Reading Saedi's Ahl-e Hava: pattern and significance in spirit possession beliefs on the southern coasts of Iran.
Culture, medicine and psychiatry March 1, 1988 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1007/bf00047040 via PubMed
Summary
The paper explores how individuals in southern Iran understand and differentiate their experiences of spirit possession, referred to as 'Winds.' It highlights the relationships among the possessed, the spirits, ritual specialists, and the symptoms of possession, focusing on the rituals of exorcism. The study uses a semiotic approach to analyze the transformations involved in these beliefs and practices, suggesting areas for future research.
Study at a glance
| Population | individuals experiencing spirit possession in southern Iran |
|---|---|
| Key finding | The culturally and psychologically significant categories through which the possessed define their spirits play a crucial role in the therapeutic rituals associated with possession. |
Abstract
Based on Saedi's description of spirit possession beliefs and practices on the southern coasts of Iran, this paper attempts to isolate the culturally and psychologically significant categories through which the possessed define and differentiate their possessing spirits or "Winds." It examines the play of these categories in the complex of relationships between the possessing spirits, the possessed, ritual specialists, "symptoms" of possession, and their "negotiations" in rituals of possession or exorcism. It examines from a semiotic perspective the double transformations of spirit and host which in the beliefs and practices of the People of the Air constitute "therapy." It points out areas for further research and analysis.