Paper short abstract:

Based on research conducted in Kerala, this paper attempts to explain the effectiveness of ritual healing of possession and psychopathology and its relevance for WHO studies of serious mental disorder

Paper long abstract:

Psychiatry and anthropology have not yet come to terms with findings by the WHO of a better recovery rate for serious mental illnesses in "developing" countries. India was an important site in these studies, and fieldwork conducted in Kerala on biomedical, ayurvedic and religious treatments for psychopathology indicates that while religious healing may not fully explain the developing country "advantage" in recovery, many patients suffering possession or psychopathology do benefit from this form of therapy.

The paper will outline the types of possession encountered, distinguishing between benign, empowering forms of possession that are sought out by mediums who provide healing services at temples and more adverse forms of possession that are experienced as afflictions or pathologies. Drawing from interviews with and observations of possessed individuals and their family members, this paper will also examine the modes of onset and phenomenological changes people encounter in undergoing possession experiences and consider the reasons these healing rituals may be effective. The engagement of the senses in healing and the location of the controlling agent of the suffering outside of the person are proposed as factors that contribute to this effectiveness.