Mass fainting in garment factories in Cambodia.
Transcultural psychiatry April 1, 2017 DOI: 10.1177/1363461517703918 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractMass fainting among garment factory workers in Cambodia is often rooted in cultural beliefs about spirits and historical trauma. An ethnographic study conducted from 2010 to 2015 across 48 factories found that episodes occurred at 34 factories, with 9 triggered by spirit possession. Workers and others attributed fainting to ill-health, toxins, and supernatural causes, including ghosts connected to Khmer Rouge atrocities or fatal accidents, and retaliating guardian spirits angered by foreign ownership. Prefigurative dreams, accidents, or a coworker's possession preceded episodes; witnessing a coworker faint caused fear and fainting in others. Monks performed rituals to appease spirits and prevent recurrence, revealing how cultural motifs of fear, protest, and historical legacy make the phenomenon understandable.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Ethnographic study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Garment factory workers in Cambodia |
| Duration | 2010-2015 |
| Keywords | Khmer rouge Contagion Mass fainting Mass psychogenic illness Spirit possession |
| Citations | 32 |
| Key finding | Mass fainting episodes are understood through cultural beliefs in spirits, historical trauma from the Khmer Rouge, and social contagion, with rituals performed to address supernatural causes. |
Abstract
This paper reports an ethnographic study of mass fainting among garment factory workers in Cambodia. Research was undertaken in 2010-2015 in 48 factories in Phnom Penh and 8 provinces. Data were collected in Khmer using nonprobability sampling. In participant observation with monks, factory managers, health workers, and affected women, cultural understandings were explored. One or more episodes of mass fainting occurred at 34 factories, of which 9 were triggered by spirit possession. Informants viewed the causes in the domains of ill-health/toxins and supernatural activities. These included "haunting" ghosts at factory sites in the wake of Khmer Rouge atrocities or recent fatal accidents and retaliating guardian spirits at sites violated by foreign owners. Prefigurative dreams, industrial accidents, or possession of a coworker heralded the episodes. Workers witnessing a coworker fainting felt afraid and fainted. When taken to clinics, some showed signs of continued spirit influence. Afterwards, monks performed ritual ceremonies to appease spirits, extinguish bonds with ghosts, and prevent recurrence. Decoded through its cultural motifs of fear and protest, contagion, forebodings, the bloody Khmer Rouge legacy, and trespass, mass fainting in Cambodia becomes less enigmatic.