Spirits and spouses: possession as a system of communication among the Malagasy speakers of Mayotte

Abstract

Spirit possession can be viewed as a system of communication based on a minimal triad of three “persons”—host, spirit, and intermediary. The model is illustrated with case material from Mayotte in which the possession of women by spirits produces ties of “friendship” between the spirits and the women's husbands, thus adding new dimensions to the conjugal relationships. [possession, social structure, symbolic, trance, women]

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