Paper short abstract:

Since the 19th century and alongside the Lutheran State Church, spirit worship and possession have been strongly embedded in the religious fields of Iceland and Faroe Islands. Nevertheless each society has developed its own orientation: modern esotericism in Iceland and evangelical prophetism in Faroe.

Paper long abstract:

In a recent book, Luc de Heusch underlines the long-established ethnocentric' scope of social anthropology. Considering Marx, Weber, and the many generations of scholars after them, he states that western societies have always been considered as distinctives from others (2005 :218). It is particularly true in the topic of spirit worship and spirit possession. In this field of research, western societies are considered as exceptions, without any relevant matter of this type. Moreover, when facts of spirit worship and possession occur in western societies (and of course they do), they are usually considered as marginals (folk beliefs and popular religion), historically over (spiritualism, occultism) or belonging to diasporic - and often black - communities (pentecostalism). In that way, these anthropological facts are permanently kept at a good distance from the modernity of western societies. It was already true when Tylor was participating to mediumnic' seance among londonian spiritualists' groups (Stocking 1971). It is still true when beside the word "possession" one can read in the french dictionary of ethnology and anthropology : « Contrary to most of anthropological phenomenon, cults of possession have mostly disappaered from contemporary western societies (…) / A la différence de la plupart des phénomènes qui relèvent de l'anthropologie, les cultes de possession ont disparu pour l'essentiel dans les sociétés occidentales contemporaines (…) » (1991 :594).

Apart from this usual conception, my intention in this communication is to examine the local traditions of symbolic exchanges with supernatural entities in two modern western societies from northern europe : Iceland and Faroe Islands. Indeed, beside the official Lutheran State Church, spirit worship and possession have been strongly embedded in the religious fields of these two societies since the end of the 19th century. Nevertheless, each one has developped its specific orientation. Iceland was influenced by modern esotericism and movements such as spiritualism, theosophy or astrobiology ; the network of centers for psychical research, the tradition of mediumship and seances, and the rise in the number of mediums and channelers witness how important is the local tradition of engaging a large range of supernatural entities. Faroe was influenced by the evangelical milieu, since the prophetic' times of the end of the past century to the spiritual' renewal of charismatic and pentecostal christianity ; the high number of free churches, the amount of people belonging to these sects (around 30% of the population) and the great growth of preachers and missionaries witness how much the single supernatural entity of holy ghost (or Jesus) is actively refered. Taking into account that Iceland and Faroe have closed historical and cultural background, the contrast between their "spiritscapes" is of high interest.

In a comparative perspective, my communication will draw the symbolic configurations of Icelandic' mediumship and Faroean' pentecostalism, through the relationships that are distinctively engaged with spirits on the one hand, and through the great figures of social actors on the other hand (mediums vs preachers). Indeed, the question of the strongly opposed figures of medium and preacher is particularly relevant in these islands that have in common a traditional folklore of seers and healers. Although the occultist' medium and the evangelical' preacher were locally invented at the end of the 19th century, their status of intercessor was structurally present in former period. Trying to understand the self-identity of these recent figures suppose to take into consideration the processes of rupture and filiation in the reconfiguration of the local spirit world.

Finally, by the light of historical circumstances (post-colonialism, independence, ethnicity, nationhood…) and cultural factors (settlement, sociability, economy, individualism and community…), I will also suggest some clues that might explain the contrast of pattern between Iceland and the Faroe Islands.

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Heusch (de), L. 2006, La transe et ses entours, Editions Complexe, Bruxelles.

Olivier de Sardan, J-P. 1991, « Possession » in Dictionnaire de l'ethnologie et de l'anthropologie, PUF : 594-596.

Stocking, G. W. J. 1971. « Animism in theory and Practice : E.B. Tylor's unpublished 'Notes on "Spiritualism" », Man 6: 88-104.