Sot. Sci. & Med. 1968, Vol. 2, pp. 63-79. Pergamon Press.

Printed in Great Britain

FAITH-HEALING AND SPIRIT-POSSESSION

IN GHION, ETHIOPIA
R. Gm YOSE!PHGEZAHEGNand J. N. VAN LUIJK
Haile Selassie 1 University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Ah&act--It is the official teaching of the Orthodox Church that certain illnesses, ainly mental
illnesses, are caused by evil spirits. In practice, numerous people share this belie9 and go to a
priest for treatment. Memhir WOLDETINGE GEUW alone “cured” more thari one million
people in 14 years, by exorcising their devils. A study of his records and of a number of his
cases revealed the following:
(1) People do not only come to Ghion because they suffer from organic or mental illness,
but also to obtain help in case of social misfortunea.
(2) The state of possession is probably more of&n a learned absent-min essthana
hysterical dissociative reaction. and occurs in mentally normal as well as in men y ill people.
(3) The cure is complex, often gradual and a combination of p&g mz ’ treatment
and the services offered by the priest.
(4) There is no evidence that the state of possession, as exercised in Ghion, offers an oppor-
tunity for abreaction in all M.

“PruuER stemming from Faith heals the ill” says WOLDETLNSAYE GEWW+orthodox priest
in Ghion, Shoa Province. There is nothing particular about this conviction, which is shared
by many peoples throughout the world. It Seems less familiar, if combined with exorcism
of evil spirits unless one takes a closer look at the Bible, as biARGEREr W [l] did in her
study of the shrines of Ghana. Possession must have been an important tool, especially of
the prophets, one of whom was even possessed by “an evil spirit from G/ad”. ~Gmurr
Frrns has no doubt “about the impetus given to early Christianity by the phenomenon of
possession”.
Spirit-possession certainly plays a sign&ant role in present-day Eth&pia, where this
priest enjoys considerable fame, and claims to have treated 1,190,898 people in 14 years.
This number, according to Father WOLDE,includes such categories as “p&ies of the legs,
swellings of the body, people who are bent, blindness, deafness, insanity, people with
paralysed bodies and drooling saliva, stil&ess of the body and a distorted mouth”, but also
those who have been converted to the Orthodox Faith. Details are available in the books in
which he keeps his daily records.
The purpose of our study was to learn more about the following aspects:
(a) The kind of disorders treated by the priest, whose statistics show a predominance of
iIlSZUli~.
(b) The phenomenon of spirit-possession, and more especially its relation to mental illness.
To this end we planned to analyse the priest’s own records, to attend a number of his
sessions and to study some of his cases.
63
64 R. GIBL, YQSHPHGEZAHEGNand J. N. VAN LUIJK

THE PRIEST

The 48-year-old priest inherited his vocation from his father. He is an open-minded man,
who likes to discuss his faith and works, the latter of which he explains as the labours of
God. Many things bear witness to his :modernistic views. Not only the telephone on his
pulpit ringing in the middle of a sermon, or the transistorized megaphone to master the
heavy rains thundering down on to the roof of his place of worship, but also his assurances
that appendicitis belongs to the doctor. He sends some of his cases to the nearby health-
centre, and there is a two-way trickle of patients between his place and Emanual Mental
Hospital in Addis Ababa. His strong personality reveals itself when he addresses his
audience, with a complete awareness of everything that goes on, and in command of every
situation arising among the hundreds of patients, some of whom are severely disturbed, and
the healthy worshippers attending his service. Any interruption is dealt with either by his
smoothly performing staff or, when the need arises, by himself in a very relaxed manner.

THE SERVICE

Every morning at about 8 o’clock several hundred people crowd into the place of worship
which is especially built for this purpose. Some of his disciples direct the visitors to their
seats. Men and women sit apart and people of importance occupy the front rows. Some of
the more disturbed patients are led to the rear of the building.
Abandoned amulets, handcuffs discarded by those who were violent at one time,
insects and other vermin vomited in the process of healing adorn the walls and attest to the
cures that took place. In front of the pulpit is an open space where a simple chair awaits
those who are to become possessed. Soon the priest starts his sermon. Prayer, readings
from the Bible and the stories of the Saints enlighten those who can understand the Amharic
language. Shortly someone in the audience, often a woman, starts to groan. Attendants,
four or five in number rush forward to support the swaying possessed, who is rarely violent
at this stage, to the chair. Here the victim is held with arms and legs in a crosslike posture.
The priest, interrupting his sermon, descends from his pulpit and quietly approaches his
client. Putting his cross with some force against her forehead the priest starts to question
the woman as follows.
1. Who are you that has occupied this woman ?
Splashes of water and repetitions of this question direct the attention of the possessed,
whose groaning stops and gives way to the voices of the spirits who make themselves known
as seytan, buda or zar (see later for explanation).
2. How many are you ?
Again the spirits speak up and they state their numbers. From one up to more than a
hundred are cited.
3. How many years is it that you have possessed her 1
The spirits answer that they have entered 1,2 or even 50 years ago.
4. What was she abtig when you entered her ?
The spirits claim for example, that it happened during a wedding or near a forest. The
questions are always the same and are put in a domineering way, leaving little room for any
variation of the answers.
 Faith-healing and Spirit-possession in Ghion, Ethiopia 65

At this point the priest orders the spirits in a strong voice to go in the name of God, and
then he retreats to his pulpit to continue the service. The attendants release the woman,
who cries out with renewed force and goes into a violent and rhythmic sprawling or jumping
phase. Gradually the violence subsides and finally she slumps to the floor to be picked up
and led away by the attendants, in a somewhat dazed condition. Throughout the priest
remains in complete control of the situation. The state of possession lasts from 1 to 3 min,
and the occasional spirit that lingers on, is severely told to go and then does so.
One possessed man, who had to wait till a prayer was over, kept groaning quietly for
many more minutes till the priest was ready to exorcise his devils. At one point during a
sermon a groaning man was taken to the chair, but had to be kept on the floor, because he
was su&ing from a severe grand ma1 seizure of considerable duration. We felt some
anxiety about the treatment of this particular case. However after a glance, the priest calmly
told his audience, that he would not question the man because he would be unable to
answer.
After the sermon is over the priest consecrates the water to be used in the proper healing-
session. A great many throng into the side-room to be baptized by the priest and to be
showered abundantly with holy water while he touches the diseased parts of their body with
his cross. Occasionally someone cries out and goes into a trance. A record is kept of all
those who become possessed. It is at this stage of the service that the disabled come forward.
The full spectrum of diseases can be observed : hemiplegia, Parkinsonism, mental deficiency,
spastic children, severe oedema, leprosy, cutaneous Leishmaniasis, deafness, mutism and
blindness to mention only some of them.

THE PRIEST’S RECORDS

Records are kept of every person whose devils have been exorcised, either during the
sermon or during the proper healing-session. The priest’s main object is to further the
works of God and to fight the Devil regardless of his manifestations, and he is therefore
less interested in the case-history of his clients leading up to the attendance of this service.
He sees the great majority of his cases for the first time when they are possessed, except for
the severely disabled who come to him and will be treated without a trance state. A typical
story in his books reads as follows:
Mrs. A.D. 28 seytam, 2 bu&s and I zat.
The seytans said that it is 16 years since they caught her at the back of her house while
she was sleeping. The zar said that his name is Adale Motie and that it is 112years since
he caught her. He did not allow her to marry, and he considered himselfas her husband.
The budas informed where they entered her. They forced her to say this: and they left
her. Then the lady was cured.
It is clear that little medical information can be extracted from this sort of history.
Obviously it concerns a social problem, and it appears somewhat premature to speak of a
cure at this stage. Though some of the information may be obtained during the state of
trance, most data is given by the relatives later on.
In order to investigate as representative a sample as possible, we took every 14th case of
the 1426 people who visited the priest in 1954, up to a total of 100 cases. The notes on these
people provided the following information : quite contrary to our expectatiop1, based on our
observations during the service, that the great majority were female, the sample numbered
66 R. GIEL, YOSEPHGEZMEONand J. N. VAN LWK

41 males and 59 females. Only 14 per cent were from the town of Ghion itself; 16 per cent
came from Addis Ababa, a town that has an abundance of hospitals; and 70 came from
different parts of Ethiopia.
In only two cases were no devils exorcised. One of these was a woman:, “Her body was
spoiled and has no proper shape of a human being for the past year. She was unable to
move without support. With the help of God, within 3 days of pouring water on her the
lady was cured”. The other case had an almost identical history. Table 1 gives a crude
classifkation of the cases. A quarter of them had obvious somatic symptoms, e.g. a swollen
leg, distorted mouth, blindness and sterility. In 17 per cent of cases behavioural disturbances
were mentioned, e.g. a “spoiled” mind, quarrelsome under a variety of circumstances but
especially after the use of alcohol, and inactivity or nervousness. Under social problems
(in 5 per cent) we included the death of children and failure to find a husband. The problem
in the one case in the last category of the table was a spot on the eye of the father.
It is interesting to note that in 53 per cent of cases no symptom was mentioned. Were
these people spectators, or was nobody present to give sufficient information, or did the
priest fail to take down the data 7 As 83 per cent of these cases came from outside Ghion, it

Fm. 1
 Faith-healing and Spirit-powion in C&ion, Ethiopia 67

TABLE 1.
~OVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION OF 100 CASES. AS ASSESSED FROM THE PRIEST’S STATISITCS

Classification Males Femalos Totals

No symptom stated 21 32 53
Somatic symptom 11 13 24
Behavioural disturbance 8 9 17
Social problem - 5 5
Problem in rdativo of patient 1 - 1
41 59 loo

seems unlikely that they were mere spectators. A number of them may have belonged to the
escort of the patient. The followers of the priest told us that it is quite common for com-
panions to go into a trance too. This was not considered inappropriate.
In 12 per cent of all cases (4 men and 8 women) there was a reference in the priest’s
books to other occasions when devils had been exorcised from the same ‘person. The re-
currences numbered from one to four and occurred in the course of a few days or weeks. A
cure had always been proclaimed at the occasion of the first possession. The formula in the
next reference then became that of the 100 budas occupying this person 18 hid themselves
the last time and were going to leave now.
Two observations can be made from this short investigation. First, people come with all
sorts of problems and not only because they are ill. It is probable that they are less con-
cerned with our medically induced differentiation of the nature of misfortunes. Perhaps it
is the cause that counts and not so much the results. Second, the priest’s concept of a “cure”
is less straightforward than that of a doctor. In some cases he considers a person cured
when he has recovered for example his speech or his ability to walk. However, to us it
would seem extremely premature to make such a statement immediately after a state of
possession in a woman who has sought help for her sterility or for her faihtre to tid a
husband. If one is used to link these conditions to the presence of spirits, the situation
becomes of course somewhat different. The Devil has left and that is a victory in itself.
From a socio-medical point of view the cure may be less obvious though not entirely non-
existent, as there may be new hope in or social reacceptance of a person.

There is little doubt about the important role played by supernatural forces in traditional
medicine in Ethiopia [2-6]. This opinion is substantiated by our finding that in only 2 per
cent of the sample, taken from the books of the priest, no spirits were mentioned. In all
others spirits, often in great abundance, were involved (seytan, agarment,; ayne tela, buda
and xar). Some (buda) are merely evil spirits, others (xar) represent both good and bad
influences. The latter also have a sexual connotation in that they often possess the opposite
sex. They prevent marriage and have imagined intercourse with the possessed. Seytan and
agannent frequently are different names for the Devil. Ayne tela, though also considered
to be a spirit, often characterizes a certain type of behaviour in children. They are ex-
tremely shy and unable to speak up, when asked to do so.
However, it is quite hazardous to generalize about the sigmflcance of thase spirits, which
varies from region to region. FULLERTORREY[5], in an investigation of the opinions of 80
twelfth-grade graduates on xar, emphasized that the same word can mean different things
68 R. GIEL. YOSEPHGEZAHEGNand J. N. VAN LIJIJK

to different people within the same culture. We think that the specific meaning of the
different spirits is to some extent disposed of by the fact that 32 per cent of our sample had
been possessed by more than one type of spirit. In 11 per cent as many as three or four
kinds had been exorcised. Therefore, we were more concerned with their significance in the
priest’s thinking and with the attitudes towards them of the visitors to Ghion.
We wanted to know whether people came to Ghion in the belief that some well-defined
spirits had to be exorcised, or if their appearance was more a consequence of the priest’s
preaching and of his actions. It could also be that they formed a more or less spontaneous
crystallization of the special atmosphere of the healing-centre, without any preconceived
ideas on either side. Especially in the first category they could perhaps be related to situations
involving feelings of guilt, when certain injunctions and interdictions had been trans-
gressed. For example:
(a) Two seytans entered a woman 8 years earlier, when she had intercourse with a hunter
in a ditch. In her case no symptoms were mentioned, the only and surprising mistake this
woman hadmade, was that she did not have intercourse under a roof.
(b) Another woman, who was always disagreeable and could not live with a husband,
was caught by a seytan. The seytan had stated that the possessed went to school against the
will of her father who punished her when he came home late and in a drunken mood. In
this case the occurrence of psychotraumatic events is quite obvious.
Statements like these, however, are indeed, very rare. Most spirits enter a person because he
or she comes too near a forest or a river where they are supposed to linger, or they are attracted
by the perfumes which have been used. They like to attend weddings, or are drawn by
blood spilled during slaughtering. These are common situations experienced by the great
majority of people without any hazard or consequences, and they are perhaps only retro-
spectively blamed for unrelated misfortunes occurring later.
The priest told us that the history of his patients is of little concern to him. His main
purpose is to challenge the Devil and to make him go. The victory of Faith over all that is
Evil. We gained the impression that his attitude towards the different types of spirits is also
one of indXerence. They are all manifestations of the Devil and their particular meaning
for his clients is of little interest to him. This does not mean, however, that he considers the
spirits as just another product of the imagination of his followers. They belong to the
official teachings of the Ethiopian Church. LXKICE HABT@MARIAMWORKNEH[7], a leading
official of the Orthodox Church, explains “there are many kinds of diseases, it is man him-
self that brings disease on himself. We believe that evil spirits are the cause of some dis-
eases”. He also answers the question: “Should the sick go to a priest instead of a doctor?”
The answer is: “It depends upon the type of disease. If it is due to the Devil, the patient
goes to the priest and the holy water. For any other type of disease the Churchadvisesthe
people to go to the doctor”. In his opinion most mental illnesses are caused by the Devil.
To obtain more information about the attitudes of the visitors, we interviewed 9 of the 12
cases who were also examined medically. Five of those attended medical institutions before
they came to Ghion. Nobody considers medical doctors as specialists in evil spirits. There-
fore, it is unlikely that these people were very concerned about spirits from the onset of
their illness. Our foremost impression was that many of our questions about particular
spirits found little or no response, apparently because our informants had never thought
much about them. A vague knowledge of their existence is common to all, but any specific
knowledge belongs to the native specialist.
 Faith-healing and Spirit-possession in Ghion, Ethiopia 69

The zar is a well studied phenomenon with many typical characteristics, both good and
bad, and with its own mythology. It is an important instrument in fortune-telling and in a
cult, which has been compared by MFBHNG [8] with group therapy. Nevertheless, all of our
informants considered that xar, buda etc. were just other names for the Devil, and only
related it to illness. Only one informant mentioned a traditional method of coming to terms
with zar. The others referred to the importance of praying, showering with holy water and
to the belief in God. In all of this we can hear the preachings of the priest. The opinions on
the ways a zar can take possession of a person were much more differentiated, and much
more in accordance with what is known from the literature. This is not surprising as we
know that the priest is, quite naturally, interested in the purity and faithfulness of the future
life of his audience but not in the personal history of his clients up to their arrival in Ghion.
We consider the spirits appearing in Ghion as a curious product of a vague awareness of the
existence of a variety of spirits in those who come to this place, and the strongly inductive
and conforming influence of the priest. The example of spirit-possession is set and followed
daily with an almost monotonous frequency, only occasionally disrupted by some personal
history, indicating psychotraumatic experiences in the past.

THE PRIEST’S CASES

We did not expect that the medical information to be extracted from the priest’s books,
would reveal much. We therefore also interviewed and examined a number of his cases on
the spot. Twelve of them were either selected for us by the priest’s staff or picked from among
his audience by ourselves. This investigation took place in 1967, and lasted about 1 week,
during which period we were able to spend all day at the priest’s place. We could not
collect any more cases, because it soon became obvious that we were about to outlast the
welcome we had. It wiIl be clear that they do not constitute a representative~sample, although
they display a wide variety of conditions. These people or their relatives were interviewed
for about 2 hr each. The medical history was taken entirely in their own language by one
of us (Y.G.) only as far as the psychiatric aspects were concerned under the direction of the
psychiatrist (R.G.). The sociologist (J.N.v.L.) studied the social background according to a
fixed schedule. The probable diagnosis was arrived at following a short physical examin-
ation. The most important data are presented in Table 2.
Generally people came to Ghion because friends or relatives had urged them to go.
Though in some cases going to Ghion was seen as a last and desperate attempt to regain
one’s health, this was by no means always so. Table 2 shows that some people went there
directly. Case 4 heard for the first time about Ghion in a radio program. Case 3 was treated
in a hospital, when he asked his wife to draw lots, choosing between staying on in the
hospital or going to Ghion. The great variety of patients and their conditions, as well as the
diverse consequences of their stay in Ghion, indicate that the role played by the healing-
centre is too complex for finding a uniform explanation. A more extensive review of four of
the cases will further demonstrate this point (see also Table 2) :
’ Case 2. This woman fell ill with diarrhoea, fever and headache 3 months earlier. She had
always been healthy before. After 2 weeks at home she was admitted to a hospital. She was
well on the way to recovery when, after 1 week, her parents removed her from the hospital
against her will. She was forced to go to Ghion, and at first refused to enter the priest’s
place because she disliked the idea of having to “shout”. However her father took her there
and after one week of showering with holy water she started to have trance states.
 TABLE2.
SOCIALAND MEDICAL DATA CONCERNMQ IN GHION
12 VISITORSro THE HEALING-CEMRI!
No. Age Sex Schooling Occu- Religion Marital Distance Duration Previous Diagnosis Duration Number Present
pation stat0 from of illness treatment of stay of possess- state
Ghion up to in Ghion ions
arrival
1 8 M 1)year father is Islam 2 days I5 days non0 tb. 3 day non0 gravely
church merchant meningitis ill
school
2 18 F 3 years husband Orth- married 1 day 2-3 1 week infectious 2 months many normal
church is teacher odox weeks in hosp. disease and
school dig-syst. . healthy
3 39 M nono merchant, Orth- married 14 days 3 months 1 week anxiety lweek 2 much
house and odox in hosp. stat0 improved
landowner hypochon-
driacal
symptoms
4 36 M lyears tractor- Orth- single 1 day 1 year 1 year Pott’s lyear 1 slight
church assistant odox in 3 abscess kyphosis
school hospitals of spine minim.
pyram.
tract signs
5 41 M none farmer Orth- married 2f days 7 years 6 yrs. hypochon- 6 months 5 no signs of
odox kalitsja driasis, active
1w impotence, leprosy.
debtera, 5 leprosy impotence
months le-
prosarium
.___---
continued
Table 2 continued

6 34 F - father is Orth- - 2) days 10 months outpatient residuals of 10 days - paraly=d

farmer odox heahh- poliomyeli- right leg,
centre tis, pneu- high fever
monia
1 8 M - father is Orth- - 3 hours from none mental 1 day none unchanged,
. waiter odox birth deficiency, every 15
epilepsy days
seizure
8 20 F none husband Orth- married 1 day chronic none hysteria, 1 day 1 unchanged,
is farmer odox 6 months frigidity, hysterical
hyperven- person-
tilation ality
syndrome
9 24 M up to - Orth- single 3 hours 3 years 5 months hysterical 1 year many hysterical
8th grade odox native personality personality
healer with psy- traits, no
chotic symptoms
episodes
10 20 F none husband Orth- married 2 days chronic 1 year sterility, 1 day 1 sterility,
is clerk odox before slight hypo- marital
at Ghion chondriasis. problems
marital some
problems hypochon.
symptoms
I1 31 M elemen- teacher Islam single 5daYs 5 years mental hebb 5 days none excitement,
tary, 2 Yrs. hospital phrenia incoher-
Jz.CT. en=%
delusions
12 32 M none merchant Orth- separated 3 days 6 years Iyear addiction: 1 year many cured
odox native alcohol
healer and tchat
72 R. Gm, YOSEPHGEZAHEGNand J. N. VAN LUIJK

Case 4. This man studied to become a clergyman, but had to stop his studies because his
parents died. He became a tractor-assistant. About 2 years ago, when lying under the
tractor, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back. He could not get up because his legs were
paralysed. He was treated with anti-tuberculous drugs in three different hospitals for about
1 year. After a period of six months in the last hospital he was discharged as cured. However,
he still had a very marked kyphosis, some diEculty with micturition and a spastic para-
plegia, so that he could hardly move to return for outpatient follow-up. He had nowhere to
go and slept in the open. As there were no opportunities for rehabilitation his situation
became desperate. Hearing about Ghion he went there and found shelter and attention. He
was baptized daily and had his first and only state of possession after 6 months. He improved
very gradually. On examination we found a slight angular kyphosis in the lower thoracic
region, hyper-reflexion in the lower extremities and an extensor plantar response on both
sides. He could walk normally, and showed no sign of mental illness. We diagnosed his
condition as a Pott’s abscess of the spine with compression of the spinal cord, from which
he ma& a good recovery.
Case 8. This very infantile looking woman had a long history of vague abdominal
complaints. She had married 6 months earlier and had since then frequent attacks of shaking,
theatrical behavioui, hyperventilation and possibly tetany, lasting up to 1 hour. She was
very frightened of sexual contact with her husband. Though this had improved somewhat,
she still seemed to be frigid. On her first day in Ghion she had a trance state during which
the spirits did not yet agree to leave her. This state was considered by the husband to be
very similar to the attacks she had experienced at home. Her sister was known to have had
similar attacks. We diagnosed this patient as a case of hysterical neurosis with dissociative
reactions.
Case 12. This merchant became gradually an alcoholic some 6 years earlier. He withdrew
from society and lost his business. During a period of treatment by a native healer he was
introduced into the use and later abuse of t&at. He arrived in Ghion about 1 year ago in a
very dejected state. While attending the services and having many trances he gradually
gained confidence and lost his desire for alcohol. At the time we examined him he had not
touched alcohol for several months.
The more detailed case-histories and the contents of Table 2 demonstrate clearly that we
are not dealing with mental illness exclusively, nor that we can speak of straightforward
cures. Case 1 (see Table 2) for instance was heading for an almost certain death. Case 2 was
on the way to recovery even before her parents decided to take her to Ghion. Case 3 had
certainly improved in Ghion, though one has to remember that in this kind of case re-
missions are as frequent as recurrences. Case 4 had received medical treatment for almost a
year, but was discharged as an invalid in need of rehabilitation and social care, which was
not available. It is quite certain that the priest saved him from being reduced to beggary.
Case 5 had been treated for leprosy for 5 months, which had apparently arrested the
activity of this disorder for the moment. He still was impotent but his longstanding, possibly
hypochondriacal symptoms had disappeared. The father of case 6 was dissatisfied and left.
Cases 7 and 8 had arrived only one day before. There is little doubt that the outcome of
case 7 will be unfavourable. It is very possible that case 8 may benefit, be it only because of
the increased tolerance of her husband. Case 9 had fully recovered and was busily engaged in
the activities of the healing-centre as an attendant, he considered going back to his studies.
Case 10 had been in Ghion 1 year before, her marital problems had not been solved, but
 Faith-healingand Spirit-posse&ion
in Ghion, Ethiopia 73

the stay at the priest’s place appeared to offer her an opportunity for abreaction. Case 11,
the hebephrenic teacher became increasingly excited and hallucinated according to his
mother, and had to be tied up. Case 12 is the most obvious example of a cure by the priest,
distraction and renewed confidence helped him gradually to overcome his addiction.

POSESION

The state of possession or trance is in psychiatric terminology sometimes equated with

dissociative reaction [9], hysteria [lo] or hypnosis [ 111, and is essentially a state of altered
consciousness. In or&r to understand the nature of this alteration we have first to &tie
what is meant by consciousness. We follow KRKUPL-TAYLOR [12] in his definitions. Con-
sciousness refers to the reactivity of psychoneural functions manifesting themselves not only
in awareness of what we see, hear, think, remember or feel, but also in the awareness that
we are seeing, hearing, thinking, remembering or feeling. The level of consciousness can be
assessed objectively by noticing a ‘person’s alertness and attentiveness. Any reduction or
limitation in his responsiveness is taken as a sign of altered consciousness. However, even
a completely clear consciousness does not imply that we pay the same degree of attention to
all of our experiences. Some are in the centre of attention, others are at the fringe. We can
be partially absent-minded in that we can perform two mental activities simultaneously,
one of which is automatic, like driving a car absentmindedly along a familiartmject and
at the same time being preoccupied with a meeting we are going to attend. Only when we
narrowly escape bumping into another car do we realize that we have been driving auto-
matically, and that we have no reminiscence of the route we followed. When this state of
absent-mindedness becomes complete we speak of “trance”. According to KIWJPLTAYLOR
all mental processess then are vague and move only in a range that is narrowly associated
with the motivation that dominates the fringe attention. Contact with the environment is
precarious in such a state. In a deep trance contact is almost completely lost and the person
is entirely absorbed by some phenomena in his mind. In a more superficial trance there is
some interaction with the environment, but in the same way as the absent-minded driver
who is automatically keeping to his course. In such a state the interactions may be re-
stricted to objects and events which are related to his absent-minded motivations, like
responding only to the standard questions of the priest and revealing the number and
type of spirits to be expelled.
There are many factors facilitating the attainment of a trance. Sometimes it is the high
prestige attached to it because of the supposed contact during a trance with supernatural
powers, sought by man in his desire to control nature [13]. Or inductive stimuli are em-
ployed, like the rhythm of drums or of dancing. Then there are the many examples of
social indoctrination, by which whole populations are put into a trance, perhaps starting
with those who are constitutionally more susceptible. Finally there is tha more scient&
method of inducing a state of trance (hypnosis) by means of suggestive measures. In the
latter it is of course important that people attend in the right frame of mind, expecting that
something is going to happen.
Though absent-mindedness is very much a feature of normal life, the relation of total
absent-mindedness or possession to mental illness is less clear.
Viewpoints tend to differ perhaps mainly with the background and the sphere of interest
of those who discuss the phenomenon.
The true anthropologist [13] may consider possession a normal and important attribute
74 R. GEL, Y~PH GEZAHECJN
and J. N. VAN LUUK

of the leaders of a society: kings, chiefs, priests or priestesses. Even under these circum-
stances, it is sometimes stressed [14] that some form of emotional instability is essential to
acquire such an important role. Possession is then accepted as normal only in certain people.
taking up particular roles. BATESONand MEAD [15] describe how young Balinese dancers
have to go into a trance before they start their performance which is inspired by the deity.
Occasionally spectators or assistants are induced into a state of possession by the preliminary
proceedings. They are invariably taken away from the scene because their behaviour is
considered as highly inappropriate. Another and extreme position is taken up mainly by
psychiatrists who almost without exception link possession to hysteria, schizophrenia and
other mental illnesses [9,10, 16, 171. Others taking up an intermediate position, speak of all
those being possessed as “patients” [8] and of “hysterical” possession [18]. At the same
time, however, they state that “frustrated status ambitions” [8] can lead to the attainment
of possession. Or that in some societies “the steps which are socially &lined as those
appropriate in cases of iuness are often substantially the same as those considered appro-
priate in relation to other misfortunes” [181.
Apparently possession can also be an attribute of the “underdog”, the loser in the
struggle for power and prestige [19]. Among the Tanala of Madagascar, the younger son,
who will not inherit his father’s wealth, tries to better his lot by means of tromba-possession
[lo]. In this case possession may be a normal, culturally accepted tool to achieve one’s
goal, and not part of an illness. In that case people relying on possession cannot be called
‘pati&s,, h&(&&a tely, even though mentally disturbed people will be especially
at&acted to its use.
When taken as a psychiatric symptom one tends to compare, or even equate possession
with a dissociative reaction, as it occurs in hysteria. A dissociative reaction is an episodic
disturbance in the stream of consciousness [20] in case of overwhelming anxiety when
defense-mechanisms (repression) govern consciousness, memory and temporarily even the
total individual, with little or no participation of the normal personality [21]. Anxiety
provoking experiences are banned from consciousness before they can interfere with the
normal peace of mind. The repression causes a selective inattention with the continuation
of impulses at the unconscious level. In extreme cases aspects of the personality normally
altogether excluded from awareness manifest themselves vigorously, and are often hallucin-
ated as allusory personiflcations coming from outside [22]. The same defense-mechanism
of repression causes the amnesia, which occurs after a dissociative state has passed [23].
Anxiety apparently is the central issue in a dissociative reaction. To equate hysterical or
psychotic dissociation with possession would imply that anxiety is the main theme of the
latter too. When considering the trance states at Ghion in the light of the above, it is im-
portant to note that possession is not a feature of mental illness only. The trance states we
could observe (about 20), followed a standard pattern which was very much under the
control of the priest. People come in a mood of expectancy, enforced perhaps by economic
sacrifice, days of travelling and the obligation to accompany relatives. They see possessions
occur right before their eyes. Finally they are dependant on the dominating personality of
the priest and his standard&d and suggestive questioning. His actions determine their
behaviour and responses. They communicate with him only, when they are possessed. The
stage of groaning lasts as long as it takes him to direct his attention to them. When he has
approached them the groaning stops and some sort of conversation becomes possible. As
such, this state of trance resembles very much the more superficial absent-mindedness
which is described by KUJPL-TAYUIR. We were able to examine two women right after
 Faith-healing and Spirit-possession in Ghion, Ethiopia 75

they had been possessed. One of them was fully conscious when we interviewed her. She
appeared to have no knowledge of what had occurred. This was in accordance with the
information we obtained from other cases, stating that they did not remember at all, what
they had said when they were possessed. Their companions had informed them afterwards.
The second woman who had thrown hysterical fits at home, behaved differently when we
examined her. When we addressed her she seemed drowsy. However, when we talked to her
husband she appeared to be fully aware of what was going on. She stated that she had a
vague knowledge of communicating with the priest. Her spirits had refused to go. We
thought that she might have had a hysterical dissociative reaction, as there was evidence of
the neurotic anxiety, which is considered to be central in the mechanism af dissociation. In
some of the other, mentally normal people we had little proof for such neurotic anxiety.

CONCLUSIONS

The phenomena of faith-healing and of spirit-possession in Ghion are of great importance,

mainly for two reasons. First of all, an enormous number of people come to Ghion from
all over the country, often at considerable economic sacrifice. Secondly, it is the official
standpoint of the Orthodox Church that many diseases are caused by evil spirits, more
especially the mental disorders. Modem medicine clearly has to come to terms with this
situation. Even more so, because the Church shows its willingness to cooperate by declaring
that certain diseases should be treated by medical doctors. .
Indeed, in many countries the medical profession is used to working together with re-
ligious and other organizations.
The main problem, however, is to differentiate between those people who will benefit from
going to Ghion and those who will not. Our investigation has shown that there is no such
di.tIerentiation as yet.
In about 50 per cent of the cases we really do not know what the symptoms are. At least
24 per cent come with somatic symptoms, while there are psychological and social problems
in some 22 per cent of cases.
The process of recovery, “the cure”, is complex and sometimes very gradual. Though
people suffering from a tuberculous meningitis are bound to meet with death in Ghion, it
cannot be said that every patient with an organic illness will fail to benefit. Gur example of a
man invalided because of a compression of the spinal cord resulting from a tuberculous
abscess of the spine, shows that the healing-centre offered an opportunity, which the medical
institutions had not been able to provide. On the other hand, it is quite obvious that not all
mentally disturbed people will find help in Ghion. The hebephrenic teacher became in-
creasingly confused and was giving so much trouble that he was about to be removed. But
the addicted merchant is our best example of a cure. Besides, when considering the sort of
help people receive, one cannot restrict oneself to a purely medical point of view. Problems
which become increasingly intolerable to all those who are involved, perhaps do not find
a solution, but they are accepted with new hope. Examples of this are iaihtre to find a
spouse, sterility, death of children etc.
The spirits that are exorcised in Ghion form a curious mixture of the beliefs of the people
differing from region to region, and the stem preaching of the priest, who equalizes them all
as manifestations of the Devil. It appears from our interviews that the knowledge of the
visitors of Ghion about the spirits is relatively vague, thus making a fertile soil for the
teachings of the priest. Finally, the state of possession or trance is not spe&cally related to
76 R. GEL, Yosaprr GEZAHEONand J. N. VAN LUUK

mental illness. It appears to be a learned absent-mindedness in the majority of cases, with

many factors contributing to the process of learning. Like the expectant mood in which
people arrive, the daily example of trance states, and the definitely inductive actions of the
priest. The fact that it may take months of attending the services before possession occurs,
bears witness to this.
It is our opinion that the state of possession has to be distinguished from an hysterical
dissociative reaction resulting from strong repression in case of overwhelming anxiety,
which condition perhaps occurs in some of the cases. Some of the stories in the priest’s
books suggest that possession offers an opportunity for abreaction.

REFERENCES

1. F~xD, M. J. Search for Security, Faber & Faber, London, 1960.

2. Lamrs, M. L’Afrique Funtdme, Gallirnard, Paris, 1934.
3. L~Ru$ M. L-a possession et ses aspecfs theatraux cher Ies Ethiopiens de Gondor, Librairie Plan, Paris,
1958.
4. Lam, D. N. Wax and Gold; tradition and innovation in Ethiopian culture, University of Chicago Press,
Chicago, 1965.
5. Fu~~gn Toaapy, E. in: An introduction to health and health education in Ethiopia, edited by E. Fuue~
Touumr, Berhanena lIelam, Addis Ababa, 1%6.
6. Pw, R. in: An intro&&ion to heaZth and health edrrcation in Ethiopia, edited by E. FULLER
Toanay. Berhanena Selam. Addis Ababa, 1966.
7. Woitznra~, LIKKE SUTANAT HASTE MARXAM,in: An introduction to heaZth and health education in
Ethiopia, edited by E. FULLER TORREY, Bethanena Selam, Addis Ababa, 1966.
8. Mzsst~o, S. D. in: M. K. OPLER, Ctdture and mental health, McMillan, New York, 1959.
9. Aatzrr, S. and ME’~H,J. M. in: S. Aatarr American handbook of psychiatry, Basic Books, New York,
1959.
10. mm~n, A. The Zndivkhtal and his Socieq, Columbia University Press New York, 1961.
11. Wor.zano, L. R in: S. Antart, American hana5ook ofpsychiatry, Basic Books, Now York, 1959.
12. WUPL TAYLOR,F. Psychopathology, its causes andsymptoms, Butterworths, London, 1966.
13. Fa,+zan. J. G. The golden bough (abridged version edited by T. H. GA~XER),Criterion Books, New
York, 1959.
14. R.ADIN,P. Primitive religion, Dover Publications, New York, 1957.
IS. BATESON, G. and MEAD, M. Balinese character: A photographic analysis, New York Academy of
Sciences, New York, 1942.
16. BLEULBR.II. Lctiuch &r Psychiatric. Springer, Berlin, 1920.
17. Jtipzas, K Allgemeine Psychopathologic, Springer Berlin, 1948.
18. LOUDON, J. B. in TransctdturaZpsychiatry, A Ciba Foundation Symposium, Churchill, London, 1965.
19. Hw J. and Hq I. Spirit posse&on and its sociopsychological implications among the Sidamo
of Southwest Ethiopia. EthnoIogy Y (IF’), 1966.
20. Aasa, D. W. in: S. ARIETI, American handbook of psychiatry, Basic Books, New York, 1959.
21. Noyes, A. P. and KOLB. L. C. Modern clinicalpsychiatry, Saunders, Philadelphia, 1958.
MUNRO. R. L. Schools ofpsycho-analytic thought, Holt. New York, 1965.
Fatrun, S. The basic writing, BIULL, A. A. (ed). The Modem Library, New York, 1938.

(Receiwd 5 June, 1967: in revised form 17 October, 1967)

Rewrm6--Les phenomenes de la thtrapeutique fond&e sut la priere et sur la religion et ceux

de la possession de l’esprit sont, chez Ghion, d’une importance primordiale, pour deux
raisons majeures. En premier lieu, une quantite dnorme de personnes va chn Ghion, de tous
les coins du pays, souvent en faisant des sacrilices financiers considerables. Deuxiernement,
dans la position officielle de 1’Eglise Orthodoxe, de nombreuses maladies sont cau&es par les
esprits malins, principalement Ies d&so&es mentaux. La medecine moderne, de toute evidence,
doit s’accotdet B cette situation. Particulierement parce que 1’Eglise montte son d6sit de
coop&er en de&rant que certaines maladies doivent tre soignees par les medecins.
En fait, dam de nombreux pays les membres de la profession medicale ont l’habitude de
travaillet conjointement avec les otganisations religieuses ou autres. .
 Faith-healing and Spirit-possession in Ghion, Ethiopia 71

Le probkme principal, toutefois, est la differentiation entre les personnes pouvant b&&icier
en suivant Ghion et celles n’en ben&iciant pas. Nos recherches ont demontm qu’une telle
differentiation n’existe pas encore.
Chez environ 50 pourcent des cas, nous ignorons quels sont les sympt6mes. Au moms 24
pourcont des caa arrivent avec des sympr6messomatiques alors qu’il y a des problhna psycholo-
giques et sociawt darts quelque 22 pourcent des cas.
Le pro&d6 de gukison, “la cure”, est complexe et parfois t&s graduel. Quoique des per-
sonnes souffrant de m6ningite tuberculcuse soient condamnks P une mart dprtaine chez
Ghion, on ne peut pas dire que tous les patients souffrant de maladies organiques n’en pro-
theraient pas. Notre exemple d’un homme devenu invalide pour cause de la co pression du
cordon mklullaire resultant d’abds tuberculeux sur la colonne vertebrale, in% ique que le
centre de thCrapeutique fond& sur la p&e et sur la suggestion lui ant assur6 des facilitcS que
les institutions m&&ales ont ttt incapables de lui faire. D’autre part, il est 6videm que Ghion
ne peut pas aider toutes les personnes souffrant de troubles mentaux. Le profemeur hCb6phrtne
devint de plus en plus embrouill6 et donnait tolkment d’ennuis qu’il 6tait sur 1e:point d%tre
renvoye. Mais 1s marchand toxicomane est le meilleur exemple de gu&ison. De plus, lorsqu’on
consid&re la sorte d’aide que ces personnes ~ivent, on ne peut se restreindre al un point de
vue purement mbdical. Les problemes qui deviennent intokables n’obtiennent peut-&re pas
une solution, mais sont accept& avec un renouveau d’espoir. Des exemples en mutt l’echec B
trouver tme Cpouse, la stkilit6, la mort d’enfants, etc.
Les esprits qui sont exorcises par Ghion forment un curieux m6lange de croyancea populaires
difT&ant de r&ion en region, et le severe enseignement du prttre lea Cgalise tous en manifes-
tation du Malin. D’apr&s nos interviews il semble que les visiteurs de Ghion li’ont qu’une
vague connaissance de ce qui se rapporte aux esprits, et en ala sont un terrain fe ’ e pour les
enseignements du pare. Finalement, l’ttat de possession ou transe n’est pas
4
* quemant
relit aux maladies mentales. 11semble ctre I’oubli de soi etudit dans la majorit des cas, avec de
nombreux facteurs contribuant au pro&U de cette etude. Tel P&at expectatif d ‘esprit dam
lequel les personnes arriver& l’exemple quotidien d%tats de transe et les actions $at@orique-
ment inductives du prttre. Le fait qu’on peut prendre part au service durant des mois avant
que la possession ne survienne en est la preuve.
Notre opinion est que P&tat de possession doit &re distinct de la reaction dissocmtive
hystkique r6sultant dune grande rtpression dam le cas d’une anxi6tC accab te, et qui
survient peutNre dam quelques uns des cas. Quelques unes des histoires des livr du pare
suggkent que la possession est une occasion d’abrkction.

Sumario-El fen6meno de la cura por media dela fe y el de la poses& por el espS en Ghion
son de gran importancia por dos razones principalmente. En primer lugar, UII n,
%ero muy

deberlan ser tratadas por doctores en medicina.

Es cierto queen muchos pa&es la profesion medica estA acostumbmda a trabajar ert conjunto
con otras organizacionas, bien sea religiosas 6 de otro tipo.
Sin embargo, el problema principal con&e en establecer cuales serfan las personas que
obtendrfan algtIn benetlcio en Ghion y cuales serfan las que nose bcncadarfan d este viaje.
Nueetra investigaci6n indica que todavfa no es posible establecer semejante distin L* n.
Aproximadamente en un 50 por ciento de 10s cases, nosotros en malidad $to sabemos
wales eran 10s sfntomas. Por lo men08 en tm 24 por ciento de 10s cases los aln eran
som&icos, mientras que en un 22 por ciento de 10s cases, 10s problemas eran pei,Kmas 16gicos y
sociales.
El proceso de recuperaci6n 6 sea “la cura,” es complejo y muy gradual en al OS de 10s
cases. A pesar de que las personas afectadas de meningitis tuberculosa estan %tma. dasa
encontrar la muerte en Ghion. no es posible a&mar de que cada paciente con una e&em&ad
organica dejara de ser beneficiado en Ghion. Nueatro ejemplo de tm hombre irtvalidado a
causa de una compresi6n de la columna vertebral debida a un abceso tuberculoso en este
6rgano, demuestra que el centro de curaci6n podfa ofrecer una oporttmidad qtre las ins&u-
ciones medicas no habfan sido capacse de ofrecer. Por otra parte, es completameme obvio el
hecho de que no todas las personas con trastomos mentales ser&n ayudadas con ir a Ghion. La
confusi6n de1 maestro hebefrtkico aument6 progresivancentey la persona se convirti6 enun
problema tal que estaba a punt0 de ser expelido. Sin embargo el adicto, q&n era un comer-
 R. GIL, YOSEPHGEWHE~N and J. N. VAN LIJLJK

ciante, es nuestro mejor ejemplo de una recuperaci6n. Adem& cuando consideramos el tipo
de ayuda que las personas llegan a recibir, no podemos restringirnos exclusivemente al punto
de vista medico. Pueda ser que 10s problemas que llegan a ser progresivamente mas intoler-
ables para todos las personas envueltas, no se solucionen pero seran aceptados con nuevas
esperanzas. Ejemplos de este tipo son la imposibilidad de encontrar una pareja para casarse,
esterilidad, la muerte de un hijo. etc.
Los esplritos exorcidos en Ghion constituyen una curiosa mezcla de las creencias regionales
con las severas amonestaciones de1 sacerdote qui6n las equlpara a todas con Lasmanifestaciones
de1 demonio. SegtIn informaci6n obtenida atraves de muestras lntrevistas, parecerla que 10s
vlsitantes de Ghlon tienen un conocimiento relativamente vago acerca de 1osespIritos lo cual
proves un terreno f6rtll para las ensenanzas de1 sacerdote. Finalmente. el estado de trance 6 de
posesi6n no estl especlflcamente relacionado con las enfermedades mentales. En la majorla
de 10s cases. cl estado de trance parece ser un estado de ausencia mental aprendido, siendo
muchos los factores que contribuyen a este proceso de aprendiaaje. Entre estos tiltimos se
podrla comar el estado de expectacibn en que 10s visitantes llegan a Ghion, el ejemplo de 10s
trances de otros, visto a diario, y las a&ones de1 sacerdote que son ciertamente inductivas.
Prueba de esto es cl hecho de que pueden transcurrir varios meses de atendencia a 10s servicios
antes de que oclirra las posesi6n.
Nuestra opinl6n es que el estado de poseei6n debe ser dlstb@do de una reacci6n disociativa
de tipo hist&ico, derivada de fuertes represiones ante una ansiedad exceslva, siendo 6% una
condici6n que ocurre quiz& en algunos de Los cases. Algunas de las historlas, anotadas en 10s
libros de 10s sacerdotes, sugieren que la posesi6n puedeofrecer la oportunidad para la abreacci6n.

Z-Die Erscheinung der Heilung durch das Glaubensbekemtnis und die Reses-
senhelt von G&em, die man in Ghion vorllnden kann. sind von groQer Redeutung, haupt-
sllchlich der folgenden Grttnde wegen. Erstens, eine ansehliche Am&l von Leuten wird aus
allen Gegenden nach Ghion gezogen. In vlelen Fgllen wird dlese Reise nur durch betrachtliche
bkonomische Aufgaben erm&licht. Zweltens, der trffentliche Standpunkt der griechisch-
kathollschen Kirche besteht darauf, dal3 viele Krankheitenvon tlbelen Geistem hervorgerufen
werden, ins besondere die Geistesstorungen. Die moderne Medlzin hat slch in Wirklichkeit
mit dieser Lage abgefunden. besonders da die Kirche ihr Entgegen kommen der Medlzin
gezeigt hat mit ihrer Erkl&rung, da13 manche Krankheiten bei Arztcn geheilt werden sollten.
Es lst such wahr, daB in vielen Lltndem die Arzte damn gewl)hnt sind mit religlihen und
anderen Organlsationen insgemein zu arbeiten. Unsere wichtigste Aufgabe ist jedoch ein
Krlterium AI llnden damit man die Personen, welchen diese Reise rum Nutzen wird, und die
Personen, welche in Ghion nichts gewmnen we&n, unterscheiden kann. Es ergab sich aus
unserer Untersuchung, da0 man zur Zeit eine derartige Unterscheidung nicht machen kann.
Ungef%r in 50 Prozent der FlUle wissen wit in Wirkliihkelt nicht was die Symptome waren.
Mindestens 24 Prozente kamen mit physischen Symptomen, w&end ungef& in 22 Prorent
der File, geistliche und gesellsehaftliche Schwierigkelten vorgefunden wurden.
Der Verlauf der Rrhohmg, “die Heilung”, ist kompllziert und nut alhu%hhch in vielen
Fallen. Obwohl die Personen dle von tuberkuloser Hirnhautentzttndung erkrankt sind, in
Ghlon einen sicheren Tod finden we&n, kann man jedoch nicht behaupten, daS alle Leute
die eine korperliche Krankheit haben. in Ghion nichts gawinnen we&n. Das Relspiel eines
Manna, der einem tuberkultlsen Geschwttr des Rtkckgrats zufolge, eine Zusamm endrtlckung
der Wirbelsiiule hatte, wobel er ein Invalid bekam, dentet darauf, daS das Heihmgszenter eine
Mbglichkeit anbot welche die Krankheitsanstalten nicht beiten konnten. Es is jedoch grelfbar,
da8 nlcht alle Geisteskranke sich in Ghion erhohlen we&n. Der von Hebefrenia erkrankte
Lehrer bekam allmahlich so geistesverworren und gab AnlaB zu solchen Schwierigkeiten,
da0 man in RegritT war ihn au entfemen. Dagegen ist der den Narkotiken verfallene Kaufmann
user bestes Reispiel einer Heilung. Man mu0 such hinzuftlgen, da0 wenn wir die Art der Hilfe,
welche die Personen in Ghion fin&n, in Achtung nehmen wollen. bekommlt es klar, daS wir
UNI nicht ausschliel&h auf den medizinischen Standpunkt begrenzen k&men. Die Probleme,
die alhnlihlich unertragbar fllr alle Mitglieder der Lage bekommen, werden wahrscheinlich
keine Autlbsung erhalten, doch werden sle wahrscheinllch mit netter Hoffnung in Kauf genom-
men. Als Reispiele dienen die Erfolglosigkeit in der Suche fUr einen Heiratspartner. Unfrucht-
barkeit, der Tod der Kinder, und so weiter.
Die Geister die in Ghion ausgetrieben we&n, bestehen aus einer eigen artigen Kreuzung
zwlschen den Aberglauben der Leute aus verschiedenen Gegenden, und dem erwten Predigen
des Geistlichen, der sie alle als Erscheinungen des Teufels gleichweise verdammt. ALU unsemn
Gesprllchen mit den Teilnehmern, bemerkt man, dal3 ihre Kenntnisse in Reziehung zu den
Geistem verhaltnismiiBig unbestimmt sind, was einen fruchtbaren Grund fllr die Predigten des
 Faith-he&q and Spirit-possession in Ghion, Ethiopia 79

Geistlichen bietet. Zum SchulB muB esgesagt werden, daB der Zustand der Besessenheit or die
Trance nicht ausschlieB1ic.h mit Geisteserkrankungen verbunden ist. In me&en Fallen besteht
er aus einem gelernten Zustand der Geistesabwesenheit. Unter den vielen Faktoren die zur
Erlernung dieser Geistesabwesenheit betragen konnten, werden folgende aufgczilhlt: der Zu-
stand der enwartenden Spannung in welchen die Reisende in Ghion ankommen, das tlighche
Beispiel von Trancen, und die zweifellos beitragende Tatigkeit des Geistlichen. Die Tatsache,
daB in vielen Fallen, Monate vergehen mttssen ehe die Besessenheit statt findet, gibt Grund au
dieser Behauptung.
Unserer Ansicht nach. muB der Zustand der Besessenheit von einer zerspalten den Reaktion
dcr hysterischen Art unterschieden werden, wo die letztcre im Fallc von angespaqmter Unter-
drttckungen bei ILbenv&higender Angst hervorgerufen wird. Dieser Z&and wird wahrschein-
lich in manchen unserer Ftille vorgefunden. Manche Beschreibungen in den Wchem des
Geistlichen deuten darauf, da13 die Besessenheit die Gelegenheit zur Abreaktion bietet.