Spirit Possession (Anthropology)

„Affektives Nachleben. Über Geister, Geschichte und Gerechtigkeit“, in: Hilge Landweer (Hg.): Philosophie der Gefühle. Zukunftsperspektiven. Wiesbaden: Springer VS 2025, S. 267-276.

Abstract: Dass die transatlantische Sklaverei als historische Formation der Vergangenheit angehört, bedeutet nicht, dass ihre Geschichte vorbei ist. Ihr Erbe wirkt immer noch fort und hört nicht auf, die Gegenwart zu deformieren. Für eine kritisch-phänomenologisch orientierte Auseinandersetzung mit diesem Teil der kolonialen Gewaltgeschichte geht damit eine methodische Schwierigkeit einher: Wenn es um die Stimmen und Perspektiven derer geht, die jene Gewalt nicht verübt, sondern erlitten haben, stößt man in den Archiven größtenteils auf Abwesenheit und Schweigen. Das verleiht dem Nachleben der transatlantischen Sklaverei selbst etwas Geisterhaftes, Spektrales und schwer Fassbares. Sich ihm zuzuwenden bedeutet, sich der dem Diskurs abgewandten Seite der Realgeschichte zu stellen: den Toten, deren Namen ausgelöscht wurden, den Stimmen, die verdrängt und vergessen sind, den Leerstellen in den Archiven und singulären Geschichten hinter den anonymen Zahlen der Opfer. Anhand einer Lektüre von Toni Morrisons Roman „Beloved“ geht Fabian Bernhardt der Frage nach, wie es um das geisterhafte Nachleben der transatlantischen Sklaverei bestellt ist. Dies wirft zugleich die Frage auf, wie es die Philosophie mit ihren eigenen Geistern hält. Die Zukunft der Philosophie hängt nicht zuletzt davon ab, inwiefern es ihr gelingt, das koloniale Erbe als Teil ihrer eigenen Geschichte anzuerkennen.

Material evolution has instilled in us a great metaphysical hunger, a hunger that can be satisfied only by the Good, the True, and the Beautiful, a hunger that can be satisfied only by God. For those of us overawed by the graciousness of this process, we can only conclude that the universe is an invitation, and the Holy Spirit is our host.

Santificação como Contemplação da Glória e Missão Cristã: uma leitura bíblicoteológica da transfiguração do discípulo Introdução O tema da santificação ocupa lugar central na teologia bíblica e na espiritualidade cristã. Ao longo da história da Igreja, diferentes tradições enfatizaram aspectos distintos desse processo, seja como separação do pecado, como crescimento moral, como participação nos meios de graça ou como fruto da união com Cristo. Contudo, uma dimensão essencial frequentemente negligenciada merece destaque: a santificação como contemplação da glória do Senhor, que produz transformação interior e irradiação exterior para o testemunho e a missão. O presente artigo propõe a tese de que a santificação é fundamentalmente um processo de transfiguração: ao contemplar a glória do Senhor, o discípulo é transformado interiormente pelo Espírito e, como consequência, reflete exteriormente essa glória diante do mundo. Essa dinâmica torna-se não apenas um caminho de crescimento espiritual, mas também condição necessária para a missão cristã: somente uma Igreja santificada pode cumprir seu chamado de ser sal da terra e luz do mundo.

Haunting is a constituent element of modern social life. It is neither premodern superstition nor individual psychosis; it is a generalizable social phenomenon of great import. To study social life one must confront the ghostly aspects of it.

Messe des animaux à Rome, partage de la table du sacrifice avec des ours en Turquie, cérémonies au Japon pour les bactéries martyres de la science…
Au croisement du renouveau du religieux et des sensibilités animales, de nouveaux rituels apparaissent tout autour du monde. Ce numéro réunit des enquêtes consacrées à ces cultes d’un autre genre, où les animaux ne sont plus des intermédiaires avec les dieux, mais bien les acteurs et les destinataires d’une action collective. Si elles apparaissent parfois risibles ou dérangeantes, ces nouvelles pratiques participent d’une archéologie de notre futur et s’imposent comme les témoignages des bouleversements actuels de nos façons de faire société.

Pour Pru Black qui nous a réunis Remerciements Ce projet a été soutenu par l'Australian Research Council (Conseil de Recherche d'Australie) et fait partie d'un projet de recherche plus large sur la culture et le commerce dans l'Océan Indien. Je remercie également le Transforming Cultures Centre (Centre de Cultures en Transformation) à l'Université de Technology, Sydney, Augustine Zafy et tout nos autres amis à Madagascar, Cathy Cole pour ses regards astuces sur le manuscrit, Lex Hall pour la tradiuction et Michelle Royer pour l'avoir contrôlé.

In Ayurveda, the mainstream medical system of pre-modern South Asia, the phenomenon of collective suffering requires a special explanation, since it is not in accordance with the general understanding of disease causation. The basic theory holds that people are prone to specific diseases according to their constitution, diet, physical strength, habituation, character and age. An event with many deaths or illness cases that show similar symptoms despite differing constitutions, diets etc., is hard to comprehend without a theory of contagion. The chapter on epidemics in the Carakasaṃhitā, one of the foundational ayurvedic compilations (put together around 150 CE) attempts to solve this enigma. It initially enumerates and exemplifies certain general factors, natural phenomena that affect all people of a region regardless of their personal constitution. If wind, water, place or time are in disarray, the changes affect everyone who is under the influence of these phenomena. Thus such environmental corruptions can cause epidemics or similar events despite the dissimilarity of people. The chapter is presented as a dialogue between a teacher (Punarvasu Ātreya), who starts the conversation with the prediction of an epidemic, and his curious pupil, who is not fully satisfied with the initial, environmental explanation summarized above. After the enumeration of various possible countermeasures, he therefore inquires about the underlying causes of such environmental changes. In his reply Ātreya, provides an alternative or complementary ethical explanation for the occurrence of widespread suffering and death. Here, collective unrighteousness (adharma) is given as the central cause for epidemics and similar events: Unrighteous leaders, by their evil acts, corrupt their subjects, intensify and spread the unrighteousness and thus drive away the gods. As the presence of these gods, especially Indra, the god of rain, is understood to guarantee an undisturbed and beneficial natural environment, their absence inevitably brings disaster. While the contagiousness of diseases (in a modern sense) is clearly not understood in this period, the concept of collective (a)dharma, being at the heart of this causation theory, contains several elements that are also part of the concept of contagion.
In the proposed paper I will sketch the different explanatory models for the occurrence of widespread suffering as presented in the Carakasaṃhitā and examine if they conflict with or complement each other. It will become clear that this dual – environmental and ethical – approach is paradigmatic for the situation of pre-modern South Asian medicine, which is often torn between socio-religious convictions and scientific ambitions. Contact, rather than contagion plays an important role in both explanatory layers. Thus, the paper will also show how disease was not understood as transmitted from person to person. Instead, its root cause, adharmic behaviour, was seen as potentially contagious and its spread as eventually corrupting the environment. As a result, all those who are in direct contact with this corrupt environment are collectively afflicted by the same disease.

W artykule podejmowany jest rzadko badany temat odnoszenia się psychoterapeutów w procesie psychoterapii i superwizji do własnych doświadczeń związanych z płcią biologiczną i kulturową. Okazuje się, że znaczenie dla prowadzenia superwizji czy psychoterapii ma nie tylko własna płeć, ale także płeć i atrakcyjność pacjenta/klienta, a także faza życia terapeuty. Badanie jakkolwiek ma charakter eksploracyjny, jest przeprowadzone na znaczącej próbie polskich psychoterapeutów i może inspirować do weryfikacji nie stawianych dotąd hipotez.Objectives: Gender is the fundamental dimension of identity and therefore defining femininity/ masculinity and the related roles by psychotherapists seem to be especially important in psychotherapy practice. The presented research is one of the first of this kind in Poland and therefore is rather exploratory and descriptive in nature. The purpose of the study was to find the answer to the question whether Polish psychotherapists, in the understanding their ...

Horror elements or supernatural factors, in general, play a crucial role in the spiritual life of people around the world, largely contributing to the horror genre of storytelling. This type of literary genre stems from adaptation and cultural acculturation, based on the foundation of inheriting and promoting the traditional values, as well as adapting and appropriating other cultures. Through word of mouth, supernatural elements are passed down and recorded into literary works as a means of contemplating different cultural dimensions and the mystery of Nature versus human life. Such factors profoundly impact the cultural consciousness within a community, the historical situation, and the current societal condition. Aspects of various horror and supernatural factors not only satisfy the literary needs and tastes of the readers, but also contribute to shaping the literature and providing a psychological observation into both Vietnamese and Western cultures.

This study investigated Stambali, a Tunisian trance-dance practiced in Israel as a healing and a demon exorcism ritual by Jewish-Tunisian immigrants. The authors observed the ritual and conducted semi-structured ethnographic interviews with key informants. Content analysis revealed that Stambali is practiced for prophylactic reasons (e.g. repelling the ‘evil eye’), for the promotion of personal well-being, and as a form of crisis intervention. Crisis was often construed by our informants as the punitive action of demons, and the ritual aimed at appeasing them. Communication with the possessing demons was facilitated through a kinetic trance induction, produced by an ascending tempo of rhythmic music and a corresponding increased speed of the participant’s movements of head and extremities. The experience was characterized by the emergence of dissociated eroticism and aggression, and terminated in a convulsive loss of consciousness. Stambali is discussed in terms of externalization a...

Heonik Kwon defines the civil war aspect of the Korean War this way: as “a civil war fought between two mutually negating postcolonial political forces, each of which, through the negation, aspired to build a common, singular, and united modern nation-state.” Because this definition is attuned to the specificity of post-1945 and post-1953 Korea, this formulation is productive on many levels: for example, showing how the experience of state violence is transmitted within families, and across generations. But what is lost when we sideline the revolutionary aspects of post-1945 Korean society and politics by referring to the Korean War as a civil war?

Fondée sur une enquête ethnographique portant sur 24 podcasts féministes et des entretiens avec leurs créateur·rice·s, cette étude examine le potentiel du podcast en tant qu’outil de résistance féministe. Les résultats mettent en lumière les spécificités de ce média : un mode de production horizontal et décentralisé, une relation d’intimité entre créateur·rice·s et auditeur·rice·s, une accessibilité technique facilitée, ainsi qu’une éthique communautaire. À l’instar des radios libres, les podcasts permettent ainsi la diffusion de contre-discours rarement audibles dans les médias traditionnels, faisant de ce format un vecteur privilégié de contestation des normes de genre « par le bas ». Toutefois, la plateformisation du secteur en limite l’alternativité. Les logiques algorithmiques restreignent la visibilité des productions indépendantes, tandis que l’entrée des grands groupes médiatiques et les contraintes imposées par les plateformes tendent à uniformiser les formats, au détriment des pratiques amateurs. Par ailleurs, la recherche croissante de monétisation aligne progressivement ces productions sur des logiques marchandes, compromettant leur autonomie éditoriale.

After spending the past 25 years immersed almost entirely in Australian Aboriginal anthropology, I read this book as part of a new foray into European ethnology. Inevitably, I review it through the comparative lens of my prior experience and am drawn to the parallels and differences it reveals between European traditions and those of Aboriginal Australia.

vol. 25, n. � 2 (julio-diciembre) • 2011 • issn 0120-3045 • páginas 89-119 "arrear el muerto": sobre las nociones de trabajo en las religiones afrocubanas practicadas en bogotá "Arrear the Dead": Notions of Trabajo in Afro-Cuban Religions Practiced in Bogotá luis carlos castro ramírez Universidad de los Andes • Colombia * En este artículo el término trabajo hace referencia a la manipulación de sustancias y de fuerzas que permiten transformar la realidad. [N. del E.] **

En este artículo nos ocupamos del nombre al-Ardamīs y del título Malikat al-ǧinn que la versión árabe del Testamento de Salomón (TestSal[ar]) da a una demonia, con la intención de ofrecer una hipótesis sobre el posible original de ambas denominaciones.

Hormozgan is one of the three Iranian provinces bordering the Persian Gulf, along with Khuzestan and Bushehr, and ranks as the eighth largest province of the country. Its coastline extends for more than 900 km, from the Oman Sea in the east to the northern branch of the Persian Gulf in the west, forming a horseshoe-shaped curve around the Strait of Hormoz-one of the world's most strategically significant waterways. Approximately 60% of the world's crude and refined oil passes through this strait each year. The province also administers fourteen islands of varying size, among them Qeshm-the largest island in the Persian Gulf-Kish, Hormoz, Larak, Abu Musa, and the Greater and Lesser Tunb. Inland, Hormozgan is bordered, from west to southeast, by the provinces of Bushehr, Fars, Kerman, and Sistan-o-Baluchestan. Its geographical boundaries and internal divisions have undergone several changes in recent decades. 1 According to the 2006 national census, 2 the province was subdivided into eleven shahrestan (counties), each generally centered on a major town: Parsian (known as Gavbandi until 2008),

يفترض التفكير في العلاقة بين الهجرة والدين من مقترب سوسيوأنتروبولوجي قراءة ليس فقط السياقات الحديثة والمعاصرة التي اتسمت بعودة الديني وصراع أنماط التدين في المجتمعات التي تعرف فسيفساء اجتماعية كبيرة، وإنما يتأتى فهم هذه العلاقة أيضا بالعودة إلى الأفكار الدينية التي أسست للأشكال الأولية للفعل الهجروي، فلم تكن المعتقدات الدينية بمعزل عن الهجرات القسرية للعبيد كناوة نحو المغرب الدين شكلوا نمطا صوفيا لأقلية نازحة ومضطهدة ومنفية تكيفت مع الإسلام في إفريقيا كما فعلت أقليات أخرى مع المسيحية في أمريكا.

In the framework of the article, the perception of magic in the ancient world, especially in the Hittite environment, has been focused on, considering magic as a phenomenon in comparative parallels with the perceptions of the ancient Egyptians, Jews, Armenians and other ancient Near Eastern peoples. Within the framework of the study, the origin and perception of magic will be presented, considering it from an etymological, ritualistic, operational point of view, as well as the role of magic as a negative and positive phenomenon for ancient societies, etc. will be presented. In addition, in the context of the question, an attempt is made to present the role of the sorcerer in the ancient society.

The experience of being possessed by an invisible and outside spirit seems archaic and outdated to many people today. However, the scientific and medical field of psychiatry contains diagnoses that classify this experience as a form of psychopathology, most notably Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Moreover, indigenous peoples and researchers have detailed many accounts of how the experience of possession makes sense within their cultural and local backdrop. In this essay, we employ the strategy of decolonization to demonstrate how psychiatry continues to exert colonial power to manage cases of possession. In so doing, we argue that psychiatry lacks a robust phenomenological and culturally sensitive understanding of spirituality. We also put forward an animistic framework more congruent with the possession experience by examining the influence of invisible worlds.

This paper examines Mappila Theyyam, a distinctive ritualistic art form in North Malabar, Kerala, that significantly influences social harmony and a synthesized lifestyle in this society. Mappila Theyyam is performed in pockets of North Malabar, where certain Hindu castes, like Maavilar, Koppalar, and Vannan, perform the rituals that include core elements of the Muslim community. These religious rituals are highly influenced in catalyzing the social capital of this society. Using the methodologies of Alan Dundes' anthropological studies of folklore and Victor Turner's performative theory of ritual, the researcher analyses how different religious elements work simultaneously, which ultimately leads to a space for interfaith dialogue and community bonding. The role of mythical stories behind this performance and its transformations through generations uncover its function of social cohesion. The findings of this paper demonstrate the role of Mappila Theyyam in catalyzing religious synthesis in practice, creating a liminal space where people live as a part of society without boundaries. In the current scenario, people and societies are polarised based on religious and ethnic identities, where traditional religious rituals like Mappila Theyyam still play a crucial role in stabilizing societies through communal resilience. Therefore, this study further highlights how traditional performing arts can function as mechanisms for promoting interfaith understanding in contemporary society.

This paper explores the Pandava Lila, a possession ritual in Garhwal, Uttarakhand, as a culturally sanctioned form of mass psychogenic illness (MPI). Unlike biomedical classifications of MPI, which emphasise physical symptoms like trembling and fainting spread through social contagion, the Pandava Lila is embedded in a sacred, religious context, channeling socioeconomic anxieties and reinforcing Brahmanical identity. By applying a decolonial lens and drawing on anthropological frameworks, this study highlights how such possession rituals serve as psychosomatic expressions of distress, identity assertion, and divine protection, challenging Western psychological taxonomies.

There are only 38 "Doctors of the Church." The Vatican announced St John Henry Newman set to become newest Doctor of the Church. Newman's designation as the 38th Doctor of the Church followed a rigorous process, including a Positio super Ecclesiae Doctoratu compiled by scholars and the approval of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.

Thank you kindly for your patience with this project as it developed. Furthermore, thank you for letting me make liberal use of your uncanny ability to deconstruct an argument and then seemingly effortlessly reconstruct it again. Without your guidance this project would have not been completed. Professor Lammerts, your ability to contextualize history, your humor and wit, and scholarly precision have been an inspirational force and a large part of my academic development here at Rutgers. I hope you see some of yourself shine through in this. Professor Wakabayashi, I am truly fortunate to have had you for a guide and deeply grateful for all of the personal attention you gave me as this project developed. Not only did you teach me Japanese, but more importantly, you taught me how to do scholarship in Japanese. This project would not have been possible without you. I am a better student, scholar and teacher because of you. I also would like to thank Professor Ian Reader, first for his enormous contributions to the academic study of pilgrimage in Japan and secondly, even though enjoying retirement, for always responding to my questions via v email. In addition to Professor Reader, I would like to thank Professor Jacqueline Stone. It was a privilege getting to know you and have the benefit of your scholarly expertise first hand. Your approach to Japanese Buddhism and intellectual history has influenced and shaped my own academic development significantly. Thank you, I am in your debt. I would also like to extend my gratitude to

Unlike many forms of Western psychotherapy, Family Constellation focuses on families rather than individuals. The same is true of ritual healing in the Central Himalayas of north India. In this paper, we apply anthropological as well as psychological concepts and methods to compare these systems. We ask whether Family Constellation practices can be fruitfully regarded as forms of "ritual healing." We also describe and analyze further similarities between the two types of healing, including the resolution of social conflict as the main therapeutic principle, the importance of the past and collective memory, the role of deceased family members, and the centrality of space and movement.

This humorous tale is a rare narrative dealing with spirit possession by winds—known as zār—in Iran and the Persian Gulf, blending satire with ethnographic insight. The bawdy folktale from southern Iran follows a poor man who marries a cunning widow. Pretending to be possessed by spirits (zâr), she deceives him to resume relations with her lover, a local ritual specialist (bâbâ zâriân). Through the mock ritual of “Sheikh Shangar,” full of drumming, poetry, and sexual farce, the tale satirizes superstition, gullibility, and desire. It ends with the husband discovering the ruse and violently confronting the ritual charade. A vivid example of local oral satire, the story blends humor and critique of social and sexual hypocrisy.

Nous avons vu que les morts sont inconscients, sans rien savoir ce qui se passe dans ce monde (Job 14:20, 21), et ne peuvent avoir part à ce qui se fait sous le soleil (Ecclésiaste 9: 6). Depuis que les «sœurs Fox» commencèrent avec leurs sensationnels «coups » au milieu du XIXe siècle, la communication avec les «esprits» s'est développée de plus en plus. Les morts ne peuvent pas apparaître aux vivants selon la Bible. Qui sont donc ceux qui se manifestent dans les phénomènes spirites?

Nile Processions constitute an embodied ritual engagement with the Egyptian landscape, one that includes a variety of gestures, emotions, and bodily dispositions. In this paper, I examine a small selection of Coptic and Greco-Coptic texts –most notably, the Coptic Life of Aaron (newly available in a recent critical edition by Dijkstra & van der Vliet)– which, I think, ideologically funded Nile processions in late antique Egypt. First, I focus on two passages from the Life of Aaron, in which Apa Aaron repositions his body and performs certain gestures and emotions which cause the Nile to rise for the sake of the local poor. Next, I set such accounts in conversation with Besa’s, Life of Shenoute, and a ninth century Greco-Coptic trishagion from the White Monastery in Upper Egypt (i.e., Stud. Pal. XV.250a–b). Such processions, I argue, reflect a vivid mode of “embodied entreaty,” a practice reflected and rhetorically buttressed in the Life of Aaron, the Life of Shenoute, and Stud. Pal. XV.250a–b. These narratives of “embodied entreaty” reflect a late antique world in which the movement and function of bodies facilitate theurgical praxis and inform subsequent communal religious performance. By viewing such narratives as the ideological forebears of Nile processions in late antique Egypt, one can see the constitutive and praxis-informing role played by Coptic literature in late antique Egypt.

This is a preprint and has not been peer reviewed.
Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy emphasizes the transformative power of mysticaltype peak experiences. Stroboscopic ganzfeld (ganzflicker) stimulation offers a nonpharmacological analogue to psychedelic drugs. This exploratory self-experimentation study investigated whether anxiety-neutralizing techniques (eye movements, square breathing) enhance the brightness of visual hallucinations during ganzflicker meditation in a manner analogous to mystical peak bright light experiences. A single-subject experimental study was conducted over 20 consecutive days using alpha-frequency stroboscopic stimulation delivered via a mobile phone in a headset. Three interventions were compared: (A) resting with eyes closed, (B) square breathing with eyes closed, and (C) horizontal eye movements with eyes open. Visual hallucination brightness was scored from 0-10 at six time points following each intervention during 45-minute meditation sessions. Contrary to the hypothesis, therapeutic interventions (square breathing and eye movements) had minimal effect on brightness enhancement. Instead, the control condition of resting with eyes closed produced consistent brightening of visual hallucinations upon reopening the eyes. Eye movements produced a transient darkening effect. Both brightening and darkening effects showed reproducible temporal patterns with maximum effects at 40-60 seconds post-intervention and duration of 2-3 minutes. The brightening effect was accompanied by positive affect and peak experience qualities. These findings support alpha rhythm involvement in meditation-induced luminous phenomena. The delayed brightening after eye closure aligns with established literature on alpha resynchronization (20-30 seconds) following eye opening in unstructured visual fields. The darkening effect of eye movements corresponds with known alpha suppression during saccadic activity, consistent with EMDR's therapeutic mechanism of reducing imagery vividness. Results suggest that ganzflicker-induced brightness phenomena result from dual alpha augmentation: neural entrainment to alpha-frequency stimulation and alpha rebound following a period of eye closure. This simple controllable method may serve as both a clinical adjunct to psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and as a standalone tool for self-inducing therapeutic peak experiences, offering sustained access to transformative states for long-term mental health and wellbeing.

There has been much debate over whether New Age spirituality (NAS) is a useful category and, if so, how best to characterize the phenomena clustered under that heading. Historically minded scholars generally agree, however, on the value of distinguishing between narrower and broader uses of the term "new age." In the narrower sense, it refers above all to ideas in the writings of post-Theosophist Alice Bailey (1880Bailey ( -1949)), which were picked up by the new age networks of the 1950s, many of them UFO related, and transformed into a more activist form by 1960s utopian communities, most notably Findhorn. The movement, narrowly conceived, was British-based and relied upon occultist traditions that had long been influential there Hanegraaff 2009, 345). In a more general sense, scholars have used "new age" as a catch-all term for the much more extensive and complex "cultic milieu" of the 1980s and beyond, which was dominated "by the so-called metaphysical and New Thought traditions typical of American alternative culture" (Hanegraaff, 344-45). Sutcliffe depicts this as "a popular hermeneutical shift in the meaning of 'New Age' … [such that] at the turn of the 1970s, … 'New Age' as apocalyptic emblem of the near future gave way to 'New Age' as humanistic idiom of self-realisation in the here-and-now" (2003, 5). Although many people self-identified as new age in the general sense in the 1980s, the number of self-identified "new agers" declined in the 1990s with most becoming just "spiritual" as the movement moved "from its traditional status as a counter-culture" and into the mainstream (Hanegraaff 2009, 345; Albanese 2007, 496-516;. In this more general sense, scholars tend to characterize new age spirituality in terms of (1) individualism, (2) shopping, spiritual supermarket, (3) seeking, and (4) in-built resistance to

Resumo: O objeto de estudo do presente artigo consiste no problema da escravidão e da raça na obra de Leibniz. Este se constitui por duas posturas contrarias em suas abordagens. Por um lado, os argumentos contra a escravidão circunstancial (Chattel Slavery, escravidão de guerra, e escravidão hereditária) em escritos como Sur la notion commune de la justice, por outro lado, em textos como Consilium Aegyptiacum e Modus instituendi militam novam invictam; nos quais Leibniz parece simpatizar com a ideia da escravidão natural, pois existem povos (caribenhos, africanos) que são susceptíveis de serem escravizados desde jovens e serem utilizados para formar exércitos que expandam o cristianismo europeu. Portanto, se tem como objetivo expor estas duas posturas, seus elementos e os argumentos de cada uma, para saber como interpretar ditas afirmações na obra de Leibniz.

The present paper intends to offer an overview of the analysis of the movie "The Exorcist" (L’esorcista, 1973, William Friedkin) drawn up by Barbara Creed, the first that offered an innovative interpretation of the film from the point of view of the gender studies, the article aims to provide a mapping of the stylistic features of the genre within the film that can be subjected to a gendered interpretation. Another purpose of the paper will be that of focalizing on the points of strength and on the points of weakness of Creed’s interpretation, suggesting additions or partial deviations from Creed’s lecture of the film. The ultimate intention of the article will be that of producing a study that, taking into account the sequences of the film that show Regan’s body, tries to understand if those manifestations of Regan’s body fall within the domain of the gesturality of a body clearly in revolt or within the domain of a body oppressed by strict patriarchal dictates.

Ce texte offre une immersion dans le monde Gnawa, contrastant une performance publique organisée à la place Bousmara (Festival de Casablanca de 2006) avec l'intimité d'une lila (nuit de possession rituelle et de transe) dans le bidonville de Schneider à hay Hassanui. L'auteur, relate son expérience d'intrus bienvenu, invité par le Mâallem Abdenbi de la troupe Oulad Mimoun. La lila, principalement réservée aux femmes, est orchestrée par une dame âgée avec une maîtrise étonnante du culte et de ses exigences rituelles. La musique Gnawa et les rituels symboliques y sont exécutés avec maîtrise et sans spectaculaire, loin des stéréotypes médiatisés. L'auteur souligne la dimension profondément humaine de ces moments, où la souffrance et la solidarité s'expriment, transcendant la précarité du lieu et des conditions de vie. Le Mâallem Abdenbi est dépeint comme un "passeur", à l'identité fluide, naviguant entre la scène internationale et l'authenticité des rituels communautaires. Le récit met en lumière la richesse émotionnelle et la complexité des existences sensibles, souvent absentes des analyses savantes.
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This text offers a deep dive into the Gnawa world, contrasting an organized public performance at Bousmara square with the intimate setting of a lila (ritual possession night) in the Schneider shantytown of Casablanca. The author, Abdelmajid Arrif, recounts his experience as a welcomed intruder, invited by Mâallem Abdenbi of the Oulad Mimoun troupe. The lila, primarily reserved for women, is meticulously orchestrated by an elderly woman with astonishing mastery of the cult and its ritual requirements. Gnawa music and symbolic rituals are performed without theatricality, far from mediated stereotypes. The author emphasizes the profound human dimension of these moments, where suffering and solidarity are expressed, transcending the precariousness of the setting and living. Mâallem Abdenbi is portrayed as a "passeur" (boundary crosser), whose identity is fluid, navigating between the international stage and the authenticity of community rituals. The narrative highlights the emotional richness and complexity of sensitive existences, often missing from scholarly analyses.

This brief report looks at the demographics as well as professional background and experiences of a sample of Israeli chaplains. An online survey was distributed to 39 Israeli chaplains, yielding a response rate of n = 6 (15.4%). The findings notably highlight the role of women as chaplains, supporting a religiously diverse population, and differing perspectives on the functional role of a chaplain. These findings could help facilitate discussion and future research into chaplaincy services in Israel.

Science et Religion : La passerelle entre deux mondes
Ce livret propose une exploration symbolique, historique et spirituelle des liens entre science et religion, souvent perçues comme opposées mais profondément complémentaires. À travers une approche transdisciplinaire mêlant alchimie, figures bibliques, mystique chrétienne et énigmes philosophiques, il invite à reconsidérer la tension entre raison et foi non comme un conflit, mais comme une dynamique vivante.

S’appuyant sur des figures incarnées — saint Augustin, Thérèse d’Avila, Benoît XVI — et des principes symboliques (soufre, mercure, sel ; les sept métaux planétaires), l’ouvrage tisse un dialogue entre le visible et l’invisible, entre la connaissance rationnelle et la quête de sens. Il s’adresse à tous les chercheurs de vérité, qu’ils soient scientifiques, croyants, éducateurs ou simples curieux.

En conclusion, une série d’énigmes philosophiques et symboliques invite le lecteur à devenir lui-même un passeur de lumière, un héritier d’un feu sacré, un bâtisseur de ponts entre les mondes.

This is the extended version of a paper presented at the student-doctoral conference “Accursed Bloodsuckers: Vampirism in the Myths and Religions of the World”, held at the Institute for the Study of Religions, Jagiellonian University (Kraków, 10–11 December 2011).

The paper explores Tibetan notions of vampirism through the lens of traditional demonology, focusing on mythological figures such as sri and grul-bum, as well as the Buddhist concept of preta (hungry ghosts). These figures are interpreted as energetic or psychological analogues to the Western vampire myth. The text also considers how shamanic cosmology, element imbalance, and ritualised energy exchange influence Tibetan ideas of spirit possession and psychic vampirism.

Although this text was not submitted for formal publication, it reflects early thematic interests that later shaped my academic development.
It is uploaded here for archival and academic purposes.
Not peer-reviewed.

unpublished manuscript / conference presentation only

Резюме: в статье содержится краткое изложение материалов Второй Всероссийской научно-практической конференции с международным участием «Ислам: психологи- ческая устойчивость – основа личного и общественного благополучия», посвящен- ной проблемам и перспективам развития исламской психологии как прикладной науки в Российской Федерации. Среди главных тем конференции были вопросы психологической профилактики радикальных убеждений; ресоциализации осужден- ных мусульман, психологической помощи семьям осужденных, взаимодействие со специалистами ФСИН России. В статье отражены обсуждаемые на конференции различные направления и методы работы в психологическом консультировании мусульман. Конференция показала повышенный интерес специалистов (психологов, теологов, религиоведов, врачей, журналистов, педагогов, имамов) разных регионов страны и зарубежья к теме исламской психологии, ее направлениям и подходам, к ее развитию, теоретическому и практическому осмыслению в России.

How are selves embodied? How are embodied selves transformed? And how can we study these phenomena anthropologically? In Possessing Spirits and Healing Selves: Embodiment and Transformation in an Afro-Brazilian Religion, Rebecca Seligman undertakes to answer these difficult and critical questions. Through an innovative research design incorporating psychophysiological and psychological measures along with in-depth ethnographic work, Seligman seeks to understand how spirit possession in Brazilian Candomblé might heal those who become mediums. Seligman positions the work in counterpoint to traditional anthropological studies of spirit possession that tend to look at either the material and social aspects of possession (enabling people to access additional resources, for example) or at the psychological dimensions of possession (as manifesting and/or addressing psychiatric concerns). Instead, Seligman argues for an understanding of mediumship as a process of embodied learning that involves circulating interactions between biological and psychological experiences of self that can, she argues, function as a form of self-healing for mediums by teaching them how to regulate stress responses in particular ways. This is a clearly written and tightly argued book. It is very well organized and the development of the argument is intuitive without being overly predictable. Seligman's language is extremely accessible and this book would be of great benefit to those teaching undergraduate courses on psychological anthropology or the anthropology of religion. It is also a brief book (only 165 pages of actual text, with another 8 pages of methods discussion as an appendix), which makes it perhaps additionally attractive for undergraduate assignment. Each chapter is between 25 and 40 pages long and each could also stand alone if one didn't want to assign an entire book. The book is divided into six chapters. Chapter one, the introduction, introduces us to Candomblé and the questions that motivated the research. Chapter two reflects on the benefits and challenges of the kind of integrative research Seligman undertook (though a detailed discussion of the methodology is saved for the appendix). In chapter three, Seligman engages with what she refers to as "discursive" models of selfhood, that is, how mediums narrate their "selves" and particularly how they narrate their lives prior to their initiations into Candomblé. Building on the stories of two different mediums, Seligman makes the case for a pattern of affliction (physical and/or mental) that eventually persuades people that they have been chosen to become mediums. Chapter four turns to the biological mechanisms at play in the process of possession and what Seligman calls the "embodied" dimension of selfhood. Here, she argues that going into trance becomes a kind of bodily entrainment that reframes the experience of somatic activation as a positive and meaningful one rather than as negative and frightening. Chapter five is an integrative chapter where Seligman brings back together the discursive and embodied dimensions of selfhood and recounts her understanding of how participation in mediumship transforms and heals. She argues that as bodily entrainment through trance and discursive reframing through cultural and religious meaning systems proceeds, they begin to

Nonostante decine di anni di ricerche nel settore, ancora da noi, non si conosce altro che frammenti mal diffusi e contraddittori se non assolutamente falsi. Sono stanco di vedere i sorrisi stupidi di scienziati o giornalisti del sistema parlare di placebo senza conoscere le ricerche reali su questo "elemento" che hanno dimostrato essere un procedimento non illusorio ma inerente la biochimica, e non solo, dell'essere umano: sullo SchwartzReport del 22 marzo 2005 è scritto (ma in Inghilterra ricerche simili sono molto precedenti):

This essay reflects on the fulfillment of True Parents’ 2004 proclamation of “The Era after the Coming of Heaven” in light of two pivotal events in 2025: the Entrance Ceremony on April 13, in which True Mother officially opened the Gates of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, and the heartistic liberation of the Archangel Lucifer on July 4. These events mark a cosmic shift in the spiritual landscape, revealing that the adversary has been reconciled and that the true battle now lies within the human heart. The essay calls for a new era of responsibility, healing, and global transformation—urging humanity to rise to the mandate of the Golden Age and begin the real work of building the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.

This document presents a structured theological outline exploring the identity, mission, fall, and ultimate restoration of the Archangel—traditionally identified as Lucifer or Satan—within the context of God’s providence. Drawing from Unificationist thought, scriptural reflection, and personal spiritual experience, the framework proposes that the Archangel’s healing is not only possible but essential to the fulfillment of God’s original ideal. The outline addresses doctrinal misunderstandings, the emotional and spiritual dimensions of the Archangel’s journey, and the necessity of his cooperation in the providence of restoration. This work is offered as a preliminary framework for further study, dialogue, and development.

A presença da noção de espiritualidade nos documentos da Organização Mundial da Saúde é tão duradoura quanto pouco explorada, seja pelos estudiosos identificados com o campo da antropologia da saúde, seja pelos pesquisadores das ciências sociais da religião.

Este texto é uma tentativa de cobrir parcialmente essa lacuna. Para tanto, recorro a atas, memorandos, transcrições de discursos, resoluções oficiais e relatórios que me permitem acessar como a ideia de espiritualidade foi acionada ao longo do tempo na instituição e, principalmente, como ela foi articulada com outras noções, como as de cultura, religião, direitos e bem-estar.

Diante desse material, realizo dois movimentos. Primeiro, explicito algumas das questões que envolvem a análise do tema da “espiritualidade” nas ciências sociais da religião e justifico as razões pelas quais este texto pode contribuir para tal debate.

Segundo, detenho-me nos documentos analisados, apresentando-os a partir de dois eixos de variação: a espiritualidade dos Outros e a espiritualidade de todos. Explicitarei como esses dois eixos não somente diferem, mas principalmente se articulam.

Encerro o texto delineando um conjunto de consequências empíricas associadas à “oficialização da espiritualidade” na OMS e aponto para direções que novos investimentos analíticos sobre o tema podem seguir.