004.00181.x}}
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* {{cite journal |last1=Nabokov |first1=Isabelle |title=Expel the Lover, Recover the Wife: Symbolic Analysis of a South Indian Exorcism |journal=The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute |date=1997 |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=297–316 |doi=10.2307/3035021 |jstor=3035021}}
* {{Cite book|last1=Netzley|first1=Patricia D.|title=The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Witchcraft|publisher=Greenhaven Press|year=2002|isbn=978-0-7377-4638-9|location=San Diego, CA|url=https://archive.org/details/greenhavenencycl00patr/page/206|page=206}}
* {{cite book|last1=Noll|first1=Richard|title=The Encyclopedia of Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jzoJxps189IC&pg=PA129|year=2009|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-0-8160-7508-9|pages=129–}}
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* {{cite journal |last1=O'Connell |first1=M. C. |title=Spirit Possession and Role Stress among the Xesibe of Eastern Transkei |journal=Ethnology |date=1982 |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=21–37 |doi=10.2307/3773703 |jstor=3773703|doi-access=free }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Ong |first1=Aihwa |title=the production of possession: spirits and the multinational corporation in Malaysia |journal=American Ethnologist |year=1988 |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=28–42 |doi=10.1525/ae.1988.15.1.02a00030 |s2cid=30121345|url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1gg97481 }}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Oxtoby |editor2-last=Amore |title=World Religions: Eastern Traditions |edition=3 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2010 |pages=9, 256–319}}
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* {{cite journal |last1=Queiroz |first1=Ruben Caixeta de |title=Between the sensible and the intelligible: Anthropology and the cinema of Marcel Mauss and Jean Rouch |journal=Vibrant: Virtual Brazilian Anthropology |year=2012 |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=184–211 |doi=10.1590/S1809-43412012000200007 |doi-access=free}}
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* {{Cite book|last=Rassool|first=G. Hussein|title=Islamic Counselling: An Introduction to theory and practice|publisher=Routledge|year=2015|isbn=978-1-317-44124-3|location=New York}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Robbins |first1=Joel |author-link=Joel Robbins|title=Becoming Sinners: Christianity and Desire among the Urapmin of Papua New Guinea |journal=Ethnology |date=1998 |volume=37 |issue=4 |pages=299–316 |doi=10.2307/3773784 |jstor=3773784|doi-access=free }}
* {{Cite journal|last=Robbins|first=Joel|author-link=Joel Robbins|date=2004a|title=The globalization of pentecostal and charismatic Christianity|journal=Annual Review of Anthropology|volume=33|pages=117–143|doi=10.1146/annurev.anthro.32.061002.093421|id={{ProQuest|199862299}}}}
* {{cite book | last = Robbins | first = Joel |author-link=Joel Robbins| title = Becoming Sinners: Christianity and Moral Torment in a Papua New Guinea Society | publisher = University of California Press | year = 2004b | isbn = 0-520-23800-1 |page=284}}
* {{cite journal|first=Ángel Manuel|last=Rodríguez|title=Old Testament demonology|url=https://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/1998/06/old-testament-demonology|journal=Ministry: International Journal for Pastors|year=1998 |volume=7 |issue=6 |pages=5–7|access-date=October 29, 2017}}
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* {{cite book |last1=Sells |first1=Michael Anthony |title=Early Islamic Mysticism: Sufi, Qurʼan, Miraj, Poetic and Theological Writings |publisher=Paulist Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-809-13619-3 |page=143}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Shack |first1=William A. |title=Hunger, Anxiety, and Ritual: Deprivation and Spirit Possession Among the Gurage of Ethiopia |journal=Man |year=1971 |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=30–43 |doi=10.2307/2798425 |jstor=2798425}}
* {{cite web |last1=Showalter |first1=Brandon |title=UK Baptist group warns against occultism amid rise in grief-stricken seeking to contact the dead |url=https://www.christianpost.com/news/baptist-group-warns-against-seeking-occult-to-speak-to-the-dead.html |publisher=[[The Christian Post]] |access-date=27 May 2021 |language=English |date=26 May 2021 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Snodgrass |first1=Jeffrey G. |title=Imitation Is Far More than the Sincerest of Flattery: The Mimetic Power of Spirit Possession in Rajasthan, India |journal=Cultural Anthropology |year=2002 |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=32–64 |doi=10.1525/can.2002.17.1.32 |jstor=656672|doi-access=free }}
* {{cite book |last1=Strickmann |first1=Michel |year=2002 |title=Chinese Magical Medicine |editor1-last=Faure |editor1-first=Bernard |publisher=Stanford University Press |pages=65, 251}}
* {{cite web|last1=Sutherland|first1=Gail Hinich|title=Demons and the Demonic in Buddhism|website=Oxford Bibliographies|url=http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195393521/obo-9780195393521-0171.xml|doi=10.1093/OBO/9780195393521-0171|access-date=December 12, 2019|year=2013}}
* {{cite book |last1=Szombathy |first1=Zoltan |contribution=Exorcism |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam |volume=3 |editor1-last=Fleet |editor1-first=Kate |editor2-last=Krämer |editor2-first=Gudrun |editor3-last=Matringe |editor3-first=Denis |editor4-last=Nawas |editor4-first=John |editor5-last=Rowson |editor5-first=Everett |doi=10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_26268 |year=2014 |isbn=978-90-04-26963-7}}
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* {{cite journal |last1=Tanner |first1=R.E.S. |title=Hysteria in Sukuma Medical Practice |journal=Africa: Journal of the International African Institute |year=1955 |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=274–279 |doi=10.2307/1157107 |jstor=1157107|s2cid=145594255 }}
* {{Cite journal|last=Tennant|first=Agnieszka|date=September 3, 2001|title=In need of deliverance|journal=Christianity Today|volume=45|pages=46–48+|id={{ProQuest|211985417}}}}
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* {{Cite book|last=Verter|first=Bradford|title=Contemporary American Religions|publisher=Macmillan Reference USA|year=1999|location=Gale eBooks|page=187}}
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* {{cite book |last1=Wahlen |first1=Clinton |title=Jesus and the impurity of spirits in the Synoptic Gospels |year=2004 |page=19 |quote=The Jewish magical papyri and incantation bowls may also shed light on our investigation. However, the fact that all of these sources are generally dated from the third to fifth centuries and beyond requires us to exercise particular ...}}
* {{cite book |last1=Warren |first1=Brett |title=The Annotated Daemonologie: A Critical Edition |year=2019 |publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform |isbn=978-1-5329-6891-4}}
* {{cite book |last1= Westermarck |first1=Edward |title=Ritual and Belief in Morocco |volume=1 |series=Routledge Revivals |publisher=Routledge |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-317-91268-2 |pages=263–264}}
* {{cite book |last1=Wilkinson |first1= Tracy |title=The Vatican's Exorcists |publisher=[[Hachette Book Group#Current imprints|Warner Books]] |location=New York |year=2007 |page=25}}
{{refend}}

{{Spiritualism and spiritism}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spirit possession}}
[[Category:Spirit possession| ]]
[[Category:Anthropology of religion]]
[[Category:Demonic possession| ]]
[[Category:Exorcism]]
[[Category:Neurotheology]]
[[Category:Paranormal terminology]]