Paper short abstract:

This paper traces the metamorphosis of an individual from ‘one among the many individuals’ within the space of a shared community to ‘the healer’ (mata/pita) of a community. The metamorphosis is not merely in terms of the changes in the role and responsibilities but also in terms of the space inhabited (the house and the temple) by the individual undergoing this metamorphosis.

Paper long abstract:

The cult of spirit possession and the spirit possessed healers referred to as matas/pitas are found among the Nepali community of Darjeeling, India. Possession by a spirit or a god/goddess is not viewed as an abnormal phenomenon against the background of the Nepali culture in which they appear but may however be a-normal at the individual and family level by the standards of everyday life. The healer practices healing within spaces of his temple where they are sought by the sufferers undergoing interpersonal crisis or disruption in the balanced relationship between person and nature or the person and supernatural which is manifested in the form of physical and emotional symptoms. The healer using his healing techniques involving offering tika, divination (jokhana hernu), examining the pattern of rice (acheta) or beads (mala), brushing (jharnu) to remove evil influences or blowing mantras (phuknu) tries to understand the cause of the illness and suggest remedies.

The healer here is constantly performing a dual role - one as an individual belonging to the shared space of a community and the other as the healer within his/her healing space. It is the space that he/she inhabits which determines his/her role in the society.

This paper is an attempt to trace this metamorphosis of a healer in terms of the healing space and the shared space outside his/her healing room that she inhabits.