From Hostage to Host: Confessions of a Spirit Medium in Niger

Title

From Hostage to Host: Confessions of a Spirit Medium in Niger

list of authors

Adeline Masquelier

Abstract

Spirit possession ostensibly solves problems by freeing the object of possession from certain responsibilities, yet it also creates a whole nexus of unavoidable obligations as the human host learns to cope with the social, financial, and moral demands of her powerful alter ego. Rather than simplifying situations, possession complicates them by introducing new relations and enabling new forms of communication. In this article, I explore what bori possession as communication entailed for a young Mawri woman from Dogondoutchi (Niger) when her possessing spirit made dramatic revelations that forced her to make changes in her life. I show that possession opens up a space of self-awareness for mediums as they struggle to gain progressive control over the terms of their relationships with spirits. In this space of reflexivity they help create and in their role as interlocutors, accusers, or diviners, spirits play a crucial role in the refashioning of human histories and identities.

Journal

Ethos

volume

30

issue

1

page start

49

page end

76

Date

2002

Language

Anglais

Type

Article de revue

Subject

spirit

spiritual practice

body hopping

doi

10.1525/ETH.2002.30.1-2.49

Identifier

Q116295213

iwac-reference-0000264

Spatial Coverage

Niger