essay
Spirit possession among the Tonga of Zambia
Spirit mediumship and society in Africa [by] John Beattie ... [et al • London • Published In 1969 • Pages: 69-103
By: Colson, Elizabeth.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
In this article, the author discusses three different kinds of spirit possession among the Valley (Gwembe) Tonga, which are related to three different domains of community, dance and health. [n]Basangu[/n] possession involves spirits of former mediums or prophets, and are consulted on community issues in public ceremonies. Each [n]basangu[/n] spirit has its own medium and a neighborhood shrine, usually on the grave of the former notable. [n]Masabe[/n] spirits are either animal and, in recent times, foreign spirits that are associated with dances named after them. The third type of spirit possession is associated with ghosts, sorcery, death and illness. The author focuses on the first two types of possession and the changes that have occurred in ceremonies and dances following resettlement due to flooding behind the Kariba Dam.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Dance
- Magical and mental therapy
- Spirits and gods
- Revelation and divination
- Magicians and diviners
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Tonga
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2014
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Africa
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Southern Africa
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Ian Skoggard; 2012
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1956-1957, 1962-1963, 1965
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1956-1965
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- eastern Southern province, Zambia
- NotesAdditional notes
- Elizabeth Colson
- Includes bibliographical references (p.103)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 72434243
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Tonga (Zambezi people)