ABSTRACT
Based on ethnographic research at Pandi Koyil, a temple in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India, this chapter explores practices of spirit possession – a common element of folk religion found throughout South Asia and beyond. Possession by the deity Pandi Muneesvarar as it takes place at Pandi Koyil reveals themes of erotic danger as possession signals a sensual intimacy between deity and devotee that is both revered for its power yet simultaneously feared due to its overbearing nature. This chapter argues for a non-reductive approach to interpreting possession as a relational interaction between gods, the individuals who experience possession, and the communities of people for whom possession is a meaningful mode of religiosity. This chapter posits possession as a type of relationship, an instance of intimacy to the point of overlapping identity, that is ambivalent and difficult to categorize as either benevolent or malignant.
