ABSTRACT
Possession by an intrusive spirit is by no means invariably as warmly welcomed as it evidently was in the case of Hélène Smith. The initial experience of possession, particularly, is often a disturbing, even traumatic experience, and not uncommonly a response to personal affliction and adversity. Up to a point, this is even the case in those societies where the position of shaman-priest has become firmly instituted and passes more or less automatically to the appropriate heir by title rather than by personal attainment. In the first place, in such circumstances not every heir is as keen to succeed to his predecessor’s position as the spirits are anxious to effect this transition. Where the successor shows reluctance in assuming his onerous duties, the spirits remind him forcefully of his obligations by badgering him with trials and tribulations until he acknowledges defeat and accepts their insistent prodding. We find examples of this spiritual blackmail in all those societies where, as among the Tungus, the position of shaman is regarded as an inherited office. An instance from the Macha Galla of Ethiopia will serve to illustrate the general situation. The old shaman of one of the Macha clans sent his son to Addis Ababa to be educated. There the Emperor helped him and he acquired a good schooling. While he was still at Addis Ababa under the Emperor’s protection, his father died and he immediately fell ill. He had no strength, and did not want to return to his home there to succeed to his father’s position as clan shaman. After a long period of illness, however, the Emperor advised him: ‘You will not get well here and your education affords you no joy. Return to your father’s land and live as your custom bids you.’ Then the son returned home and became a shaman and soon recovered (Knutsson, 1967, p. 74).
