Paper short abstract:

The notion of the self as a bounded entity is threatened by the idea that the spirit of someone who has died can enter the energy field of the living. This paper examines contemporary Western ideas of possession, often in a clinical setting, in relation to non-Western beliefs and practices.

Paper long abstract:

Funerary rites are designed to help the deceased person make a successful transition to the world of spirit. If this is not achieved a spirit may haunt or possess the living, with negative consequences for both the earthbound spirit and the person possessed. Anthropologists have studied possession and depossession beliefs and practices in many non-Western societies, but have paid less attention to similar practices in contemporary Western settings. The recurrence of ideas of possession, as with recent interest in other 'paranormal' phenomena, comes primarily not from religious groups, where such ideas are regarded as matters of faith, but from clinical and university settings. This presents a challenge for scientifically trained clinicians or academics, whose findings often display striking parallels with traditional non-Western and religious notions of possession. Common to all is the assertion that the spirit of a person has an independent post-mortem existence which can be disrupted, and intrude on the living, particularly where the deceased spirit experienced a 'bad death'. Possession invariably leads to sickness, and rituals of depossession are necessary to restore health to the living and to aid the deceased on their journey through the planes of the spirit world. The modern clinician often decides to adopt an 'as if' approach without making ontological claims concerning the veracity of such a view of self and spirit. Belief in such phenomena on the part of physician and patient does not seem to be a determinant in whether a cure can be affected using techniques of deposession.