Rituals compared

Ecstatic trance and spirit possession across the world

Why let a spirit in? In many traditions a god, spirit or ancestor is believed to enter or speak through a human being, or a specialist travels in trance to the spirit world. Drumming, song, dance or long preparation usually bring the state on, and the community then consults, heals or celebrates with the present spirit. The interpretation differs: possession by a deity, the Holy Spirit, an oracle god, or an afflicting spirit to be reconciled.

Some links are documented: Haitian Vodou and Candomble grew from West and Central African religions (Fon, Yoruba, Kongo and Bantu), and Umbanda draws on Candomble and on Spiritism, a French version of Spiritualism. Sami noaidi practices resemble Siberian ones. Others, such as the Pythia, Korean gut and Theyyam, arose independently as far as is known.

Across the world

Version	Tradition	What is done, and why
Siberian shamanic seance	Animism & Shamanism	Shamans of Siberian peoples conduct healing seances with drum and song, imitating the sounds of helping spirits. The shaman's free soul was believed to travel to upper and lower worlds to rescue souls, ward off evil spirits and secure success in the hunt.
The noaidi's drum	Sámi Religion	The Sami noaidi used a drum to call on helping spirits and to make out-of-body journeys; most practice died out in the 17th century under Christianisation. The journeys sought help from benevolent spirits for the community.
The Pythia at Delphi 800 BCE	Ancient Greek Religion	The high priestess of Apollo gave oracles seated on a tripod; ancient and later writers describe her in an ecstatic trance. Apollo was believed to speak through her; some accounts link the trance to vapours from the ground.
Sama 1250 CE	Sufism	A Sufi ceremony of listening to music and poetry within the remembrance of God (dhikr), associated with Rumi and the whirling Mevlevi order. Rumi is said to have fallen into ecstatic trance on hearing God's name in a goldbeater's hammering; sama invites reflection on God's presence.
Zar 1550 CE		In the Horn of Africa and nearby regions, people (mostly women) believed to be possessed by a zar spirit hold rituals to reconcile with it rather than expel it. The spirit is believed to cause illness, and the possession is often treated as lifelong.
San trance	Animism & Shamanism	San shamans of southern Africa entered trance to travel into the spirit world. Among other aims, they sought to capture the animals associated with rain.
Possession by the lwa 1750 CE	Haitian Vodou	Vodouists drum, sing and dance to encourage a lwa spirit to possess a dancer temporarily. The lwa serve as intermediaries of God, communicating with humans through dreams or direct possession. The year is approximate: Vodou took form around the mid-18th century, as African religions mixed with Catholic and other European traditions.
Incorporation of the orixas 1800 CE	Candomblé	Drumming, singing and dancing encourage an orixa to possess one of the members, with whom the congregation then interacts. Possession makes the orixa present among the faithful. The year is approximate: Candomble coalesced in Bahia during the 19th century.
Umbanda mediumship 1920 CE	Umbanda	Mediums in Brazilian terreiros are possessed by spirits such as the pretos velhos and caboclos, spirits of enslaved Africans and Indigenous Brazilians. These spirits are emissaries of the orixas; the religion emerged in the 1920s from Spiritism, Candomble and Catholicism.
Spiritualist seance 1848 CE	Spiritualism	Mediums claim to communicate with spirits of the dead at seances; modern Spiritualism is dated from the Fox sisters in New York State in 1848. Adherents believe the dead survive and can be contacted.
Speaking in tongues 1906 CE	Pentecostalism	At the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles, led by William J. Seymour from April 1906, worshippers spoke in tongues and shouted praises. Participants understood it as baptism with the Holy Spirit.
Gut 1100 CE	Korean Shamanism (Muism)	The Korean mudang drums and dances in swirling circles to enter a possession trance, offering food and entertainment to gods and ancestors. Neglect of ancestors and gods is seen as the main cause of affliction, which the ritual diagnoses and resolves. The year is approximate: the earliest historical references to the mudang date to the 12th century.
Theyyam	Hinduism	In North Malabar, after hours of ritual song and preparation, the performer receives the sacred headdress and is believed to become the deity. The placing of the headdress is believed to mark the entry of the deity into the performer's body.
The Nechung Oracle 1500 CE	Vajrayāna Buddhism	A medium, the oracle of the Dalai Lama since the second Dalai Lama, goes into trance and is possessed by Dorje Drakden, the principal protector of the Dalai Lamas. Oracles have played a part in revelation and state decisions in Tibet.

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