Doppia possessione, doppia inversione: breve storia di una coppia in Marocco

Summary

In Meknes, a man possessed by a female spirit and a woman possessed by a male Jewish spirit have built a life and marriage deeply entwined with the invisible world. Their personal dramas unfold through daily life and ritual activities, and their alliance with spirits is presented to the wider possession-cult community as proof of their expertise as rite officiants. The man's possession by a female spirit makes him a specially qualified officiant of female rites, while the woman's possession by a Jewish spirit gives her a double otherness of gender and religious affiliation.

Study at a glance

Abstract

In Meknes over the last decade a couple consisting of a man possessed by a female spirit and a woman possessed by a male spirit has established themselves in the context of spirit possession. The events comprising their individual life stories and marital relationship are extraordinarily closely integrated with their experiences with the world of the invisible. The alliance with the spirits provides a picture of their personal drama, which unfolds around their daily lives and ritual activities, and is also proposed to the wider community of adepts in possession cults as proof of their expertise as rites officiants. Hamid is possessed by a female spirit, Lalla Malika, which makes him a specially qualified officiant of female possession rites. Iman is possessed by David, a Jewish spirit, which gives her a double otherness, of both gender and religious affiliation