Johanna Wilhelmina Petronella Damman, known under her nickname Jomanda (born May 5, 1948), is a controversial
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
healing medium who refers to herself as the ''Lady of the light.''
Background
Born Johanna Wilhelmina Petronella Damman in
Deventer
Deventer (; Sallands: ) is a city and municipality in the Salland historical region of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands. In 2020, Deventer had a population of 100,913. The city is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, ...
, Jomanda is a Dutch
spiritualist
Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase) ...
who described herself as being "a healing
medium
Medium may refer to:
Science and technology
Aviation
*Medium bomber, a class of war plane
* Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design
Communication
* Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data
* Medium of ...
." She claims to have psychic powers of
clairvoyance
Clairvoyance (; ) is the magical ability to gain information about an object, person, location, or physical event through extrasensory perception. Any person who is claimed to have such ability is said to be a clairvoyant () ("one who sees cl ...
,
empathy
Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference, that is, the capacity to place oneself in another's position. Definitions of empathy encompass a broad range of social, cog ...
and
prescience
Foreknowledge is knowledge regarding future events. It may also refer to:
* Foresight (disambiguation)
* Precognition - prior viewing of some future event
* Knowledge of predestination
* Prediction or forecasting – calculated, informed or unin ...
, aided by her late father and other powers from the "world divine". She is known to be a devoted fan of paranormal author
Jozef Rulof
Josephus Gerhardus Rulof (February 20, 1898 – November 3, 1952) was a Dutch author who was known as a self-proclaimed psychic and trance medium or spirit medium. He wrote about thirty books about life, death, and the hereafter.
Rulof claimed ...
.
Career
In 1991, she gained national fame after making an appearance on a popular
talk show
A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk S ...
. In the next decade, she held public gatherings in
Tiel
Tiel () is a municipality and a town in the middle of the Netherlands. The town is enclosed by the Waal river and the Linge river to the South and the North, and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal to the East. Tiel comprises the population centres Kapel ...
where she announced that she would be performing healings, which drew large groups of people. During these sessions she would 'infuse' bottles of
tap water
Tap water (also known as faucet water, running water, or municipal water) is water supplied through a tap, a water dispenser valve. In many countries, tap water usually has the quality of drinking water. Tap water is commonly used for drinking, ...
, which she claimed would make them gain healing properties. She also appeared on radio shows, where people were asked to put a bottle of water in front of their radio in order to have it remotely 'infused'.
Controversy
In 2001 Jomanda gave medical and spiritual advice to the popular Dutch actress
Sylvia Millecam
Sylvia Maria Millecam (23 February 1956 – 19 August 2001) was a Dutch actress and comedian. She was featured regularly on Dutch television where she hosted several shows. Millecam also appeared in several Dutch movies and released two albums. ...
, who later died of
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...
. In 2004 the Dutch Health Inspectorate filed suit against Jomanda claiming that she and three
alternative therapists misled Millecam by claiming that the actress was merely suffering from an inflammation. In October 2006, the investigation was dropped, but in April 2008 an Amsterdam court ruled that Jomanda and two doctors who practise alternative therapies should be prosecuted for their roles in Millecam's death.
The trial started at 30 October 2008. On 12 May 2009 Ronald ter Heegde, Jomanda's former assistant, admitted on television in the Dutch newsmagazine ''Nova'' that Jomanda had used other persons to gather information about Sylvia Millecam. She then told Millecam she had gathered this information as a medium. On 12 June 2009 the court found Jomanda not guilty as a party to Millecam's death. The court criticised her actions, but stated that she could not be held fully responsible for Millecam's fate.
The Dutch Federation Against Quacks (Nederlandse
Vereniging tegen de Kwakzalverij
The Vereniging tegen de Kwakzalverij or VtdK ( English: ''Association Against Quackery'' or ''Society Against Quackery'') is a Dutch organisation that investigates the claims of alternative medicine and opposes quackery.
Beginnings
The organisa ...
) listed Jomanda as #15 on their top 20 list of
quacks.
Plaats 15: Jomanda
/ref>
In October 2004 Jomanda drew publicity again by stating, in accordance with the ideas of Jozef Rulof, 'Cremation hurts'.
See also
* Arthur Ford
*Char Margolis
Char Margolis is an American author and self-proclaimed psychic medium. Margolis's claims to have paranormal abilities have been criticised by several media outlets which suggest she uses standard cold reading and hot reading tricks to per ...
* Clever Hans
* Cold reading
*Forer effect
The Barnum effect, also called the Forer effect or, less commonly, the Barnum–Forer effect, is a common psychological phenomenon whereby individuals give high accuracy ratings to descriptions of their personality that supposedly are tailored ...
*Hot reading
Hot reading is a technique used when giving a psychic reading in stage magic performances, or in other contexts. In hot reading, the reader uses information about the person receiving the reading (for example, from background research or overhe ...
* James Pike
*John Edward
John Edward McGee Jr. (born October 19, 1969) is an American television personality, author and a self-proclaimed psychic medium.
After writing his first book on the subject in 1998, Edward became a well-known (and controversial) figure in th ...
*Jozef Rulof
Josephus Gerhardus Rulof (February 20, 1898 – November 3, 1952) was a Dutch author who was known as a self-proclaimed psychic and trance medium or spirit medium. He wrote about thirty books about life, death, and the hereafter.
Rulof claimed ...
* Mirin Dajo
*Peter Hurkos
Pieter van der Hurk (21 May 1911 – 1 June 1988) known as Peter Hurkos, was a Dutchman who allegedly manifested extrasensory perception (ESP) after recovering from a head injury and coma caused by a fall from a ladder when aged 30. He came to t ...
*Peter Popoff
Peter George Popoff (born July 2, 1946) is a German-born American televangelist and debunked clairvoyant and faith healer. He was exposed in 1986 for using a concealed earpiece to receive radio messages from his wife, who gave him the names, ad ...
*Uri Geller
Uri Geller ( ; he, אורי גלר; born 20 December 1946) is an Israeli-British illusionist, magician, television personality, and self-proclaimed psychic. He is known for his trademark television performances of spoon bending and other ...
References
External links
*
King Solomon Seals
{{Authority control
1948 births
Living people
Dutch psychics
New Age spiritual leaders
People acquitted of manslaughter
People from Deventer
People from Tiel
Spiritualists
Supernatural healing