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 K Safa 13 citations
On the southern coasts of Iran, people who experience spirit possession distinguish their possessing spirits, called 'Winds,' using culturally and psychologically meaningful categories. These categories shape relationships among the spirits, the possessed, ritual specialists, possession symptoms, and negotiations during exorcism rituals. The paper analyzes from a semiotic perspective how both the spirit and the host are transformed in what the People of the Air consider therapy. It identifies areas needing further research.