Exorcizing the Spirit of Protestantism: Ambiguity and Spirit Possession in an Ethiopian Orthodox Ritual
Ethnos December 9, 2019 D. Malara 21 citations
In Addis Ababa, a controversial ritual exorcises Protestant spirits from Ethiopian Orthodox hosts, aiming to draw sharp boundaries between Protestantism and Orthodoxy during a period of religious liberalization. The expulsion reaffirms local Orthodoxy as central to Ethiopian identity, portraying Protestantism as a foreign religion conflicting with the country's ancient Orthodox history. Yet the ritual is marked by profound ambiguities: its means, aesthetics, and themes suspiciously resemble those of Protestantism. Rather than ordering clear distinctions, the exorcism publicly exposes and magnifies the irreparable permeability of the inter-religious boundaries it seeks to demarcate, becoming a hazardous event that balances on the edge of becoming the other.