ABSTRACT
In South Asia sound is generally believed to invoke or represent symbolically the unseen power of the universe. Ritual music, the encoded, organized sound for religious ceremonies, is thus a widespread means by which South Asians access or initiate deep levels of spiritual communication. From the ancestor invocations of tribal (ādivāsī) elders to the formal liturgy of Vedic priests, from the chanted scriptures of Buddhist monks to the mystical poetry of Sufi singers, from popular Hindu ecstatic group singing to the din of street processions, trance remains an enduring sign of successful connection to a macrocosmic reality. Trance occurs in the form of shamanic journeying, voluntary spirit possession, hyperemotional involuntary possession, or meditative awareness.
