ABSTRACT
In the Republic of the Sudan particularly, there has been a proliferation of cult groups throughout the country and a dramatic increase in the types of demands made of the cult. This chapter draws on data largely from Sennar, a predominantly Muslim town in Central Sudan and examines some of those demands and the nature of the zar's responses. Zar, in the context of possession cults generally, has also been analyzed from a variety of orientations, namely: cultural and symbolic, social, gender, psychological, medical, and even nutritional. Male and female activities and social roles are highly differentiated and it is not surprising that males are excluded from women organized pursuits, such as zar, just as women are more visibly excluded from men. On certain days, individuals claiming "strong" zar possession but who may not be umiyat or even training to be leaders, hold a small coffee party for a particular Habbashi spirit at which they become possessed by that spirit.
