Research Catalog

Spirit possession and personhood among the Kel Ewey Tuareg

Title: Spirit possession and personhood among the Kel Ewey Tuareg / Susan J. Rasmussen.
Author: Rasmussen, Susan J., 1949-
Publication: Cambridge [England] ; New York, NY, USA : Cambridge University Press, ©1995.

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Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request for On-site Use Request Scan How do I pick up this item and when will it be ready?	Text	Use in library	BL2480.T82 R37 1995	Off-site

Details

Description

xi, 178 pages; 24 cm.

Summary

Among the Tuareg people in the Air Mountain region of Niger, women are sometimes possessed by spirits called "the people of solitude." The evening curing rituals of the possessed, featuring drumming and song, take place before an audience of young men and women, who joke and flirt as the ritual unfolds. In her analysis of this tolerated but unofficial cult, Susan Rasmussen analyses symbolism and aesthetic values, provides case studies of possessed women, and reviews what local people think about the meaning of possession.

Series Statement

Cambridge studies in social and cultural anthropology ; 94

Uniform Title

Cambridge studies in social and cultural anthropology ; 94.

Subject

Bibliography (note)

Includes bibliographical references (p. 165-170) and index.

Contents

1. Illnesses of the heart and soul: the case of Asalama ---- Part I. Images of possession. 2. Inversion and other tropes in spirit possession rituals --- 3. 'Like a tree branch swaying in the wind': the head dance --- 4. Illnesses of God: personhood, knowledge and healing ---- Part II. Art, agency, and power in the ritual sessions. 5. Sound, solitude, and music --- 6. The tande n goumaten songs.

ISBN

0521470072
9780521470070

LCCN

94011233

OCLC

30319443
SCSB-2050698

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library