spirits and selves in Northern Sudan: the cultural therapeutics of possession and trance
American Ethnologist February 1, 1988 Janice Boddy 159 citations
In northern Sudan, spirit possession diagnoses (zar) address a cultural problem in which women's sense of self is heavily shaped by social expectations. Practices such as circumcision and infibulation aim to mold women into a self-image aligned with the cultural ideal of woman as reproducer. When women's experiences and expectations do not align, some become ill and are diagnosed as possessed. By accepting this diagnosis and participating in curing rites that involve trance, patients can expand and regenerate their sense of self and reinterpret their experiences.