ABSTRACT
Comparative cross-cultural analyses of spirit possession are always fraught with ambiguities and exceptions because around the globe different societies use different languages to discuss spiritual entities and their interactions with the human world. Moreover, the how, when, why, and where of possession by spirits can vary dramatically both from one culture to another as well as within a given culture, from one historical period to another. This said, whether it is socially sanctioned or proscribed, spirit possession is always to some extent an organised public event during which consensually agreed upon local beliefs about the natural and the supernatural worlds, as well as the nature of the human person are embodied and acted out. It habitually involves some form of public acknowledgment that the normal state of consciousness of a given individual has been fundamentally transformed and that his/her body and mind have been taken over by an autonomous, disembodied, volitional entity, that is to say, a nonphysical being or spirit that is perceived as possessing almost all of the criteria that are used locally to define a human person. These include individuality, a sense of self and identity that persists through time, and an acknowledged capacity for moral action.
