possession by supernatural beings. (Islam) Muslim communities are especially targets to mental illness in present society due to factors such as Islamophobia, social isolation and exclusion, in addition to marginalization. Due to Islam’s holistic approach to healing, many turn to Qur’anic healing as a guide to resolve their physical maladies and mental illness. It is important to note that belief in supernatural phenomenon is not mutually exclusive with Islam, for it’s origins can be traced back to paganism. In religious texts throughout the world there has been a connection between the words ‘madness’ and ‘spirit-possession’ in scripture. The belief in supernatural beings including magic and witchcraft are accepted by well-educated individuals in Africa as well as those who are from lower socioeconomic classes and illiterate. Zar, which is technically prohibited on the grounds of it being a Pagan practice, is used in place of psychiatric …show more content…
For men, spirit possession acts as a mechanism to oppress women, ensuring they remain in their rightful societal hierarchies. This creates the line dividing both exorcism and adorcism, one of which promotes spirit possession as a means of cathartic release for women. However, exorcism is much preferred by men because it puts a complete stop to the spirit possession, not allowing for it to continue. Allowing women to participate in spirit possession ceremonies would be allotting them some sense of control and eliminating this act allows for men to remain in control of society. Adorcism is not evident in all Muslim communities that have strong belief in spiritual possession. Since these two acts are dialectically antithetical processes, exorcism can exist independently, forbidding the counterreaction of adorcism. Specifically seen in the Malay Muslim community, there is no instance of adorcism in regard to women and spirit
There had been convictions that these healing practices were helpful, at least as supportive care, to clients suffering chronic mental illness. Spiritist healing practices: Spiritist medium diagnosed by seeing (inwardly envisioning) the causes of the illness and other problems to the spirit world. They do not heal in any direct sense but open their bodies to possession by illness or problem causing spirits who have attached themselves to sufferers. Healing takes place when the spirit medium assists the sufferer to come into harmony with these spirits and forgive them so as to change his or her emotions, lifestyle, physical complaints and/or destiny. The widespread fear in Puerto Rico associated with either becoming or being labeled as a loco acts a restraint on the ways medium works with persons whom they perceived psychiatric concepts and definitions of mental illness and those of the Spiritists. There was a case that was compared with the most frequent complaint of 220 women receiving help from Spiritits mediums at ritual healing
In the book “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down,” author Anne Fadiman presents a character who suffered from epilepsy as a Hmong child who born on July 19, 1982, in Merced, California. Being the fourteenth child of Foua Yang and Nao Kao Lee, Lia Lee was their favorite daughter. They spoiled her and treated her like a princess; believed that her epilepsy marked her as special; and that she might someday become a shaman, which is a person regards as having access to. Because of their belief, the Lees were both concerned and proud of Lia. They brought her to the Merced Community Medical Center (MCMC) for treatment, Meanwhile, they also practiced traditional healing that involved call back her soul using tvic neeb.
In all areas of life and society the treatment and well being of women have always been challenged. In many religions the role and status of its women are usually overwhelmed by the actions and roles of its men this inequality of religions between male and female allows these feelings and ideology of which sex is superior or inferior to bleed into a society’s culture thus shaping their treatment of their men and women.
In her famous The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende documents the life of several characters during the Chilean reality in the 1930s. Her notorious feminist ideology is, at times, extremely obvious. Elements such as the clash of social classes and the social, political and economical conditions of Chile during this period of high turmoil are also well portrayed. Isabel Allende achieves to give us a good image of what life in Chile was like during those years. Some particular characters specially exemplify all of these elements very clearly.
The Pentecostal’s spirit & spirit possession is directly linked and genetically kin to paganism by virtue of their Americanized version of African traditional religion and Voodoo religion. This Americanized form of paganism has shown its own true colors through several dead giveaways. These include the trait of “unintelligible speech” as practiced by Voodooist, Shakers, witch doctors, neo-pagans, shamans and Russian Molokans. With these extra-biblical tongues comes other extra-biblical and non-biblical traits plus other abnormalities. These include:
Religion is used by men and women alike to account for the validity of domestic violence towards women and violence in general.
Witchcraft is the other and final Perspectives: The Zar is an indigenous, non-western perspective of the psychological disturbances. It is a general term applied in North African and Middle Eastern societies. It is the experience of spirits possessing an individual. It is the belief that malevolent bizarre being possesses an individual. It is preoccupation of the spirit that takes full control of the person, and performs externally against the person’s well. When the spirit acts inside the person, it disturbs them badly, energizes their ill funniness, makes them religiously unreserved and perform blasphemy, express languages they have never studied, “ascertains” to them unknown secrets, and arouses them with the knowledge of the obscurest
‘The séance reversed the usual sexual hierarchy of knowledge and power: it shifted attention away from men and focused it on the female medium, the center of spiritual knowledge and insight’
Regardless, women have found their own ways to fight the status quo. Religion, as it is unique to each individual, is an inventive way for women to push against the social norms and find necessary solace for themselves whether it be through spiritual possession or small cell group meetings. Both Shamanistic and Evangelical practices serve as an outlet for suppressed women in the shadow of the Confucian patriarchal society helping to ease the stress of marital and family life even if the slightest
From the first lines of The House of the Spirits, Allende uses the technique of a feminized magical realism to pull the reader into a political-historical novel. Alba Trueba from Allende’s The House of the Spirits is an effective example of this revolutionary female narration. Her story, which includes her female relatives’ viewpoints and excludes Trueba’s version, is a direct block to Trueba’s egotistic, stiff, and not exactly true version of events. Her woman-centered narration is, further, a symbol of the triumph of women’s expression and their revision of patriarchal and authoritarian history. Alba watches the military erase history and devastate the country, but she in turn uses her power of writing to resist. Alba and her female, therefore,
Jinn, in Islam and Arab culture, keeps up the general definition of ghosts, even Jinn envisage deals with completely invisible creatures, mostly not related to the soul of any person but they are unique. Jinn can affect people and can habitat their body. In Christian culture, their holy book shows spiritual creatures, which are some good and others are evil, this suits the idea of Jinn in Islam culture. Charles M. Wynn and Arthur W. Wiggins in their book "Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction" they said that when the results of pseudoscience didn't work in with predictions, so the following of this pseudoscience based on their original belief due to its great attraction can close the mind completely. One of pseudo-sciences industry problems
Do ghosts and spirits really exist?, I think ghost and spirits are real because I have experienced it before, and I know other people have also. Many people have gifts where they can see ghosts and spirits during the day and ,maybe, somtimes in the morning. If you did not know stuff can happen if you and your friends or family are all in a room. Like chairs move, doors opening. Do ghost and spirits really exist?, I think ghost and spirits are real because I have had experience it before and I know other people have had before too. And a lot of people have gifts where they can see the ghost,spirits in the day an maybe sometimes in the morning. If you didn't know stuff can happen if you and your friends or family are all in a roomthings can happen like chairs moving, doors opening/ closing and you may hear some stuff. The
The controversial nature of the subject of Sufism becomes evident when one realizes that this short introduction already reveals a viewpoint which the Sufi would strongly disagree with. For, if the Sufi spiritual quest is to be viewed
Antonio and I are doing our best to respect the Nigerian culture. There is a lot of cultural differences between Nigerian culture and American culture sometimes it can be very confusing for me and Antonio. Did you know that half of the religious beliefs here is Muslim and the rest is split between Christianity and indigenous beliefs? There Constitution guarantees religious freedom; however, Christians live in the southern parts of the country where as the Muslim live predominantly in the northern parts. Native religious people believe in deities, spirits, and ancestral worship are spread throughout Nigeria. One day I was passing a nearby village where I witnessed a possessed man with a demon inside of him. They brought him to the village spirit doctor, where he chanted some spells while holding him down to cast the demon out. It was to believe that after all of that the man was relieved from his demon. It was scary and interesting for me to watch the exorcism being performed. Although, Americans do those things too Christianity is the dominant religion. Instead of seeing a witch doctor for help with your demons, most people would just confess their sin to a pastor or father of the church after which they then walked away feeling forgiven and blessed. Which is basically way easier and less
Religion is a major cornerstone of human identity and culture. Anywhere you look on earth where there are people, there is a religion or set of beliefs that those people follow. Many times, the teaching of these Religions can be twisted and manipulated to justify gender bias. The Simple truth is people are treated very differently based on their Gender by followers of two of the most popular religions in the world: Islam and Judaism. I am going to examine some ways the teaching of these two major religions are used to oppress, abuse, and differentiate women.