The taking over of the mind by evil spirits, possessed.
A feature of many societies in which a person is taken over by spirits and loses control of his or her behavior. It is an important part of most African tribal religious systems. It is the medium through which their deity or ancestral spirit speaks to the tribe. In this context, possession is usually formalized into a one-to-one relationship between the tribal god and the intermediary, usually a witch doctor. This way credence can be given to his divination and his spiritual leadership over all others so that he can exert a powerful controlling influence over alternative forms of possession. In effect, the tribe would interpret the situation as the good tribal god dealing with minor evil spirits who are possessing a member of the tribe. In some forms of “evil” possession, the person is regarded by the community as having committed a spiritual transgression, and recovery might require a sacrifice.
In Western religions such as Christianity, spirit possession is also believed to occur. But in Christianity, possession by the Holy Spirit has seldom been seen as the prerogative of any class or group. Nevertheless, spirit possession by members of the congregation mostly occurs outside the institutional churches as, for example, in the Pentecostal movement. Manifestations of possession include violent unusual movement, shrieking, groaning, and uttering disconnected or strange speech (called “speaking in tongues”). In some cases, the behavior is stimulated by drugs, but mostly it is either self-induced or brought about by chanting, drumming, or collective hysteria. Sometimes, a normally pious member of a congregation utters blasphemies or exhibits terror or hatred of sacred objects. In cases like this, the religious leader might consider the possibility of possession by evil spirits or some other malevolent transcendental cause, and exorcism is considered. Films, books, and television and radio programs have capitalized on this in their plots.