Spiritual possession

Spirit Possession is an altered state of consciousness and associated behaviors which are purportedly caused by the control of a human body and its functions by spirits, ghosts, demons, angels, or gods. The concept of spirit possession exists in many cultures and religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity,Mark 5:9, Luke 8:30 Judaism, Wicca, Haitian Vodou, Dominican Vudú, and Southeast Asian, African, and 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. The experience of spirit possession sometimes serves as evidence in support of belief in the existence of spirits, deities or demons. 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 Native Americans of both North and South America. As Pentecostal and Charismatic 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 exorcise.

Organized religions

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. Prayer for deliverance, blessings upon the man or woman's house or body, sacraments, and exorcisms are generally used to drive the demon out.

Some theologians, such as Ángel Manuel Rodríguez, say that 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 prophets that King Ahab relied upon before re-capturing Ramoth-Gilead in 1 Kings 22. They were described as being empowered by a deceiving spirit.

The New Testament mentions several episodes in which Jesus drove out demons from persons. Whilst most Christians believe that demonic possession is an involuntary affliction, 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.

The New Testament indicates that people can be possessed by demons, but that the demons respond and submit to Jesus Christ's authority:
and

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.

Catholicism

Roman Catholic doctrine states that angels are non-corporeal, spiritual beings with intelligence and will. Fallen angels, or demons, are able to "demonically possess" individuals without the victim's knowledge or consent, leaving them morally blameless.

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" (1 Samuel 16:14), but this depends on interpreting the 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 lyre to him.

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:
# 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 thoughts, 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 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:
# 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.
# Blasphemous rage, obscene hand gestures, using profanity and an aversion to holy symbols, names, relics or places.

The ''New Catholic Encyclopedia'' states, " 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".

Official Catholic doctrine affirms that demonic possession can occur as distinguished from mental illness, 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 and in accordance with strict rules; a simple exorcism also occurs during baptism.

Anglican

The infliction of demonic torment upon an individual has been chronicled in premodern Protestant literature. In 1597, King James discussed four methods of daemonic influence upon an individual in his book Daemonologie:
# 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 Cross, etc.) and found the exorcism rites to be troublesome and ineffective to recite. The 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 Prophets all have cast out devils".

In 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 witches occult", and avoiding certain areas of townships known to be frequented by witches and Devil worshippers after dark. Afflicted persons were restricted from entering the church, but might share the shelter of the porch with 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. In 1603, the Church of England forbade its clergy from performing exorcisms because of numerous fraudulent cases of demonic possession.

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".

In September 2023, Pastor Rick Morrow of Beulah Church in Richland, Missouri gave a sermon in which he presented the cause of autism as, "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."
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 school board on which he was a member.

Evangelical

In both charismatic and evangelical Christianity, exorcisms of demons are often carried out by individuals or groups belong to the deliverance ministries movement. According to these groups, symptoms of such possessions can include chronic fatigue syndrome, homosexuality, addiction to pornography, and alcoholism. 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), among others, and shows that those with evil spirits can speak of Christ (Mark 3:7–11). Some Evangelical denominations believe that demonic possession is not possible if one has already professed their faith in Christ, because the Holy Spirit already occupies the body and a demon cannot enter.

Islam

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

Although opposed by some Muslim scholars, sleeping near a graveyard or a tomb is believed to enable contact with the ghosts of the dead, who visit the sleeper in dreams and provide hidden knowledge. Possession by ''ʻafarit'' (a vengeful ghost) are said to grant the possessed some supernatural powers, but it drives them insane as well.

''Jinn'' (singular ''jinni'') are much more physical than spirits. Due to their 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. Since ''jinn'' are not necessarily evil, they are distinguished from cultural concepts of possession by devils/demons.

Since such ''jinn'' are said to have 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. At an intended possession, the covenant with the ''jinni'' must be renewed. 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.

The concept of jinn-possession is alien to the Quran and derives from pagan notions. It is widespread among Muslims and also accepted by most Islamic scholars. It is part of the '' aqida'' (theological doctrines) in the tradition of Ashari, and the Atharis, such as ibn Taimiyya and ibn Qayyim. 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. The Mu'tazila are associated with substituting jinn-possession by devilish-whisperings, denying bodily possession altogether.

In contrast to ''jinn'', the devils (''shayatin'') are inherently evil. 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. Devils don't physically possess people, they only tempt humans into sin by following their lower '' nafs''. Hadiths suggest that the devils whisper from within the human body, within or next to the heart, and so "devilish whisperings" ( وَسْوَاس) are sometimes thought of as a kind of possession. Unlike possession by ''jinn'', the whispering of devils affects the soul instead of the body. Inspiration by angels, on the other hand, is called .

Demons (also known as '' div''), though part of the human conception, get stronger through acts of sin. 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). 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 ody and mind for in your case the ''div'' is in the place of Solomon". 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.

Judaism

Although forbidden in the Hebrew Bible and well documented in the period following the destruction of the Temple into the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries C.E. Jewish magical papyri were inscriptions on amulets, ostraca and incantation bowls used in Jewish magical practices against ''shedim'' and other unclean spirits. According to the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'', Jewish methods of exorcism were described in the Book of Tobias.

In the 16th century, Isaac Luria, a Jewish mystic, wrote about the 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. The ''dybbuk'' appears in Jewish folklore and literature, as well as in chronicles of Jewish life. 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.

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.

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.

African traditions

Central Africa

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Zebola 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.

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.

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.

The belief in spirit possession is part of the native culture of the Sidama people of southwest Ethiopia. Anthropologists 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.

East Africa

Kenya

* 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.
* The Giriama people of coastal Kenya believe in spirit possession.

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.

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.

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.

Tanzania
* The Sukuma people of Tanzania believe in spirit possession.
* 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.

Southern Africa

* A belief in spirit possession appears among the Xesibe, a 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.

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. 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. 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.

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.

Umbanda

The concept of spirit possession is also found in Umbanda, an 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 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.

Hoodoo

The culture of 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 reverence to ancestral spirits, African-American quilt making, herbal healing, Bakongo and Igbo burial practices, Holy Ghost shouting, praise houses, snake reverence, African-American churches, spirit possession, some Nkisi practices, Black Spiritual churches, Black theology, the ring shout, the Kongo cosmogram, Simbi water spirits, graveyard conjuring, the crossroads spirit, making conjure canes, incorporating animal parts, pouring of libations, 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. "Spirit possession was reinterpreted in Christian terms." In African-American churches this is called being filled with the 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." Church members in Black Spiritual churches become possessed by spirits of deceased family members, the Holy Spirit, Christian saints, and other 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. 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.

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. 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. The Ring Shout in Hoodoo was influenced by the Kongo cosmogram a sacred symbol of the 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.

Mardi Gras Indians

In 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, West African masking traditions, and 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. 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."

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 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." 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.

Further according to Nissinen, the Hebrew Bible

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