spirits and selves in Northern Sudan: the cultural therapeutics of possession and trance

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.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Examination of cultural and social factors surrounding zar spirit possession diagnoses in Northern Sudan suggests that a major issue addressed by the cult is the cultural overdetermination of women's selfhood. Circumcision and infibulation operate to establish in women a sense of self congruent with the cultural image of woman as reproducer. When experiences and expectations fail to mesh, some women fall ill and are ultimately diagnosed as possessed. Through acceptance of the possession diagnosis and participation in curing rites involving trance, a patient is given scope to expand and regenerate her sense of self and recontextualize her experiences, [ethnomedicine, women, Sudan, spirit possession, the self, gender identity]