Possession

(...) particular kinds of "deprivation" encourage the development of religious movements. (...) deprivation consists of any and all of the ways that an individual or group may feel disadvantaged in comparison either to other individuals or groups or to an internalized set of values. (...) Religions of the revival type appear in times of social stress and as society becomes structures, formal organization takes over. (...) the inspirational type of religion could present a source of instability to a stable society and an organized religion. (...) such inspirational religions may involve the concept of possession trance, or in quite a different way, the inspirational source of the religious message may come in the form of a prophet's vision.

(...) possession-trance cults as they exist in our own society, in the form of neo-Pentecostalism and to some extent spiritualism, are signs of crisis, expressions of needs. They do not appear to be solutions to the problems of society. They are expressions of anxiety, together with many of the other signs that abound. The interesting aspect of all of this is primarily the observation that under certain type of stress many individuals will not only turn to religion for help, but specifically to types of religious forms that appear to provide profound emotional catharsis and the kind of conversion experience and commitment that reach deep into the person's unconscious. The individual abandons his conscious control over his self temporarily in psychologically regressive behaviour to allow what he believes to be a more powerful force to take over his body and his tongue and to act through him.

(...) there is a relationship between the complex of economy, social organization, and child-training practices and the complex of religious beliefs and practices, specifically beliefs concerning possession of human beings by spirits and the ways in which this possession is manifested. These beliefs and behaviours reflect the patterns of social interaction in the society, the values prized and taught to children, and the personalities that individuals develop in the process of growing up in particular kinds of societies. Possession beliefs and rituals then reflect and express both social structures and the personalities of the participants. They are not simply matters of historical inheritance. When such inheritance loses its social significance and profound personal psychological meaning, the beliefs will disappear and possession-trance rituals will become theatrical performances.

The types of societies which exert strong pressure for compliance are also those where we expect to find possession trance. the types of societies which exert strong pressure towards assertion are those for which we expect to find nontrance possession beliefs. the personalities and value systems developed in a society may be expected to be consistent with the conditions of livelihood and social organization which people face. And these in turn are reflected in their ideas concerning spirits and powers which constitute their religious beliefs. In societies in which one succeeds by being obedient, responsible, and nurturant, in short by being compliant, we may expect that such behaviour appropriate towards elders and those in power will also be appropriate toward powerful spirit beings. the individual enhances his power and his status by total abdication and self-effacement before the spirits. Hi abandons his body to them as their mount; his spirit vacates its place before them. he can achieve dominance and assertion only indirectly, through the unconscious pretense of obedience and submission.

On the other hand, the shaman who acquires power, and the witch as well, do not impersonate spirits, do not abdicate their own identity; even the patient who is diminished in some sense by spirit-intrusion illness remains himself. Those who through some form of possession acquire powers for good or for evil have these powers supplement their own; their selves are strengthened rather then displaced. A shaman,s chances for achievement are enhanced by the acquisition of spirit power. His relation with the spirit is not dependent on the group; rather, he has most likely obtained it on his own, in his own dealings with the spirit. Nontrance possession represents an alteration of the individual's capacities, not an alteration of his consciousness. In societies which socialize for assertion, such an alteration of capacities results from the interaction of dependent, self-reliant human beings with spirits or powers of limited capacities.