Possession in Two Balinese Trance Ceremonies

Trance behaviors in Bali are neither uniform across the society nor radically individual, but are instead constructed locally, varying from temple to temple. This variety arises from two features of Balinese Hinduism: the importance of adat (local custom) and the conception of deities who possess individuals during trance. The argument challenges the assumption that trance states are either broadly shared within a culture or idiosyncratic to each person, showing instead that they are shaped by specific temple contexts.

Study at a glance

Abstract

I discuss the construction of Balinese trance behaviors using two examples of trance possession in temple ceremonies. The view that trance states are socially constructed has long roots in anthropology. However, a closer examination of this view is warranted. In particular, I am interested in the question of the possible diversity of the constructed behavior. On the one hand, one may expect a set of general trance behaviors or experiences throughout a given society—e.g. that vision quests in a particular tribe will contain common elements, but these will vary from tribe to tribe (Lowie 1963). On the other hand, a society may offer the general outlines of acceptable trance behavior or experience, but expect them to be radically individual, depending, e.g., on the particular revelatory experience of the person. The Balinese construction of trance fits neither of these poles; rather, trance behaviors are contextualized to a particular temple but not to individual persons. Thus, the trances of the Balinese exhibit a high degree of variety from locale to locale. This unusual variety is due to two factors: a key element of Balinese Hinduism, adat (local custom), as well as a unique feature of how Balinese deities (who possess individuals in trance) are conceived.