Possessing Spirits and Healing Selves: Embodiment and Transformation in an Afro-Brazilian Religion (Culture, Mind, and Society)

Spirit possession involves the displacement of a human's conscious self by a powerful other who temporarily occupies the human's body. Here, Seligman shows that spirit possession represents a site for understanding fundamental aspects of human experience, especially those involved with interactions among meaning, embodiment, and subjectivity. Spirit possession involves the displacement of a human's conscious self by that of a powerful other - a spirit, god, or demon - who temporarily occupies the human's body. To many, spirit possession is quintessentially exotic, a novelty, an example of the ways in which "others" are fundamentally different. In this book, Seligman shows that, far from being exotic and "other," spirit possession mediumship represents a privileged site for understanding a number of fundamental aspects of human experience - especially those involved with interactions among meaning, embodiment, and subjectivity. Using a diverse set of ethnographic, psychological, and biological data gathered during fieldwork among spirit possession mediums of the Candomble religion in Northeastern Brazil, she explores how everyday and religious practices and meanings shape and interact with the bodily experiences and psychophysiological states of Candomble mediums, both before and after their initiations, and how such interactions shape their experiences of selfhood Review: "Spirit possession continues to be a vital aspect of religious experience and healing practices in many traditions. In this compelling ethnographic account of Candomble in Brazil, Rebecca Seligman explores the transformations of subjectivity, self and identity central to becoming a spirit medium. Through the concept of "biolooping", she brings culture and biology into dialogue to show how knowledge, body practices, and cultural scripts work together to create new versions of selfhood and forms of moral life with healing potential. Anyone seeking deeper understanding and an integrative view of the meanings and functions of dissociative experience in religion and healing will find this work richly rewarding." - Laurence J. Kirmayer, James McGill Professor and Director, Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, McGill University, Canada "The question of why spiritual practice is associated with better health is one of the most important puzzles in the study of religion. Possessing Spirits and Healing Selves offers a fascinating solution. Rebecca Seligman demonstrates that religious experts have better cardiac autonomic regulation than non-experts. That association has been observed before, but never explained, and never linked to the patterns of self-transformation she is able to detail. Thus, the book is great for teaching and a research gem." - T. M. Luhrmann, author of When God Talks Back "Spirit possession involves the displacement of a human's conscious self by that of a powerful other -- a spirit, god, or demon -- who temporarily occupies the human's body. To many, spirit possession is quintessentially exotic, a novelty, an example of the ways in which 'others' are fundamentally different. In this book, Seligman shows that, far from being exotic and 'other, ' spirit possession mediumship represents a privileged site for understanding a number of fundamental aspects of human experience -- especially those involved with interactions among meaning, embodiment, and subjectivity. Using a diverse set of ethnographic, psychological, and biological data gathered during fieldwork among spirit possession mediums of the Candomble religion in Northeastern Brazil, she explores how everyday and religious practices and meanings shape and interact with the bodily experiences and psychophysiological states of Candomble mediums, both before and after their initiations, and how such interactions shape their experiences of selfhood"--Provided by publisher Front Matter....Pages i-xiv Introduction: Stepping into the “Supernatural World” of Candomblé....Pages 1-45 Reflections on the Challenges and Rewards of Integrative Research....Pages 47-66 Sometimes Affliction Is the Door: Healing and Transformation in Narratives of Mediumship....Pages 67-109 Looking Inside: Biological Mechanisms and Embodiment in Candomblé Trance and Possession....Pages 111-134 Healing the Embodied Self in Candomblé....Pages 135-157 Conclusion: Stepping Back....Pages 159-165 Back Matter....Pages 167-209