SPIRIT POSSESSION: AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION ON THE PRACTICE OF DEOUTHA AMONG THE DEORIS OF ASSAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH
PARIPEX INDIAN JOURNAL OF RESEARCH September 15, 2023 Anup Jyoti Bharali
Spirit possession is a complex, temporary, and reversible phenomenon still practiced in many societies worldwide. Anthropologists have conducted extensive ethnographic fieldwork on possession and possession-trance across different cultures. Belief in spirit possession is ancient and widespread, as shown by historical and ethnographic records. It is intimately tied to religion and folk traditions, being culture-bound and dependent on the beliefs, customs, and attitudes of a particular cultural group. The term is emic, carrying meaning that believers themselves attach to what happens during a spirit possession ritual. Among the Deori, religious possession by spirits is considered benevolent and an integral part of their social system.