Suryani L. K., Jensen G. D. Trance and Possession in Bali: A Window on Western Multiple Personality, Possession Disorder, and Suicide
Вихідні дані. Oxford University Press, Kuala Lumpur — Oxford — Singapore — New York, 1993. ISBN 0-19-588610-0. LC BL2120.B2S88 1993. 240 с. Передмова датована травнем 1992, Денпасар (Балі) і Девіс (Каліфорнія).
Автори. Luh Ketut Suryani (нар. 1944) — балійка, психіатриня, Університет Удаяна, Денпасар. Gordon D. Jensen — американський психіатр, Каліфорнія. Обоє практикують гіпнотерапію. Дослідження проводилося з дозволу уряду провінції Балі; рецензували Ernest R. Hilgard (Стенфорд), Eugene L. Bliss (Юта), Marlene Steinberg (Єль).
Матеріал. Інтерв’ю з понад 175 балійцями рідною мовою (індонезійська або балійська); більшість — з 1988 року, загалом робота охоплює 16 років. Кілька сільських обрядів і більшість сеансів традиційних цілителів (balian) відзнято на відео. Плюс клінічні серії: 27 випадків bebainan, дві вибірки тих, хто пережив спробу самогубства, пацієнти з розладом множинної особистості в Каліфорнії.
Місце в лінії. Четверте балійське джерело і те, яке сесія 17.09 назвала наступним у черзі. Воно закриває головну діру Стівен — масовий транс з одержимістю — і відкриває позицію, якої в корпусі не було зовсім (§0).
0. Регістр: позиція, якої не передбачав фільтр
Filtr_pozytsiinosti_dzherela розрізняє A (протокол, академія), B (свідок зсередини) і C (ринковий переказ). Ця книга — A і B одночасно, і в одній людині.
| Вимір | Що маємо |
|---|---|
| Академічний апарат | Oxford University Press, клінічні серії з відсотками, відеофіксація, іменована рецензія |
| Дозвіл і етика | офіційний дозвіл провінції; інтерв’ю без винагороди, з поіменною подякою |
| Позиція Сурʼяні як дослідниці | балійка, розмовляє з інформантами їхньою мовою, без перекладача |
| Позиція Сурʼяні як оператора | у 14 років навчилася медитації у шкільного вчителя і спонтанно зазнала одержимості; протягом ~3 місяців одержимість була частою; далі кілька років практикувала як balian — радила, шукала загублене, «питала Бога» |
| Коли припинила | покинула практику balian, ставши лікаркою; нині не говорить про це з колегами й пацієнтами, «щоб не плутали її роль лікаря» |
| Чи припинила насправді | ні: близькі друзі досі приходять, і в її випадку ритуал не потрібен — вона медитує кілька хвилин, і богиня користується її тілом безпосередньо |
Це і є те, чого решітці бракувало. Аргумент Бело стверджував, що оператор не може знати, що з ним було: судомний напад несумісний із рефлексією, а описує він стан словами, вивченими в односельців. Сурʼяні — випадок, який цей аргумент обмежує: оператор із другим, незалежним описовим апаратом. Розгорнуто в Operator_z_druhym_slovnykom.
Ціна позиції, яку теж треба назвати. Співавтор-психіатр не є нейтральним противагою: обидва автори працюють в одній парадигмі (дисоціація, гіпноз, DES, MPD), і вся книга перекладає балійський матеріал у цю парадигму. Там, де Стівен усе бачила тантричним, ці автори все бачать дисоціативним. Третя рамка, накладена на той самий острів за тридцять років.
I. Розрізнення, якого корпусу бракувало
Головний понятійний внесок, і він б’є по всьому нашому балійському блоку.
Транс — ASC, феноменологічно й по суті той самий стан, що гіпноз; має ступені від легкого до глибокого.
Одержимість — ASC, що відрізняється від трансу тим, що характеризується переживанням захоплення силою, духом чи богом, який далі діє через людину, змушуючи її поводитися автоматично, без самоконтролю.
У балійців транс зазвичай передує одержимості, а потім обидва стани співіснують. На відміну від тих, хто в трансі, одержимі часто амнезійні щодо частини або всього епізоду.
І пряма поправка до нашого головного джерела, винесена авторами в примітку:
«Although Belo (1960) used the word “trance” and did not distinguish between trance and possession in terminology, she described trance phenomena as the gods coming down, entering the persons, and speaking through them, which is tantamount to possession.»
Так само Бейтсон і Мід: упізнали транс як гіпноз, але одержимості не розпізнали взагалі.
Наслідок для корпусу. Наші стовпці 7–9 і вся мова «каналу» злиті з двох різних станів. Розгорнуто в Trans_i_oderzhymist_tse_rizni_stany.
II. У балійців немає слова «транс»
«The Balinese do not have a specific word for trance. The words they use to designate trance-possession phenomena literally mean “coming down” (of the gods or spirits).»
Тобто тубільна термінологія іменує рух адресата, а не стан носія. Мова описує, що робить бог, і не має чим описати, що відбувається з людиною.
Це найсильніше з відомих нам підтверджень правила про самозвіт — і водночас пояснює, чому воно справджується: не тому, що оператор нездатний до рефлексії, а тому, що в його мові немає предмета. Розгорнуто в Mova_nazyvaie_rukh_adresata_a_ne_stan.
Балійське слово для одержимості є: kalinggihan, також kasurupan. Одержимість вважається побутовою подією, яка може бути позитивною або зрідка негативною — залежно від того, який дух увійшов.
III. Числа
| Показник | Значення |
|---|---|
| Частка балійців, що впадають в одержимість під гіпнозом у практиці Сурʼяні | ≈25 % пацієнтів |
| Частка західних людей, гіпнабельних хоч якоюсь мірою | ≈95 % |
| Частка клієнтів одного balian, що входять у транс з першої спроби | ≈50 %; після кількох повторів — ≈85 % |
| Частка правильних «прозрінь» balian щодо проблеми клієнта, за оцінкою авторів | ≈50 % |
| Суспільств зі світової вибірки (488), що інституціалізували ASC | 90 %; з них пов’язують ASC з одержимістю — 52 % (Bourguignon, 1973) |
| Одержимість у медитаційній групі, де вчилася Сурʼяні | ~30 осіб із кількох тисяч |
Кейс bebainan, 27 випадків (Suryani, 1984), переважно жінки:
| Симптом чи обставина | Частка |
|---|---|
| безперервний крик без причини | 82 % |
| говорили, даючи голос bebai, що їх опанував | 44 % |
| мовчали | 11 % |
| впадали в amok | 11 % |
| не могли сказати, що відчували | 7 % |
| лежали на момент нападу | 81 % |
| стояли або йшли | 15 % |
| бігали безцільно | 4 % |
| казали, що чим сильніше їх тримали, тим більшою ставала їхня сила опору | 89 % |
| тривалість нападу | здебільшого ½–1 година |
Хто перший відповідає (та сама вибірка):
| Куди звернулася родина | Частка |
|---|---|
| негайно до традиційного цілителя | 93 % |
| додатково або натомість до брахманського верховного жерця | 30 % |
| до лікаря чи фельдшера | 11 % |
| не лікувалися взагалі | 3,7 % |
Розгорнуто в Bebainan_khto_pershyi_vidpovidaie.
IV. Bebai: адресат, якого виготовляють
Найнесподіваніший матеріал книги і найцінніший для решітки.
Bebainan балійці вважають наслідком чаклунства: душу хворого опановує злий дух bebai. Слово означає і дух, і його матеріальне втілення.
Підстава. За балійським віруванням, при зачатті душі батька й матері змішуються в плід, який набуває якості надприродної людської істоти (manusia sakti). Ця якість зберігається до шести балійських місяців, тобто приблизно 210 днів. Хто практикує чорну магію (ilmu pengiwa), прагне захопити ці сили і перетворити їх на bebai.
Виготовлення. Матеріал визначає силу: викидень, немовля, що померло до або під час пологів, послід, дуже молодий пуп’янок бананового дерева (pusui), яйце чорної курки, вода після обмивання покійника, мозок убитого. Bebai, зроблений із викидня жриці-pedanda istri, буде значно сильнішим за зробленого з плоду звичайної жінки.
Вирощування. Чаклун поводиться з предметом як з дитиною і проводить звичайний ряд обрядів немовляти: одразу після «народження», через балійський місяць і сім днів, у три місяці, у шість. Після останнього bebai несуть на цвинтар, де проводять особливий обряд і просять богів дати йому найбільшу можливу силу. Якщо прохання задоволено, чаклун дає йому ім’я — зазвичай bayi wong, «людське немовля». Далі його годують і дають особливі підношення на kajeng kliwon, кожні 15 днів, доки воно не «заговорить».
Зрілість. Зрілий bebai має тридцять сил, тобто «є тридцятьма bebai в одному». Його можна використати самому, здати в оренду або продати.
Номенклатура. Кожна з тридцяти сил має власне ім’я і дає власний симптом: I Bebai Bongol робить жертву нездатною або нехітною говорити; I Bebai Sebarung — навпаки, надміру балакучою і грубою; I Rejek Gumi, під чиїм командуванням 108 bute, зветься «царем bebai» і б’є в надчерев’я, доводячи до люті, а потім до втрати свідомості.
Що це означає для корпусу. Три речі, кожна нова:
- Адресата виготовляють, а не зустрічають.
- Виготовляють тим самим обрядовим апаратом і на тому самому календарі, що й виховують дитину й тримають храм (kajeng kliwon кожні 15 днів — той самий день, на який виходять крис-танцівники).
- Діагностична номенклатура прив’язана до відправника, а не до пацієнта: симптом називає, хто його наслав.
Розгорнуто в Bebai_vyhotovlenyi_adresat.
V. Чому одержимість там норма, а тут хвороба
Формулювання, яке варто виписати цілком:
«Many Westerners are reluctant to be hypnotized because they fear that they will give up conscious control of themselves… The sense of being in control of one’s self is prominent and highly valued in Western personality and thought. This trait is not characteristic of the Balinese, whose lives have in the main been controlled by their families, their ancestors, and the supernatural. The normal Balinese expecting or experiencing possession gladly and completely gives up control of himself.»
Тобто те, що в одній культурі є інституцією, в іншій є симптомом — не через різницю станів, а через різницю в тому, скільки коштує втрата самоконтролю. Базовий психобіологічний процес автори вважають універсальним; культурним є ціна.
Розгорнуто в Samokontrol_iak_umova_patolohizatsii.
VI. Одержимість без трансу
Рідкісна клітинка, і єдиний задокументований балійський випадок — власний досвід Сурʼяні.
Вона прийшла з подругою до верховного жерця Убуда. На прохання жерця почала медитувати власним методом — і раптово була охоплена силою, яку відчула як таку, що йде від нього; сила стала настільки потужною, що вона ледве тримала сидячу позу і відчувала, що може впасти й навіть померти. Медитація тривала близько десяти хвилин; вийшла вона з неї звичайним чином. Жрець зауважив, що її рівень медитації вищий за подругин, і сказав не розслабляти тіло в глибокій медитації; обидві помітили, що він дивився на неї пильно, з розплющеними очима.
Наступні п’ять днів вона спонтанно бачила його — вдома, на роботі, в автомобілі, у крамниці. Щоразу він говорив, вибачався за свою заувагу і просив повернути йому його силу. Вона відмовилася, бо побоювалася, що він використає її їй на шкоду. Після п’ятого дня видіння припинилися.
Її власний розбір: під час тієї медитації не було жодної з сенсорних і перцептивних змін, які вона зазвичай спостерігає у себе при вході в транс; галюцинації наступних днів відбувалися у звичайному стані свідомості, не в трансі. Отже це одержимість без трансу.
Розгорнуто в Oderzhymist_bez_transu.
VII. Дисоціація як спільний механізм
Книга зводить під один механізм те, що корпус тримав нарізно:
| Явище | Статус |
|---|---|
| щоденна поглиненість: вести машину й не пам’ятати орієнтирів, читати, дивитися фільм | норма |
| ngramang sawang — балійське «відсутнє мислення»: порожній погляд, нерухомість, 1–5 хвилин, після сварки чи втоми, обривається різко | норма, балійська, названа |
| сни | норма |
| медитація | норма |
| транс / гіпноз | норма |
| одержимість (kalinggihan) | норма в обрядовому контексті |
| engkebang memedi, «схований злим духом» | межа |
| bebainan | розлад |
| amok | розлад |
| транс при спробі самогубства | розлад |
| MPD, PTSD, фуга, психогенна амнезія | західні розлади |
Вимірювальний інструмент — Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES), 28 позицій: у нормальних вибірок понад 25 % повідомляють про суттєву кількість дисоціативних переживань; MPD дає 40–50 %.
Один важливий виняток, який автори чесно називають: amok порушує загальне правило гіпнозу, що людина в трансі не зробить того, чого не зробила б у звичайному стані. Розгорнуто в Dysotsiatsiia_iak_spilnyi_mekhanizm.
VIII. Найважче місце книги
Розділ 7 містить дві клінічні серії тих, хто пережив спробу самогубства, і гіпотезу, що ці дії відбуваються в дисоційованому стані.
Корпус бере звідси рівно одне — феноменологію й механізм, і нічого більше. Опитані описували стан однаково: світ «темнішав», вони були розгублені й не могли думати, розум відчувався «порожнім», і «сила» керувала ними і змусила це зробити — сила, що робила їх «як роботів». Більшість не пам’ятала, як їх привезли до лікарні. Відповідальності за зроблене вони не визнавали. На питання, чи хотіли б повторити, відповідали молитвою, щоб такого досвіду більше не було; згадувати його боялися. У психотичній підгрупі (16 осіб) ніхто не описував ознак ASC, і це важливо: ознака розрізняє групи, а не приписується всім.
Автори поширюють гіпотезу на історичні масові випадки — puputan 1902 і 1908 років (у Клунгкунзі загинуло близько 200 членів королівської родини), обряд удови (satia, заборонений голландцями, останній випадок 1915), Сайпан 1944, Джонстаун 1978 — і самі підкреслюють, що це гіпотеза без даних: живих свідків немає.
Що це дає корпусу. Не медичне твердження, а структурне: канал, здатний провести рішення громади повз легального носія (наша теза Б4), здатний провести і це рішення. Розгорнуто в Kanal_shcho_nese_rishennia_pro_smert; там же — межі, за які корпус не йде.
IX. Що з книги не беремо
| # | Що | Чому |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ототожнення одержимості з MPD як доведене | це робоча гіпотеза 1993 року, побудована на аналогії механізму; сама категорія MPD відтоді змінила назву й статус |
| 2 | Парапсихологічну частину | автори серед «можливих пан-культурних рис» називають ясновидіння й ESP і подають спостереження цілителів як підтвердження; методу перевірки немає |
| 3 | «Польові ефекти медитації» | посилання на дослідження, де медитація групи нібито знижує злочинність у решти 99 % громади — цитовано без критики |
| 4 | Теза, що балійська культура за п’ять десятиліть по суті не змінилася | зручна для порівняння з Бело, але наш власний матеріал показує щонайменше переворот самозвітів і розщеплення каналу |
| 5 | Історичну гіпотезу про puputan і Сайпан | гіпотеза без свідків, автори це визнають |
| 6 | Психіатричну рамку як єдину | третя за тридцять років рамка на тому самому острові; беремо як опис, не як істину |
🧪 E / M
| # | Твердження | E/M |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oxford University Press, 1993; 240 с.; передмова травень 1992 | E |
| 2 | Сурʼяні — балійка, психіатриня Університету Удаяна; Дженсен — американський психіатр | E |
| 3 | Понад 175 інтерв’ю рідною мовою; більшість з 1988; загалом 16 років | E |
| 4 | Більшість сеансів balian відзнято на відео | E |
| 5 | Сурʼяні у 14 років спонтанно зазнала одержимості під час медитації | E — автобіографічне свідчення; B |
| 6 | Кілька років практикувала як balian; припинила, ставши лікаркою | E — те саме |
| 7 | Досі входить в одержимість без ритуалу, за кілька хвилин медитації | E — те саме |
| 8 | Отже, це оператор із другим описовим апаратом | M — наша формула |
| 9 | Транс = феноменологічно гіпноз; одержимість = переживання захоплення силою | E — визначення авторів |
| 10 | У балійців транс передує одержимості, далі співіснують; одержимі часто амнезійні | E |
| 11 | Бело не розрізняла транс і одержимість термінологічно | E — примітка авторів |
| 12 | Бейтсон і Мід не розпізнали одержимості | E |
| 13 | Отже, наш балійський блок злитий із двох станів | M — наш висновок |
| 14 | У балійців немає окремого слова для трансу; наявні слова означають «сходження» | E — пряме твердження |
| 15 | Балійські слова для одержимості: kalinggihan, kasurupan | E |
| 16 | Отже, мова іменує рух адресата, а не стан носія | M — наша формула |
| 17 | ≈25 % пацієнтів Сурʼяні впадають в одержимість під гіпнозом | E — клінічна оцінка |
| 18 | ≈95 % західних людей гіпнабельні якоюсь мірою | E — за літературою |
| 19 | 488 суспільств: 90 % інституціалізували ASC, 52 % пов’язують із одержимістю | E — Bourguignon, 1973 |
| 20 | Bebainan: 27 випадків, розподіл симптомів (таблиця §III) | E — Suryani, 1984 |
| 21 | 89 % казали, що опір зростав від стримування | E |
| 22 | 93 % родин негайно зверталися до balian; 11 % — до лікаря | E |
| 23 | Отже, медицина не є першим відповідачем | M — наш висновок |
| 24 | Bebai виготовляють із названих матеріалів; сила залежить від матеріалу | E — опис вірування |
| 25 | Bebai проводять через звичайний ряд обрядів немовляти, годують на kajeng kliwon кожні 15 днів | E |
| 26 | Зрілий bebai має 30 названих сил, кожна дає свій симптом; його орендують і продають | E |
| 27 | Отже, адресата виготовляють тим самим апаратом, що й виховують дитину | M — наша формула |
| 28 | Західна культура високо цінує самоконтроль; балійська — ні | E — твердження авторів |
| 29 | Отже, патологізація одержимості залежить від ціни самоконтролю | M |
| 30 | Випадок одержимості без трансу: Сурʼяні й верховний жрець Убуда, п’ять днів галюцинацій, відмова повернути силу | E — автобіографічне свідчення; B, єдиний випадок |
| 31 | Ngramang sawang — балійське «відсутнє мислення», 1–5 хвилин | E |
| 32 | DES, 28 позицій; норма >25 %, MPD 40–50 % | E |
| 33 | Amok порушує правило, що людина в трансі не зробить того, чого не зробила б звичайно | E — авторське визнання |
| 34 | Опитані після спроби самогубства описували «темряву», порожній розум, зовнішню «силу», амнезію, невизнання відповідальності | E — клінічна серія |
| 35 | У психотичній підгрупі ознак ASC не описував ніхто | E — і це розрізняє групи |
| 36 | Гіпотеза про puputan, satia, Сайпан, Джонстаун як масові ASC | M — гіпотеза без свідків, автори визнають |
| 37 | Парапсихологічна частина подана без методу перевірки | E — відсутність методу |
| 38 | Теза про незмінність балійської культури за 50 років | M — і суперечить нашому матеріалу |
Open Questions
- Чи є в решітці інші оператори з другим словником? Кандидати: ісихасти, що писали (Ysykhazm_y_kobzarstvo), суфійські автори, сучасні практики з академічною підготовкою. Якщо є, правило про самозвіт треба переписати як умовне, а не абсолютне.
- Скільки на Балі balian і яка частка з них входить в одержимість? У книзі є частки клієнтів, але не перепис цілителів.
- Чи змінилася частка ≈25 % за тридцять років? Це єдиний вимірюваний показник «ємності каналу», який у нас є.
- Чи справді 93 / 11 тримається сьогодні? Опитування 1984 року; за сорок років система охорони здоров’я на Балі змінилася.
- Чи є в інших традиціях виготовлення адресата — не заклик і не зустріч, а виробництво? Найближчі кандидати: голем, фамільяр європейського відьомства, tulpa.
- Чи має bebai процедуру знешкодження, і хто її виконує? У джерелі описано лікування одержимого, але не долю самого bebai.
- Що сталося з силою, яку Сурʼяні відмовилася повернути? Питання виглядає наївним, але в рамці самої традиції воно осмислене, і відповідь на нього — дані про те, як мислиться передача сили.
🔗 Зв’язки
Внутрішні
- Operator_z_druhym_slovnykom — головний висновок
- Suriani_i_Dzhensen_baliiskyi_trans — орієнтовна нота
- Trans_i_oderzhymist_tse_rizni_stany
- Mova_nazyvaie_rukh_adresata_a_ne_stan
- Bebai_vyhotovlenyi_adresat · Bebainan_khto_pershyi_vidpovidaie
- Samokontrol_iak_umova_patolohizatsii
- Dysotsiatsiia_iak_spilnyi_mekhanizm
- Oderzhymist_bez_transu
- Kanal_shcho_nese_rishennia_pro_smert
- Belo_Trance_in_Bali · Eiseman_Bali_Sekala_Niskala · Stephen_Desire_Divine_and_Demonic
- Porozhnii_stovpets_iak_vlastyvist_informanta
- Samozvit_ne_ie_svidchenniam_pro_stan · Mezha_mekhanizatsii_praktyky
- Mistychni_vuzly_porivnialna_reshitka
- Filtr_pozytsiinosti_dzherela
Зовнішні
- Belo J. Trance in Bali. — 1960 — цитується; поправка щодо термінології.
- Bateson G., Mead M. Balinese Character. — 1942 — упізнали транс, не впізнали одержимості.
- Bourguignon E. — 1973, 1976 — вибірка 488 суспільств.
- Bernstein E., Putnam F. — 1986 — Dissociative Experiences Scale.
- Oesterreich T. K. — 1974 — історичний огляд одержимості; поділ на «сомнамбулічну» й «люцидну».
- Cardeña E. — 1989; Frigerio A. — 1989 — тристадійні моделі одержимості.
- Suryani L. K. — 1984 — першоджерело дослідження bebainan.
- Jensen G. D., Suryani L. K. The Balinese People. — 1992 — попередня спільна книга.
📄 Повний текст джерела
Нижче — OCR-екстракція (pdftoppm -r 300 -gray + tesseract --psm 6 -l eng), розбита за сторінками PDF маркерами ===PDFPAGE N===.
Чому OCR. У файлі є вбудований шар розпізнавання (Acrobat Paper Capture, 2017), але він сильно зіпсований: слова розриваються, розділові знаки й діакритика вставляються випадково («O:rford», «pennission», «Su,yani»). Повторне розпізнавання дає значно чистіший текст. Ціна — сміття на місці ілюстрацій і на полях сканів.
===PDFPAGE 1===
asec cies
| TRANCE AND
: POSSESSION
| IN BALI -—
|; A WINDOW ON WESTERN
MULTIPLE PERSONALITY, :
f POSSESSION DISORDER,
AND SUICIDE
| LUH KETUT SURYANI |
| GORDON D.4ENSEN
|
| KUALA LUMPUR
AL OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
2439 ba OXFORD a NEW YORK
S469t |
144% fiat i
===PDFPAGE 2===
oN RE BY sx : ed
6 ti AOS
2” elles as oC Aw
Se Meet JOO
i> Oxford University Press
. Oxford New York‘ Toronto * :
Delhi Bombay Caleutta Madras Karachi
Kuala Lumpur Singapore Hong Kong Tokyo
Nairobi Dar es Salacm Cape Town
Melbourne Auckland Madrid
and associated companies in
Berlin ioadan
Oxford is a trade mark of Oxford University Press
Published in the United States — oak
’ by Oxford University Press, New York |
© Oxford University Press 1993... ' ,
? First published 1993
All rights reserved. No part of this sicetion may be reproduced,
| stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press.
Within Malaysia, exceptions are allowed in respect of any fair dealing for the
purpose of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted
under the Copyright Act currenily in force. Enquiries concerning
| reproduction outside these terms and in other countries should be
! sent to Oxford University Press at the address below.
British Library Cotaloiinglin Publication Data
| Date availadle
| Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Suryani, Luk Ketut, 1944-
Trance and possession in Bali; a window on Western multiple
personality, possession disorder, and suicide/Luh Ketut Suryani,
Gordon D. Jensen,
p em.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-19-588610-0 (hard):
1. Bali Island (Indonesia) —Religion. 2. Trance—Indonesia—
Bali Island. 3. Demoniac possession—Indonesia—Bali Island.
4. Spiritual healing—Indonesia—Bali Island. 5. Multiple
personality—Cross-cultural studies..6. Psychiatry and religion.
I. Jensen, Gordon D. Il. Title.
BL2120.B2S88 1993
154,4-de20
93-20252
CIP
Typeset by Typeset Gallery Sdn. Bhd.,; Malaysia z f
Printed in Singapore by Kyodo Printing Co. (S) Pte. Ltd. i
Published by Oxford University Press, f
19-25, Jalen Kuckai Lama, 58200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
t
= nes ; RE cts i ae
a
===PDFPAGE 3===
Acknowledgements
y TuIs book would not have been possible without the help of many.
We wish to acknowledge the encouragement and critiques of the
following Americans: Ernest R. Hilgard, Emeritus Professor of
Psychology, Stanford University; Eugene L. Bliss, Emeritus
Professor of Psychiatry, University of Utah, School of Medicine;
and Marlene Steinberg, Research Scientist, Department of Psychiatry,
Yale University, School of Medicine. We aleo wish to record our
deep appreciation of the warmth and kindness of the many Balinese
who graciously invited us to observe both private and community
j ceremonies and who consented to personal interviews without
thought of remuneration. Grateful thanks are also due to the many
' traditional healers (jalian) for allowing us to interview them and to
; observe, photograph; and videotape their practices and to the
Province of Bali Government (Pemerintah Daerah Tingkat I Bali)
é for granting us permission to study in the field. Dr Tjokorda Alit K
; Adnyana, Lecturer in Pharmacology, Udayana University, was of
: great assistance in the logistics of our studies and also conducted
A sume of the interviews. Last but not least; we are indebted to Jane
i Derry for taking most of the photographs, to Made Rapini Ari
: Hantana for helping with our correspondence, and to Jane Rachford
for typing. ;
:
; Denpasar, Bali LuH KETUT SURYANI
3 Davis, California GORDON D. JENSEN
‘ May 1992
[
j
;
: |
===PDFPAGE 4===
: Introduction
TRANCE in Bali was first studied oyer 50 years ago, by Belo, an
American anthropologist and artist. Her book Trance in Bali (1960)
: provided detailed descriptions of many of the ceremonial dances
and healers who were possessed and in trance. At about the, same
time, Bateson and Mead (1942), two of the most famous anthro-
} pologists of this century, came to Bali and were fascinated by the
‘ people in trance and possession who performed in dramas and
dances. They recognized trance in Bali as being essentially: the |
same phenomenon as hypnosis but did not recognize possession.
They. produced a classic film—still used in. college courses. in
anthropology—of the popular Barong dance in which dancers in
trance and possessed by gods stab themselves. with krises
. (daggers). Trance and possession in. these forms and many. others
‘ continue to occur in Bali and may be witnessed by visitors to the
island, pone saiathie: coats es
| At the outset it is helpful to distinguish between the terms ‘trance’
and ‘possession’, although these two phenomena are described in
detail in Chapter 2. Both are states in which the consciousness of
the individual is different from that of his or her usual state, They
are traditionally called altered states of consciousness (ASC), The
state of trance is essentially and phenomenologically the same.as
the state of hypnosis. Both can be manifested at, varying. levels
from light to deep. Possession is an ASC distinguished from trance
because it is characterized by the experience of being taken over
by a power, spirit, or god which then acts through the person,
causing the person to behave automatically or without self-control.
In the Balinese, a state of trance generally precedes the mani-
festation of possession and then the two states coexist. In contrast
to people in trance, persons possessed are often amnesic for part :
of or throughout the entire episode. The. term ‘trancer’ may be
used to. designate a person in a state of trance or trance-
possession.
|
{
¢ Pr ee d z 5, re
ree I mS ea an a
===PDFPAGE 5===
2 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
Reading the reports of what was referred to as trance-ceremonies
by Belo (1960), one wonders whether some of those ceremonies. .
still take place and if so, how much they have remained the same.
As in other countries, Balinese culture is a living system that is
continually evolving. However, it is the authors’ view that in spite of
superficial changes, the basic beliefs, customs (including religious
dances and trance-possession ceremonies), as well as the character
of the Balinese are essentially as they have been for at least five
decades Jensen and Suryani, 1992). Several other observers have
formed similar opinions. Belo (1960) felt that Balinese rituals and
character had changed very little between 1935 and 1960. Belo’s
(1960) and De Zoete and Spies’s (1970) descriptions of Balinese
dances of the 1930s are strikingly similar to current descriptions,
including Jensen and Suryani’s (1992), of the same dances and :
ceremonies. Covarrubias (1937) concluded that the Balinese as-
similate new and foreign ideas into their traditional forms, thus
enabling them ‘to create new styles constantly, to inject new life
steadily into their culture, which at the same time never loses its
Balinese characteristics’. More recently, Ramseyer (1986) stated
that the Balinese absorbed material culture’ without a break in
tradition and that ‘the basic values shaped by religious and:com-
munal social interactions have remained remarkably intact.
Whereas the trance-possession ceremonies of Bali have remained
essentially unchanged over the years, scientific knowledge about
hypnotic phenomena has increased tremendously and the field of
psychiatric study has advanced to the point where further study of
trance and possession phenomena in Bali can only lead to a better
understanding of such processes and their relationship with other
unusual psychic activity and psychopathology. o. i :
Hypnotherapy, defined as the psychotherapeutic treatment of
behavioural and mental problems and disorders by hypnosis, is
experiencing a revival or renaissance—the first since the wave of
popularity among psychiatrists about 100 years ago (Erikson, 1970).
The most famous of the early medical practitioners utilizing hypno-
therapy was Charcot in France and his renowned pupil, Sigmund
Freud.* The current surge of scientific interest in hypnotherapy and
its use suggests that it has become better understood, particularly
with regard to its functions. Nevertheless, although a great deal
has been learned about psychotherapy, which is integral to hypno-
therapy, there remain glaring gaps in knowledge about the hypnotic
process itself. For example, it is still not known what happens
neurophysiologically in the brain to account for the marvellous and
Rete toma
a cE
===PDFPAGE 6===
INTRODUCTION 3
often fantastic changes that hypnosis brings about. The answers to
such questions may be found in studies of naturally occurring non- ‘
therapist induced states of hypnosis or trance. s, heity
Trance is but one of what has been popularly called the altered
states of consciousness (ASC). Other examples-of ASC include
meditation and possession. The phenomenon of possession, which
has been described in a number of cultures (Oesterreich, 1974)
and studied by several scholars of Balinese culture (Bateson‘and
Mead, 1942; Belo, 1960), is well. known to the Balinese people.
However, Western medicine has paid scant attention to possession ms
and little attempt has been’made to explain how it works in terms
of Western concepts of psychology and neuropsychophysiology. : .
Possession usually occurs with trance in Bali/and hasbeen
woven into its customs since pre-Hindu and prehistoric times, as
evidenced by possession in’ dances that date from those early
periods, such as the little girl trance dance, Sang Hyang'Dedari
(Bandem, 1990). The spiritual, ethereal, mystifying;:and spectacular
manifestations of trance and possession have long fascinated
Western travellers and scholars. At times, the concept of possession
had led to the unfortunate deaths of innocent individuals, as-seen
in the persecution of ‘witches’ in the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries (Hansen, 1969; Oesterreich, 1974).3 In contrast, possession
to the Balinese is rarely a sinister happening; rather, it is'in most
instances a pleasurable and valued experience. Furthermore, pos-
session in a religious context is regarded as a privilege to ‘the
possessed person and it is believed to give some traditional healers
special powers which can help heal the inseparable mind and body.
Jensen and Suryani’s interest in investigating trance and posses-
sion in Bali stemmed from their individual clinical experiences-in
psychiatry. Suryani discovered that Balinese-who tried to ‘commit
suicide described experiences during the attempt that indicated
that they were in trance. This finding helped to explain the occur-
rence of suicide in a culture whose religious customs and: beliefs
forbid the taking of one’s own life. Jensen's observations of patients
with multiple personality disorder (MPD) in California suggested
that the basic process of this disorder might’ be the sameas
possession and he recognized that Bali would be an ideal culture
in which to study possession phenomena. After a 6-year study of
Balinese customs and character (Jensen and Suryani, 1992), the
authors were ready to focus on trance and- possession in’ Bali,
combining both Balinese and Western approaches and viewpoints
and using a common base of knowledge in Western psychiatry.
‘
===PDFPAGE 7===
4 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI ;
In this book the authors have brought together a number:of i
studies of normal Balinese in various trance and possession activities ie
and of patients whose problems involved ASC. The-data reported ; i
were derived from interviews of more than 175 Balinese, conducted f
in their native language,-either Indonesian-or Balinese. Although :
most of the interviews and observations were.carried out: from z
1988, in total they spanned a 16-year period. they :
Often a great deal of questioning of individual Balinese, as well ;
| as of corroborative sources, was required in order to obtain accurate ;
data. Different villagers sometimes gave conflicting information ‘
about the meanings of similar:ceremonies. For»example,;at ‘the f
Jimbaran ceremonies, it was necessary to ask specific questions i
not only of individual participants but also of the priest who presided f
at the ceremonies. Several of the village ceremonies:reported:.on
were videotaped, as were most of the traditional.healers treating
their clients. This enhanced the accuracy of hand-rendered.inter-
view data and enabled updated observations of events:' shiis’
Bali offers-a particularly rich source for the study: of trance and
possession because these occur in many aspects of daily life Gensen
and Suryani, 1992). For these reasons and because the’ two authors
are psychiatrists using hypnotherapy both’ in Bali‘and America,
they: elected to study trance and possession in‘Bali in order to:gather
information for.a more thorough understanding of:trance/ hypnosis
phenomena, possession, hypnotherapy, and dissociative disorders*
that occur in both Bali and Western: cultures. The authors believe
that it is useful for Western mental health professionals, including
hypnotherapists, to become knowledgeable about possession states
because they are aspects of some emotional disorders which are
also, encountered: in Western: society, ssuchas:cases of patients
professing to: be possessed and persons believed to, be possessed
and subjected to exorcism rituals by-the Catholic\Church. ~,/.:
, Trance; and possession in Bali-are fascinating topics and‘ merit
psychologic and psychiatric study.in themselves,’At the least, such
studies would describe trance/hypnosis and possession in a culture
currently attracting increasing interest among travellers, scholars,
and scientists. There is no country in the world more beautiful and
culturally rich in which to observe these phenomena. The legacy
of such studies could be the recognition: by Western psychology
and psychiatry of what has been called the possession syndrome in
normal individuals and the roles that trance and possession play in
the mental conditions and disorders of Westerners.
se ee, ee Le
===PDFPAGE 8===
¢
“% INTRODUCTION 5
: 1. Although Belo (1960) used the word ‘trance’ and did not distinguish between
3 trance and possession in terminology, she described trance phenomena as the gods
q coming down, entering the persons, and speaking through them, which is ‘
3 tantamount to possession.
: 2. Early in his career, Freud abandoned hypnosis as a technique of therapy in
K favour of free association because he did not feel he was a skilful enough hypnotist
¥ and because patients were not generally hypnotizable. Later in his career, however,
he wrote an essay on occult phenomena Gones, 1953) and noted in a letter, ‘If I had
j my life to live over again, 1 would study psychical states instead of psychoanalysis.’
a 3. In New Engiand;300 years ago, an epidemic of trance and possession disorders
a resulted in the hanging of more than a dozen persons, mostly women, a result of
Fr the notorious Salem (Massachusetts) witch trials. While most persons convicted or
* suspected of witchcraft in that era in both America and Europe were women,
FS Aldous Huxley described in The Devils of London the case of a man convicted of
a practising witchcraft on a nun in order to possess her and make her become
y infatuated with him. He was burned at 'the Stake in 1634 (Lewis,'1971). ~%
i 4. ‘Dissociative disorders’ is the term‘used ‘by psychiatry to designate a number
3 of mental disorders, including fugue states, psychogenic-amnesia, and multiple
7 personality disorder. All have in common the psychological mechanism of disso-
b ciation, defined as a mental separation or split of thoughts, feelings, and actions
from the person's usual state of consciousness and current situation (see Chapter 2):
a WEEE eott Ri ise
4 ' ao eee
> > . rr
4
a t £ Sah t ihe.)
{ i wel elt
wir Tow Pad
4 "ys 2 } ADIMsiH :
Bey ? ; * Beet
———LLLLLLX£XWL
===PDFPAGE 9===
Chapter 1 =
| Bali and Balinese Background* iE
| <i =
BALI as a nation has experienced several major political changes
| over the centuries. It was first colonized by the Hindus who left
| Java in the fourteenth century and established their kingdoms and
religion on the island. Then the Dutch began their colonization
with the conquest of North Bali in 1846, followed by that of South y
Bali in 1908. The Dutch were noted for allowing Balinese culture ;
to continue with relatively little interference or reshaping in their f
| image. After the Dutch came the Japanese who invaded and :
i occupied Bali until their defeat in 1945. In 1946, Bali became a
i province of the newly independent Indonesian republic; its capital
is the city of Denpasar.
' The island of Bali is geographically located about 8 degrees
; south of the equator and about 18 degrees.north of the western
H _ end of Australia. It is a relatively small island, one of about 13,000
| that make up the archipelago of Indonesia, often unrecognized as
i 4 the fifth largest nation in the world. Bali extends over 5 633 square
kilometres and is about twice as long as it is wide. A range of high
volcanic mountains divides it into northern and southern portions.
i For the Balinese Hindu, the mountains are the palaces of the gods.
| The highest mountain, Gunung Agung (2900 metres), located in
i Karangasem district, is sacred to the Balinese Hindus; on its slope
i stands the oldest and biggest temple in Bali, the mother temple,
it Pura Besakih.
i The population of Bali in 1989 was 2,644,127, with about equal
ti numbers of males and females. This represents less than 2 per
i cent of the total population of Indonesia, but Bali is the destination
i *The content of this chapter is based on The Balinese People: A Reinvestigation of
A Character (Jensen and Suryani, 1992). A knowledge of the fundamental concepts
i held by the Balinese people, particularly their religious practices and ceremonies, is
| essential to an understanding of their use of trance and possession.
i |
Soh ty
0 SS
===PDFPAGE 10===
a
4 BALI AND BALINESE BACKGROUND 7
3 of more than 50 per cent of tourists visiting Indonesia. ty tan
Approximately ninety-three per cent of the Balinese are:Hindu. ,
: About 5 per cent are Muslim, and the remainder are Buddhist,
Protestant, and Catholic. Occupations include farmers (animal
husbandry, cultivation of paddy and other crops), foresters, and
; fishermen, 50.74 per cent; government officers and public services,
, 15.33 per cent; tradesmen, hotel staff, and restaurant employees,
4 14.52 per cent; industrial workers, 9.84 per cent; and builders,
g 4.82 per cent.
¢ Earlier books on Baii (Krause, 1988; Powell, 1930) ‘pictured and
z described the island at the beginning of this century as a paradise
5 in terms of the beauty of its lush tropical landscape and the grace
of its people, often with an unreal--emphasis on lovely young
women bathing nude under falling water. The-former is still -very
much in-evidence, but the latter is uncommon. Although the:land
is much more densely populated now than it was a half century
ago, it remains incredibly beautiful with vistas )of terraced. rice
: paddies, some deep green, some brown, mirroring mountains,
clouds, and palm trees, set against backdrops ‘of palms, bamboo
groves, and an occasional house with a grass roof. A rice harvestis,
always going on somewhere owing to non-synchronous planting;
rice is harvested in the traditional, rather primitive way, with
groups of people, predominantly women, cutting the rice plantsby
hand and carrying them on their heads to another spot where'the
rice plants are threshed against a board. eid
There are eight districts (kabupaten) in Bali. The villages (desa)
are made up of organizational units called banjar. The total
number of banjar is about 4,200. These governing and social
groups form the basis of much of the communal life of Balinese
society. Banjar are a major institution in the community. They“are
the main link with the central government:and ‘they. transmit
directives, as well as co-ordinate the customs of religion. Like:the:
family, they are of critical importance in everyday ‘life::Traditional
banjar also deal with work, dances, music, and other arts. The
banjar meeting hall, centrally located in every village;-is an open
pavilion, serving asa local clubhouse and gathering place day and.
night. Gamelan clubs often practise at various. banjar, attracting'a
few villagers who gather around, chatting and watching. Banjar
activities can draw large crowds, creating a festive atmosphere
occasionally resembling that at temples during major ceremonies.
Members of the banjar are obliged to help one another perform
a number of duties, especially in religious ceremonies such as the :
a nl
===PDFPAGE 11===
tes
8 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI :
burial of a desa citizen and the construction and: maintenance of :
buildings necessary for the functions of the banjer. These are
obligatory activities for banjar members and take:precedence over. . 2
regular jobs and duties, regardless of whether such: members are
employed by state institutions or private enterprise: A man:may j
need to leave his job without notice and without pay for days, or 2
even weeks, in order to work for his banjar. One function of the
banjar is to: interpret the written and unwritten laws of the country ;
and the banjar in order to ensure the security and peace:of the
desa and to uphold the honour and good name of banjar and-desa.
When problems arise, the mechanisms of the banjar, rather than.
lawyers and,courts, settle disputes and mete out punishment: For.
’ example, if a desa member violates the decorum ofthe community, |
breaks its rules, or fails in his duties for the. banjar, asacred:oath- j
taking ceremony. (mecor): witnessed by the men, ofthe banjar. is. ;
held to determine his guilt or.innocence. It:is understood-by-all ;
that if the decision is in-error and fails to punish-the guilty, the
gods will do so. A guilty person is sanctioned, fined, or, if convicted:
of a very serious offence, isolated from the community. The-latter. }
punishment is indeed severe because it means. that no one in.the. z
community: will talk to him/her (pik) or help;him/her to perform:
religious ceremonies, and. the person so punished..may not: take :
part in the activities of the banjar. An awareness of these sanctions. #
motivates the people to strive faithfully:to execute all:their;banjar | |
duties and follow the village rules which are clearly, known to, all. \. 5
Social Systems That Bind ies ‘
Four isocial systems bind the Balinese together: the clan system :
(dadia), the -stratification system (kasta),.the.community system. Ft
(banjar), and the interest and working group system (sek@);:The F
dadia system encompasses the combined extended families:and.all , :
the ancestors. In. this. relationship, family, members. periodically
band together in one place for ceremonies dedicated -to the worship :
of God: at the house shrine (sanggah or mrajan) for the immediate ;
family. or at the temple (/ura) for, the extended family. Besides ;
strengthening the family bond, these ceremonies foster the feeling ;
of devotion to or respect for elders; for example, at the ceremony. :
of death (xyumbah), family members eat food which had been
offered: earlier to their ancestors (nyurud). beer retary : 7
The family, ancestors,.and community are tightly enmeshed and
interdependent. No one, except the wanderer or mentally ill,,can
'
ess SSS es es a a ee er.
===PDFPAGE 12===
ro BALI AND BALINESE BACKGROUND 9
3 function without being part of all three. Every Balinese Hindu is
q imbued with a sense of this trilateral force from birth and this early.
F: structuring of reality, with regular and frequent. reinforcement, ;
E lasts throughout this life and the lives thereafter.
a The divisions of caste, originally of Hindu origin, were based on
q their functions in the community: Brahmana:.(the highest::caste
4 comprising high priests). were responsible for religious ceremonies;
z Ksatria had roles. in the government; Wesia were involved in
s business and activities involving public welfare; and Sudra were
ee farmers who performed tasks for the other castesias well.:There
i has never been an untouchable or.outcast group as:in Hindu India.
y Beginning in the 1920s, some members of the lowest caste, Sudra,
i objected to the social implications of ‘the caste terminology:and
; changed it to Catur Wangsa (meaning “four inheritances’) or. Catur
§ Warna (meaning ‘four colours’); they also changed Sudra to Jaba.
3 In Bali, caste is determined by inheritance at, birth, but it;is.no
3 longer significant for an individual's: function invsociety or-in;an
; occupation. Today caste is functional only for social. status-and
¥ inheritance. The priestly roles in ceremonies are.carried out not
only by the high priest but also by priests from the lower castes;,in
a fact, most priests come from the lowest caste. In.practice, many
people of the Jaba caste regard priests ‘from their caste as, having
% high status, similar to that of the high priests from the Brahmana.
a Each community is»made: up: of;many, groups, each; group
i consisting of individuals who come together for co-operative
: activities involving specific interests. Such groups:are called. clubs
5 or seka. Each has a specific name according to its activity, There
3 are. working groups such as seka’ manyi for cutting rice and seka
; numbeg for cultivating; and there are, groups; which pursue..an
P interest in the arts and even in palm wine drinking such as seka
3 gong gamelan (orchestra), seka .drama) (theatre), seka::barong
j (responsible for the care and dances of the barong), kecak:(a
dance), and seka iuak (palm wine). Young people, e.g. unmarried
adolescents, are also members of their own.special group, called
seka .truna-truni, Equality and co-operation. of‘members. are; the
primary rules of these clubs.. a bes Jnsdoin bee. ote
The irrigation groups (subak). (Covarrubias, 1937), presided,over
by the high priest and the goddess of rice, are made ‘up of
representatives from villages affected by, the regiona! irrigation
systems. They control the distribution of irrigation water that flows
from the mountains to the sea and make decisions: about; planting
crops. These complex networks of streams;,canals, and ditches, so
" ‘
SMG ree PAS : 5 a ee
eee crt ce pe
===PDFPAGE 13===
10 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
essential to life, bind large portions of the island together. Allocation
of water is up to the subak. Villages hold elaborate ceremonies: in ,
honour of the rice goddess who protects the rice planting, makes
crops flourish, and ensures that rice storage houses in individual
homes are full. The last-mentioned custom has recently dropped
out since the introduction of new strains of rice which are not
suitable for long-term storage, unlike the old traditional rice. Subak
may be considered a system of the larger’community and an
expression of long-standing collaborative action on a grand inter-
community scale.
Per capita income is relatively low in Bali, currently averaging
less than the equivalent of US$500.00 per year. However, poverty
is not evident in the way that it is in other developing countries
such. as India, Mexico, and certain South American’ countries:
There are very few beggars or homeless people, even‘in the capital
city of Denpasar, and even fewer in the countryside. There are no
shanty towns. Even the poorest can afford or manage to obtain ;
clothes, shelter, and food. In some villages, Western-type medical
care is marginal. However, public health clinics exist even: in
remote areas, :
Bali has no seasons in terms of temperature or planting, only’a
rainy season from December through March and ‘a:dry season.
During the rainy season it usually seems hotter because of higher
humidity. In the mountain areas it rains ‘more’ than’ on plains and
along the shores. Water is not a problem (except in'the desolate
western part of the island); it flows through the rice ‘paddies, and :
in the streams, rivers, and ditches that run alongside the roads
where people still bath themselves and their cows: daily. These
streams appear dirty from soil they pick up along the way-and
sometimes from refuse. Satstt,
Of course, food is a critical aspect of life in Bali. People of all ages
tend to be thin:and obesity is very unusual. Noone goes hungry
because of the low cost of food, the availability of natural -fruit,
the food'served at the frequent festivals, and family:sharing. Rice is :
a staple (two or three times a day), but vegetables, meat (beef,
pork, and chicken), and seafood (less in the mountains) are also
consumed. The food is spicy and often hot with chopped peppers.
Spice Islands, a historical name for Indonesia, remains apt.
Each village has its market-place and some of the larger ones
draw people from several villages in the area. One can buy all sorts :
of foods and things: dried fish, live chickens, snacks, refreshments,
imported items for homes, kitchen articles, incense, perfume’ oil
RS bees rete ie + : RS. rs ‘ited WF ae
RII ee eee : ea a
C Res Eiaeoeary 4 net 2 gh be Ses eee. Sr,
ea A Ae ae aye fio. Oe Be
ee ee
5 RRA Soi eos 7 ater ey Fetish 5 ee qe ge
a Lah lea ei ae ee ee Me erara Sa et eae SOL hea Me = RE ae
Meee temeeeeeale ra srs i> on} eae ee: rt gS RRS
===PDFPAGE 14===
i BALI AND BALINESE BACKGROUND 11
F from fresh blossoms, thongs, toys, woven mats, and hats. It is a
; place to meet, to socialize, or to just while away time in a ‘busy,
i festive atmosphere. .
i Ceremonies
:: Religious ceremonies, which are integral.to the thinking and
4 attitudes of the Balinese, continue as frequently and as importantly
as ever, and remain relatively unchanged over the years in spite of
; modernization trends. Children are excused from school and
; adults from work in order to participate in these ceremonies. . .
F Balinese regularly perform a, multitude: of ceremonies which
‘ occupy a relatively large portion of their time and effort, consume a
a substantial portion of their savings, and are of great significance to
% their lives. A number of scholars have described many of these in
detail (Belo, 1953; Boon, 1977;.Covarrubias, 1937; Hooykaas, 1977;
Fi and Moerdowo, 1973). Ceremonies usually involve the extended
: family, one’s own banjar, or the entire desa. Some, such as panca
k wali krama at the mother temple, involve all of Bali: during one
; month in every 10 years, cars, trucks, and buses bring people of all
ages to pray and make offerings. Almost all ceremonies involve the
participation of many people. Generally, both men and women take
part and their roles are separate. For.example,-women make:the
i banten. and other offerings, and help:prepare and serve food. Men
i prepare much of the food to be cooked for feasts, organize and
y arrange the procedure for the ceremony, attend to the construction
of all effigies and special buildings for the occasion, make costumes
for the dances, arrange and repair orchestral instruments, and
; manage the logistical problems which must be dealt with in order
to ensure success, ‘
Most ceremonies and dances take place in and around the
temple structures, as is strikingly evident to visitors to Bali. There
are more then 10,000 temples in Bali, all of which serve a variety of
purposes (including those of the family, the state, ricefields,
cemeteries, and the sea). The village temples are large enough to
accommodate almost the whole community at a-single ceremony.
Temples are walled-in, open-air areas containing several‘ small
pavilions and shrines. Persons of all status, including the poorest
families, are free to participate in community<festivals and:temple
ceremonies. ‘iss ys
An important group of ceremonies relate to the individual’s life
cycle (manusa yadnya). Each milestone in this cycle is marked by
|
t
Serene
===PDFPAGE 15===
be TT -
12 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI as
a ceremony, the purpose of which is to expiate: past wrong deeds
and ‘thereby achieve greater perfection: in-this: life, as well as:in
: future lives. These ceremonies are conducted at: birth): at the
separation and burial of the placenta, at seven days of age, at one
month, at one month and seven days, at three months, at six
months, and at birthday celebrations every six months thereafter
| (otonan). Other milestone ceremonies occur at the loss of decidu-
‘- ous teeth, at menarche, at adolescence (e.g. tooth filing;»now:a
| token filing procedure to bring the upper teeth into a straight line
| in order to diminish the six evil qualities of human nature:-anger,
desire, greed, jealousy, irresoluteness, and:intoxication), atmarriage
and death. (e.g. ngaben, which includes cremation:and ngrorasin,
which is held twelve days after death), and at unification: with:God
(ngukur or mligia). An elective milestone in life is the preparation
(culminating in. the pawintenan. ceremony): to: become-a holy
h person: one who vows celibacy, is instructed in a’ certain diet (e:g.
vegetarian), and participates in other rituals in! order toxremove
bad thinking and better serve God-and the gods. This preparation
is not the:same as that for a priest. feed matt AA Tins
There:are many general.ceremonies related to'time according to
tt the Balinese calendar (e.g. galungan’ and -kuningan).:Inva-six-
ii month period there are at least five tumpek:ceremonies. The
purpose of tumpek. landep is to give thanks -for all material: things
made from) metal;. tumpek: uduh} for plants, tumpek andangior
i tumpek uye, for animals; tumpek wayang, for puppets; and tumpek
ij kuningan, for the well-being of the world and its contents.!! y:::.:
| In addition there is the full moon! ceremony. (burnama),:as'well
HY as the ‘dark moon’ ceremony (tilem); kajeng: kliwon, which comes
q every fifteen days, is a potentially fearful time: because on thisiday
‘ the evil spirits abound and persons with bad intentions may. easily
be: possessed and, in turn, disturb:others:: Persons with :méntal
i illness generally date the onset of their symptoms to this:dayziqu:
\ The ceremony of nyepi marks the new year,’.according<to; the
I Balinese Isaka calendar and occurs approximately:every 364:days,
1 usually in March. At »yepi all fires are extinguished, both literally
i in the real world and figuratively in hearts that:aré malevolent:-By
participating in this day of silence, the Balinese hope to-restore
inner peace. The day preceding myepi is: evenimore important.
Exorcistic rituals of great power are conducted, and these:are:made
more serious by the Balinese notion that for the past five:months
there have been an unusual number of dangerous demons roaming
Wl the villages causing illness, crop failure, and. other disasters:-The
5
4
os £ ant | ide PO 4,
Cy nag a a ee
FE AS ; é ee gst
eee
===PDFPAGE 16===
MH BALI AND BALINESE BACKGROUND 13
7 mecaru ceremony is performed with offerings and sacrifices (such
. as a chicken, duck, or cow) to placate the demon deities. (buta-
| kala). The ngrupuk ceremony is held to appease all -evil ‘spirits 5
; which surround their homes, family, and members of the banjar
i and desa so that they will leave and peace will again prevail. ‘- ~
The ceremonies of galungan (every 210 days) and kuningan' (the
! tenth day after galungan) are major events celebrating man’s u-T!
; victory over evil such as anger, jealousy, thievery, and violence. On
’ these festive occasions, there are many colourful, ceremonies
| throughout the island which are easy, for:the visitor to encounter
and attend because they are marked: by processions of brightly
clothed, traditionally dressed people, accompaniedby gamelan
‘ orchestras, walking along the road or crowding around roadside
| temples. ig ot Wh Nidal
j The ceremony of Saraswati is held to thank the goddess’ of
knowledge; Pagerwesi, to make offerings to God for providing
welfare and giving happiness to the world and all its contents; and
i Siwalatri, to give thanks to Siwa for the dissolution of sins, such as
: being angry at a parent or failing to make an offering to the gods.
Offerings to the gods and God-are a part of every ceremony.
They usually contain flowers and betel-nut arranged in a small tray
; made of woven young palm leaf (banten) along with incense Smoke
H (dupa), and holy water (tirte), accompanied by a high priest’s
mantera (i.e. holy chanting to call the gods ‘andGod).’ Other
offerings for ceremonies include not only banten but also
| aesthetically arranged baskets or stacks of fruit, eggs, chicken, or
duck, which women usually carry on their heads to the temple. ~~
In addition to the general community-wide and individual
; ceremonies, there are many other ceremonies such as those at
H home, at a banjar, at an anniversary of the construction or repair of
a local temple, and even at a specific temple un the grounds of the
i mother temple at Besakih. bebe ee ae
i Mead (Bateson and Mead, 1942) lias successfully captured ‘the
H flavour of ceremonial days: tli
H But at the New Year, these same roads are empty, stretching up and down
the frequent hills, between terraced fields holding green rice, to another
d district where the rice is golden, on to a third where the rice is so young
that the flooded beds seem filled mostly with reflections from the sky. The
air on every other day of the year is filled with sound, high staccato voices
shouting the clipped ambiguous words of familiar ‘speech or artificially
prolonging the syllables of polite address, quips of passers-by to the
vendor girls who make a professional art of repartee, babies squalling on
ee a Le. See. | lial
===PDFPAGE 17===
14 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI gee
hips of their child nurses; over and above and behind <all these human
sounds, the air on other days carries music from practicing orchestras,
from an individual idly tapping a single metallophone, from children with a.
jew’s-harps, and from whirring musical windmills set.on narrow standards
high against the sky. On feast days, the roads are crowded with pro- :
cessions of people in silks and brocades, walking in easily broken lines
behind their orchestras and their gods; gods represented by temporary
minute images seated in small sedan chairs; gods represented by images
made of leaves and flowers; gods which are masks or bits of old relics.
With the processions mingle groups of people grimed from work, hurrying :
lightly beneath heavy loads; and theatrical troupes, their. paint and fine
costumes tucked away in little bundles, trudge wearily behind the two-man
mask, the patron dragon (Barong) who walks quietly with covered face. i
To this may be added the heady images of a roadside procession
comprising a group of 30 or more men in chorus singing long {
melodious chords, interspersed with a band of body-resonating ;
giant gongs, throbbing drums, and cymbals; a small forest, of j
coloured tassel-rimmed parasols high above the crowds; long lines j
of women carrying intricately arranged offerings stacked on their
' heads, with one occasionally appearing to go spontaneously, into ;
trance and possession. by the gods while. still miraculously
maintaining the balance of the offering on her head; people sitting
if on the temple grounds raising their hands in prayer as the priest ;
| casts holy water over them; crowds of people milling about in the
gathering darkness, lit only by lantern and moonlight; all seemingly '
happening at once, raising the emotions to a heightened and '
sustained level. ar: : ;
| Trance rituals and ceremonies play a significant and enduring ;
role in dealing with evil spirits and witchcraft (Belo, 1960). In some ;
I villages, almost the whole populace can go into trance at certain
ceremonies. However, there are individuals who do not experience
trance. Trance and possession states in ritual and dance are
| socially approved, facilitated, and controlled. McPhee (1946), an
| observer of trance and possession phenomena in the 1930s that
exist today in the same manner and form, vividly described one
such occurrence: é
While, from the shadows, there came the sound of animated music from ‘i
the gamelan, a group of women stepped forth to dance the gabor, the ;
presentation of offerings of wine, oil, incense. Their shoulders were bare,
their breasts bound with woven scarves, and in their hair were crowded :
orchids, jasmine, gardenias. I recognized Nyoman’s two wives. among :
them as they danced, seriously, tranquilly, as though in their sleep. In and
| out of the shrines they wove, disappearing in the shadows, emerging into
| | 7
— _ -
2 “ e : Z : Boss me Cae
ot A ae < ‘ : a py
===PDFPAGE 18===
BALI AND BALINESE BACKGROUND 15
the moonlight, until at last they paused before the altars, where a priestess
stood, to fan the essence of the offerings in the direction of the gods. -
It was close to dawn when, in the now almost deserted courtyard, the :
3 priestess fell once more in trance. In a hoarse, exhausted voice she
3 announced the presence of the god. It was the god now speaking, There
E was a pause. The god called attention to the poor condition of the temple.
It was in need of repair. Another pause. The priest now asked advice about
certain village affairs. What must the offerings be for the next feast? Back
and forth the voices went, until at last the priestess grew silent and would
talk no more. In the dim light of early morning she woke, looked dazedly
, around, and we knew the gods had left. »~
; Principal Hindu-Dharma Beliefs in Bali ‘4
d The Balinese Hindu religion, which is of critical importance to an
4 understanding of the Balinese (Geertz and Geertz, 1975), is unique.
It has its roots in India but was developed largely in Java. It has
deen influenced by Buddhism, by the original Balinese (aboriginal)
culture, and by Balinese pre-Hindu animistic and ancestral cults.
F The five principal beliefs (banca srada) are: (1) the existence of a
Supreme God (Sang Hyang Widi Wasa); (2) the: existence of an
; eternal soul (atmian); (3) the conviction that every deed has.a reward
i (karma pala); (4) reincarnation (punarbawa); and (5) eventual
unity with God (moksa). ;
Punarbawa is repeated rebirth into the world until one attains
q the perfect life, at which point rebirth ends because one has
4 become unified with God. Punarbawa is not only a belief but a
j prominent aspect of daily life. The Balinese believe that the events
of a person’s current life are caused, in part and often, by deeds in
a previous life. One’s present life is oriented to expiate past
: : undesirable deeds and work towards a better future life. _
‘ In order for families to know what their reborn infant is like,
‘ they take him to a spiritual specialist (balian matuun) to find. out
t which ancestor's soul is in the child and to find out the nature of
. that personality. As Mead put it, the body is the clothing for the
soul. The balian becomes possessed by the soul of the ancestor.
which tells the family what it needs in order to carry out.its new
life; for example, there may be promises that were not fulfilled in a
. previous life, such as holding a ceremonial puppet performance or
i offering a roasted pig to expiate a sin. The purpose of this visit is to
strengthen the family’s hope that their infant's present life will be a
| success. ry
o The people of Bali believe that it is bad to be born on certain
}
‘
: 5 =
, ae ie ah 7k te
mene cn ne
===PDFPAGE 19===
16 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
days. For example, tusmpek wayang (a particular Saturday, wuku
wayang by the Balinese calendar) is considered inauspicious and a
person born on this day is destined to suffer from emotional ‘
distress and cause trouble to others. To counteract the con-
sequences of this unfortunate situation, the’ Balinese perform a
special ceremony of atonement in the hope that the gods will confer
good fortune on the child and ensure that the unfortunate birthday
circumstance will not adversely affect his future development.
The Sibling Spirits
Four spiritual forces which interact to form part of a person’s
personality are called the ‘four siblings’ (kanda,mpat) (Connor,
1982). Their physical manifestations at birth are blood, amniotic
fluid, placenta, and the vernix caseosa (the soft cheesy-like material
that covers the newborn's skin). They are given respect and offerings
by the person concerned; failure to do so could result in their
working against that person and causing illness.“ ae
Factors in Balance and Concepts of Illness x):
The Balinese believe that three factors are crucial 'to a person’s
well-being, happiness, and health: (1) the microcosmos (buana
alit), which is the individual or the soul* and‘is'amanifestationof —_-
God, (2) the macrocosmos (buana agung),which is the universe;
and (3) God (Sang Hyang Widi Wasa). In their daily lives, at home,
in the market, or at the office, thé Balinese strive to keep'these
three factors in equilibrium, a concept called tri hita kavana. All
living and working places have small temples to enable the people
to make offerings and pray; for example, one could pray for ‘safe
automobile travel by calling on God to preserve ‘the balance of
vehicles on the street (the macrocosmos) so that a collision‘ will be
avoided and one’s soul will not be jeopardized. seals
The practice of harmony and balance from the Balinese Hindu
principles (tri hita karana) results in not showing too much vigour
of emotional expression of any type and relates to the concept of a
centre for all things. Kaja (towards the mountain) leads towards
the sacred; kelod (towards the sea) leads to demons or evil; and the
middle world, secular and without specia: forces, is where the ;
people live. The house is located between the house shrine and i
the refuse pit (Bandem and deBoer, 1981). There is a middle
colour made by mixing all colours, called brumbum, which is the ;
Bi
ee oreo 2 : rch
ne ree ees | See eee
===PDFPAGE 20===
BALI AND BALINESE BACKGROUND 17
symbol of the god Siwa. The ‘village has three temples to protect
the people—Pura Puseh (symbol of the god Brahma, the creator of
i all natural aspects of the world); Pura Desa (symbol of the god- ,
| Wisnu, who maintains the natural world); and Pura Dalem (located
3 at the local cemetery and symbolizing the power of the god Siwa,
a who is responsible for destroying life). Centre, harmony, and
i balance for all are unconsciously striven for in many aspects of
| thought, emotion, and behaviour in daily living.
: The microcosmos (the soul) also interacts with the sibling’
spirits. To the authors’ knowledge, the three factors (microcosmos,
macrocosmos, and God) and their ‘balance’ are:more influential in
. daily life than are the sibling spirits. Peace is attained by doing
good deeds and by maintaining balance. Balance’ determinesa
| person’s well-being and imbalance causes symptoms such :as
i anxiety or depression, other mental disorders, and physical illness.
The Balinese believe that one’s soul is involved in illness and that
they will become vulnerable to illness if the three factors are notin
1 equilibrium. They believe that both natural factors (e.g. fractures
| and infections) and supernatural factors (e.g. evil spirits, mistakes
| in ceremonies, and sins of their ancestors) cause illnesses. They
| regard the traditional healer (balian) as being able to understand
| and treat problems arising from both supernatural and natural
causes, and thus able to restore equilibrium of the three factors.
They are of the opinion that doctors are able to treat only diseases
i caused by natural factors. For this reason, if a family member has.a
{ mental disorder, the Balinese generally go first to the balian.
However, whether they go to a balian or a doctor, or both, family
members also attend ceremonies to help ensure balance and
i equilibrium of the family and the individual (Connor, 1984).
: Traditional healers (6alian) are of several different. types
(Connor, 1982, 1986; see also Chapter 3) and they use a variety of
techniques, including trance (of the healer and/or client), white
; magic (to counteract black magic), holy water, medicinal,.con-
coctions, meditation, massage, and smoke treatment. Smoke
t treatment, used for both physical and mental disorders, consists of
q the client sitting for about 30 minutes in a closed, small tent made
of woven palm leaf mats with a smouldering sandalwood fire at the
feet (Leimena and Thong, 1983). This is a method to rid the body
of black magic or evil spirits.
The range of disorders for which balian are successful is wide
but not unlimited. They treat disorders caused by natural causes,
including fractures and infections, as well as those which Western |
'
|
; YR, ae es
ER me el lng Se eS ae
===PDFPAGE 21===
18 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
physicians would regard as primarily psychogenic and psychiatrists
would regard as mental disorders. Balian are often able to recognize
mental and physical illnesses outside their scope of care and may :
refer their clients to practitioners of Western medicine.
* & *
The island of Bali has retained much of its natural scenic beauty in
spite of pressure from a major tourist industry and a rapid infusion
of modern technology. More strikingly, the Balinese people have
maintained their fundamental customs of centuries past. This stable
culture has nurtured a society remarkable for its gentleness and an
extraordinarily low prevalence of Western scourges such as child
abuse, alcohol and drug addiction, homelessness, and violence.
Several Balinese Hindu beliefs are central to the culture and
provide the key to the cognitive sets of the people: the Supreme
God; the eternal soul;- karma; reincarnation; and. eventual. unity
with God. Spirituality is further extended to include all natural
things, an extensive world of ancestors, and social systems that bind
the people together. The Balinese believe that the microcosmos or
soul, the macrocosmos or universe, and God are’ basic to: health
and they strive to keep these three factors:in balance because lack
of balance can result in illness or problems for the individual or the
community. Traditional healers (6alian) utilize a number of
techniques to cure illness through restoring balance.
1. God spelled with a capital G means the supreme God. Gods spelled with a
small. g refer to lesser gods of the Hindu religion or ancestor gods which are
manifestations of God or holy ancestors who have become gods. :
2. In Bali all kinds of mental activity, including thoughts, emotions, behaviour, f
and personality, are determined by the soul, while physical activity is a function of
the soul. In contrast, Westerners regard mental activ.iy as primarily a function of
the psyche or as a mental process, such as cognition.
ere enone ee tee SS
===PDFPAGE 22===
F Chapter 2
5 Trance and Possession
3 Mosr Westerners know about hypnosis although there are many
popular misconceptions. Since it is not usually taught in medical
} school curricula, the majority of physicians are little more know-
: ledgeable about hypnosis than the general public. To many people,
trance seems to be more mysterious than hypnosis because the term
5 is largely associated with the occult or foreign cultures. Possession
i is equally strange to Westerners since not only is it rarely
observed in the West but it is generally associated with bizarre
happenings portrayed in the media as part of the religious rites of
cults, ‘primitive’ cultures, or voodoo. Most Western hypnotists are
unfamiliar with possession, and few have seen an example of it.
People from non-Western cultures, however, tend to have different
experiences and views. The Balinese are a case in point. In
contrast to Westerners, they regard Western hypnosis as a means
to affect a person negatively, not positively. They are familiar with
possession (kalinggian) and regard it as an everyday event which
can be positive or occasionally negative, depending on the spirit
possessed, 3
Bali offers Western scholars a multitude of opportunities to study
a the nature of possession. An understanding of the subject is. of
considerable significance to Western medicine and psychology
because possession phenomena also occur in the West. It is
important to be able to recognize when they evist in a normal form,
such as in certain religious groups, and when they are symptoms
of abnormal mental states, including possession disorder (see
Chapter 9).
ee pa)
===PDFPAGE 23===
20 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI - ee
Dissociation Beate
In order to understand trance and possession, one needs to under- ous
stand dissociation. Unfortunately, there is lack of clarity about 8
dissociation because of its many manifestations and the lack of a
precise definition (Frankel, 1990). Dissociation is a psychological
mechanism which operates in the everyday life of normal people if
and in abnormal mental states as well. Psychiatry has defined it as an
unconscious ‘defence’? mechanism through which emotional sig-
nificance and affects (feelings) are split off, separated, or detached
from an idea, situation, object, or person (APA, 1984). With some ; 3
types of dissociation, aspects of experience are not consciously
perceived or embedded in one’s consciousness. Dissociation is
also considered to be a disconnectedness or lack of normal .
integration of knowledge, thoughts, identity, memory, and control
(Frankel, 1990) into the stream of consciousness (Bernstein and
Putnam, 1986). There is a disruption of the usual integrative
function (Nemiah, 1980) so that for a period of time, certain
information is not associated or integrated with other information
as it normally or logically would be (West, 1967: 890). Another
definition is ‘a structured separation of mental ‘processes’ (e.g. 2
thoughts, emotions, cognition, memory, and-identity) that are
ordinarily integrated’ (Spiegel and Cardefia, 1991). “Clinically, dis-
sociation involves a fragmentation of consciousness and automati- a
city, usually for [psychologically] defensive purposes.’ (D. Spiegel, .
1990: 139.) iit iaeniaiell, ina ue ee ae
In the aggregate, these definitions and descriptions are consistent; : %
they convey the quality of the mechanism and relate to the te
purposes which dissociation serves. It is common for psychiatry to Oe te
regard dissociation as a ‘defence’ against anxiety or awareness of BS
events for which the individual has no voluntary escape (Spiegel, =
Hunt, and Dondershine, 1988). As Spiegel, Hunt, and Dondershine ee
(1988) put it: a
... While dissociation serves the function of defending consciousness from be ;
the immediate experience of painful events—physical pain, fear, anxiety, :
and helplessness—it then becomes an entrenched part of the overall view Es
of self. Once the self is divided in a powerful way, the experience of unity mcs
becomes problematic, since ordinary self-consciousness is no’ longer + =
synonymous with the entirety of self and personal history. Rather, it I
becomes associated with the awareness of some warded-off tragedy, the | ee
moment of humiliation and fear, the act of cowardice, the sense of having 33
been degraded. ; 3 ig
j mo
Big Se ; as St oo SS eae er
ib ete oe Sie Ge
ie a a, |S en eS
===PDFPAGE 24===
TRANCE AND POSSESSION 21
However, dissociation is also utilized as part of everyday activities
in which one becomes absorbed. E. R. Hilgard (1977), emphasizing
the-normal aspects of dissociation, formulated dissociation .as an ;
extension of normal cognitive functioning. j
Normal dissociative phenomena are depicted in famous children’s
poems such as those in A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis
Stevenson (1928)* and in children’s stories such as the fairy-tales
of Hans Christian Andersen and Alice in Wonderland by Lewis
Carroll. These depict the innocent fantasies of being in magical or
special places where one experiences perceptions and feelings
different from those in the ordinary world.
' Alice’s adventures and escape into a world of wonder and magic
represented or can be seen in part-as Carroll’s’ personal escape
from his conflictual real world.This is a common: dissociative
pattern utilized by abused children as well as.those:capable of.rich
fantasy. Carroll's depiction of Alice’s body shrinking and expand-
ing in size illustrates changes in body schema which may:.occur
when transiting from one state of consciousness to. another, or
during the dissociative phenomenon of depersonalization. Accord-
ing to one of his biographers (R. Wallace, 1990: 192), Lewis Carroll
probably experienced sexual abuse as a child -in boarding school
and his conflicts of morality in adulthood were consistent with the
interpretation that he led a personal life similar to’ that-of the
dissociated Jekyll and Hyde (R. Wallace, 1990::154, 168;.see
Chapter 9). It is notable that Hans Christian Andersen .also
experienced significant neglect and loneliness.as a child.
It is quite norma! for people to dissociate in the activities of‘daily
life. Examples include (1) driving a car and arriving at one’s
destination without being aware of familiar landmarks, (2) reading
a book and ignoring events which one would ordinarily have noticed,
and (3) watching a movie and: being totally oblivious to one’s
surroundings. Such situations in which the person‘ becomes:so
absorbed by certain thoughts or stimuli that he appears to. lose
touch with what is going on around him can stretch over relatively
long periods of time. Many types of behaviour which are considered
automatic or absent-minded, such as putting bananas‘in the wrong
dish or placing a warm cup of coffee in a refrigerator in the morning
and then forgetting where it was placed, may be:attributed to. dis-
sociation.? A proverbial ‘absent-minded professcr’:demonstrates
dissociation, not memory problems. The husband: who is so
absorbed in the morning paper that he totally ignores his wife is
probably dissociating. A high frequency of dissociative experiences
sae ee |
a ee ee ee
===PDFPAGE 25===
22 TRANCE AND POSSESSION INBALI_
has been noted in adolescents (Bernstein and Putnam, 1986) and
college students (Myers and Grant, 1970; Sedman, 1966). Dreams
are a form of dissociation in which one’s thoughts are separated from ;
normal consciousness and take different forms. When awakening
from a dream, one may feel briefly that the events were real; how-
ever, on returning to a normal conscious state, one realizes that
what has happened is only a dream. Dreams, like hypnotic:states .
and unconscious thinking, follow non-logical patterns of thought and :
images. This pattern in some aspects of hypnosis has been called
trance-logic (Brown and Fromm, 1986). Trance clearly involves the
‘defence’ mechanism of dissociation. ° :
Ludwig (1983) pointed out that the mechanisms of dissociation
have great individual and species survival value in that they provide
(1) an escape from overwhelming reality, (2) a cathartic discharge
of feelings, (3) a resolution of irreconcilable conflicts, (4) an ability
to perform some behaviours automatically thereby permitting
simultaneous conscious engagement in other behaviours, and (5) a
beneficial enhancement of the ‘herd:sense’, i.e. the human inclina-
tion to be affiliated with people engaged in similar activities.
Dissociation plays a: predominant-part in normal behaviour and
sometimes in problematic sexual behaviour as well. For example,
in their studies of the treatment of sexual disorders, Masters and
Johnson (1970: 65-6) discovered that dissociation is a common
aspect of male impotence. !
They described the ‘spectator role’ or ‘spectatoring’: the patient
behaves as if he is visualizing his lovemaking outside of himself or
as if he is viewing his own sexual behaviour from a corner of the
room. This phenomenon involves depersonalization and possibly
the hidden observer effect of hypnosis, both of which are forms of
dissociation.
The Balinese recognize a pattern of behavicur called ngramang
sawang which literally means ‘absent thinking’ or ‘no emotions’. It
is characterized by an absence of thoughts, a staring or vacant-like
facial expression, and inactivity, usually brief but lasting for about
1-5 minutes. Generally, ngramang sawang is brought on by a
problem, such as a recent disagreement, or by frustration. disap-
pointment, or simply fatigue. It is not seen very frequently. It often
evokes the sympathy and interpersonal supportive behaviour of a
friend or family member. Ngvamang sawang tends to terminate
rather abruptly. It appears that this behaviour is a form: of
dissociation which may be likened to meditation or selfhypnosis at
a sallow level.
Biss ec ees Se ire
i eee
===PDFPAGE 26===
: TRANCE AND POSSESSION 23
* The many kinds of perceptions and experiences that typify
3 dissociation can be measured quantitatively by using the. Dis-
q sociative Experiences Scale or DES (Bernstein and Putnam, 1986). :
It enumerates 28 dissociative behaviours and <erves as an index of
j the various kinds of behaviour, as well as a gauge of how
frequently they occur. Studies of dissociation using the DES in
Pp: normal ‘subjects revealed that over 25 per cent reported a
substantial number of dissociative experiences (Ross, Joshi, and .
E Currie, 1990). Bernstein and Putnam (1986) did not find any
difference between males and females in their capacity to
} dissociate. Of ail the dissociative disorders, multiple personality
: disorder (MPD) scores highest on the scale—40-50 per cent—in
3 terms of frequency and intensity of experiencing the behaviour
measured, which is far above the normal range. Persons with post-
traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) score lower than those with MPD
but their scores are also abnormally high (Carlson and Rosser-
j Hogan, 1991). The instrument can be helpful clinically in clarifying
the diagnosis of dissociative disorders.
: ‘Hidden by the Evil Spirit’
: A unique form of dissociation called ‘hidden by the evil spirit’
; (engkebang memedi) occurs in Bali. This condition is seen
commonly in normal persons and also occasionally in psychotic
. individuals. While serving in the psychiatric unit of a hospital in
Bali in 1976, Suryani observed engkebang memedi in two normal
3 individuals and in six psychotic patients, all males. In all eight
; cases, the person concerned disappeared for a period of 7-30 days.
The disappearance was considered to have been caused by an evil
; spirit who had hidden the person because he loved him. The
3 Balinese believe that this evil spirit is small, has red hair, and lives
in bamboo groves.
4 When a Balinese disappears, the first thing his family does is to
approach a traditional healer who will usually say that the person
has been hidden by an evil spirit. In an attempt to drive away’ the
evil spirit, the family members walk through the village making a
gong-like sound by striking a rod on a piece of iron. In most'cases,
when the missing person is found—in a cemetery, in a market-place,
or near bamboo trees—he appears confused and ‘has difficulty
talking. He may recount such experiences as having gone to a
beautiful home where he was treated like a king, where a beautiful
woman offered to marry him, or where he was asked to stay and
|
f
See este oe ; Eee
a es
===PDFPAGE 27===
24 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
not go home. When confronted by his family iwith the: real
situation—e.g. being found in the cemetery or the market-place—
the person is incredulous; as one afflicted person insisted, But I saw ;
a palace here!’ After the family conducts a purification ceremony to
bring the person back into the real world, he returns to his normal
state. A person suffering from engkebang memedi is rarely taken to
psychiatrists and thus rarely hospitalized since the condition isnot
regarded as a mental disorder in Bali. By contrast, if such behaviour
had occurred in a Western culiure, it would likely have been
regarded as abnormal and dysfunctional and classified as a type of ?
dissociative disorder. we
-There is no condition reported in either Western or Eastern
literature that corresponds to engkebang memedi. It resembles a
fugue state in only a few respects.> No information is available on
what actually happens to. the afflicted person during his dis-
appearance. The condition is a dissociative phenomenon.
Laiah
To observe /atah is to be struck. by an exciting, dramatic, and
puzzling condition (H. Geertz, 1968). Laiah is basically an uncon-
trollable behaviour reaction occurring in certain individuals when
startled by others. Kenny (1985) described it as a shy
reduction in powers of self-contro] caused by sudden fright or startle
reaction which leads to involuntary and normally inappropriate acts which
may include one or more of the following: (a) mimicry; (b) compulsive
obedience to commands; and (c) the utterance’ of affect-laden words
generally pertaining to sexuality. :
He also referred to it as ‘startle’, which leads to temporary. .dis-
sociation accompanied by compulsive. obscenity and/or mimicry.
Because spectators are amused by the behaviour, they. often inten-
tionally provoke the reaction in persons with a known history of
latah.
In the literature, /aiah has been called a culture-bound syndrome
(Simons, 1985b) and even a mental disorder. It was originally
discovered in Malaysians, but subsequently found in Indonesians
(H. Geertz, 1968) and eventually in a number of other cultures
widely distributed throughout the world,® although this is the first 3
report of it in Bali.
A number of studies have attempted to explain the nature and
mechanism of lata. A controversy exists between psychiatrists and
===PDFPAGE 28===
& TRANCE AND POSSESSION 25
anthropologists as to whether its origin is biologically (Simons,
1985b). or culturally (Kenny, 1985) based. Simons. (1985b: 41)
% proposed that /aiah ‘is best understood as a culture-specific elab- .
& oration of the potential startle reflex’ inherent in all persons. Latah
is included in this book because, in the authors’ view, it is
fundamentally a dissociative condition. Two case-studies of latah
are given below.
Z Case 1
z This man of high caste (Wesia) is a respected teacher at the high
school. He is 48 years old and married. Jovial and friendly, he was
happy to talk about his experience: of latah and willing to give a
} demonstration. He explained that if someone unexpectedly stimu-
a lates him, such as by sticking him in: the ribs,'he becomes
4 uncontrollable, automatically making sounds to indicate that he
; wishes to avoid further stimulation; at the same time, he directs his
i attention to the causal stimulus and focuses on it, unaware‘of the
s people around him. Although he appears to be laughing and enjoying
4 himself, he is not. Immediately after he stops the uncontrollable
‘I laughing, he becomes aware of his environment again. The first
‘ time he experienced /atah was in 1963, when he'was at college’in
a Surabaya. At that time, if his peers continued to stimulate him
a intermittently, the uncontrollable movements and expressions’ could
i go on for 30 minutes or more and he would feel tired afterwards.
1 According to this person, the reaction may be set off initially by
someone touching him, but it can be continued simply by a similar
, threatening gesture. During the demonstration, he laughed very
@ vigorously as he motioned and moved his arms and body about, as
5; if to avoid any further touching. He shouted, ‘De, de, de, A?’ (No,
a don’t do it! Ah!) repeatedly. When. he was moving about. in.this
: manner, he was unaware of his surroundings and felt as if he was
4 being ‘pushed’ by someone. This man’s sister also suffers from
3 latah, as do some members of his extended family. Neither.he nor
; his sister has ever had any experiences with trance or possession.
The /aiah reaction experienced by him and his sister has remained
; the same up to the present day. Neither one has any personality
disorder; they are perfectly normal and have no symptoms of
hypomania. He denied that /atah ever concerned him or that it
ever produced any embarrassment. On the contrary, he regarded
it as an enjoyable situation in which the, people around him
laughed and enjoyed themselves as well. His sister described her
|
t
eee
===PDFPAGE 29===
26 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
reaction similarly, including the automatic behaviour. Neither she
nor her brother has ever had any amnesia regarding the event. — -
Case 2
This 50-year-old unmarried woman of high caste (Wesia) was
* interviewed in the presence of a number of family members at her
house. Her first /atah experience was at the age of 30. Speaking
cheerfully and animatedly, she informed us that when she is
stin.ulated by surprise, she repeats words that people speak to her
and says some obscene words. This state lasts for about 5 minutes
without repeat stimulation, but longer if the stimulation is repeated.
She does not always recall what she has said, and she has partial
amnesia especially if the episode lasts for 30 minutes or more.
During the episode, her behaviour is not under her control and
she answers questions incoherently. For example, in response to
the question why she behaved that way, she answered, ‘Corpse’. The
obscene words she used spontaneously in the episode observed by
the authors were ‘fuck’ (bangsai), ‘corpse’ (bangke), and ‘vagina’
(teli). She also repeated short sentences or words spoken to her.
Latah never strikes her spontaneously. She feels no embarrassment
over it and acknowledges that the people around her enjoy the
episode as much as she does, Her personality is regarded as
normal and she does not have any mental symptoms or disorder.
Laiah is an Indonesian word; the Balinese word for it is gegean.
The condition is accepted in the Balinese culture in the same way
that trance and possession are accepted. Far from’ considering it to
be a source of unkind teasing, the Balinese look upon /ctah as
being rather entertaining. i
The descriptions of /atah in the two case-studies above illustrate :
several points about the condition:
1. It is not a mental disorder in Bali, as persons with the condition
never seek help for it from either psychiatrists or traditional
healers. ; ;
2. It probably has a partial genetic basis as illustrated in its
tendency to run in families’ with an abrupt onset in full-blown
form at a particular point in the life cycle of the individual
(usually young adulthood).®
3. It presents as a constellation of behaviours in Bali as well as in a
variety of characteristic diverse cultures.
4. The mechanism is fundamentally dissociation.9
yee : ee
ee ee | Se | Siete rare
Se ee (asa vei: Aes eo Die
a a nn ee ee
===PDFPAGE 30===
2 TRANCE AND POSSESSION 27
2 Factors that support the dissociation hypothesis are abrupt
a onset and termination, the individual's loss of awareness of his
¥ immediate environment, attention focused only on the stimulus, .
% automatic behaviour not in the stream of normal consciousness,
=} and amnesia (partial or complete) concerning the episode. When the
4 process or mechanism of aia is viewed as a dissociative reaction
q or condition, it seems more understandable. It can be interpreted
4 as a basically psychobiological response with specific patterns of -
r behaviour acquired by operant conditioning-of the individual and
y shaped by expectations of the particular culture in which it occurs.
& It need not be seen as either a biologically or a culturally deter-
a mined phenomenon but rather as one involving both factors. A
x genetic basis is further supported by the fact that not all persons
3 are capable of the response. In this respect, it resembles trance
P and possession.
4 It may seem striking to a Westerner that most Balinese individuals
: manifesting latah do not experience embarrassment or shame,
: given that they exhibit sometimes shocking’ and totally out of
character behaviour, individually and culturally, including the use
! of obscene language.!° This characteristic of latah also points to
J dissociation as the basic mechanism. Latah behaviour of the Bali-
: nese, like that in a state of trance-possession, may be totally out of
E keeping with the person's usual behaviour. It may be even ‘highly
: critical or insulting of individuals in the family or outside but itis
y never considered negatively by the audience. Because /aiah is not
4 considered abnormal or symptomatic by the Balinese, the term .
4 ‘syndrome’, which signifies symptoms, and the term ‘disorder’; are
: not entirely appropriate; consequently the term ‘condition’ has
been used in this book.
2
3 Dissociation in Mental Disorders
The Western definition of a dissociative disorder is a partial or
complete loss of (1) the normal integration between memories of
the past, (2) the awareness of identity and immediate sensations, and
the control of bodily movements (WHO, 1992). Some dissociative
disorders may involve trance and possession, as described in
Chapters 8 and 9.
The dissociative phenomena manifest in mental disorders take
multiple forms but can be defined clinically in terms of constellations
of five core symptoms (Steinberg, 1991b): (1) amnesia, i.e. a specific
and significant segment of time that is unavailable to memory
ee eee See SS = aa ee. i eee ee
===PDFPAGE 31===
28 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
(Steinberg, Howland, and Cicchetti, 1986; Steinberg, Rounsaville,
and Cicchetti, 1990); (2) depersonalization, i.e. a sense of detachment
from self (Mayer-Gross, 1935; Steinberg 1991b); (3) derealization, -
ie..a:sense that one’s surroundings are unreal (Steinberg, 1991b);
(4). identity confusion, i.e. a feeling of confusion, uncertainty,’ or
puzzlement regarding one’s identity (Steinberg, 1991b);,(5) identity 3
alteration, i.e. objective behaviour that indicates-a change in identity :
(Steinberg, Howland, and Cicchetti, 1986; Steinberg, Rounsaville,
and Cicchetti, 1990). All or some of these symptoms occur in the F
various types of dissociative disorders (e.g. MPD. and PTSD).
Trance/Hypnosis —
Trance is an altered state of consciousness (ASC) characterized by
changes in cognition, perceptions, and/or physiologically based
sensibilities. In these aspects it is identical to hypnosis, which
produces a state in which cognition and. perception are altered
(Frankel, 1976). Brown and Fromm .(1986).‘have stated that-‘dis-
sociation is part of many hypnotic experiences’. q
Hypnosis is generally brought on or induced by another person,
the hypnotist, and involves a relationship between the two (Brown y:
and Fromm, 1986). Hypnosis induced by the individual herself/
himself is called self-hypnosis. Trance states in most cultures do:not %
involve intentional induction by another individual-:but occur ~
spontaneously, often in association with music, chanting,.singing, or
; verbal encouragement (Rouget, 1985). Mind-altering or hallu-
cinogenic plants: or. drugs are used in association,with trance
ceremonies in some cultures and these may also have supernatural
significance.!! The Balinese do not use ‘mind-altering’ substances
or drugs in connection with trance. (In fact, they use very little
alcohol and few psychoactive substances except betel-nut.) The
balian usually lights incense sticks at the beginning of each a
treatment session and some smoke is inhaled. The ASC of trance and 7
hypnosis can be induced in a variety of circumstances, inclading _
solitude, in groups, in ceremonies, and in therapy. The terms ‘trance’ 3
and ‘hypnosis’ overlap and can be used interchangeably to refer to ¥
the same biopsychological state. Both~show -similar aspects: of %
ASC.
Trance/hypnosis has both subjective and objective manifestations. 4
Subjectively, the individual recognizes and can often describe
changes in perceptions and feelings, such as a sensation of darkness 3
or a sense of the body floating. There is a constriction of attention ;
¥ “ pees +4
I
===PDFPAGE 32===
< TRANCE AND POSSESSION 29
3 with consequent loss of awareness of much of the surrounding
# environment (Brown and Fromm, 1986). Trancers may also
5 experience hallucinations. They often describe-a richness or ,
s vividness of normal thought or visualization (generally with their
z eyes closed). Objective signs of trance/hypnosis include fluttering
a and slowly closing eyelids (indicating a state of light trance);
abnormal postures (e.g. the arm rising slowly, but automatically,
5 and held steadily and comfortably in a raised position for a
prolonged period of time); decreased sensitivity to painful stimuli
a (e.g. walking on hot coals without feeling any‘pain); changes in
) physiological response to heat, cold, or piercing the:skin (e.g. no
=| blistering after touching hot objects); little bleeding when cut, as in
‘ surgery or tooth extraction; and. increased ‘sensitivity to ‘stimuli
4 (e.g. perception of pain when the hypnotist suggests that a pencil
¥ eraser is burning hot). It is important to: note that all of/these
: manifestations, including hallucinations and ‘messages from'spirits’
| while in trance states, also occur‘in normal, ‘asymptomatic;'non-
# mentally ill people... Fete vy
‘| The ‘psychological set’ of the trance/hypnosis subject is
y characterized by feelings of trust and a desire to allow oneself to
| enter and go freely into the state. Orne pointed out that ‘the:skills
of the hypnotist consist largely in creating a context where the
;; patient can feel comfortable, trusting and willing to allow himself
* or herself.to respond’ (Soskis, 1986). Jensen and Suryani (1992)
; hypothesized that the strong sense of trust-belief in the Balinese
: personality facilitates trance induction. This trust-belief is derived
5 not only from a prolonged period (by Western standards) spent in
u the company of supportive and loving parents and caretakers in
; infancy and early childhood, but also from the closeness and security
: imparted by one’s family, ancestors, and sibling spirits throughout
; life. Jensen and Suryani (1992) also identified hypnotizability: or
3 hypnotic susceptibility, meaning an inherent:facility in a majority
of the population to enter trance easily, as another trait of the
; Balinese. “yee 3G Bi
It has been commonly believed that under hypnosis, people will
not do what they would not want to do when in their non-hypnotic
state; i.e. their morals and ethics are maintained in, the trance state.
The case of suicide while in trance may be an exception to this
general rule (see Chapter 7). reihns BA aE
E. R. Hilgard. (1977) discovered that under hypnosis people can
experience events as if they are observing their own behaviour and
are cognizant of what is happening to them. For example; a
‘
ae meee ’ +e : :
Se er ee eee
===PDFPAGE 33===
30 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
hypnotized subject is told to be insensitive to pain. After iramersing
his hand for several minutes in ice water, the persén may be asked ;
by the hypnotist to touch that isolated part of himself that can feel
the pain. The hypnotized or dissociated pain response can be
activitated by invoking a type of mental function known as. the
‘hidden observer’. This ‘hidden observer’ is aware of the pain and
says something to this effect: ‘I know it is painful but it does not
trouble me and | can endure it further.’ A similar phenomenon
probably occurs in Balinese in trance states who observe their own .
behaviour performed. by the god or spirit possessing them (see
‘Individual Trance-possession’ in Chapter 5).
After coming out of hypnosis or trance, the persons affected may
or may not recall what happened to them during the hypnotic or
trance state. Subjects waking up from light trance states’ can
usually recall the events during trance. If a hypnotist:suggests to his
hypnotized subjects that they will not: recall something on
‘awakening’, they will not be able to recall it. :
Whether experiences during trance or hypnosis are recalled
post-hypnotically or not, they often have a profound psychological
impact on the individual. For example, a hypnotist’s suggestion to
a subject that he/she is in control of his/her own body (only one
among many statements made) may be regarded by the subject as
being particularly meaningful. This is one illustration of the poten-
tial therapeutic impact of hypnotherapy. In Bali, itis quite common
for a person’s entire lifestyle or career to be changed as a result of
a single trance experience in which a god told him/her to become :
a balian.
There is a contagious nature of trance (Chapters 4 and 9) and
what has been called a “field effect’ of the ASC of meditation, i.e. :
the ‘effects on others in the vicinity (Chapter 8). Contagion and
after-effects of trance in the audience of shaman were described in
the Eskimo Tungus culture by Shirokogoroff (1935: 53):
The rhythmic music and singing and later the dancing of the shaman
gradually involve every participant more and more in a collective action.
When. the audience begins to repeat the refrains together with the
assistants, only those who are defective fail to join the chorus. The tempo
of the action increases, the shaman with a spirit is not more an ordinary
man or relative, but is a ‘placing’ (i.e. incarnation of the spirit); the spirit
acts together with the audience, and this is felt by everyone. The state of
many participants is now near to that of the shaman himself and only a
strong belief that when the shaman is there the spirit may only enter him,
restrains the participants from being possessed in mass by the spirit. This i
, i '
“ue SS c , - i wt ES é 7
ee Maen ee
===PDFPAGE 34===
| TRANCE AND POSSESSION 31
is a very important condition of shamanizing which does not however
reduce mass susceptibility to the suggestion, hallucinations, and-uncon-
scious acts produced in a state of mass ecstasy. When the shaman feels .
j- that the audience is with him and follows him he becomes still more active
a and this effect is transmitted to his audience. After shamanizing, the
: audience recollects various moments of the performance, their great
; psychophysiological emotion and the hallucinations of sight and hearing
4 which they have experienced. They then have a deep satisfaction—much
4 greater than that from emotions produced by theatrical and musical
performances, literature and general artistic phenomena of the European
7 complex, because in shamanizing the audience at the same time acts and
‘ participates.
; One type of trance in Bali may be termed self-hypnosis: this is
. often seen in musicians playing traditional gamelan music (described
4 in Chapter 6). Unlike most trances in Bali, this state is not associated
with possession.
6 There is evidence of brain wave changes in hypnosis, although
! these have not yet been confirmed. In experimental studies. of
4 religious trance, Goodman (1972) reported a predominance of theta
: (5-7 cycles per second) waves on EEG (electroencephalogram)
: tracings. Beta-endorphin blood levels were also elevated on. the
é conclusion of the experiments which could account for the euphoria
: often reported following religious trance experiences. The very
Q deep hypnotic state was correlated with reductions in EEG
A amplitude.
The capacity to experience trance has been regarded -as a
psychobiological heritage of mankind (Bourguignon, 1973: 11).
, This is supported by an extensive literature on hypnosis in animals
; which suggests that hypnosis or dissociation may be a primitive
: psychobiological mechanism of self-defence, evolutionarily acquired
; in a number of species, with genetic components (Gallup, 1975;
; Gallup and Maser, 1977; Herzog, 1978; Klemm, 1966). Several
j species of animals, including monkeys, have. been. observed. to
engage in sudden changes in behaviour, such as resorting to
: immobility, as defence reactions against harm from other animals
in situations of attack, fear, and terror. This behaviour, also called
tonic immobility, consists of a virtual absence of movement (apart
from falling) and a degree of muscle rigidity. The state can be
provoked experimentally in birds, chickens, and cats by subjecting
them to restraint and forced immobility. It occurs in natural
situations, sometimes in cock-fights, and in Balinese ceremonies in
which cocks are forcefully restrained as they are carried on poles.
stl, ‘ c=. Sa
===PDFPAGE 35===
32 TRANCE AND POSSESSION’IN BALI e.
Darwin proposed that feigning death might protect against : :
predators reluctant to eat dead meat. Physiological concomitants t ait
of the condition include increased autonomic and EEG arousal Hy (
patterns, described as ‘EEG-behavioural dissociation’ (i.e. EEG é f
arousal along with behavioural ‘sedation’), The neurotransmitter :
serotonin has been implicated in the neurophysiologic mechanism *
of tonic immobility (Wallanau and Gallup, 1977). . ; :
If trance and dissociation are evolutionarily acquired biopsycho- ;
logical mechanisms of man, they may be expected to be evident in
some form in chimpanzees, man’s closest evolutionary. predecessors.
The following pattern, usually termed a ‘display’, may in fact rep- 4
resent a dissociative phenomenon. Wild chimpanzees occasion-
ally engage in episodes of apparently unprovoked explosive,
aggressive-like behaviour while in the presence of other animals or
humans; they suddenly charge’ through the forest or clearing’ for
distances of up to about 50 metres, move their arms wildly about,
and hoot loudly with a characteristic vocalization but do ‘not
directly attack other chimps or humans sitting or standing within a
few feet of their path (van Lawick-Goodall, 1967),}2 Jensen's study
of wild chimpanzees at Gambe Stream Reserve in Tanzania in 1974
showed that this charging behaviour, like dissociation, had*an
abrupt onset and termination and was relatively brief, ‘mechanical,
and stereotyped. It appeared as though the chimpanzee had briefly
entered an ASC, possibly in an attempt to cope with oro discharge
an inner state of tension. This behaviour of the chimpanzees ‘is
similar to some human dissociative behaviours, particularly those
which have arisen as a means to cope with’ situations’ of anxiety
and fear (see Chapter 9). ised 3 :
“The theoretical concepts of: dissociation’and ‘repression’ as
‘discussed in the literature with regard to hypnosis can-be confusing.
As E.R. Hilgard (1977) pointed out, ‘In clinical settings it may be
expected that some dissociative phenomena and some repressive
phenomena will be found together, and sharp distinctions betwéen
‘dissociative and repressive interpretations may be inappropriate.’
Strictly speaking, dissociation involves a separation of thought'from ;
consciousness, which can be accessed if amnesia is’ overcome.
Material regarded as repressed in the unconscious may be
expressed symbolically or illogically and is often revealed only by
inference, é.g. the interpretation of the symbolic content of dreams.
So-called repressed material is also expressed during’ possession.
E. R. Hilgard (1977) distinguished two kinds of repression: in the
first one, the contents are concealed and have to be inferred; in the
RSE iat Sed fore Lived: <oeee Spee
teeta eee
===PDFPAGE 36===
sg 1) 196857 RE
a TRANCE AND POSSESSION 33
z second, conflictual material- arising from the earlier stages. of
F development and impulses are inadequately translated into verbal
symbols. A third kind of repression could perhaps be. identified in ;
| the repressed impulses and ideas expressed by possessed Balinese
BY in certain ceremonials or by balian, in which the contents are clearly
3 and logically revealed. It is probable that what-Freud originally
Bi referred to as repression is the amnesia of hypnotic states.13 While
# the concept of repression is prominent in psychiatry and particularly
i in psychoanalysis, Holmes (1990) noted that 60 years of research
j has not produced any controlled laboratory evidence supporting it.
Frankel (1990) argued that ‘the concept of dissociation increasingly
z| preempts repression and other defense. mechanisms’ but’ never-
theless cautioned restraint in too broad use of the concept of
4 dissociation. f-c4 ,
Possession and Trance-possession a
: In many cultures throughout the world, possession commonly
i occurs with the trance state. In a survey of 488 societies world-
3 wide, 90 per cent had institutionalized some form of altered states
| of consciousness and 52 per cent. associated these states with
i possession (Bourguignon, 1973). Bourguignon (1976) felt that
i these figures probably represented an under-reporting of: the
i phenomenon. The common pattern described is given below:
4 An individual suddenly’ seems to lose his identity and. become another
E person. His physiognomy changes and shows a striking resemblance to
i the individual of whom he is, supposedly, the incarnation. With an altered
; voice, he pronounces words corresponding to the personality of the new
q individual. (Ellenberger, 1970; 13.) .
Possession has a long history dating at least to the New Testament.
| An early work by Oesterreich (1974), a German philosopher, re-
} viewed in detail many historical documentations of possession from
the second century to the nineteenth century in ‘Greece,
Mesopotamia, Western civilizations, and ‘primitive’ cultures through-
out the world. He noted the uniformity of the reported phenomena,
including observable manifestations (e.g. a typical:physiognomy)
and subjective manifestations. Except for possession in the shaman,
almost all instances he reported were associated-:with religious
entities (ie. devils and demons) and involved’ unwanted, :sym-
ptomatic, maladaptive, negative states in the ‘individual and his
society. A more current view of possession states in:diverse cultures,
|
:
Se Se ee ene.
===PDFPAGE 37===
ees
34 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
however, indicates that most instances are not maladaptive, negative,
or symptomatic (Bourguignon, 1976). SH wy
Oesterreich distinguished ‘somnambulist’ possession in which oe
the subject loses consciousness from ‘lucid’ possession in which
the subject does not lose consciousness and is not amnesic. The
majority of cases involved treatment by exorcism. While he noted
that a number of cases appeared to be ‘identical to ‘divided
personality’, the documentation provided was insufficient to make
a clear determination. He pointed out that during possession, most
cases took on a totally different personality.
In cases of possession, Oesterreich (1974) emphasized the critical
role of belief in spirits and demons, for the most part negative but
sometimes positive. He stated that possession usually produced an :
impression of horror and something sinister. On the other: hand,
spirits, alleged to speak through the possessed, afforded ‘primitive’
people a means for obtaining revelations, a value he felt was
insufficiently appreciated by academic ethnology. As he put it:
By the artificial provocation of possession primitive man has, moreover, to
a certain degree had it in his power to procure voluntarily at a set time the
conscious presence of the metaphysical, and the desire to enjoy that }
cousciousness of the divine presence offers a strong incentive to cultivate
states of possession quite apart from the need to ask advice and guidance
from.the spirits. (Oesterreich, 1974: 377.) i i
Oesterreich (1974: 378) went on to say that possession began to
disappear among ‘civilized races’ as belief in such spirits lost its
power.
The majority of indigenous American societies practised’ a
phenomenon that anthropologists have called the ‘guardian spirit ;
complex’ (Benedict, 1923). In some tribes, it was the practice for Ges,
an adolescent to obtain a lifelong supernatural helper from whom i"
he would gain for himself a name, as well as power through’a Ba
visionary experience. In the Pacific North-west Coast area, the
Kwakuitl tribe once staged a dramatic performance of spirit vision mm es
and possession during a secret society initiation (Jilck, 1982: 10). a E
In the: Pacific North-west Salish culture, an intimate relationship se
existed between shamanism and the guardian spirit doctrine
(Benedict, 1923: 67). Shamans may obtain their powers from several F
spirits. Experienced Salish spirit dancers were able to exercise some :
control over their spirits and to determine to a certain extent the , =
time of possession (Wick, 1941). Observations of the Vancouver 3 | ‘3
Island Salish have revealed the ‘comatose’ state of new dancers : os es
possessed by their spirits’ power and the automatic singing and | aS
barking of the possessed dancers. et
; 4:
. . as Fe hae Pa te ‘
ERE See ey Sie ieee Gps ts
Speirs ren a mis eM He TEE
poe ee ae Foes Sigg oS are:
1 bg Jae ee rag . : <E ton ease DE ee eS
===PDFPAGE 38===
TRANCE AND POSSESSION 35
Psychological and anthropological accounts of possession
(Cardefia 1989; Bourguignon, 1968; Frigerio, 1989; Goodman,
1988; Linton, 1956) rarely contain detailed descriptions of the j
subjective experiences of the possessed person. An exception is
Wick’s (1941) record of a dancer's experience of possession:
‘When you sing, your breath starts shaking. After a while, it goes
; into you. You try to sing, your jaws start to shake, then you sing
out, “Get over it. When I dance, I don’t act. Just follow your power;
just follow the way of your power.”’
Although possession has been studied by ethnologists for many
years, relatively little attention has been paid to it by psychiatrists
and psychologists. Janet (1898) was familiar with the literature on
spiritualism and had discussed how the phenomena of the
mediums of the era, as well as ‘devil possessions’ of an earlier age,
reflected the same mechanisms of dissociation that he found.in his
: hysterical patients. Freud (1950) devoted one paper to an analysis
of a case of demoniacal possession which occurred in the’ seven-
teenth century. He called it a neurosis, attributing it to the inner life
of the patient, and believed it to be caused by rejected and repressed
culturally evil wishes. 7»
Linton (1956), an anthropologist at Yale University, reviewed the
known world-wide instances of possession, various forms of which
he referred to as hysterias. These included the classic so-called
culture-bound syndromes of amok, latah, Arctic hysteria, soul loss,
and the ‘hysteria of shamanism’. Curiously, he noted that possession
was extremely rare in American Indians. The Algonquin tribe and
other northern Indian tribes had a form of ‘intermittent possession’
in which one’s soul would make demands on an individual through
dreams. For instance, if one had an overwhelming desire, and it
was essential to satisfy this need, the soul would bring about
temporary changes in one’s personality. Linton (1956: 121) cited
the following example:
A woman would occasionally dream that she wanted unlimited intercourse.
Since this was-regarded as a demand of her soul, it did not interfere with
her social status as a respectable woman. She could, therefore pick out a
whole collection of men anywhere (from 10 to 20) and could proceed to
have intercourse with one after another until her soul (and presumably
her body) was satisfied.
According to Linton (1956: 123), spirit possession is a means to
provide a temporary physical body for supernatural beings:
The supernatural being can become pro fem, a contemporary member of
the society, so that people can deal with him, ask him questions, ask him
for favors, get him to use clairvoyance to tell them what is happening at a
a — ee eet een i ee ee
===PDFPAGE 39===
= 36 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI =
distance, and so on. Since there is a demand for these things, the bee
individual who shows the capacity for such seizures will be encouraged . Pi
and rewarded by the society. im s
This statement fits possession in Bali except for the implication of
a true ‘seizure’. Pye
Linton (1956: 131) further described mediumistic hysterias as oi
falling somewhere between regular possession by spirits and the oF:
mystic experience: :
The idea behind this is that there is a need for complete passivity, and aba
complete withdrawal, in order to encourage the controls, who either speak ve
through the body of the subject or else draw upon his body energy or :
ectoplasm, which they can shape in various ways. Such mediumistic : :
phenomena are widespread but are usually demonstrated only by minor
practitioners. Although they rarely are the center of organized religion,
they do flourish at least on the outskirts of our culture’ [and it is an
interesting fact that] the stories which are told about psychic phenomena
are curiously uniform all over the world.
Linton (1956: 132) concluded that ~~ 9
hysterical phenomena are everywhere, very decidedly culturally patterned.
In fact if one knows the culture, one can predict what form hysterias are
going to take in that society—or pretty nearly so. This is the strongest j =
possible argument in favor of the thesis that, whatever the etiology and
dynamics of hysteria may be, its symptoms are extensively and intensively a
shaped by culture. ieee ;
Cardefia (1989), a psychologist, and Frigerio (1989), an,anthro- 4
pologist, both proposed that there should be a range of possession | is
experiences rather than a unitary state of consciousness in. which BS
the individual is totally-amnesic for the events, of. the possession. uae
Cardefia’s. proposal includes (1). ‘transitional possession’. with mm
occasional changes in depth of involvement rather, than:a,fixed a
state of consciousness or what some may call partial possession: with : ; ea
| a conscious awareness and changes in body sensations; (2) ‘alternate i oe
| identity possession’ in which an alternate identity, human’ or i “s
i otherwise, takes over the usual identity of the individual and there :
|; may be co-occurrence of the usual identity of the individual along Es
with the alternate one which stabilizes the transitional possession , ae
into a stable state of consciousness with precise limits as defined om
by the spirit or force and the ritual context; and (3) ‘transcendent &
possession’ in which the individual is totally immersed or 7
it ‘surrendered’ and the individual does not perform the acts, songs, or : A
| movement but becomes ‘him/herself, the act, the song and move- | F
| Fe
| |
Eo
psa A? aes
PS Rei ea Se Cs ek Ey ead:
===PDFPAGE 40===
TRANCE AND POSSESSION 37
ment’. In this dimension, the individual may experience a sense of
; enormous energy. “There is full absorption into an experience
4 where inner and outer are indistinguishable’ and the individual may :
¥ not fully remember the events transpiring. Common manifestations
found in various cultures include unusual vocalizations and
movements, shaking, apparent immunity from damage, unfocused
or fixed gaze, and eyes rolling upward. The individual may maintain
; intermittent contact with the social/physical context. According to
Cardefia (1989), it is difficult to induce this condition at will.
3 Frigerio (1989) also proposed three stages with three levels ‘of
3 awareness as reported by Afro-Brazilian religious groups observed
in Argentina: (1) the individual is aware of and later remembers
everything that happened ‘during possession; (2) the individual
only remembers certain things; and (3) the individual remembers
= nothing. Frigerio referred to the first stage as ‘irradiation’, where
some of the entities’ energy is reaching the medium but does not
have full control over his body. The medium may experience strange
sensations in certain body parts or may ‘have intuitions about
certain problems but he is still ‘basically himself’. The second
stage is termed ‘being beside’, and here ‘the spirit is leaning against
the medium, is by his side, is touching him and in this way
: controlling his body’. It may also cause the medium to forget some
of what he is witnessing. This stage and stage 1-are sometimes
referred to as halfway possession. The’ ‘third stage, known! as
i ‘incorporation’, is that in which ‘the entity has fully entered the
; body of the medium and he is therefore completely possessed’. ©
4 Different types of trance-possession in Bali could fit some of the
: three stages of experiences described by both Cardefia and Frigerio.
For example, the people in communal trance-possession' who are
unconscious and amnesic (Chapter 4), the dancers in trance
; (Chapter 5), and some trance-mediums (Chapter 3) could be
4 experiencing the third stage of possession. The individual trance-
possession reports (Chapter 5) are comparable to the description of
q possession in the second stage, while the possession experience of
Suryani (Chapter 8) appears to fit the first stage. However, because
of the wide variability of the trance-possession experience in the
same individual, or in the same ‘situation, or’ under thersame
conditions, and the relative lack of knowledge of the basic psycho-
physiology of the states involved, there may be little heuristic value
in dividing trance-possession into such types. Given the variability
of the trance-possession states in Bali with respect to both degree
of amnesia and type of possession, it is more useful to categorize
5
f
ae ee eer a a eee Teele oe ee a
===PDFPAGE 41===
38 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI ”
them according to purposes served (e.g. healing) or-to contexts ass
relevant to the culture (e.g. ceremonials). ag
To the Balinese, trance-possession is a condition or state brought on
about at the behest of a god or spirit in which the god or_spirit
‘comes down’ and acts through the person, i.e. possesses him or her.
The Balinese have a number of different words for the phenomenon
of trance-possession, including kalinggihan, karauhan, kasurupan, ?
ngadeg, and katakson. The particular term used depends on village
custom. Although the Balinese do not recognize or have a word for
trance without possession, this condition does occur among them, :
e.g. in gamelan musicians (Chapter 6) and in some patients treated
by balian (Chapter 3). ‘
During prayer, a Balinese may become spontaneously possessed.
Usually, the person desirous of possession prays that the gods will ;
honour him and enter his body, but he and the society believe that
the decision belongs. wholly and solely to the gods. When
possession occurs, the individual feels pleased and grateful. People
who witness the individual's changed behaviour attribute it to the
god who had possessed him; hence, if the behaviour is violent,
abusive, unruly, or wildly emotional, they will say the person.is not
being himself and will thus not sanction or condemn him. More
than one god or spirit may possess a trancer at the same time or
sequentially. Two possessed spirits may talk with each other or a ;
spirit may carry on a dialogue or discussion with others, as well as
with the individual who is in trance-possession (Belo, 1960: 33).
The trance state can vary in depth from light to deep and-most
possession states appear to occur in deep trance. In one type of
trance-possession, the trancers may become unconscious, fall, or
tremble and move as if having a form of generalized convulsion:or ai
they may perform unusual feats.such as dancing on hot coals, 2
stuffing hot coals into their mouths, or walking on fire without
suffering burns. After coming out of trance, the trancers may
report that they did not feel the heat of the fire that they danced.on =
or that they felt the fire was cold. In trance-possession little girls ae
can dance on the shoulders of men (Bateson and Mead, 1942; ‘
Belo, 1960) and people can exhibit incredible strength or perform
amazing stunts. Men possessed by a monkey god can climb up to
treetops, execute extraordinary acrobatic feats, and jump down on
all fours (Forman, Mazek, and Forman, 1983: 98). Some possessed .
men may effortlessly scale a 2-metre concrete wall. .-
Trance-possession in Bali is usually terminated by a priest :
sprinkling holy water on the individual. Following most types of : pis
3]
Nemes Tet 4's : eS? are . We a5
ora te. Sask BB es
Se I = 2 ee en ine)
===PDFPAGE 42===
TRANCE AND POSSESSION 39.
trance-possession, the majority of Balinese experience pleasant
feelings which they call peace, health, and calmness; these feelings
may last for 1-3 days and the individual sometimes experiences .
changes in consciousness which last a week or more and which
are terminated by the conclusion of the lengthy village ceremonial.
Trancers who have indulged in extraordinary physical exertions
while in trance, evidenced by profuse sweating, do not recall being
fatigued during their trance-possession state but they may feel
tired afterwards.
Varying degrees of amnesia occur during .he trance-possession
state in the Balinese. Subjects who enter into light trance states
are usually able to recall the events of the trance. Those who stab
themselves with krises in ceremonies and in the Barong drama
and many traditional healers or trance-mediums recall very little, if
any, of their trance-possession experiences. Individuals who
become unconscious during trance-possession usually have little or
no recall of the events that occurred while in trance (see Chapter 4).
The Balinese schoolchildren who suffered from trance-possession
attacks had complete recall and were able to-describe their
hallucinatory experiences (see Chapter 7).
The majority of Balinese find it difficult to express the feelings that
they experience during trance-possession. On being first questioned,
most of them say ‘I don’t remember’ or ‘nothing happened’!® but
after further questioning, many are able to recall some of their
feelings and sensations. However, the words they use to describe
their experiences are often not readily or easily translated into
English. Most of those who have entered into trance-possession
find it impossible or difficult to verbalize their feelings and
experiences. Generally, the Balinese answer interview questions ‘
with short sentences; they seldom explain fully or in detail: Their
common response to questions, ‘I don’t remember’ or ‘I have
forgotten’ is a way of avoiding saying they are unable to explain. ‘T
have forgotten’ does not mean a specific memory loss; rather it
means that they are unable to control themselves or that God or
another spirit is responsible for their actions. However, under. skilful
questioning, most are able to convey their feelings and expériences
during trance-possession and indicate that they are not actually
amnesic or unconscious of everything that happened. They often
recall changed sensibilities and perceptions, such as hearing only
the sound of the singers, or experiencing feelings of floating or the
sensation that they were in another world, or sensing that they were
3 possessed by a power which moved them, or feeling that they
j
, f
=f is
===PDFPAGE 43===
40 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI . oF
moved automatically rather:than of their own’ volition.-This ‘is in
contrast to some reports (Bourguignon,:1968) which indicated that :
the possessed are always amnesic with regard to the events of the :
trance experience. '
In some areas of Bali, such as the city of Gianyar, many people
do not-readily believe a person’s claims that he is possessed::In
order to be sure, these people may test the individual by touching
him with a hot object such as a lit cigarette or even fire to see if he
cries out in pain. If he does, they believe that the person is lying
and is not in areal trance. This kind of testing is not done in the
Denpasar area and other localities where people readily accept the
belief in possession.
Leak"
To a Balinese, the world is: filled with. gods and’ spirits. It is
primarily the supernatural phenomena that-are at the core of many
activities of daily life, including ceremonies, rituals, dances, plays;
possession, physical and. mental illnesses, and. healing. These
supernatural phenomena include demons,::witchcraft or ‘black
magic, and Jeak (spirits). Evil ‘spirits are ‘often “present: For -
example, one should not start a journey. at high noon or at dusk
(about 6 p.m.) because it is ‘believed that evil spirits come out then
and are more likely to disturb, capture, or possess: one at these
times. These spirits are the focus of exorcistic treatment by balian.
Physicians and psychiatrists in Bali who. practise Western
techniques need to know about the supernatural ‘and the work of
the dalian in order to be effective. jeter iit
Leak (pronounced, ‘lay ack’ and often-spelled leyak or /ejak) are
witch-like spirits or creatures that. are transformations of real
people who live in the community.'* People who have the ability:to
become /eak can change themselves into other things,:such as an
animal, a light, or the wind, depending on their power, and they
can travel anywhere. The wind is considered to be the highest or
strongest type of leak. Some individuals who- become leak are :
believed to derive their ability from an amulet purchased froma
sorcerer. Some persons in‘a village are generally regarded as leak
while others-are believed to be leak by certain individuals. Almost
any disliked acquaintance presents a potential danger: because of é
the possibility that he/she may be transformed into a leak at any
time. People who have special perception can recognize leak.even :
when they change their forms. Zeak can practise black magic and
thereby initiate illness of all kinds, and they can disturb people to a
; j
; pee
OL
===PDFPAGE 44===
+s TRANCE AND POSSESSION 41
the point of causing death. They generally come out at night and are
likely to frequent cemeteries. According’ to the beliefs of the
people, Halloween-like activities occur: the goddess of death meets :
at midnight to dance and feast on the living blood of the dead
brought back to life; entrails hang in trees, cauldrons catch dripping
blood, and the roots of trees wind in and out of the skulls and
Es bones (McPhee, 1946). F
McPhee (1946) described one of his experiences thus:
; It was perhaps a week later that I awoke again, late.in the night, with the
g same strange feeling that someone had called. It was.an.unusually warm
z night, and I went outside on to the veranda. I could not believe my eyes..
3 Across the valley, halfway down the hillside, a row of lights glowed with
a soft pure brilliance. They seemed to move ever so slightly, floating up
3 and down as though anchored. Suddenly they went out, as suddenly went
g on again, but now to shine in a perpendicular line, one, above the. other.
4 They merged slowly, until only the central one remained, which. now
; began to float slowly up the valley. All at once it vanished. But'within a
4 minute the lights were shining in a row once more, far to the north.
; I went to rouse Durus and Sampih, who were sleeping in the next room.
; Look! I said. What lights can these possibly be? They are too. pale for
: lamps, and besides, there are no paths where they.are moving. ... .
| The léyaks, said Durus, softly, almost inaudibly. They must be from
S Bangkasa [the village across the valley] ... or from somewhere in the
m north, he added after a while. ; Siege «Pare WAIT
4 We stood silently watching this magic display. The lights glowed and
3 died, came close together, spread rapidly. out in a long line. Slowly they
} floated back once more to where I had first seen them. One by one they
; went out, until only a single light remained. But all at once it was gone.
The valley was in darkness. a ery,
All next day I was haunted by the weird beauty of the scene I had
if witnessed the night before. It was as if the stars had descended. If it had
; not been for Durus and Sampih I should have been unable to believe’ it
‘ had not been part of a dream. But when I mentioned it to Chokorda Rahi,
a and later to the perbekel in Pliatan, they were not surprised. Had Pawoken
out of an uneasy sleep? With a feeling of suffocation?’ There was’only ‘one
: explanation. Sorcery was in the air once more. It had‘ only begun; and no
q one knew what was to follow. rie Sais: a ee
Such experiences are reminiscent of Westerners’ reports of UFOs.
Another of McPhee’s (1946) experiences illustrates other types
of leak phenomena: ay. ung
No one was surprised, then, when all at once things began to go wrong in
the house. Misfortunes occurred, one after another, and as they accumu-
lated everyone began to have a worried, hunted look. Rantun the cook,
{
{
t eg set oe rit
ee EE EE — eee, ee ee
===PDFPAGE 45===
42 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
slipped on the kitchen floor and broke her arm. Pugig-stepped on a thumb- :
tack and got an infected foot. The cat fell off the roof, actually fell, for no
reason at all, and was killed, while Kesyur and Sampih declared the | :
garage was haunted. Night after night they would wake, they said,
unaccountably rigid, jaws clenched, unable to make a sound. They heard
the bicycle bells of Durus and Pugig ring out in the darkness, although
there was no one else with them in the garage. Voices called their names 4
from outside, but they opened the doors to find no one. And late one
night, as Kesyur walked up the road alone to the garage, he saw, sitting
: silently among the bamboos, a great bird, large as a horse.
This, however, was not all.
In the morning, as Pugig brought up the coffee, he would point to drops
of blood that ran in an unbroken line all around the outside floor of the
sleeping-house. A fight between two tokés, the great lizards that now hid
and croaked in the thatch, I suggested; but Pugig did not agree, for he
would wash the spots away, only to find them again the following moming. )
One night I awoke to hear the loud ticking of a clock almost in my ear. It
was rapid and metallic, like an alarm clock, and seemed to come from :
outside the wall. As I reached for my flashlight it began to travel quickly
around the four walls of the room. I ran outside, but there was no trace of ;
anything at all. )
Everyone agreed, as I related the experience in the morning, that all
this was the work of léyaks. anit :
These are excellent examples of how Westerners and Balinese
perceive and interpret phenomena differently because of' their Z|
different belief systems. The Westerner was startled and puzzled by 4
what he saw. The Balinese interpreted the events as commonplace a
and readily understandable. 5 q|
Suryani has personally seen leak a number of times in her life. :
When she was 10 years old, she saw a monkey /eak on the wall of :
her compound. At the age of 14, on three separate occasions, when i
she was riding her bicycle home past a temple in an area with big
trees considered to be magic, she saw red, yellow, and blue 2
coloured lights. This frightened her and she rode.swiftly home. =
Suryani's neighbours once reported a non-existent. light in the a
backyard of Suryani’s home. At the age of 15, when she was lying ;
in her room and could hear her family’s voices outside, a woman Lie
with blood on her hair appeared and wanted to kill her. She prayed p
to God for help and after a few minutes, the woman disappeared. ; i
The following example of leak may be considered an instance of ;
euthanasia by the husband of a dying woman with the assistance :
of a balian. A 50-year-old woman who suffered a haemorrhagic i
stroke and was comatose for a month had to be kept alive by tube 7.
feeding and intravenous fluids. She developed bedsores and was 1 a3
| | t
7 > : sae 7 > ets
; a oa <8 Wi ok ge a
eae ; ee ee oe IS ST
eee he dak ieee: Pee” BS g =
a as e oee eealh pmeeiiaihelioa===<nupsaeeses emeeattiences acl neecccie pees bet ikke ee
===PDFPAGE 46===
“3% TRANCE AND POSSESSION 43
3 severely emaciated. She showed no improvement, and her husband :
: felt increasingly hopeless about the situation. He went to the
balian and asked what her problem was. The healer told him that his '
4] wife had become a leak—one at a very high level; he also said her
body was dead, but her /eak remained alive and because of this he
3 (the husband) must help her leave the world.!9 He advised the
fi husband to stand at the head of his wife’s bed at midnight, take off
S all his clothes, and recite a mantra. The man did it, and a few
a minutes later his wife died. The nursing staff was puzzled over the
_ event and reported it to Suryani. The husband said that he was sad
a to see her suffering; he did not want her to go on in this manner
3 and he felt that this was a good way to help her be near God more
3 quickly.
ig As mentioned earlier, leak may present themselves in various
forms—a monkey, a human figure, light, or wind—depending on the
4 degree of ability of the leak. It is believed that a small proportion of
Es the people who. can see, hear, and speak with./eak are more
q vulnerable to their harm. Seeing a /eak can evoke fear. Individuals
z who are regarded as being ‘warm’ humans are deemed to have no
power or natural ability to see Jeak and do not have to worry about
; them; people who are considered ‘cold’ humans are able to see and
: hear Jeak. Such visions and auditory phenomena are distinguishable
q but similar to hallucinations manifest as symptoms in psychotic
i persons in Western cultures (see Chapter 9). In Bali, normal persons
i can experience hallucinations in their usual state of consciousness
| or in a state of meditation.*® People are not concerned with leak
é most of the time; they take ordinary, semi-automatic precautions to
be safe, comparable to the Western practice of washing hands
Ft before eating.
q Two Western psychological concepts may explain the apparent
hallucinatory aspects of leak phenomena. First, some of the sights
: and sounds could be illusions, i.e. perceptual misinterpretations of
4 a real external stimulus (Kaplan, Freedman, and Saddock, 1980).
Secondly, these sights and sounds could be hallucinations associated
with dissociation and trance or self-hypnosis. The contagious aspect
: of trance is often involved, and the cultural beliefs also play.a central
role in the form and context of leak phenomena.
A similar phenomenon, Western encounters with UFOs, is
structured on current Western beliefs. The following report of a UFO
is remarkably similar to some leak phenomena:
The UFO came close to her car one evening she says, and stayed above her,
silent, telephone-pole high. It had four lights on each side. She stopped
|
:
ea ! ay esa. |
===PDFPAGE 47===
44 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI maar
the car and got out so that she could see it better: While she watched, the
lights began to flow around the perimeter of the craft, the:way they do‘on fee
a marquee, and music played inside her head. After a few minutes she got
back into her car. The craft followed for a while, the lights. now back in
their original position. Over an arroyo it ‘disengaged’, the lights blinked
off, and it disappeared. (Gordon, 1991.) ; ; Fs
UFO encounters are experienced for the most-part by normal;
non-mentally ill persons. Persons who report UFOs-tend to regard
them as ‘real’ or an experience of ordinary consciousness. Very few
consider the experience to be a hallucination associated with self-
hypnosis or trance.
Suryani found that Balinese patients are easily hypnotized! and
under hypnosis, about 25 per cent become possessed. “This
possession is normally associated with a deep hypnotic state (see
Chapter 8).
There are a number of similarities and differences in trance and
possession between the West and Bali. Hypnosis in Westerners,
sometimes also referred to as trance, is generally induced; ‘con-
trolled, and terminated bya hypnotist; the gods, prayer, and the
supernatural are usually not involved» Westerners under hypnosis
experience changes in perception’ similar to these of Balinese in
trance. In the West, trance is rarely accompanied by possession,
whereas in Bali, it generally is. Trance-possession in’ Bali usually
occurs in public or in the presence of family members. Trance’in
these two vastly different cultures, the Western and the Balinese, .
have important features in common: a trusting, willing subject, and
a dissociative state. One is induced by the hypnotist, the other ‘by
environmental stimuli, prayer, gods, or spirits. Trance-possession
in the Balinese often occurs in the presence of singing or music.
The biggest difference between possession in the West and that in
Bali is the highly positive, reinforcing, encouraging; expectant; and
socially controlling environment in Bali. rant] = 0
The majority of trancepossession experiences in the Balinese
are accepted as normal behaviour, but there are occasions when
trance-possession is considered to be abnormal, such as in trance-
suicide}amok; bebainan, and kasurupan (see Chapter 7). Tek
Amok has been described in a number of cultures, particularly in
Malaysia (Arboledo-Florez, 1985). It is a condition in'’which the
affected individual suddenly becomes aggressive and violent
(usually caused by some provocation), sometimes killing people in a
wild, uncontrolled spree. Amok has been known to occur in other-
wise placid, non-aggressive Balinese (see Chapter 7). Whittkower
(1970) correctly regarded it as a dissociative state. This kind of
Ce Tse eee Bee Semen Balt ge
ee gee as wats OSes
===PDFPAGE 48===
’ TRANCE AND POSSESSION 45 ;
Fs aggressive behaviour differs from the violent and uncontrolled
bs behaviour of persons in trance-possession during religious ,cere-
i monies (see Chapter 4). , :
Dissociation, regardless of whether it occurs in a normal conscious
| state, in trance/hypnosis, or in a range of disorders, including
4 hysterical paralysis and multiple personality disorder (MPD), is
basically a type of psychological mechanism or. ‘defence’. To
4 accommodate this range of behaviour and conditions, the various
* forms may be conceptualized as representing points on two continua:
. (1) normal states. ranging from normal, through trance, to
a possession; and (2) abnormal states ranging from the dissociative
‘ disorders to MPD at the extreme end (see Chapter 9). The
4 dissociation of MPD appears to be qualitatively different from that of
BI trance, pointing to the possibility of psychophysiological differences
: between the two. This is further supported by the sharply different
a characteristics of the two phenomena and by the fact that a much
Z| higher percentage of people are capable of being hypnotized than
| of being possessed.
4 + 8%
i Dissociation is a basic psychological process or mechanism,
‘ operative not only in normal behaviours which do not involve ASC,
but also in the ASC of hypnosis/trance, possession, and certain
i : conditions labelled as mental disorders, such as multiple personality.
i The Balinese manifest a unique dissociative condition. called
i ‘hidden by the evil spirit’. Dissociation is a primitive psychological
3 mechanism or ‘defence’, probably acquired through evolution, which
i has value from the survival point of view. Several animal species,
; including non-human primates, demonstrate a comparable state
4 called animal hypnosis or tonic immobility. Trance/hypnosis in the
West is generally induced by a hypnotist; selfhypnosis!is self
; induced. In most cultures trance usually occurs spontaneously,
; whether in a public or a religious context, and it is associated with
j music, often with a strong repetitious rhythm. Trance is probably
pan-cultural. The apparent hallucinatory phenomenon.of the Balinese
involving leak (witch-like spirits) occurs in normal Balinese and
may represent, in Western terms, self-hypnosis. In states of deep
trance, possession may occur. ;
Possession is an experience of being taken over, psychologically
| and behaviourally, by forces, variably sensed as a power, God, an
identified god, a spirit, or the soul. In Bali ritual possession is
common, controlled, desirable, socially useful, highly valued,
|
f
7 $5 na 5 nes ie
OOOO ___—_ Se
===PDFPAGE 49===
46 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI £ ‘4
Shy
positively reinforced by the society, and individually satisfying. . oe
Ritual trance-possession is terminated by standard techniques, e
including the sprinkling of holy water by a priest. In the case of a
trance-mediums, the trance or trance-possession state can be ter-
minated at will by the individual. In the West, possession is relat- ae
ively rare, socially isolated, generally conceived (even by those ;
who have not experienced it) as unwanted, uncontrolled, mysterious, : Kg
evil, and the work of demons or devils. It is negatively regarded 4;
except in a few small religious groups and in the phenomenon of : &
speaking in tongues. A few examples of trance-possession in Bali, Hs
such as amok and bebainan, represent mental disorders. .
1. The concept of defence, meaning a process for dealing with anxiety, j
originated in. psychoanalysis. lt can be misleading to conceive of dissociation as a
def2nce mechanism in abnormal. circumstances because it can also operate as a
normal process. 5 aa / F
2. The following verses by Stevenson (1928) are illustrative of dissociation:
When children are playing alone on the green, :
In comes the playmate that never was seen. a
When children are happy and lonely and good, 1
The Friend of the Children comes out of the wood. (p. 171) ;
When at home alone I sit
And am very tired of it,
Thave just to shut my eyes :
To go sailing through the skies—
To go sailing far away
To the pleasant Land of Play; ;
To the fairy land afar
Where the Little People are. ... (p. 87) 5
3. Many of the behaviours described by Freud (1901) in ‘The Psychopathology ;
of Everyday Life’, which he formulated as directed by repressed thoughts in the - #
unconscious, are probably more correctly interpreted-as examples of dissociation 5
(E. R. Hilgard, 1977). } : ;
4. The first.two questions on the scale give us an idea of the types. of . i
dissociative behaviour measured by the DES: Bb
(1) Some people have the experience of driving a car and suddenly realizing that . &
they do not remember what has happened during all or part of the trip. Mark me +
the line to show what percentage of the time this happens to you. > anes
RE le ee %
(2) Some people find that sometimes when listening to someone talk they ‘
suddenly realize that they have not heard part or all of what has just been 4
said. Mark the line to show what percentage of the time this happens to you. i
pe ters ee es >
5. In fugue, a person travels to another place, assumes a different identity, and
is amnesic about his real identity. - : ee
:
> | j {
a
q P- tk: toed < “Ay se #
ay * ej agent Sate See
Domes ‘te 2 i as ‘4 Boe ; y ite Wisp
Se SSS
===PDFPAGE 50===
i TRANCE AND POSSESSION 47
E . 6, Latah has been reported in Burma, Thailand, the Philippines (Yap,' 1969),
Siberia (Czaplicka, 1914), South-West Africa (Gilmour, 1902), Lapland (Collinder,
e 1949), the Ainu of Japan (Nakagawa, 1973), and in French Canadians living in ,
Maine (Kunkle, 1967).
: 7. Evidence of the hereditability of hypnotic susceptibility supports the idea of a
3 genetic factor in laiah (Morgan, 1973). This does not exclude factors of learning and
identification.
a 8. A genetic component to /atah does not discount the factor of learning in a
i family setting.
os 9. In the earliest observation on Jatah, Clifford (1898: 189) noted that it
resembled hypnosis (a dissociative phenomenon) in many respects but it did not
depend on an original voluntary surrender of willpower. More recently, Murphy
ot (1976) remarked. on the resemblance between some Jateh states and hypnotic
x states. Suggestibility, a cognitive change related to hypnosis (Cardefia and Spiegel,
uy 1991), should also be considered as a factor in the mechanism of /atak. Against this
; is the fact that /atah is not communicable, as is trance. E
q 10. Murphy (1976) reported that many of the females expressing coprolalia were
i embarrassed by the behaviour. Presumably he was referring to Malaysians.
] 11. A naturally occurring psychedelic substance called ibogaine, derived from the
=| root of an African plant, has a long history of tribal use in Africa. It has hallucinogenic
a effects but is used by the indigenous people to induce an altered state in which they
P) ‘go back and visit their ancestors’. In this respect it has effects similar to those of
age regression in hypnotherapy. ‘The Bouitis of Africa employ the drug in rites of
a passage. Participants often describe visions of ancestors and past lives.’ (Anon.,
} 1992: 89.) These effects are similar to those of balian acting in states of trance or ,
| trance-possession while not under the influence of any drug.
af 12. By contrast, a wildly charging, silent chimpanzee may attack any animal or
i person in its path.
| 13. For a discussion of the history and relationship between repression and
i dissociation, see Kihlstrom and Hoyt (1990: 99-202), who claimed that the two terms
% were used erratically by investigators.
i 14. In Matthew (10: 19-20), Jesus tells his disciples not to worry about what to
“ say when they are arrested: ‘When the time comes, the words you need will be
i given you; for it is not you who will be speaking, it will be the Spirit of your Father
7 speaking in you.’ In the Gospel of John, Jesus said that the Advocate. the spirit of
3 truth, would speak through his disciples (Hastings, 1991: 186).
15, Examples of fire-walking were described by Gaddis (1967).
4 16. Frigerio (1989) also found that informants tended to report that they could
not remember what happened during possession.
17. A large part of this section on leak is reproduced from The Balinese People: A
Reinvestigation of Character Jensen and Suryani, 1992: 85-8).
18. For detailed descriptions of leak, see Covarrubias (1937: 322-5).
19. ‘The Balinese believe that when leak die, they can pass on their /eak ability to
j whomever they wish.
] 20. Psychotic Balinese also have auditory and visual hallucinations but these are not
4 as brief or transient as those of leak; they are associated with other signs and
: symptoms of psychosocial decompensation, and are not characteristic of. or identified
i by the culture as, leak (see Chapter 9).
! 21. Suryani’s technique of induction involves little verbalization in contrast to the
common induction techniques used by Western hypnotists. She first asks the client to
| |
| |
one & 5 rom
' “i a aie
es ee) : ‘si ee
i
===PDFPAGE 51===
48 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
feel his or her breath travelling through the nose and passing out through the feet,
and then with the next inspiration, passing from the feet up through the fontanelle of
the head. About 50 per cent of her clients fall into trance at the first trial. For those : 4
who do not, the procedure is repeated several times. About 85 per cent fall into trance :
by the third or fourth trial. ‘ .
1
\
i :
'
| {
===PDFPAGE 52===
4
rt ;
| |
: Chapter 3 i
; Trance and Trance-possession in }
' Traditional Healers and Their Clients |
‘| i
; . |
| | |
‘ THE traditional healers (balian). of Bali were chosen for detailed
f study because they are among the chief practitioners of trance and |
: trance-possession and haye much to. reveal about the nature of
; possession itself, including the inherent special and unusual |
} psychological and psychic abilities. This investigation did not focus
: on the rituals, psychophysiological mechanisms, or efficacy of the |
' healing ministrations of traditional healers;! rather it concentrated
on descriptions of the background of the healers, the objective and
‘ subjective changes that occur in the trance and trance-possession .
i states, the physical, psychological, and psychic processes involved
in the treatment of problems and illnesses, and their place within a
Western psychological perspective.
The traditional healers in Bali are the primary source of care for |
all sorts of problems and ailments, both mental and physical.” It is
estimated that there are more than 2,500 such healers in Bali.
| They use a number of methods and techniques for diagnosis and
y treatment. Some healers limit themseives to one technique, but
most use a mixture or combination.’ Balian may be identified by a |
name indicating their predominant method. For example, balian
usada base their powers on reading the /ontar (ancient Balinese
sacred books inscribed on palm leaves). Balian apun use the |
technique of massage combined occasionally with supernatural !
manipulation of mystical forces through mantras and offerings.
Such massage is employed particularly for setting bones, healing
sprains, and correcting dislocations. Balian taksuw are tratice-
mediums who contact gods or spirits or are possessed by these’in
order to cure sickness, treat bereavement, or advise on family
.problems associated with deceased relatives. Most balian who a
ae . ¢
: | 45 os ge
. £ : oe
===PDFPAGE 53===
52 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
physical illness, to ask for help regarding relatives who have died,
and ‘to learn who is reincarnated in their baby. In the treatment’of :
grief or bereavement, she acts as a trance-medium for'the deceased
soul to communicate with or to visit her client’s family.
“In practice, she prays to God and the souls of the deceased who
may either appear visually to her and communicate with her or
enter her and speak through her. In 1990, she claimed that she
was possessed by her god, the god of the client, and the holy
ancestor’s soul. (The soul of a person not yet cremated is unholy
and is not able to possess one.) At the‘interview:in 1991;'she
contradicted: this; saying: that she could not’ be possessed by
another god, only by her own god; she also said that the ancestor’s
spirits appeared and spoke as if on television, and as she saw them
she imitated them in speaking to her clients and their families.
“This balian likens falling into trance to, ‘sleeping—without
feelings’. When she is controlled by her god, her voice ‘is
automatic, ‘like electricity, television, or radio; ... wire on which
the current travels’. She is unable to recall most of what happens
while she is in trance-possession. She cannot dispense advice }
without being in trance-possession: only if a god or spirit enters
her can she give advice. Most balian say that they do not know
what they do in trance-possession; they only know that their. bility
depends upon the deity (God or god) who enters them. They
generally say, as she did, ‘I'm sorry, don't ask me questions [when
I'm) out of possession, ask me [when I'm] in possession.’ Probably
she would be able to recall some things if’questioned appropri-
ately, just like the Balinese dancers and others: in! ceremonial
trance-possession who’ initially, deny: any “ability to: recall their
possession experience but who-nevertheless proceed to give some
description of it if more detailed questions are posed.’ Bf
At her treatment sessions, this balian dresses-inva white-coat
and white'sarong and’sits on a slightly elevated, covered platform .,
which has a large shelf with offerings brought by her clients;:at
her side are jars of herbs and concoctions that:she dispenses ‘to
clients. The family, usually consisting of three to:six members, sit
cross-legged on a mat in front of her, looking intently-up at-her-as
she speaks. :
She commences treatment by lighting incense. followed’ by F
prayers and mantra. First, she asks the client-and his family: if :
they have obtained permission. from: their ancestors to come’ to ;
the healer. They usually say ‘yes’. If not, they have to pray-for
permission. Then the healer introduces them to the gods. After
this introduction, she is possessed by her god which gives her a
aaa
===PDFPAGE 54===
Bi TRADITIONAL HEALERS AND THEIR CLIENTS 53
a special ability to know the purpose of the client's visit. She sits
‘ back a little and then becomes possessed by the souls of dead.
: persons (jnatuun). Her voice and often her behavioural gestures ,
change to take on the characteristics of the particular holy ancestor:
, spirit. She asks the family very few questions but’allows them.to
3 ask her. questions. The family members are often-enthralled, and
4 sometimes tearful, as the ancestor's spirit speaks through her. Her
/ (the gods’ and holy ancestors’) verbalizations and messages to the
4 family are often lengthy and they include a number of actions that:
4 could qualify as techniques of psychotherapy in.the Western sense.
=| For example, she acknowledges the concern of the family, relieves
anger-and guilt, assuages feelings of revenge, elicits feelings of
loss or sadness, explains problems, offers advice and support, to
q solve problems, interacts with the family, and accepts their grief
7 abreaction. Each session with a family. takes 30-90 minutes. -;; {is
4 At the end of the session she abruptly comes. outiof trancejand,
E then acts her usual (non-possessed) self again. Finally, she.asks.
# the family if they have got the message (polth baos). Ifthey answer
i affirmatively, she will receive their offering. If the family does not
receive a message or if the god or soul of the dead person fails to
zi ‘come down’ for the healer,.she tells them to, take their offering,
home. She gets up from her platform and walks. off to her
compound to smoke a clove cigarette, returning in afew minutes
* for the next session. fabhy yr bises ef! «4
5 In the following casestudies of this balian’s patients (and.in the
4 other case-studies in this chapter), an attempt has been made to
preserve the atmosphere of the treatment session and to keep as:
i close to the original language as possible. noone tt
; Case 1 oe
e The clients. were six family members, including the widowed:
a husband, offspring, and nieces. The -dalian went into trance;
3 possession, and after God appeared, communicated,:as follows:
: ‘You have come here because you are worried about one of your,
q family members who had died,’ although the, family had notamade
any mention of the deceased. The dalian. then explained why-the
woman had died: ‘She got black magic from people who did not
like her. She was ill for a long time, suffering from headache,
epigastric pain, and recently, vertigo.’ The balian then said, ‘Now
the soul of the woman will talk to you.’ The possessed sou! started
speaking, ‘My son, uncle, grandson, [etc.], thank you for coming
to see me. I was pretty and slender before and now after I'm old, I
f ? , er Bud
OE
===PDFPAGE 55===
Hi
i 54 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN-BALI
| look bad, with no teeth and a wrinkled chin: Can you: give me
) tobacco?’ The family responded by handing the balian'a tobacco :
1 leaf which she put into her mouth to chew. ‘Don’t call me aunt: Call
i] me Mom.’ On hearing this, the family was very attentive, with
| bright eyes, smiles, and laughter. (Later they said that the dalian
ii sounded, looked, and acted just like the deceased woman when
Ht she was alive.) She continued, ‘All grandchildren should work hard
i to earn money for the house and ‘to keep their health. Kurenan
tiang (my husband), give me your hand. I want to touch your hand.
| It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you.’ The elderly man took the
balian’s hand, smiling and chuckling happily. She then went on to
say, ‘Don’t think that I have died; I will protect, help, and care: for
you from my world. In my life you helped me, now I will help you.
Don't think about who wanted to kill me. Don’t do bad, because it
Hh is all finished. This is my future now, to be with God. Please‘help
i my husband because he is sick.’ The mother’s soul then pro-
i ceeded to joke about their lives together which relieved the
; sadness of some family members. The grandchildren asked her to
help them to get good results from hard work and to advise them
ie on what to do in order to be a success in life. She answered, ‘Don’t
ie worry, I will help you every time even ‘though you don’t‘ask»me.
te This is my job.’ After the 30-minute session, the ‘balian abruptly
) came out of trance-possession and expressed thanks to God «.. ;
ne In the interview with the family members after the treatment, it
qd was learned that the woman had died two months previously:at the
Hi age of 65 from heart failure. The family believed that she had died
} . because God ordained it. The children said that they had come to
i see the balian because they felt a deep sense’ of loss at. their
a | mother’s death and they wanted to ask the balian what mistakes
We the family had made and why they always have family problems.
ie They said that it was true that she was a slender woman and that
. i her soul’s voice, movements; and gestures were similar to those
i | when she was alive. The family felt happy to be able to talk:to-her
iy soul and said that all of their burdens had been lifted. They had
Hi come with the intention of finding out if they had made mistakes in
HH any part of the death ceremony, including the cremation.? They
i} were satisfied with the soul's reassurance and by the balian’s work.
iid i There were five clients in this family group. The dbalian fell into
Hit trance and asked politely, ‘Where do you come from and what
i j
|
a eens + aa
Tee
===PDFPAGE 56===
4 TRADITIONAL HEALERS AND THEIR CLIENTS 55
4 caste are you? I have never seen you before.’ She went on to.pass:
4 several other social remarks to make them feel comfortable and to
establish rapport. She listened to their answers and then said, ‘If .
a what I say is true, you can agree by saying yes. If-you’re not in
| agreement, please tell me.’ In a state of possession by a god, the
family appeared to her and she said, ‘I see that the family is quiet.
- There is no quarrelling and your income is: good, but you. feel
uneasy, and for this you have come here to speak with the god
e (nunas baos). The [deceased] woman's illness was sudden. There
a was pain in her joints, caused by an amulet someone put in your
3 house.’ The god said they must make offerings to get rid of the
power of this amulet since the power causes illness. ‘The woman
q died because other people wanted to kill her. Don’t think it was
4 her mind. It was the power of the amulet which killed her.’ Next,
E the balian was possessed by the souls of the holy ancestors—the
d grandparents—a man.and a woman who then spoke and described
q why the woman had died. He reassured them. that all their
q ancestors had a good place in heaven (tongosne melah) and would
ji always help to care for their descendants. The balian then ‘said
abruptly, ‘I want some coffee.’ The family answered, ‘We are sorry
but we did not bring any.’ The balian responded, ‘It’s okay. Give
| me some when you get home. Put it in the shrine.’ The soul of the
q dead person then spoke, ‘Don’t be upset about me because I can
q handle myself. This is not your business. Don't try to take revenge.
j It’s not good for you. Now my life here in this other world is good.
4 I'm happy; I have no problems.’ The balian then gave her clients.
some advice to prevent them from being disturbed again: they
should prepare a mixture of leaves and oils and put this in the
j ground by the front gate of the house. Throughout this session, most
i of the family members looked sad and tearful, and appeared grieved.
q At an interview after this treatment, the 1amily revealed that
what the balian said was true: their relative had died suddenly and
she did suffer from pains in the joints. They had worried that their
mother or grandmother did not have a good life in the other world.
Now reassured, they no longer felt the need for retaliation or
revenge. They believed that their problems had been solved.
Case 3
This case also involved a deceased woman. When the balian fell
into trance-possession, the god appeared and explained to the family
that the woman’s death was not caused by God or by an ancestor
els ne LS es SSS. in a Bae ee
===PDFPAGE 57===
it
| 56 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
punishing her but by two persons. One was a woman and the other
was a man. These two people, who were not relatives but neigh-
bours, had put something with magical power in their house ‘gate.
This had caused her to lose interest in things, feel pain in: the
epigastrium, develop vertigo, become irritable, and eventually-die.
The balian then said, ‘Now the soul of the dead woman will come
to see you and try to discover what is the matter with your family.
Do you agree?’ The family answered, ‘Yes.’ The soul speaking
through the balian then said:
I died because someone wanted to hurt me. I am still distressed about
this. I want revenge, but don’t do it by yourself. I will do it. This is my
business. I am sorry I died so quickly. 1 only care about my children, not
my grandchildren. After my cremation, I hope you have a good relation-
ship with each other. Don’t try to find out who killed me. You must try to
have a good relationship with everyone. Don't worry about me; I still have
| a good chance to make a good life for myself. I will help you from my world.
Next, the soul of an ancestor spoke, ‘We know you have ap-
) proached many people—eg. the doctor and the traditional
Hh) healer—to help your mother, but to no avail.’ The family at this
iy point asked the balian, ‘Who disturbed her?’ The ancestor’s ‘soul
replied, ‘A power in a bone, nail, or stone disturbed her. They put it
Hi in one place. Don’t try to discover the name of the person who did
ik it because this would be bad for you. If you know the name, you'll
Ht want to retaliate and this is not good for your family. Try to
i maintain good relationships.with others and believe that God. will
ih help you.’ ;
In an interview following the treatment, the family said that it
i was true that they did want.to get revenge because several family
iy members had died recently and they wanted’ to know ‘who had
disturbed them or caused their deaths. Many family members also
| believed that they knew who had disturbed the deceased but after
i speaking with the souls of the ancestors and hearing what they
| said, they would change their attitude and no longer think about
a revenge. This case illustrates the degree of trust the Balinese have
i in their ancestors: if the ancestors ask them to do something, they
i will obey. i
if Another female balian taksu living in Ubud, and specializing
NW in helping relatives of the deceased, demonstrated psychic ability
. during possession as she treated a Western client, who sought
a help in resolving grief over the death of her husband which had
occurred 10 years earlier when she was in Bali on her honeymoon. ;
. |
i
pees : ee atin!
eS ABE
aie
===PDFPAGE 58===
se TRADITIONAL HEALERS AND THEIR CLIENTS 57
‘g The client only informed the healer that she had been married.
4 The healer, using some of the same techniques as the first-balian,
q told the client certain things—e.g. the fact that her husband-used ;
to read Shakespeare to her when he was alive—which convinced
d her that she (the healer) was indeed possessed by the deceased
? husband’s spirit. Speaking through the heaier, the husband said
> that he now had a good life and hoped that she would go on with
. her life separate from him; that she was free to choose a boyfriend
and lead a good life too. This was the kind of result she was
seeking. His spirit also warned her not to walk alone through the
: rice paddies at night (which she had been doing) because he felt it
3 was dangerous. This single session had a significant curative effect
#] on the client's prolonged grief. Eevee pest.
e A third female balian studied by the authors lives in Denpasar. A
4 46-year-old woman with 4 children and a husband who works for
4 the government, she has been practising since 1976, when she had
A a one-month illness with paralysis of both legs which rendered. her
4 unable to walk. Although she went to many physicians and tradi-
‘ tional healers, none could help her. Finally, one healer told her
that she should not go to. doctors-again because she could treat
¥ her illness herself and that she would become a healer. Soon:after,
: she received a message from a god that she should treat her
‘| paralysis with her urine, mixed with the bark of a certain kind: of
4 tree at the cemetery. She applied this to the skin, felt better, -and
one week later, was able to walk again. At this point, she per-
| formed a special ceremony (pawinfenan) to become a holy person.
; Since then, she has been practising as a balian from 8.00 a.m. to
aH 3.00 p.m. daily. " i
‘ Her method is to pray to a god from Nusa Penida, an island just
i off the coast of South Bali, who appears visually to her as a big
; man with very dark skin. The god appears as on a-colour television
4 screen and a voice relays messages (as over a telephone)-ex-
: plaining the reason the client has come to see her ‘(e.g..an illness, a
| deceased relative, or a need to communicate withthe ancéstors).
' She.then feels that her body is changed by the god: At this point,
she recalls nothing further. At the end of each seance, she regains
consciousness.
This balian was videotaped in entirety inva seance with a young
couple and their 7-year-old daughter. The healer:did:not know. the
: family nor the reason for their visit. (In the interview after the
seance, the family revealed that they wanted to find out who was
: reincarnated in their newborn son, then 2 weeks old.)
eee EE, ee ne
===PDFPAGE 59===
| 58 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
The family sat on a bench about 8 feet behind thedalian, who lit
incense, prayed, and then spoke, ‘Your great-grandfather has been
reincarnated in your son. He wants to care for and help his des-
| cendants. All of you are poor because he did not leave’ any in-
1] heritance and your life has not taught you good habits, so that is
; why the baby is reincarnated by him.’
The family asked, ‘Who are you? What is our relationship with
i} you?”
ii The balian (addressing the baby’s father) said, ‘I am your great-
' grandfather. The baby is my great-great-grandson. I never gave
advice to you before. Now I can advise you. Do you want to know
the name of your great-grandfather?”
The father answered, ‘Yes.’
The healer then said, ‘It is Ida Bagus Anom. I lived a long time
ago and I wanted to see my descendants. I hope they are not in a
HW bad way. You are living from hand to mouth and I want you to
| learn a good way to live so that you will be a success and will not
suffer from illness. That is why I am born into the world through
Hi this baby. You must meet your ancestor god. You must say good-
ie bye to your mother (god). Before, you always lose your money and
l fall sick. You go to many doctors to get cured; but your:father is
Hi. still sick. Your father is a stupid person. You should say goodbye
Hh to your family at the original family temple. You went there but you
i forgot to say goodbye. The father now tries to influence you but he
ik is stupid. You neglected to say goodbye to your ancestor at the
| clan temple (kawitam), and [that is why] you always have illness.
Hh Now you have to say. goodbye to your ancestor at your clan temple,
i to Batara Guru (a special god) at the clan temple, and. to the
it original human shrine (sauggah kamulan).’
iW The father interjected, ‘I have done it.’
i The healer said, ‘You said goodbye to me maybe but not at the
; : original family temple. You must say goodbye at both.’
il The father said, ‘No; I made two offerings.’
iH The healer asked, ‘Where.did you put them?’
i" He said, ‘In one place.’
i The healer said, ‘That was wrong; you must put one in one place
Wy and the other in another place for the god.’
i The father said, ‘I didn’t know I had to make two separate offerings
i in two different places. When can I do it?’
Pie The wife now spoke up and said, ‘Sorry, I can’t do it now. Can I
4 do it after one month?’
ite The healer replied, ‘Yes, but tomorrow you must make a little
1M) offering.’
id. rE
===PDFPAGE 60===
x TRADITIONAL HEALERS AND THEIR CLIENTS 59
Then she continued ‘Your ancestor needs holy water and an all-.
white dress. When he was young, he was a high priest and he knew :
3 the good days for ceremonies. This ancestor is born in your son, and
: he needs a pejati offering ceremony on his sixth-month birthday
; ceremony.’
sj This was the extent of the seance which lasted approximately
i 15 minutes. The healer prayed briefly and then abruptly came out
i of trance-possession; she opened her eyes and showed a different
zi facial expression as she spoke with the authors.
at At the interview after the seance, the father said that his parents
i lived in- Negara in West Bali, but his family originally came from
} Denpasar, where he now lives. He said that it is true that they had
j come to this healer to get information about the reincarnation of
their newborn child and that the healer’s comment about their
difficulty with money was correct.
? The changes in perception reported by four other trance-mediums
ql further illustrate their ASC experiences. Three‘were women, prac-
FH tising in villages in the city of Denpasar. Each related changed
. perceptions upon falling into their trance-possession state. The first
; balian feels big, heavy, and ‘like the spirit’, i.e. if the spirit feels
4 sick, she feels sick: ifthe spirit cries, she cries. She said that‘she
: does not ‘realize herself nor can she recall what she talks about-in
3 the trance state.
‘ The second balian reported that in trance she feels as if she is
‘ floating and her mind is controlled by a spirit. She sees and hears
; spirits, ‘like they are on colour television’, and is able to recall them.
¢ She said that the possession state is more intense than the spirit
& trance state (i.e. a trance in which spirits appear), and she cannot
remember what happens in possession. Whenever she is possessed
H by a god at temple festivals, she only knows that she screams loudly
: at the time.
{ The third female balian said that in trance she has ‘the feeling
‘ her body is lightweight, ‘like smoke’, without any control. When .
7 spirits enter her, she does not know what they are saying, but-her
F clients appear to understand these spirits. When the spirits leave
: her, her body weight returns to ‘normal. hae
é A 45-year-old male balian, who works as a traditional healer in
the evenings and as a hotel service employee’ in Sanur during the :
day, sometimes consults Suryani about his puzzling cases. His
subjective experiences of trance resemble those of the foregoing
! balian but are unique in some.ways. He first became familiar with
trance and possession during his personal possession experiences
4 at temple ceremonies. Since then he has become very familiar with
Se
ee = ee ee es, es 6 ee
===PDFPAGE 61===
60 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
possession and is able to describe his sensations clearly. These
include a feeling that he is bigger than his. normal self and;/a :
sensation of his entire body shaking. He is nevertheless able to ;
control himself in this trance state. For example, he said that in
trance he is able to drive a car to the temple with his eyes closed..
When he is in trance-possession, he often asks people to-give him
fire (a torch) which he puts into his mouth without sustaining any 3
burns. On one occasion, he asked his ancestors for permission to
visit the high priest, which he then. did, and the priest asked him to j
take some incense in his hand. He: said, ‘No, give me fire’, to which
the high priest responded, ‘You are not my student, you-are on a
higher level [of trance-possession].’ ‘
All the healers who practise trance-possession are self-trained;
after a number of experiences, they find it easy to fall into trance- |
possession and may do so quickly. However, shifting into trance- )
possession each time depends upon the choice of the gods.
The subjective experiences of balian in possession -states and ;
the healing techniques used, as reported here, are illustrative and:
typical of other trance-mediums in Bali. The authors’:interviews.of
balian verified that. their trance states were genuine.-Dr Denny
Thong, former Director of the Bangli Mental Hospital in Bali, |
studied Balinese balian and believed that trance could be faked-by |
some practitioners. However, the Balinese believe that if a traditional =]
healer is not authentic, people will no longer go to him or her. [7 |
The balian’s work in healing is presented here in ‘a. Balinese
context, but it can also be viewed from a Western. psychological
perspective. Balian taksu follow a standard procedure:-first, they-
introduce the clients and their families to the-gods, God, or their
ancestors; then, they. speak with the clients to, establish rapport;
next, they tell the clients why. they have come and. what their:
problems are; finally, they give advice on how to solve jthe d
problems. The information and advice given follow the Balinese
Hindu beliefs of the clients and have common themes, ‘e.g. prob-'
lems, illnesses, or death due to offences against the gods or black
magic from other sources. The explanations. offered are readily
understandable, and believable, to the Balinese..The advice given
is generally consistent with Western psychotherapeutic techniques
and concepts, including support, relief of feelings of guilt, suspicion, :
revenge, and anger, motivation to build better family, and social 4
relationships, and encouragement to form constructive, not :
destructive, interpersonal relationships. It appears that. the clients’ oR
emotional experiences of contacting and interacting -with-,the.
j
tm
_ : bc Fa a= §aea
eee
===PDFPAGE 62===
TRADITIONAL HEALERS AND THEIR CLIENTS 61
spirits are extremely effective in resolving bereavement. The
4 closest Western parallel is transference to the psychotherapist. ~ ;
|
A Trance-medium (Balian Taksu)
t A female balian taksu in Denpasar was interviewed both before
i and after trance and observed during trance-medium sessions. Her
i daughter and several neighbours were also interviewed. She was
4 51 years of age at the time of the first observations in 1981. A
; Balinese Hindu who is unmarried, she lives in Denpasar and has
§ three sisters, all of whom are married. Her parents; both deceased,
: were poor farmers when she was young. Their marriage’ was
: described as good with very few problems,.and‘their relationships
; with their children were also good. Her grandfather was a balian
‘ and his father was appointed by the gods to become‘a balian but
$ chose not to do so. A few months:after he refused, he became:ill
f and died, a consequence of having offended the gods. She left
é school after the fourth grade because her family was poor and
¢ went to work as a labourer in road and building construction. She
a was very energetic and helpful tov-her neighbours and whoever
3 needed help. Interviews with her neighbours indicated that: she
: was an obedient, quiet person who had good ‘relationships: with
‘many friends and her behaviour was normal like :that of ‘her
; friends. Every day when she worked as a labourer, she was
§ possessed by the gods. When possessed, she shouted loudly and
a the neighbours thought that she was mad. She said-that suddenly,
; at one point, her hair train (ie. longhair) fell off: and her-hair
became very tight and difficult to separate into’strands. Because of
; her ‘possession’, she had to stop work as.a labourer and after that,
; she lived for 3 years in a:very crude, dirty home; like a farmer's
§ shed in the fields. She had ‘no money to live a better life. During
3 this 3-year period, she said that the gods tested her to see if she
FI could do what they-asked. She became a vegetarian. In her.room,
‘ there were many kinds of snakes: green, yellow, white, and: other
‘ coloured snakes, a cobra-like snake, and a snake with two-heads.
i She said that the snakes did not bite and that she fed them every
day by giving them offerings. She also described more than’ 100
black birds; similar to crows, who came daily to her room and:to
whom she gave offerings as well. The birds ate and then left She
; also said her house was full of tokek (large lizards), which'never
: bit or disturbed her and to these she also gave food and offerings.
7 Caring for these animals kept her very busy. For 3 years, she did
ee Se Se rae ee ee ee
===PDFPAGE 63===
| i
62 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI :
what the gods wanted and did not think about her neighbours. She i
| felt that if she did not do it, the gods would punish. her. Her-neigh- a.
bours were asked if they knew of the animals and they said they 3
did not and that the only people able to see them were those who q
were possessed and had a ‘special sense’ of the gods. She said that 7
} once a god asked her to go to many temples.and.sleep in them. Pi
She meditated at Pura Besakih and other temples in the mountains. §
She said that she was at a mountain in Java (Mt Semeru) and.also “3
at the Himalayas in India. After this period of being tested by the 5
gods, she was entered by Ratu Gde Dalem Peed (RGDP),* the god +f
from Nusa Penida Island, near Bali. She said this possession by id
RGDP was not like a balian’s possession. q
On 1 February 1961, she came home and obtained guidance from i
RGDP to make a shrine in her own house. RGDP gave her directions 7
on the form and location of the shrine in her compound and also ‘iy
i provided pictures of the statues for the shrine, which her family iq
i members were asked to make. People in her neighbourhood con- “4
tributed money to build the shrine. When it was finished, there 2%
was a big ceremony with offerings; priests.came to. the ceremony, 4
and a variety of forest animals were present (e.g.-snakes and lizards). if
After the ceremony, many people came to ask her to treat: their cf
; illnesses, to help to keep their families harmonious, and to consult 4
i her about religious ceremonies, for example, ‘auspicious days:to ..
perform these. After receiving treatment by: RGDP, grateful clients 3
faithfully attended the dalian’s ceremonies and gave money to build : :
2 new house for her. : panels -
i In.1969, she became pregnant—still unmarried and, she claimed, ¢
j without having had sexual intercourse—because ‘the gods needed h 4
; her to have progeny who could follow hér heritage. All her-neigh- ;
bours knew that she was pregnant but no one-criticized her: Many
thought that this was what the god decreed. Some:felt it was im-
possible to conceive without having intercourse. Her daughter, now +
f" 23 years of age, is married; she has a child 14 years of age andilives } ]
with a neighbour beside her mother’s house. She'and her husband =i
appear to honour her mother and to believe that she is controlled 3
by RGDP. ei
At home, when she is not in trance-possession, this balian wears -
only a sarong or a sarong and a shirt. When she is possessed, she r
dresses formally in male clothes: a white shirt, a wide sarong: with :
a yellow cuff around the bottom, and a sash. Her hair is tied up 7
high on her head, similar to the way a high priest wears his hair, 7
with a flower in it, and she has’grains of rice stuck omher forehead 4
i
| oe
BS oe : es ee es,
===PDFPAGE 64===
TRADITIONAL HEALERS AND THEIR CLIENTS 63
{ as is usual for people who have returned from a temple after prayer
| and being blessed. She uses a walking staff.. Her attitude in
b | possession is like that of an old but energetic man with a long ‘
3 beard and moustache which she frequently ‘twirls’ with her fingers
i as if it were real. =
} According to the neighbours, this balian loves another woman
; with whom she has’a good relationship, a woman who is a priest at
| another place in the city. She visits this priest daily and sometimes
F| the priest comes to her home to pray and work together with her.
4 Neighbours know of her relationship with the woman priest but
1 they accept it by saying that the two gods love eachother. When
1 the people living in her house were asked what she does at home,
bi they said that if no one comes to see her for treatment, she walks
; around without apparent purpose and then goes to sleep at 2.00
§ a.m., waking up around 9.00 or 10.00 am.-After her bath, she
: returns to her room and closes the door. The people living at her
t house must prepare the offerings, the household shrines, and-the
i altar to receive the god. She comes out of her roomif the god asks
i her to see a client. : ,
} In daily life, she does not receive-guests graciously. She is forget-
‘ ful and does not remember people who have come to see her.
i Sometimes she asks her visitors why they: have come. [hen she
: says, ‘I’m sorry, | do not know anything and I can’t serve people
i well because I’m stupid.’ She may ask her visitors. whether. they
| would like tea or a cigarette and repeat this a few times. in a per-
i sistent manner. In striking contrast when she is in trance-possession,
| she looks happy and optimistic, speaks-fluently in a friendly manner,
i and treats her guests and clients very graciously; for example, she
, chats cordially, asking people where they have come from, or if
she knows the people, with whom. they have come. When new
| guests arrive, she invites them politely to sit down; she-is very
i pleasant and friendly, and follows rules of etiquette, for example,
d by not asking people of higher status what their status is. Her eyes
are bright and alert, and she moves about quickly. Sometimes’she
can also be very humorous, joking with the guests, but. she is
' always respectful towards the gods. Fons
H She receives clients in the afternoon every day except market
day (pasah; the third day of the Balinese week). Every person
who comes seeking her help must bring a special offering, called a |
pejati, consisting of coconut, rice, money, or some other product.
She goes into trance-possession when she sits in front of the,altar
: praying, with incense smoke rising in front of her,-and making an
\ :
: i
. i
i ttre ceesnemensnenbehensenwes sein. =csenicnstntesgatnh> sate cs oes ons
===PDFPAGE 65===
64 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
offering to God. Before she commences giving advice, she asks (
her clients where they have come from, how many of'them are . 2
here, and how they have come. After establishing rapport, she $
turns her attention to their problems. She gleans her clients’ ¢
situations from a large leaf, which she takes in her hands and é
Studies, rather in the manner of some seers reading'tea-leaves or t
looking into a crystal ball. From this she tells her clients and their a ‘
families what has happened to them, why they have come to visit x ¢
her, and what they must do to solve their problem. When she talks, ]
her clients must simply listen; only after she has finished talking i
can they ask her questions if they do not understand or if they : ]
: disagree with what has been said. Usually if the clients disagree {
with the dalian, they seldom speak because they know they have D | n
come not only to receive advice but also to: learn if the balian | (
knows about their problem. ri. | (
In the treatment session, the family members usually come with- | 1
out the patient, and they are free.to discuss the problem and ask /
‘questions, which the balian answers patiently, talking like a parent . i
to her children. If the family members feel sad or helpless, she
makes them calm and optimistic. If they feel sick, she helps them ,
combat their illness. She seldom says who has made the patient ill 4
or that she knows someone’s mistake has caused illness; in this ‘
way she does not imply-a family member is “bad” or guilty. She :
usually advises her clients against trying to find out who was re-
sponsible for their troubles and instead encourages them 'to become :
calmer, healthier, and happier. Only once in the observations did she ;
identify a guilty person; her reason was that the client’s ancestors
asked her to do so because they were very sorry to see the client
suffer. If her clients are of low education, she gives many examples to
illustrate her explanations. Discussions with the family take about
20-30 minutes. Sometimes, she tells a story to help a client under-
stand, and this may take up to 60 minutes; She is generally
successful at managing her clients’ problems. ‘ {
At the end of a session, she takes holy water near her shrine, %
throws it out, and abruptly comes out of trance. She then goes-to
her room and changes back into her usual clothes. When ‘she , ;
reappears, she resumes her non-balian personality: her vocalization "
is slow and dull in contrast to her fluent and witty speech during
trance. She says she does not recall what. she did or what
-happened during trance-possession, and she is reluctant to talk
about it further. q
This‘balian’s changes in personality and attitude bear out Gauld’s
ae toe
ae FSS : ety eet ih ae
===PDFPAGE 66===
“4 TRADITIONAL HEALERS AND THEIR CLIENTS 65
4 (1977: 580) statement that ‘in the case of mediums who pass into
trance, the ordinary personality may often, after'a short interval,
q seem to be completely replaced by that of the deceased person or
4] other discarnate being. The new personality may in some instances
attain almost complete control of the medium’s organism.’ Out.of
trance, this balien appears abnormal but not psychotic; she merely
. withdraws to her room for long periods. She shows no evidence of
delusions or hallucinations although the history of. her ‘illness’
prior to becoming a dalian indicates that she probably had delusions
i and hallucinations then. In normal circumstances, when she is not
4 possessed, she acts as if she is demented or of borderline intelli- |
‘ gence and finds it very difficult.to focus on any type. of
i conversation. She does not realize what she has said during trance
or at least denies any knowledge of it; in trance, she claims to be
2 God. These observations are-consistent with: those of trance-
mediums in other cultures.
The following case-studies provide further examples of how this
balian works.
Case 1 .
A 25-year-old, single, male labourer, with no past psychiatric history,
; and his family had apparently sought help to deal with his difficulty
‘| in forming relationships, his withdrawal, irritability, and anger if |
{ the family advised him, his anxiety about the future, his weakness |
| and laziness, all of 1-month duration. The family came because they
felt they had caused the problems by offending one of their ancestors
and asked what they must do to make amends. In trance
| possession, the balian said, “You came here because you want to |
pray to God, because you want to make a big ceremony and |
, request that all will be a success.’ The family all agreed and said
| ‘yes’. The healer then said, “You are crying because your ancestor
H comes. Some of your ancestors stay at the temple (Dalem Puri).’
: She continued, ‘The job is not finished. If you are sick, you go to
the doctor but if you are sick because you have made a mistake
: with regard to your ancestors, you must find out how to erase’your
; sin. You can do it in a big ceremony with the complete offerings.’
The family said, ‘We don’t have enough money to hold a big
ceremony. If it is a small ceremony, we can do it.’ The healer said,
‘The ceremony is the biggest one Gadudus agung) but in practice,
you can choose which size of ceremony you are able to afford. You
{ did not conduct a ceremony to get permission from the god of
|
1 I
‘
—— LL
===PDFPAGE 67===
66 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
Dalem Puri for your family to leave the temple. The god is angry ]
because you did not do it.’ The healer followed this up with a long %
recitation of advice on how to prepare the ceremony. 3
Follow-up visits to the client at his home were made at 3 days, 1
20 days, and 30 days after the balian’s seance. At the initial visit ;
following therapy, he was shy but spoke easily. His family said that 4
at home, he fell calmer and seldom quarrelled; his relationships‘ had :
improved, he seemed more peaceful, and he had become involved ;
in more activities. The entire family were pleased and were grateful .
to the gods. The family had held a large ceremony which was quite
costly (1.5 million rupiahs or about US$1,000.00 at that time), but
the gods had helped them economize. At Suryani’s next visit one
month after treatment, many changes were evident in their home:
they had new chairs, a television, and a Vespa motor scooter in the
driveway. They attributed the improvement to their work and good
family relationships. The client had returned to work and was
energetic: He suffered from fewer headaches; and he was
establishing more and better relationships with people. At the
interview he was fluent, smiling, and self-confident. The family said
that all the things they and he did had yielded good results and
consequently their income had increased.
Case 2 ties
= This case involved a married woman, 42 years of age who had com-
plained of physical and and mental problems for the past 3 years.
She had an itchy skin and.a repulsive, eczema-like rash which a
dermatologist and a general practitioner had treated without success.
Her facial appearance was another cause for concern: the skin looked
blue, with dilated veins, and her eyes were perpetually averted,
making her appear frightened and ‘dangerous’, at the same time.
Other somatic complaints included back problems (e.g. she had
difficulty standing) and stomach pains. In addition, the woman
suffered from depression and she was talking less and less. Her case
history indicated that her husband had taken a second wife ap-
proximately 10 years ago, and Suryani’s initial clinical impression
was anxiety disorder and psychological factors affecting physical
condition.
This woman came to consult the dalian with her mother and her
daughter. The balian said, ‘You are here because you want to know
what is happening to yourself. You look pretty, but your heart is
crying. You come here because you are sad and depressed. Your
; : ects Shae Setecas
we tet : : t Pi ; = tess
OE oO te
===PDFPAGE 68===
q TRADITIONAL HEALERS AND THEIR CLIENTS 67
4 husband has another wife.’ The woman answered, ‘Yes.’ The balian
3 continued, ‘You are the first wife. Don’t be angry if] say the truth. :
# You are sad and don’t know why and you want to die. If you don’t
i] remember your children, you may kill yourself. You are always
i anxious and tense, and recently you failed to get help for what you
| wanted to do. Your livelihood is lost. Many people borrow from
i you and do not repay you, and all this makes you feel sad.’ The
s balian spoke in a solemn and serious manner, like a father talking
A to a daughter. She continued, ‘All your problems have arisen be-
cause of the second wife who wants to kill you by making you
i confused so that you will kill yourself. She makes you feel itchy all
over your body. She makes your husband unable to think and is
scared of her and your husband forgot about you and your children.
a You are a good person. The god of Dalem told you the truth.’ As
| the balian said these words, the client looked down and her daugh-
4 ter looked sad and held on to her mother because she was afraid
P that she might lose her. The. client asked the balian what.she
should do to avoid suffering. The mother of the client said that her
7 granddaughter and all the other grandchildren depended, upon
‘| their mother for school and so. on. The mother of the client looked
very scared and worried. The balian continued, ‘Pretty woman,
| you come here to get peace’ and proceeded to advise her on: what
she must do in order to achieve peace,
* Suryani visited this client 10 days after her final treatment by the
| balian. Initially the woman. did not believe that the balian could
: help her: it was her mother and daughter who had asked her-to go.
Bi However, by this time, she already felt an improvement. On a second
4 interview 2 months after her treatment, she looked happy and was
fi able to talk but only in. response to questions. She said that her
1 thinking was calmer and less confused, she felt less sad, she cried
z less, and she was no longer suicidal. One month and 7 days after
; her treatment by the balian, she was able to work calmly... She
seldom scratched her skin, the blueness of her face had -disap-
i peared, she was less shy, and she was able to establish, good
3 relationships. The Western clinical diagnosis in retrospect was
E moderate depression (dysthymia) and psychological factors affecting :
; physical condition.
Case 3
|
i The first clients of the evening, a mother and her daughter, pre-
1 sented themselves without saying why they had come, and were
eS 5 Se eee ie See ce; eee Seed
===PDFPAGE 69===
68 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
told by the baliax in trance-possession that they had come because
her-son (and the daughter's brother) had been ‘stabbed by a kris’. :
This was, in fact, their concern. He had suffered a wound inthe
chest-while performing at a ceremony with a kris and was in,the
hospital recovering. The client wondered why. it had happened.
The balian explained that in a previous life, tiie young man had
been asked by the gods to be a priest but he had declined on the
grounds that it did not pay enough and the kris accident was a
punishment from the gods. The dalian assured the young man’s
mother.that he would be all right. i r
Suryani interviewed eight other clients of this balian. All but‘one
had ‘satisfactory results from the’ treatment: ‘One ‘family hada
problem of rats eating their rice crop. The balian advised them to
place some rice at each corner of their field. As'a consequence,
they were no longer plagued by rats and their rice crop matured. In
another case which involved a dying husband, the balian told the
family that she could not help them as it was time for him to’ die.
She advised them not to seek a’cure because he would die the
following day. Instead, she advised them to pray ‘to God'to help'him
achieve a good way to die. The husband died thenext day. °°”
This balian’s ability to foretell her clients’ problems’ is typical.
Westerners may be sceptical of her ability as itis difficult for them
to believe that she could know the problems of-her‘clients without
being told by someone. However, in the case of this balian, it does
not appear that she has gleaned information from common village
knowledge since: many of her clients come from other areas’/A
Western interpretation of this phenomenon is psychic ability akin
to ‘that demonstrated or claimed by Western clairvoyants. From
observations of over 100 treatments by dalian, Suryani estimates
that about 50 per cent of clients’ problems are correctly divined: :''
This dalian's initial 3-year experience of possession, with seclusion,
delusions, and hallucinations, meets the criteria for a diagnosis of
psychosis. This is a common pattern among balian: a severe illness
and/or psychosis usually lasting one to several‘months prior 'to
becoming a dalian. Connor (1982) termed this ‘divine: madness’.
Although ‘this balian no longer has delusions or hallucinations in
her non-possessed state, her personality can best be characterized
as schizoid.
The differences in this balian’s appearance and personality
between her trance-possession state and her non-possession state
are striking. The change in behaviour is not readily explained in
ry ; ek Sie Fee
ee Fn 2 oy © : r: ee: 4 Be
oe ee ae 8 . ae jis See eee
===PDFPAGE 70===
TRADITIONAL HEALERS AND THEIR CLIENTS 69
Western terms. Behaviour characteristics of personality disorders
do not usually disappear under hypnosis. Her shifts from one:per-
4 sonality to another meet the diagnosiic criteria ‘for the clinical :
+) condition of multiple personality disorder. An incongruity peculiar
7] to this balian is her masculine manner under. possession; ‘but
perhaps this is understandable since she is possessed by a male
god. Similarly, patients with multiple personalities may show such
changes in gender behaviour as their alters of the opposite sex
take over.
| ‘Annotated Translation of a Balian Taksu’s Treatment
) The following is an account of the interaction between a female
balian taksu in Denpasar and her first clients of the day, two
women who presented themselves without saying anything. about
' why theyhadcome. as he Sane 4s :
' The balian prayed in a very loud, strong voice, different from her
usual voice, and announced to the god that the clients had ‘come
a with an offering to see him (the god). In trance she addressed the
| clients, ‘You have come here because you need to know something
. about your baby (neither woman was the. mother; they were.
| relatives of the mother). The little child is newborn. You want to
know which god or goddess [ancestor] is born in this child, [This
. was in fact the reason for their visit.] Your ancestor has come here,
. a man and a woman. The woman is unmarried. She has a child’ (The
| balian was visualizing and was being addressed by the ancestor
but she was not yet possessed.) ‘Now about this baby: the rein-
a carnated ancestor had a family temple but did not have a baby in
. her past life.’ = ba 2 i
¥ The first woman client then spoke, ‘We don’t know who it is who
@ is not married.” aber
q The balian replied, ‘Yes, it was a long time ago. The great-
Es grandmother of the baby is the woman [who is reincarnated]. She
a is not married. The baby is called by her.’ Dc a 7.
The first woman asked, ‘What is her name?” niin as
The balian replied, ‘People call her Nyoman,” ~~ bi
The first woman asked, ‘Please give me her full name.’ :
The balian said, ‘I can’t tell her full name because she is a god.’
: The first woman asked, ‘If 1 don’t know her name, how can I know
f which ancestor is reincarnated?” . 4
The dbalian replied, ‘She is a god now, so she has no name. Ifyou
|
|
‘
CS
===PDFPAGE 71===
ey
i 70 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
i still want to know her name, I'll give you only her first initial: S’
] The second woman, trying to calm. the first one,. said, ‘It’s
! enough that we know the name is Nyoman.’ ofits
) The first woman again asked, ‘Who is Nyoman?’
The balian switched topics and advised them to perform a cere-
mony at 1, 3, and 6 months and said, ‘When you conduct a cere-
| mony at 3 months, bring white and yellow cloth, and at-6 months,
: when the baby’s hair is cut, please bring me 30 pieces of Chinese
| money.’ [The 6-month ceremony signifies that the infant has now
become human; the ancestor then discontinues his life in the other
| world and assumes a real life in the baby.]
The dbalian, now speaking’ as’ the jancestor possessed, told:the
two women that when the baby becomes an adolescent, they should
‘arrange a “marriage ceremony” (masakapan) to be held at the
ocean’. [This means that the person will have a relationship with
the mountains and the ocean.] eel
The women answered that they would do it if they, had the
money. ae
| The balian replied, “Yes, I know that you are short of money.’
She then repeated the advice for the benefit ofher clients.
| Afterwards, when asked about her experience during the session.
Hi) the balian said simply that she had fallen into trance-possession
(kalinggihan) and would say no more about it. bein A
Connor, Asch, and Asch’ (1986)' published a detailed, verbatim
account, and also produced an ethnographic film, of a trance-
) medium balian named Jero, who practises in South Bali. Jero is not
able to recall the feelings or perceptions she experiences during a
seance. However, she ‘hears her own voice from afar coming from
Mit above her head, as if it belonged to som7one’ else’. For example,
this would tell her the spirit’s wishes for a cremation or post-
Hi! cremation ritual and let her know if the family had omitted certain
offerings. Jero uses the word ‘forgetting’ (engsap) to refer to the
| + change in herself when she is possessed. During the possession,
i the spirit may direct her to a particular potion for the patient to
1 take home to treat his or her symptoms. ‘In achieving a state of
|: light trance, by praying and chanting, her personality is transformed.
i] A supernatural being takes possession and converses with the
H practitioner.’ According to Connor, Asch, and Asch, some Westerners
1 believe that Jero is a fraud when she states that she is a medium
ii for others. They note that Jero’s voice changes entirely in character
| | when she is possessed by the son of a petitioner in contrast’ to
) when she is possessed by a deity. It is also noted that much of the
i
Ses is
See SS ee ee
===PDFPAGE 72===
a TRADITIONAL HEALERS AND THEIR CLIENTS 71
speech of the deities and spirits relayed through Jero is am-
¥ biguous. (See Connor, Asch, and Asch, 1986: 96, 102, 107, 116, 127.)
: All the above characteristics were present in the trance-medium '
balian observed by the authors, including depersonalization
phenomena, possession by spirits, possession by relatives, and
§ transformation of the voice to that of the possessed entity.
4 A Balian Who Treats by Physical Manipulation
i This balian at Bangli refers to himself as a balian usada. In his
view, a balian is a mediator in the process of restoring health-to
| clients. He treats clients with all kinds of problems and ailments.
He regards himself as a specialist in helping people:rid:themselves |
: of evil spirits (vohjahat) and in balancing the body energy.. His
| technique involves knowing the energy. centres, meridians, and
pressure points of the body (urai-saraf). He uses :his' energy to
cleanse clients of evil spirits, a special-talent given to him by»God,
tempered by his study of the Jontar (sacred palm leaf: books) and
i by meditation. When he was 20 years old, he had an urge to become
7 a healer and a strong desire to help others; this led him to make
: many offerings to his temple and to ask the gods if he should pursue
1 such a path. He received an encouraging answer from the gods
; and was told how he should become a healer. In the tradition of
the usada healer, he studied the lontar seriously for 5 years:and
j through meditation he received answers to all his questions. It was
during this time that he developed a special gift for healing people
. by using his spiritual energy. it-is'a method peculiar to himself,
i which he believes is given to him by God during meditation. He is
y of the opinion that everyone can learn to use his or her spiritual
/ energy through meditation but unless one has a spiritual calling,
one would not be able to do the type of healing that he does. Heis
quite well known and respected in his community. His son-has.
3 chosen to go into the field of medicine so that he may heal others
t as well.
: Patients, dressed semi-formally in sarong and sash, come to his !
i office with offerings and donations of rupiah. This balian always
q dresses completely in white. He treats about 20 patients in a day,
i the typical treatment for one client lasting about 20 minutes. Clients
are always accompanied by friends or family members.
? He has regular methods for treating all clients. After his mantra,
introduction of the client to the god, prayer, request to the god. to
cure the client, and a ritual sprinkling of himself with some holy
i ees top ere Sere ae: See Tee, |e eee oe
===PDFPAGE 73===
j 72 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
water, he steps up to the client, who is seated ‘in a chair in his treat-
ment room. He begins by opening up a ‘positive:energy channel’
on top of the client’s head. This is done by parting the hair, putting §
j two drops of coconut oil which has been blessed onthe head; and
rubbing the spot with the middle finger of his right hand as:he
| chants a mantra. He then blows a breath of ‘unseen-white fire’\down
through the top of the head of the person, and quickly follows this
| up by touching the main pressure points on the patient’s body.
Then he applies light pressure to the neck, shoulders, arms, elbows,
legs, and knees, pointing with his index fingers on each side of the
chest at the heart, the solar plexus, and the stomach. He then begins
to feel the spots where the evil spirit is residing.in the client,
beginning with the back of the neck, with ‘the right hand pressing
firmly on the muscles. Then.he holds the patient’s arm outstretched
and blows into:the palm in a straight line-down the length ofthe
arm. He will know where the evil spirit is when the white fire that
is travelling through the personcreates sparks at the point where
they meet. Quite often, he senses’spots of imbalance in the neck.
He ‘concentrates on the specific areas where the evil spirit is located
by applying pressure with his fingers on the arm:and upper body
or with his heel on the leg, knee, or foot.‘This causes considerable
M pain as indicated by the patient’s wincing and crying out.;Only
; when the evil spirit has left:the person will he no longer: ex-
; perience any pain. The treatment:is completed when the:balian
touches those areas which were painful before but are no longer
so, indicating that the evil spirit has left. : tan
This jalian was observed on a number of occasions treating
more than a dozen clients for various complaints: One of his clients
i was a 34-year-old woman, a Western graduate student in psychology,
who had come to him for treatment ofan ovarian tumour. He
asked the client if she wished to be treated or be given advice; and
iF she said she wanted to be treated. He did not ask about her prob-
‘3 lem nor did she tell him. He prepared himself with a ritual:mantra
and holy water blessing for the client. He first opened up-an
energy channel on top of her head in order to establish a free flow
of energy. He explained that this was to open the fontanelle’so that 5
he:could see what was happening: in her body. He was: able.-to
visualize coloured smoke which told him where the.problem.was
| and what it was—an evil spirit. He then blew on her head and
: started touching the pressure points, according ‘to his ritual.
| Palpation of her neck and shoulders elicited excruciating pain: As
F the recipient of the possessed god, he blew power on to his left
i
liu
aha : a oe eS
SL LLC CC CCC CTCTCCCOC~S~;73ZETFCS*;#
===PDFPAGE 74===
i TRADITIONAL HEALERS AND THEIR CLIENTS 73
| elbow, then on to his right hand, and after that he felt her elbow.
He then stepped on the dorsum of his client’s foot with his heel
and said, ‘She has a weakness, not an illness or a’pain.’ He added ’
that the client ‘always complains about her-weakness [fatigue and
4 lack of energy]’. Suryani asked him what the problem wasand he
| replied that it was ‘caused by the supernatural’, possibly because
the patient had made a mistake in another place which» ‘was
manifest by the evil spirit entering her. He continued, ‘For
example, she might have gone to. a: temple: during -her
menstruation and that is the reason she is tired. It is caused by the
. evil spirit.’ Addressing the client, he said, ‘Fortunately you came
here. If you were to go home:to America, no one could handle:this
F| there.’ He explained further that ‘Bali is magic. Sometimes visitors
who come to Bali get sick. Bali is different from the rest of
j Indonesia: it has more magic.’ eo) sek
. He felt the client's neck again, causing her‘a great deal of pain:
He claimed that he did not touch her very hard: :He:then touched
} both her arms and commented; ‘Now:you'-don't feel any2 pain,
i although I touched yourarms in the same way.as before.’ i 94! «.
He then applied pressure on her knee,with his bare foot/avhich
elicited severe pain. He said to Suryani, ‘I touched her very. lightly.
| After the evil spirit is thrown out, she will feel no pain.’ He explained
that if she had no disorder from an evil spirit, she would not feel
; any pain. He then stood on her knee again with his foot and this
| time it was not at all painful. yt
| Suryani then asked him about the tumour, ‘It will take:a long
4 time.’ He said, ‘Its cause is not supernatural but natural. It is better
: and more quickly treated by doctors. Why not do. it?’ The client
a responded that she was scared of surgery. Suryani explained:to
i him that her surgeon in America was planning to operate;on this
tumour. He agreed to try to treat it and proceeded to blow om his
% arm while touching the patient, felt her back again, blew!on ‘his
; hand, felt her arm, blew breath on-her head, then: palpated;her
¥ abdomen and her head, none of which was painful.-He asked:the
; client how it felt and she replied that it tickled. Holding her:waist,
i he blew again on his arm to drive out the evil spirits and asked her
; if she felt any pain. She replied, ‘No.’ He appeared to have finished
i his treatment and said that he thought he could treat her problem.
q He asked her if she could come again for two more treatments. ..
4 After the balian came out of trance, he verbalized aspects of his
: treatment. As the smoke from the incense entered his body, he felt
warm; he sensed his body getting bigger, and then he was imbued
4 !
OO
===PDFPAGE 75===
| 74 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
with the power of the god to treat illness.and other problems.
During treatment, he was possessed by the god Saraswati, a mani-
festation of the supreme God. He explained that each part of the
clients body which was painful at his touch was an encounter
between the god's power and the evil spirit; he believed that god’s |
power effected the cure by extruding the black magic.
After the treatment, the client admitted that she did in fact-have
a physical problem of weakness and severe malaise brought on by
ingesting sugar.in any form, such as. soft drinks, candy, or
doughnuts. This condition, which had affected her for about
10 years, began around the time she lived for several months in
Indonesia. All sorts of medical tests and examinations in America
failed to yield a diagnosis and nothing had helped. The following
day, when she tested the dalian’s ‘cure’ by taking a soft drink and |
eating cake, she did not experience any negative symptoms. Follow- |
up on this client 6, 12, and 18 months later in the United States re-
vealed that the sugar/tiredness problem did not recur. However,
*ecause of her brief stay in Bali, this client was not able to.return
to the balian for further treatment of her tumour. It was subsequently #
surgically removed and proved to be endometriosis. i: a
hy A Balian Who Uses Trance, Chinese Coins, and Lontar H
Hy, This balian, a Balinese who practises in: Denpasar, utilizes: trance
and old Chinese coins in his treatment. According to him,.the god
Saraswati (the goddess of knowledge) appears during his: trance
; and conveys to him the advice he delivers. When the authors visited |
_ him, he had no clients, so Suryani- presented herself as a patient. a
; First he prayed to request the god Saraswati to help him because.a ¥
client had come to see him. After this brief ceremony, he asked
Suryani to take some Chinese coins from each of two stacks.on:a '
(" plate. She took several from each stack and handed them .to:him. 3
1}: He quickly arranged the coins around the plate and after looking
at this arrangement for several seconds, he picked up a lontar to B=
determine her reason for coming to see him: He stated: in
1 You want to know about a man who has a problem with his job. His |
HT income has decreased; his livelihood has decreased; his effort has BY
I decreased. He must avoid the ‘friends’ who want to destroy his work if he
Hi wants to succeed in his job because he has a good livelihood and he gets 4
4), good results from his usual work. He has two wives but'he does not have g
i any big problems from them. He does not need drugs or treatment, but he b
i must take a holiday, a break, to become calm and relaxed, so that he can ;
| make good decisions. 7
| AS
- « - + y, “ z
Rage. ep arden S ; poe «OE
Wy Jakes recy ®
===PDFPAGE 76===
4 TRADITIONAL HEALERS AND THEIR CLIENTS 75
| Halfway into his ‘reading’ of the lontar, Suryani observed. that,
a] although he looked intently at the /ontar and appeared to be
| following the words with his index finger, the lontar was blank and :
e | without inscriptions at all. On several subsequent occasions, he
j repeated his performance: he appeared to be reading without hes-
itation, as if the words were written. This phenomenon is compar-
% able to automatic writing in a state of hypnosis.
Lf After this seance, Suryani contacted her brother and learned
| that what the balian had said was true. She had not previously known
1 the extent of his problems at work and she had wrongly suspected
} that he had problems with one of his wives.
| : A Balian Who Extracts Bones from Clients
4) This balian was observed on a number of different occasions
‘| treating more than 20 different. clients, ranging.in age from
3 months to 65 years. There were about equal.numbers of males
and females. From about one-third of these, the balian extracted
‘| bones during his very painful.massage of the client. On. each
j occasion, 1-6 bones were extracted—some long and sharp, others
2 shaped like kernels or small pebbles. These usually-came from the
; umbilicus but there were some from the abdomen, behind the
5 knee and from the back of the head. During this procedure, . all
: these patients experienced or evidenced behaviour indicating
j excruciating pain. Often there were signs of trauma to the skin
: with some redness and swelling at the site of the bone extraction.
a Although the authors and several colleagues watched this balian
3 closely during all his manipulations, it was not possible to establish
that he might have concealed these bones in his hand prior to
their removal from the clients. The delian explained that these
pieces of bone and the associated pain of. removal were
; manifestations of evil spirits; the removal of such evil spirits would
i lead to a cure. Following treatment, clients were frequently given a
3 prescription or remedy that they. could take home, usually. an
Fs organic substance. For example, the balian’s wife would ask the
client to name something they. could use. to help themselves, to
keep them in balance. The client would usually choose the balian’s
f medication, usually a certain leaf or flower to ingest or anoint.
| Clients interviewed immediately. after treatment generally
indicated feelings of relief and satisfaction...
A young physician from America presented himself as a client to
this balian because he wished to be treated for high blood pressure.
| Suryani accompanied him and brought the appropriate special
’ sez |
===PDFPAGE 77===
76 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
offering to the temple at the balian’s house. The balian's wife;;who
usually prayed and ministered to’ the clients upon their arrival,
appeared to fall into trance immediately, as was evident: by the
closing of her eyes, fluttering of her eyelids, flattening of her facial
expression, and changes in her ‘voice, manner ‘of speaking; and
gestures. She asked, “What do you need?’*Suryani answered, ‘We
want to know what the problem is that he has’, referring to her
colleague and phrasing her’ statement so‘as to ‘test’ the’ balian to
see if he would know. She responded, ‘I know that you are here to
test me.’ At that point Suryani denied it. The woman‘ continued, ‘He
has a problem in the mind; he has difficulty concentrating, ‘he:is
losing his memory, and he is confused. His main problem lies in
the food he eats. It makes him that way. Sometimes his. thoughts
are empty. To treat his problem, he must eat more vegetables.’
The young physician told Suryani that what she had said was true
to some extent. He said that his hypertension-was reduced:-when
he ate more vegetables. He proceeded with his treatment: by‘this
balian, who massaged his abdomen forcefully and then ‘removed’
a small sliver of bone from his umbilicus,’a very painful experience
B indeed because of the deep, sustained pressure applied by the balian
Is to this spot. Three days later, the umbilical soreness had subsided
‘ and he reported feeling calmer and less confused. Suryani ‘advised
) him to stop taking his anti-hypertensive medication because she
| felt that his hypertension was primarily a'psychological! problem
and at this point, his blood pressure ‘was normal. Daily repeat
blood pressure measurements over 20 subsequent'days were also
t, normal. While‘ he attributed this change'mainly‘to the‘ balian’s
the. treatment, another factor could have played’a role: every day~he
: also performed Suryani’s technique’ of ‘healing meditation’: (See
if Chapter 8). Ho ne
Hl» The balian’s wife, who was not a balian, also went into trance
and behaved in some respects like a balian. In trance, she/appeared
Hah to demonstrate psychic abilities; ‘for example, she could discern
| the client's motivation and problems. According to the client,/she
i was fairly accurate. This was the first time that the authors have
iit observed a balian working with his wife as a' team. ; "
i} Jensen and one of his Western colleagues submitted themselves
1 for treatment by this balian inorder to experience his work at first
He hand: Although he had not been briefed by either client; the body
i parts he worked on proved to be the areas for which each had
/ sought help. His physical treatments included hard pressure with
) the stone of a ring onthe terminal bone of the client’s fingers and
+f
ig :
i |
ea ECE
===PDFPAGE 78===
i TRADITIONAL HEALERS AND THEIR CLIENTS 77
toes; hard, deep massage on the abdomen; ard intense pressure on
q body parts (i.e. back of the head or the umbilicus) to ‘remove’ the .
3 bone, all of which produced excruciating pain. Afterwards, both
‘ Jensen and his colleague were convinced that he did not remove a
piece of bone from either of them; he surreptitiously made it
| appear as if he did. He showed all observers the sharply pointed
4 piece of bone that he had ostensibly removed, about 2.5 centi-
| metres long by 1 centimetre wide, but he would not allow them to
| handle or keep it, and he quickly concealed it. The effects, of the
| treatment were both painful and traumatic (physically and emo-
| tionally) and were. not at all therapeutic. While Jensen was.con-
| viaced that the ‘bone work’ was trickery,’ two, Balinese medical
colleagues did not view it this way, On.the. contrary, several aspects
indicated to them that he was genuine, in,what he did: they actually
saw the piece of bone being removed; this healer, had aJong-
. standing reputation of more than 25.years for:successful healing;
| clients came from far and wide.to see him; and.they-believed,that
his treatments had different effects on individuals: This evidence,
combined with belief, was so strong that it overrode their Western
j logic and scientific knowledge.
Even if this traditional healer’s bone removal technique was
: ‘charlatanism’ in the Western sense, this would not necessarily
4 detract from the healing power of the entire. procedure for. some
clients. The procedure could be therapeutically. significant overall
because of elements other than the bone removal per se, such. as
the ventilation of emotions, the palpable and painful awareness, by
the client that something definite was being done;.the emotional
5 exhortation associated with the pain, the belief in the supernatural
} aspects of the problem or illness, and faith in the healing-procedures.
: A Balian Who Uses Massage Sadly
‘ This small, slender, wiry, 60-year-old man had been a:farmer all his
life at Batubulan near Denpasar when one day, 6 years ago,-he was
d spontaneously possessed at a religious ceremony and was told.by.a
god to become a balian. He declined and-in the following year, his
{ crops failed, his cows and pigs died, and he feared that he himself
would die unless he became a balian. At the time, his sister-in-law
who had always had a difficult time with delayed deliveries,.and
now was pregnant for the fifth time, was in her ninth month of
4 pregnancy. He vowed then that if she delivered now, he would
) become a balian, and she promptly delivered without any problems.
3 Rcaer |
OE LS
===PDFPAGE 79===
4
ie 78 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN'BALI
|
| Subsequently, many people with illnesses came to consult him and
i he has practised steadily since. A number ‘of Suryani’s psychiatric
patients had been successfully treated by him. — ; ;
tl His method of therapy involved massage, for which, he explained,
he did not need to be trained, having been given the skill by the
ie gods. The authors had a massage by him, observed him treating
each other, and questioned him about what happened as he mas-
saged. He said that his hands and fingers moved by themselves as
| if they were under ‘another power’, and that he did not have to
think about how to massage, even when he set fractures or'replaced
dislocated joints. It was evident that he used up a lot of energy and
muscular strength while he was massaging, but he said ‘he did not
feel tired even when he’ treated up to five clients in a morning.
During the interview before massage, he was rather distant and
/ socially awkward. In contrast during massage, he was friendly and
spoke fluently, and he was able to converse on a variety of social
topics. He reported experiences of possession at temple ceremonies.
These data indicate that this balian was in trance and probably
possessed while carrying out his massage treatment.
iii ;
| ‘ Clients of Balian Who Fall into Trance-possession
At a small village north of Klungkung, a-balian usada (who'uses
i lontar) specializes in treating clients possessed by an evil spirit or
4 black magic which causes bebainan (see ‘Chapter 7). Many of his
| clients fall into trance-possession during treatment. He is a widower
ha with nine children, a’ very jovial, animated,’ and talkative man who
Hi” was happy to discuss his work, particularly when he learned that
Hy. Suryani is from the royal family in Klungkung. He wore two large
| | rings inset with big stones on each hand. A ring with a very large,
Ri: carved evil spirit's head-on it—the head,of:Boma, which looks
i). somewhat like Rangda—was placed on a shelf above his head in
1" view of his clients. This was one of his two “test” (penued) objects.
; If a client sees this ring and it appears bigger than it is in reality, it
: indicates that the client is possessed by an evil spirit. Another test
: q object is a metal cylinder which appears to be a pewter salt shaker
ii about 2 centimetres in diameter and 4 centimetres long. Testing
with ‘this involves placing it on the forehead of the client and
itt holding it there firmly for several minutes: Patients who are
diagnosed by him to be possessed by an evil spirit or black magic,
; which is the cause of the complaint or illness which they present,
) fall into trance with eyes closed, shaking their body, sometimes
4 screaming and crying, and stiffening their extremities, as if they ;
\
===PDFPAGE 80===
TRADITIONAL HEALERS AND THEIR CLIENTS 79
! are experiencing considerable pain. The metal cylinder is pressed
| against the client’s forehead for about 3-5 minutes more, and the :
| client then comes out of trance if the black magic has been‘caused
| by an evil spirit from the island of Lombok or from East Java. If the
| evil spirit originates from West Java, the trance lasts about 10 min-
| utes. If the evil spirit is from Bali, the trance may last up to 3 hours,
| which, according to him, indicates that the Balinese black magic is
‘ exceptionally strong. During the time that the client is in trance,
4 the family may witness concrete evidence of the black magic in the
| form of hair or a large beetle extruded from the client. During the
| trance, the client’s verbalizations, crying, and yelling are regarded
: as those of the evil spirit who possesses them. Following the
trance, the client may have complete amnesia regarding the
| episode, and experiences feelings of relief or calm, presumably
| from relief of the problems or symptoms. ; i :
An 18-year-old Balinese college student’'who accompanied the
| authors submitted himself for a ‘check-up’. Suryani held the metal
| cylinder firmly to his foréhead for several minutes and then’ the
| balian placed a wooden peg, about 1 millimetre in ‘diameter, with
small knobs on the surface, between the fingers of his left hand.
t This had no effect until it was placed between the third and fourth
| fingers, at which point it immediately evoked excruciating pain,
causing the young man to wince, writhe, and cry out. The pain lasted
for about 2 minutes and then completely disappeared. The balian
/ explained that black magic had been placed in him at his school by
a girl who loved him and wanted to cast a spell on him and that the
{ pain was due to the exit of the black magic from his body. When
| the pain disappeared, he was declared free of the black magic. The
authors’ Western explanation of the phenomenon was that the
young man experienced pain as a manifestation of trance.
| Half of the clients who experienced trance-possession with this
| balian were men and half were women; they ranged from adoles-
. cents to old people but most’ of them were young adults. One
| elderly woman did not appear to the authors to be in trance but,
according to the balian, she was, as indicated by the paleness of
1 her face, a change in her breathing, and sleepiness while the metal
i cylinder was placed on her forehead. The total time that the cylinder
was placed on the forehead was approximately 5 minutes. This
indicated to him that she had black magic from a Muslim and
whatever problem she had did not need further curative work
because the black magic had been removed. Not all of the clients
who came to him fell into trance-possession and manifested
bebainan; with these clients he used the lontar to give advice.
LL
===PDFPAGE 81===
i !
. 80 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
/ The clients come to him from all over South Bali and.are aware
| that he is a specialist in treating bebainan caused by: the pos-
| session of evil spirit or black magic. Perhaps this is the reason that
it} | his clients are prone to enter trance-possession during his ritualistic
H treatment procedure. Whereas it is quite common to see clients
Hl enter a trance state during treatment by a balian, this is only one of
) | two balian observed whose-patients enter trance-possession in this
if rather ritualistic pattern and apparently under some control by the
balian. This represents a parallel to Western hypnotherapy.....,
_ Observations of another balian.in Klungkung further illustrate
Ht) ‘trance in clients. This middle-aged balian, also a junior high school-
teacher, treats patients in his home. He explained that most of what
| he knows as well as his healing powers was given to him by.God
during meditation. He believes that anyone can learn-methods of
| healing through meditation. This dalian has:an air of bravado and
| arrogance, often telling everyone how powerfulhe is..He enjoys
relating specific instances of his cures) and stories about people
| +.) from around the world who have come to observe him and,study
a with him. He is very eager-to teach what he knows and,to discuss
HHI his work with anyone. In so doing, he is generous and patient.
I} The first client was a 70-year-old man who complained,of headache
' and stomach fullness of 10 years’ duration for which he had,seen
| many doctors and traditional healers without success. He said his
| head felt like it was frozen, that, it did not work. right, :and.he still
ani had a headache. Three days previously, he had had his first.treat-
ment by this healer. After, his prayer.and.mantra, the balian lit a
hae handful of incense and passed the smoke over the back and-upper
Hil” body of the client. He then placed stick-like instruments wands’),
| ¥ one on the forehead and one on the back in different areas, which
Hil caused the, client to experience, warmth and pain, and,to.cry out
Hills: uncontrollably and scream, writhing with an extraordinary grimace
1 on his face, as if in severe pain. This behaviour lasted,,about
‘| ae 3 minutes and then gradually subsided, at which point. the balian
tH said that he was pressing just as hard with the wands but they,were
Hi) no longer painful because the black magic had left. After.the first
Hi treatment, the client said that his headache was somewhat,better 1
Hl) and after this treatment, he felt even better. He stated that he felt
i happier and more comfortable and that he could now.,relax in
ii i contrast to feeling tense before the treatment. He appeared, very
il much at ease after the treatment and was happy to talk about the
i treatment and his improvement, ; ;
i . The next client observed was a 28-year-old married woman, ac-
min yt
f ay ’
) { t
i /
===PDFPAGE 82===
TRADITIONAL HEALERS AND THEIR CLIENTS 81 |
companied by her husband,;who complained of pain all over her |
body, including her head and her abdomen; this pain had: been
. going on for 5 years and she had also sought help from a number ;
of doctors, again without any sign of relief. This was her eighth
visit to this healer. Under observation two weeks previously, she
! responded much like the patient described above, with extreme
. pain and emotional and uncontrollable crying as he placed the wands
; on her chest and forehead. On this visit, she experienced relatively ;
little pain from the same treatment, although she cried a bit. She
: looked much healthier and more at ease than’ she had on‘the
earlier visit. She reported that her pains were not completely gone
but were about 75 per cent cured, and she was able to eat better.
: Both of these patients appeared to be in a state oftrance during
i the treatment, as indicated by a change in sensation ‘resulting in
i pain at one point and release of it at another, under similar con-
i ditions. They also appeared to express themselves in.a very primitive,
: uncontrolled manner, comparable to the way an infant cries without
being able to say what is wrong with himself. This kind of emotional
expression is not seen in ordinary: Balinese life, except :under |
{ special conditions, such as:trance. In\terms of Western diagnosis,
it seemed likely that both the above clients had a somatoform dis-
| order which in the West is generally treated with psychotherapy |
i and medication, although it may also be treated-with hypnotherapy.
; A third client who complained of discomfort in her abdomen was |
i treated by this balian in the same manner as the first two clients
{ above but experienced no pain from the touch-of-his:wands.' The
balian pronounced that she did not suffer from black magic; but
4 rather had a physical problem. ts ese bakise
» A possession disorder was observed in a client treated by ‘the
balian usada in Bangli who specialized in problems:caused by.evil
i spirits. This was a 55-year-old woman ‘who had a variety of somatic
i symptoms. The balian first went through ‘his ritual/of prayer:and |
i mantra and the patient also prayed. The balian: began with»his
standard massage technique to the client’s neck which caused:her |
suddenly to twitch and shake violently. As he applied more pressure |
to her neck with his hand, she*began to shout and a spirit began to |
speak through her. It said it did-not want to leave ther and it told
: how it had been living in her body, moving around ‘inside it. Her |
' voice at this time was noticeably different from her usual and she
began to move differently too. The dalian' put more pressure on
her neck and he stated that the spirit-was now moving from:her
q hips to her throat and that he was going to force it out of her mouth.
| rs
i t
.
22 ee ee
===PDFPAGE 83===
82 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
The spirit then began speaking in a high voice, sounding: very
agitated:| After the patient gave a final shudder. of: her body,;the
balian: said that the evil spirit had left and the patient felt: im- 3
mediate relief. The balian explained that the evil spirit had. been
inside her for 15 days and that she was ‘now cured because it-had
left-her. tHI>
* Part of the foregoing report represents the dalian’s -inter-
pretation but part of it is also consistent with a state of possession,
as indicated by the changed quality of the-woman’s voice as ‘an
entity spoke through her. Her closed eyes and loss of usual facial
expression are also indicative of a trance state. The treatmentin . ~
this case consisted essentially.of an exorcism of the evil spirit..A ,
similar instance of possession disorder was observed in a case
treated: with hypnotherapy by Suryani (see Chapter 8). ton
A Balinese Physician’s Personal Experience with Balian
A: practising Balinese physician trained in. Western: medicine; was
interviewed. about his experiences with and ‘attitudes towards
traditional healers. He related detailed personal experiences similar
to those of the trance-meditums’ sessions reported above which: he
considered as valid, meaningful, and heipful contacts and messages
from the gods or spirits: of his ancestors: Although :he had.no
formal education regarding traditional healers and no professional
contacts with: any, he knew them ‘through his. own: childhood:and
family experiences:and he respected them. Sat
He:related. his personal experiences: with traditional healing:as
follows (J. Isherwood, personal communication). Afteryhis younger
sister: was killed-in a motor vehicle, accident, he.and the; dead
woman’s husband and daughter went to a balian.. The healer:went
into: france-possession, and without being told:the reason for:their
visit, suddenly cried out and, smacking-herself hard on the head,
said that she was dead. In this manner the healer acted out the
pain. and: fatal blow to the deceased sister’s headin the motor
vehicle accident. The sister's spirit then spoke through the healer
to her, daughter, calling her by name and also’ mentioning; an
incident known only to the husband: namely, ‘thatthe dead woman
had been seen at home staring into space and thinking about:death
just a few days before the accident.
This: physician: related. two other experiences with traditional
healers. After his mother’s death, the family visited:a healer and
upon entering into trance-possession, the healer changed posture
Beate Bee “Se Ae SR
===PDFPAGE 84===
a TRADITIONAL HEALERS AND THEIR CLIENTS 83 %
»| and sat just as his mother often did and spoke with phrases that
counded.very much like hers. The physician recounted an even
more remarkable event that occurred at a visit to a balian by.-his :
7 family after he had been seriously injured in a motor vehicle
accident. Without being told anything about the accident, the
H balian told the family that their son was seriously hurt, ‘not in Bali
but in Sulawesi (an island in Indonesia), that he would not die but
would take a long time to recover, and that the accident was sent
| to remind the family of an important ancestor, one of the sons.of a
: king from Klungkung’. When the family asked why it had. been
Pa necessary to call attention to their ancestor in this way, the healer
é . said that there had been a previous attempt to draw their attention
| to this matter when a boy in the extended family had been injured
' by a needle in his eye. After learning this, the family made enquiries
at Klungkung, located the ancestor’s temple, and made appropriate
offerings and ceremonies. The injured doctor recovered as predicted.
This physician regarded _ traditional healing. as. a positive mental
| health resource for the Balinese. His grandfather was a traditional
. healer. In spite of his Western, medical education, he maintained a
) firm belief in consultation with balian and would seek help from
i them if he had similar problems in the future:
; Balian and Shamans: A Comparison
| The phenomenology and methodology of the trance-mediums in
| Bali are comparable in many respects. to the practices of shamans
in China and in central India, both of which have an ancient history
(Tseng, 1976). They enter into. trance-possession.and explain the
supernatural causes of the patient’s problems or. illness and, give
advice consistent with cultural beliefs in supernatural causes of
illness and religiously based concepts of restoring interpersonal
harmony. A variation of the practice of these trance-medium shaman
: is a selfmutilation component (Fuchs, 1964; Li, 1976), which does
not occur in Bali.
i ‘While the process and techniques of balian.can be compared
with Western psychotherapy and with Eastern: shamanism, :in. a
number of aspects it is. additionally illuminating to compare. the
work of balian with that of American Indian shaman healers. Halifax
(1992) identified what she referred to as eight:‘modes’ of treat-
ments used by shamans, all of which relate to the ‘practical process
of healing the rift between the self and other’. All of the modes of
the shamans, except one, are strikingly similar to those observed
i
: {
- = Tereey
CS
===PDFPAGE 85===
;
84 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
in the balian; this is especially astonishing when one considers
that not only are the two cultures separated by half‘a world but
they are unrelated and have no contact with each other. The eight
modes are given below: F
1.’ The aspect of enchantment is revealed in the process of cere-
“mony: the physical aspects of creating a sacred ground or place,
songs or mantras, herbs, and the psychic aspect of concentration.
Ceremony is further structured to create a ‘field’ where every-
thing is seen as magic; through concentration, the magic is
brought out. The power spot refers to the sacred place where
‘minding’, or concentration, allows the evocation of the power:
2. The shaman is awake and lucid, functioning as if in a dream,
and he may become part of the patient’s state of consciousness.
It is essential that the shaman should be able to retain or re
store control of himself and return to a state of reality after his
seances.
3. The shaman reconciles and counsels.’ He reconciles opposing
realms of thought and counsels his clients on relationships,
such as the relationship with God. rats pont
4. The shaman is able to see into the future, and can understand
the causes and effects of life’s experiences.'He may be ablé to ;
predict how one lives and how one needs to live.
5. The shaman is a pathfinder or. guide..Metaphorically speaking,
he is able to see the path in the darkest territory, just as a wolf
is ‘able to find the trackless way. In this mode, the shaman helps
the patient explore ‘territory’ (experiences) not -previously
interpreted or described: - ~ ryt
6. The use of the ‘plants’ intelligence’ refers to the natural botanical
’“medicinals, of which there are many’: fish tee: pape
7. The shaman experiences an’ecstatic state’ or state of trance'or
"possession in which he makes magical flights which involve his
‘spirit leaving this world to join other spirits: Grist
8. The shaman is also an-‘ordinary’ person.” th
All of the above aspects of shamans’ work are similarly charac-
teristic of the work of balian except for the shaman’s magic flights.
Another ‘mode of the shaman not seen in the’ balian‘is that’ in
which the shaman goes on a journey in’ which he dies and is
reborn. Balian may go on a journey through the client’s body and
extract malevolent spirits that have intruded. An ability of some
balian which is similar to shaman journeying, and which is learned
from the /oniar, is to travel to another town to visit a person whom
he usually threatens to harm or kill. Such a bahen is then rezarded
as a leak. The Balinese people caution against learning this ability.
ee Ome : oe ee
OL we
===PDFPAGE 86===
3 TRADITIONAL HEALERS AND THEIR CLIENTS 85
Bi Western Channellers ‘
| Channelling is a relatively new term for a process ‘described as the .
. transmission of information which appears to come from a per-
sonality source outside of the conscious mind and which is purposely
directed towards an audience (Hastings, 1991). The phenomenon
of modern-day American channellers is similar to that of Balinese
$ trance-mediums in several ways. In one form of channelling a person
| goes into trance and another ‘being’ speaks through him/her, in
| a manner similar to possession states (Hastings, 1991: 11, 12).
: Hastings (1991: 2, 71) considered the possibility that channelling
i may be a non-pathological form of multiple personality or ‘dis-
Z sociated subpersonalities’, secondary personalties, and he elaborated
on the theory that channelling is a process of the unconscious mind
q communicating with the conscious mind in the form’ of a voice’or
entity. Channellers experience entities near tiemselves or entering
Fi into their bodies, a process many refer to-as*blending’ (by which
/ they mean a harmonious merging), a term they prefer in contrast
to the concept of ‘domination by po$session’ (Hughes, 1989): They
exhibit varying degrees of amnesia Concerning their experiences
e | (Hughes, 1989). Some channellers’ entities’ have characteristics of
P| modern Western culture (e.g. they may come from’ outer Space)
. and differ from other cultures in that they do not represent familiar
embodied persons who have lived on earth before. This difference
! illustrates how the experience of trance in channelling is culturally
A determined: beliefs and ideas about trance states determine their
| content. Hughes (1989) interviewed channellers before and after
. trance and he also interviewed the channelled entities themselves.
2 The latter report using the channeller’s ‘tool kit‘vocabulary and
4 symbol system’ to give expression to their ideas. Both channellers
| and their entities-speak of ‘signatory sensations’ ‘which enable
. them to identify each other. The channellers describe their motiva-
tion as ‘personal growth’ and as, being of service to others’. Chan-
nelling can be viewed as an inherently religious activity (Hughes,
1989). '
H Western Psychiatric Treatment of Balinese Patients
% Psychotic Balinese patients, those who manifest delusions,
1 hallucinations, thought disorganization, and changed aifect (e.g.
mania), such as is typical for schizophrenia, bipolar affective dis-
; order, and certain acute psychoses, who are brought to traditional
y healers and not cured, are often referred by the healers or brought
rer i. a ia
. wi. eo
=>
A Cee See. 2 eh. ea aay
===PDFPAGE 87===
86 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
by their family for treatment by psychiatrists and are likely to. be
hospitalized at either Udayana General Hospital in Denpasar or at .
the mental hospital at Bangli, Bali. There they are:treated with con-
ventional Western pharmacotherapy, especially major tranquillizers
such as Thorazine, chlopromazine, and haloperidol..Most of them
respond to such therapy, by becoming asymptomatic but not
completely well, and are returned to their homes aftera 1-2-week
hospitalization. Their families again take them for treatment by
traditional healers and carry out ritual ceremonies that are re-
commended. It is clear from the authors’ clinical experience that
the major psychoses are more effectively treated and managed
with the adjunctive modern pharmacotherapy. However, some
psychotically ill patients are resistant to pharmacotherapy; they
become chronically ill and require long-term hospitalization, as has
occurred in the West.
In the following case treated by Suryani, a 31-year-old traditional
healer who lived near Besakih suffered from daily attacks of panic
(with palpitations) lasting 1-2 hours, which made him feel as if he
was going to fall down.and die. Although he was reputed to be a
very clever man (reportedly able to bring dead chickens back ‘to
life), he was unable to cure himself and had been suffering for four
years. He worrried incessantly about the possibility of a repeat
attack. He came to Suryani as a private patient and she,treated him
with the medications Amineptine and Clobasam. After three months’
treatment, he returned to normal, relatively. symptom-free. Since
then, he has had only one mild attack but he continues. to worry
that the attacks may recur.
If trance-mediums and other types of traditional healers of Bali
have implications for Western medicine and mental health, it would
appear to be in their demonstration of the effectiveness of ASC,
therapists’ intuition, and the powerful healing effects of belief by
the therapist, the client or patient, and ‘the respective. families.
These elements offered by Balinese culture support and may
broaden the views and skills of Western medical practitioners.
x = = q
Some of the thousands of traditional healers (balian) in Bali utilize
trance and trance-possession in their work with clients’ and families.
Most are referred to as balian taksu or trance-mediums. They are ;
given their skills by the gods and in therapy sessions become
possessed by God, gods, holy spirits, or souls, enabling clients and
—s LLL
===PDFPAGE 88===
3 , A
: TRADITIONAL HEALERS AND THEIR CLIENTS 87
% family members to communicate with them and receive their advice.
EH Some balian demonstrate psychic ability in diagnosing the prob- .
¥ lems of their clients without asking for such information from the
| clients themselves. Balian give advice and treat many types of
F | problems—physical, behavioural, and emotional, particularly
q bereavement. Many of their techniques have much in common
B | with Western psychotherapy, including establishing rapport,
3 furnishing explanations of causes, allowing ventilation of feelings,
3 relieving guilt, providing support, giving hope for the future,
assuaging anger, discouraging revenge, and dispensing advice for
t pursuing concrete, positive restorative goals and behaviour. Some
a. 3 balian who go into trance use physical techniques such as
a massage. Tricks or ‘sleight of hand’ are rarely used. Treatment by
: an individual balian often, but not always, helps with problems and
, cures illness, even in a single session. The personalities of some
| highly functional belian taksu resemble the Western condition of
1 multiple personality. The work of Chinese shamans, Western
F} modern-day channellers, and American Indian shamans shares
i many similarities with Balinese trance-mediums; their differences
are culturally based. Occasionally, some balian seek Western
4 psychiatric help for their personal problems and disorders.
The work done by most balian, carried out in states of trance-
q possession, is tied in with their cultural beliefs of the cause and
cure of illness; it is always framed in spiritual or religious terms.
i Traditional healers are quite effective in dealing with problems,
i especially those concerning bereavement and the family. Their
q success in resolving problems, healing clients, and curing diseases
4 attest to the power of Balinese spirituality. Their techniques appear
to be no less effective when used in other cultures, including
j Western cultures, in which spiritual or religious elements prevail.
a
i
| 1. Connor, Asch, and Asch (1986) provided a detailed account and produced a
| film of one traditional healer at Bangli in South Bali, which illustrates the ritual and
j observed process.
i 2. The shaman or ‘medicine man’ is a parallel in other cultures. Their origins
: may have been similar and could possibly be traced tc the rock paintings of the
; Lascaux Cave in France from the Old Stone Age (Goodman, 1990).
iH 3.-See Leimena and Thong (1983) and Connor, Asch, and Asch (1986: 24-6) for
: more details on types of techniques used by the healers.
i 4. The word faksu has several meanings. First, it means possession of a body by
= a god. Secondly, it refers to an inner power—a spiritual power conferred by the
4 gods—which gives an artist intelligence and genuine creativity (Bandem. 1990) and
- a Gee
ce
===PDFPAGE 89===
pies . te ag :
« “4,” a
88 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI ‘
helps him to excel beyond what is customary by the normal performance or execution
of his art. Every dancer strives to obtain ‘gksw of this sort. Thirdly, taksu means the
place where a balian receives a special power from the gods for the paraphernalia ‘
(e.g. ring and cylinder) used in treating his clients, as is the case with a traditional
healer at Klungkung. - Joo
5:.[t is believed that if the family makes a mistake in the death ceremony, the
ancestor god may be angry and fail to bring good fortune or help to the living family.
Because the death ceremony is elaborate, it is easy to make a ‘mistake’ in some aspect
of it
6. According to Balinese legend, Ratu Gde Dalem Peed was descended from
God Siwa and his wife who had intercourse when they Jew above the sea and
whose sperm and ovwn dropped into the sea between: Bali and the island of Nusa
Panida. The god (RGDP) is believed to have the ability to harm or kill people who
have been bad and also to help people by protecting them and curing diseases,
7. Tricks are recognized as part of the practice of shamanism (Walsh, 1990: 101).
The remarkable cures and hoaxes of psychic surgery in the Philippines have been
well described (Elaide, 1966; Leff, 1981: 109; Valentine, 1973).
I
ee a oh > Wee ‘$ ; ‘ni i Sa
===PDFPAGE 90===
sa
J
i
q Chapter 4
. Mass Trance-possession
; inCeremonies _ |
i
TRANCERS involved in mass or communal trance-posséssion cere-
4 monies offer another window on the trancepossession phenomena.
| They are not characterized by the self-control of the traditional
i trance-medium but require the assistance of helpers in the’ im- ‘
a mediate environment, particularly for guidance and control of their
> behaviour and for termination of the trance-possession state. These
trance-possession states are contagious. The trancers demonstrate
: unusual physiological abilities during the trance-possession state,
such as forceful ‘self-stabbing’ by a kris (keris) and contacting fire
4 without injury, and they often experience the positive emotional i
after-effects of possession.
, Mass Trance-possession at Timbrah
At the time of kuningan, which occurs at intervals of 210 days by
the Balinese calendar, a small village in East Bali has an 11-day
ie celebration, one day of which involves a trance of 80 or more of the
t villagers at once.' This trance ceremony is one of the most riveting
: and emotionally climactic events a Westerner can witness. It has
: been performed every 210 days for as long as the people can re-
member.” Several village residents said that the present ceremony
# is on a smaller scale than the ones staged during their childhood
i because families today wish to spend their money on other things
. such as education for their children. However, there is no less
4 devotion and no change in their beliefs orvalues. id
' Preparations leading up to the event include decorating the temple .
; with banners and hanging colourful cloth a,ound the pavilions,
J preparing the receptacles for six gods to be carried on bamboo
|
| j
> : 3 ; 5 a
’ t a3
===PDFPAGE 91===
| | Parsi i ; a
if 90 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI !
frames (Joli), preparing food for all the youngsters in the village
i and for many of the adult men, making elaborate food offerings for |
the gods, and practising the gamelan and gong. The day’s’event
lasts all day, ending about 1.00 a.m. |
The temple is approached on foot, up narrow dirt paths with river
} stone steps and inclines at intervals. Upon arrival at the temple, ~
one can hear the gong orchestra playing in a pavilion at the corner
| of the outer temple grounds about 50 metres. square, the least
sacred area of the temple. Just beyond this is the second temple area
and next to it is the most sacred part of the temple. Its high gate in
classic Balinese style has six high steps going up and six going
down into the grounds. i
t At a mass trance-possession ceremony in this village witnessed
{ by the authors in 1991, about 100 people had gathered outside the
ij main temple by 4.00 p.m. Women were walking into the temple
with tall stacks of food offerings on their heads, and about 40
i young boys and girls from 4 to 12 years of age were sitting on the
i ground in a long row, stretching from the steps of the temple gate to
[ the outer temple grounds. Between the two rows of children was a
; long ‘table’ of green banana leaves on the ground. Inside the
i temple walls, all was quiet except for the sounds of the orchestra
p and the shouting of the children outside. Pavilions in the temple
were stacked with hundreds of colourful food offerings. Atone side
of the temple, arranged all in a row, lay the six receptacles for the
gods, each looking like a small grass house on two long bamboo
poles by which they would be carried. Just inside the temple gates j
. were many offerings of food and:rice laid. out for:the gods, who 3
} would soon descend. In another pavilion of the temple was a huge Bs:
ty pile of cooked rice, presented as an offering to the gods, which
would ultimately be eaten by the children and the adults? |,
be About 5.00 p.m., the temple priest, a womamin her sixties wearing
: a white coat, came to the inner temple to bless the offerings and the
if rice; the rice was then carried on palm leaves by five men to the
long palm leaf ‘table’ on the ground where the small children were
waiting to eat. They ate the rice along with roast pork (sate) and
vegetables (/awar) in traditional een Le with their fingers. 4
After the children had eaten, about six or eight groups of 7-8 men :
each ate rice, sate, and /awar served on palm leaves on the ground. =
The gamelan played off and on, while villagers and a sprinkling of |
H tourists with cameras gathered around the edge of the outer temple i
i expectantly awaiting the trance cee ie eating, the men et
F gathered up the uneaten rice and cleaned up the palm leaves. The
|
}
| 3|
oem» : - itd ee
===PDFPAGE 92===
TRS = . we
; | 39) as /
/ MASS TRANCE-POSSESSION IN CEREMONIES 91
E slit gong in the corner pavilion was struck about 30 times to call
P the participants. After a few minutes, about 20 women with offer- : ;
4 ings and effigies of the gods on their heads and the joli of the six
gods, each on bamboo poles carried by two young men (who felt
: they had been specially chosen by a god to carry it), passed care-
fully out of the temple through the narrow temple gate. The men
; moved out of the outer temple grounds, joined by about 80 young
i men dressed in sarongs with bare torsos, by rows of women villa-
gers dressed in fine traditional clothing, by the young girls, dressed
a in beautiful costumes with fresh yellow marigold flower head-dresses,
who would be the singers, and by boys carrying flags and spears.
This stream of several hundred people wound its way through
the narrow streets of the village, down the steep path to the river,
4 as the women chanted in monotonous tones. At the edge of the
river, the joli were set down, the men bathed briefly in the river;
: and the villagers sat down in a large semicircle. The journey to ‘the
river is symbolic of bathing the gods prior to entering’ the temple.
The gong, drum, and cymbal orchestra played‘intermittently;'while
the group chanted and sang. This type of singing facilitates trance
E | induction. The’people prayed ‘and holy ‘water ‘was ‘sprinkled on
everyone. Soon, all the people at ‘the river’s edge rose and’ began
E the climb back up the cliff trail to the temple.
| When the group reached a clearing some 30 metres before the
4 temple, several men with long spears started performing ‘dance
steps which involved balancing on one leg, and the pairs of men
x carrying the six joli charged about jostling and narrowly missing
each other in increasingly swift dancelike movements. It appeared
4 that these men were in trance as they covered the short distance'to
the temple where the many young men joined them and the young
women standing in a group next to the temple gate chanted, ‘ina
continuous monotone, the words suryak (shout jubilantly) and sare
F (sleep).
z At dusk, that brief period before dark, the groups of men holding
zi the six joli circled the outer temple grounds three times. and the
® atmosphere became more exciting, each group careering wildly,
i often unexpectedly lurching into the surrounding ‘crowd. Several
i men in trance held long pole-like spears while others stood balanced
on one leg. The gong orchestra played constantly with an acceler-
| ating tempo. At this point, increasing numbers of men went‘into
trance-possession as they formed groups of about 10 men with each
| joli. There was a contagion-like spread of the trance as one man
1 followed another in proximity. The men shouted -noisily as each
f
{
f
===PDFPAGE 93===
92 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI 5
joli was carried abruptly, unpredictably, and swiftly from one side
Hf of the temple grounds to the other; in the process, some.of the .
men fell and were trampled by the others but;they picked: them- > ie
i} selves up and grabbed the bamboo poles again to carry, the joli
ie further. As groups of men with each joli approached the steps; their
Hy violent movements raised a lot of dust which filled the air and.every- a
| one’s nostrils. The darkness was broken only by a lantern on each £
| side of the temple steps and by tourists’ camera flashes. Each group s
| of men, most of whom were in trance-possession, struggled vigor-
. | ously to get their joli through the gate. Whereas carrying ajoli held *
| | | by two men out of the temple gate was a relatively smooth and
iii easy task, carrying it back in surrounded by many men acting in a
| 4 largely uncoordinated fashion was a struggle. This part of the cere- |
mony took about 30 minutes. As the men and gods went through, i
| so did a stream of women and children, many moving:silently. in 3
trance. we nas 5 ey bade
Ny The crowd gathered inside the temple and some trancers became 2
| “ subdued as they came out of trance-possession after the priest had |
Ht sprinkled holy water on them. The joli were set to rest, where they
| i: had been placed originally. Some men in trance were given‘krises |
and they selfstabbed themselves until restrained by the persons s
, surrounding them. In the crowd there were older priests andjother |
Hh village men trying to stay out of trance so that they could physically
1 help to control the trancers. A number of men who fell unconscious
te were picked up and carried into the temple. Some of them moved
1 violently in a convulsive-like manner and required firm and strong
iP physical restraint by about:six men, who struggled to carry: the:un-
Hire conscious men up the temple steps and into the sacred. temple.
| i, Villagers reported that there had never. been any serious injuries
a: from this rather dangerous-looking behaviour.ofthe men. carrying
; b4 the joli in trance. One man in trance stood:on one leg with a live,
i small chicken in his mouth, the neck held firmly between. his
ayy teeth. Later, he would bite off the head of the chicken andjsuck the
tf blood from it as a ritual symbol of drawing animal blood as.an offer-
He ing to the evil spirits. In Bali, cock-fights are the most common ritual
i} to spill blood as an offering to the evil spirits (buta-kala) inthe ;
i} mecaru ceremony. ;
Hi Inside the temple, a tall, slender, young man—shouting and
H gesticulating’ vigorously as if.performing a long.,.dramatic 3
it monologue—walked among the crowd, none of whom were now in |
if: trance-possession. The crowd crouched or sat down and all looked |
ff towards him with quiet, respectful attention appropriate for the
) ! |
i ak
; eS
GEE oa EE Ae eee
CE ae a
===PDFPAGE 94===
i ans iy
‘= MASS TRANCE-POSSESSION IN CEREMONIES 93
divine because he was possessed, speaking as the god of the temple.
F He said that he was very disappointed and angry that the villagers
} had placed the gong beside the offerings off rice. Someone ;
: responded with ‘Where shall we put it?’ and he answered angrily,
‘You know where it goes.’ He berated the villagers for several
things, one of which was that not all had come with offerings‘even
though some were poor. He said that they should bring something
from their heart and not only the ‘rich’ people should make
offerings. ‘I don’t think you are a good person only because you
offer expensive things; the important thing is how you fee! in your
heart.’ The villagers listened to him with rapt and respectful
attention as he stomped up and down a clear strip of ground in the
temple not covered by sitting people, sometimes pounding:-his
chest and sometimes bending a banner on a long bamboo pole’to
the ground in a violent gesture. He proceeded in this manner for
about 20 minutes, all the while holding the rapt attention:of the
villagers. Several villagers, commenting on this man’s personality,
claimed that he was usually quiet and not talkative. ~ Sri
At a similar ceremony 210 days:earlier, the authors had observed
almost identical events with the exception of the man possessed
who had addressed the villagers towards the end. The priest helped
the trancers to regain consciousness by sprinkling: holy water on
them. After all had come out of trance-possession, the crowd moved
; slowly; patiently, and silently up the steps, through the gate, and into
5 the outer temple grounds. At this point, no one appeared to be pos-
i sessed. Many of the trancers were dripping wet with sweat and'the
5 bodies of some were covered with dirt from having fallen on the
i ground. By this time, the music had stopped; so had the chanting
and singing. The villagers prayed to God and were blessed: bythe
priests, and all was quiet except for the shuffling of bare feet on
the dirt as they walked out of the temple. On the conclusion of this
part of the ceremony, the people moved down the dark paths 'to-
wards their homes to bath. They. would then return to the temple
to. pray again. Afterwards they would feel a sense of ‘peace’ be-
cause they had properly shown devotion to the gods.
? Seven days after the ceremony, the authors returned to:this
village to interview 10 male participants who had fallen into. trance
a. the above ceremony. They were selected at random from a:group
of many men who were preparing a stage at the temple for a religious
drama to be presented as part of the 11-day celebration. th)
Five of the subjects described their experiences as follows: atithe
sound of the slit gong or the processional music and singing, they
{
t
f
= ae
i ee eee fee
===PDFPAGE 95===
, ‘ ,
1 gc :
| a .
| 94 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
abruptly experienced changed perceptions, e.g. they felt:that ‘dark-
| ness’ was coming and they could no longer see, although they, knew
there were people around them. They could hear the women singing
| which dominated their perception. They felt cheerfu! and: full. of
energy. They felt the god coming into them. Their behaviour seemed
| automatic. Suddenly, they felt driven to carry the joli::They.re-
called being tossed around by the: men struggling to carry the jolt,
falling down, and being trampled but they felt no discomfort or
) | pain. This state continued until they were sprinkled: with holy water. |
/ At that point,.they felt they were back in the real world, with a
sense of peace and happiness that was unusual and not experienced
Hi at other times in their lives. This state generally lasted.1-3 days. |
| in The day after the ceremony, they became aware of bruises: and
Hil abrasions and felt some muscular soreness. Two men said:that they
| felt different for 10 days, until the end of all the celebrations: and,
during this time, they had no-motivation to work—they only feit
Hy | drawn to returh to the temple and felt happy at the temple with their
i friends. At the end of the entire:ceremonial, they-returned 'to: their |
i usual state. These men regarded those men who were in trance- |
i possession (Aapangluh) as having been chosen by the gods. .- a
Hie Five men interviewed experienced a period of complete amnesia |
} and apparent unconsciousness during the ceremony. Their-trance |
Hh state began like the five described above, usually-with the:sound of |
t the slit gong as they: entered: the temple.,Some recalled:circling |
) | around the temple. At the point when the joli:were being carried
ie up the steps into the temple, they became unconscious. When they
| j awakened (from trance-possession), after being sprinkled with holy Br
‘ water, they realized there was a lapsed:period:for which'they had 4
Hits no memory. ighie
H } All 10 subjects interviewed had participated in this ceremony in -
Hh previous years and had-undergone the same-experience each time.
i} b They felt very positive about these ceremonies and:several said they
1 looked forward to each new year’s ceremony. None felt any:negative
Hil social ramifications, and they minimized the: pain and:abrasions F
atl sustained in the mélée.
fi Sometimes it-was difficult to be sure from a single observation
: whether or not a person was in trance. Those in trance had closed :
it eyes and a flattened facial expression: Two different states-described |
F by the 10 men were both consistent with the criteria for trance: One
is an altered state with changes in perception, cognition, and phy-
siological changes, and the other is an unconscious state with
iG |
| bal Ee
3 i
Be cae Thies
aderests 5 at ; F bees (ea
— ae ee eee
===PDFPAGE 96===
= ee fv Be i
| MASS TRANCE-POSSESSION IN CEREMONIES 95
| generalized convulsive-like movements. This suggests the need for
| differentiating trance-possession into two kinds: .(1) trance
2 possession with loss of consciousness and inability to perform ’
purposeful actions; and (2) trance-possession with sufficient
| consciousness to perform purposeful actions.
| Suryani has obséived this mass trance-possession ceremony. at
| Timbrah every kuningan since 1973 and has noted only one change:
i the men who entered trance formerly wore shirts, but since 1984
i they have stopped wearing them. because an ancestor (through
| one of the possessed) informed them that they should carry out
the ceremony in the same way as did their ancestors, wearing only
a sarong.
1 Bateson and Mead (1942) and Belo (1960) believed that trance
| for the Balinese was therapeutic, i.e. it allowed the expression of
culturally unacceptable emotions, which, lacking an outlet in normal
| life, might trouble the individual. Following this train of thought,the
| communal or mass trance should also be therapeutic and result in
( a better state of mental health and.fewer mental-disorders,in:vil- -
{ lages which hold. mass, trance ceremonies compared with villages
| lacking in such ceremonies, To: test this hypothesis is not feasible
because it is not possible to.control the many-variables involved. A
| rough indication of the prevalence of mental disorder in the villages
| was obtained from village headmen. ‘There had. been no known cases
: of psychosis, amok;or other problems’ for;which‘villagers sought
help from any: of the psychiatric services provided by the island. or
i from balian. Two suicides have occurred between 1989 and 1991, 1
but none in the 10 years preceding 1989. These data need to be
compared with data from. a control village for a more definitive
interpretation:
H Mass Trance-possession at hesiman
The village of Kesiman lies at the edge of Denpasar, along the: main
road that leads to the south side of the island of Baliand towards
| the popular tourist town of Ubud. Eight days: after kuningan,. a
ceremony with mass trance takes place. The ceremony witnessed by
: the authors began in the morning at the outer temple with a:cock-
fight as hundreds of men crowded together around the central.area
to watch and bet. Although cock-fights are outlawed by the Indo-
nesian government, they still occur frequently, and this. one: at
| Kesiman is legal because it is accepted as a part of the traditional |
:
;
| !
Te oO
===PDFPAGE 97===
HI i :
$6 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
ceremony; the blood is used for offerings onthe ground to evil spirits
1 in the mecaru ceremony at midday so that they'will not disturb the
: members of the community. pools ie neF
| In the afternoon, processions of people, several hundred men
and women dressed in traditional costumes, came from surround-
ing villages to meet al the common large temple. Each woman
carried offerings for the gods or effigies (symbols of the gods),
accompanied by a gong orchestra of drums and cymbals. Groups 3
! from some villages split off to go to their local temples to bring out
| their Barong’ which would become part ofthe ceremony.
Hundreds of people in a steady stream then entered through the :
| narrow central gate of the temple to pray and give offerings. They
returned through smaller doorways located on each side of the
central gate. a
: At about 5.00 p.m., the men and Rangda® entered ‘trance
possession while they were inside the sacred temple'‘and they
began filing through the temple gate: each trancer was assisted by
a man on either side, both of whom had a‘firm and-confident
manner and a respectful and gentle demeanour. As the trancers
passed through the gate, they began to thrash-about violently with
their arms, legs, and heads, shouting’ with:eyes closed;~as-the
helpers or assistants struggled to keep them from charging ‘wildly
i! and dangerously into the crowds of people: watching outside-the
; sacred temple.-A total of about 50 trancei s came through the gate,
interspersed with about 10 Rangdas also: in -trance-possession
(karauhan), each assisted by a man-on either’side. Occasionally, __
| the men assisting the trancers went spontaneously into: trance- ;
! possession and men in the group rushed in to:restrain ‘and:assist
+4 them. Only two women were in trance-possession at this'ceremony.
i Two Barongs also came through the gate. After descending the
temple steps, the entire group of trancers, their helpers who were
: not in trance, the Barongs, the Rangdas, the priests, and the gong
pe orchestra: paraded around the outer temple building. As:they: did
il so, many of the trancers periodically ‘became violent -as if: in :
' convulsions, arching their bodies, shaking their hands, and
shouting ‘Kris, kris, give me kris’. A man standing nearby holding
a kris up in the air would hand it to a trancer, who proceeded to
direct the point to his chest, lean back, and press the kris with such
force that at times the steel blade bowed or bent. (Each ‘kris'con-
sisted of a rigid blade, about 35 centimetres long, with a’sharp tip
and a handle.) As the men selfstabbed, they:often fell to the ground
i and were then surrounded by about six men. After 10-30 seconds
it
" E
a A RRR RR
===PDFPAGE 98===
MASS TRANCE-POSSESSION IN CEREMONIES 97
of self-stabbing, these men took the kris forcibly away and gave it
to. another man who held it up, ready for the next self-stabber,
_ perhaps two or three trancers further along in the parade. The '
crowd was tense, expectant, and pleased. The gong orchestra with
{ loud, rapid, vibrating tones was part of the parade. When a trancer
became violent and difficult to restrain, a priest splashed his face |
with holy water to decrease his violence, or to bring him out of |
trance. The parade wound its way three times around the temple,
passing through the gauntlet of spectators. ’ |
After this, the entire retinue came back through the sacred temple
gate. The men and women were still in trance-possession at this |
point, many unconscious, some limp, and. some :still lurching
violently or moving convulsively. Not all of the trancers were. un-
conscious; nor did all fall or feel convulsed or require assistance to |
} walk or stand at the point of passing through the temple gate. None
showed signs of blood from kris stabbing-though one had a punc-
j tured and torn shirt. Inside the sacred temple, the trancers, parti-
cipants, and spectators gathered for the final part of the ceremony
which included many men selfstabbing, a group of women dancers |
: (some in trance-possession), individual men -dancing-:in trance
possession, priests sprinkling holy water on trancers seated in |
; front of an altar with offerings, and smoking brzziers to bring them
out of trance-possession. The Rangda head-dresses were removed ]
from the Rangdas and placed in their containers for the journey
back to their temples of residence.
: Belo’s (1960) description of selféstabbing (agurek), during com-
munal trance in 1937, is still valid today:
With a sudden yell, a young man, I Rapoeg, tears across the upper end of
: the court, dashes up the steps of the same pavilion, and stands there doing
; ngurek before the Barong and the Rangdas. The music begins again. More
people rush up to take hold of Rapoeg. Both he and Goesti Gedjir are lifted
down to the ground, where they ngurek. A woman shrieks, and begins to
5 hurl her body about, seizing one of the priests who is near her around the
waist. Immediately another woman goes in trance; she has a Aeris and
begins to ngurek. Simultaneously, the music changes to the loud clanging |
rhythm called bat‘el, which has no melody but beats and beats upon the
ears with hypnotic insistence. All over the court the women now break
i into trance, screaming and thrashing their bodies till their hair comes down,
H making leaps from side to side. If they have a keris, they ngurek; if not, they
cling to the priests’ hands or seize them round the waist till they are given
| one. The scene, now at its climax, is wild and lurid. The women’s screams, |
{ shrill and high, have a quality of intense excitement, akin to a sexual
; excitement which can reach no appeasement. y
: |
4 ‘
y
a a Se a ee OR Ll ES EES EE CC Lee
===PDFPAGE 99===
+
| 98 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
Two men who had participated in this ceremony described experi-
| ences'similar to those of the trancers at the mass trance ceremony
at Timbrah. They perceived a darkness, although it was daylight,
and then they became unconscious. One recalled all of the kris
stabbing (#gurek) episode while, the other recalled nothing: The one
who recalled it had suffered a skin laceration from the kris because
he was not fully in trance. It is generally believed that a person in
| trance will not be injured by the self-stabbing.
This ceremony represents a welcoming of the gods back’to the
| temple, which is very important to the village because the gods are
the protectors of the village and all its inhabitants. The ceremonies
| which honour the gods‘ensure their continued goodwill:to the vil-
lage. The men in trance are believed to be possessed by the gods
and the self-stabbing (gurek) demonstrates the power of the gods.
This recalls the kris stabbers of the Barong dance, who-attempt to
attack Rangda. However, the Rangdas of the: Kesiman ceremonies
are good and not evil, unlike’ Rangda in the Barong dance. This is
not inconsistent but rather is in keeping with the cultural: beliefs
; that all things have two sides, good and’ bad. What one should
strive for is balance.
} Mass Trance-possession at Jimbaran
ih This unique ceremony, peculiar to this village, lasts for 6: months
by the Balinese calendar and takes place at yearly intervals if the
is ‘gods need it’ and the villagers have enough money to support it: The
purpose of the ceremony is for the gods of the Barong and Rangda
1 to be among the people of the village. It begins 50. days before the
te ceremonial day, galungan, when the priest gets:a message from
ti the gods about whether they will perform the ceremony or not..On
\ the day before galungan, a ceremony is held to connect the head
i of the Barong and Rangda. The gods of the Barong and Rangda
if are then present among the people from the’ first day after
galungan until 10 days before the next galungan, which occurs at
intervals of 210 days. Between these two times, ceremonies are
conducted at every kajeng kliwon (intervals of 15 days).
i At the particular ceremony witnessed by the authors, the process
i of connecting the head of the Barong to the Barong body and, later,
j placing the Rangda mask on the man possessed by the god of
iH Rangda took up almost the whole of the first day. The ceremony
i began at 4.00 p.m. and ended at 2.00 a.m. It took place both in the
i sacred part of the temple, which is adjacent to the cemetery, and in
te ;
Se ite . fF
SS : ce ie: Bee
eee se: : 4 irs Tyee)
aero ry 22: ; er ae
; es eae “5 ; ’ st { ae (ee
a a es a
===PDFPAGE 100===
MASS TRANCE-POSSESSION IN CEREMONIES 99
the cemetery. First, the Barong and many of the villagers dressed in
white traditional clothes paraded from the temple (where the Barong 5
and Rangda are stored) down the street to the cemetery. There was
< great deal of offerings, praying, blessings performed by the priests,
both for the Barong and for the village participants. The villagers
believe that at this ceremony, many of the’ chief ministers to the
gods (patil) come to see them. Every patih has a special name and
trait. One man was possessed by a monkey god and, in a state of
P trance-possession, abruptly climbed a coconut tree on the grounds
; of the temple, plucked a coconut, carried it down, tore the husk off
' with his teeth, stabbed a hole in it with a kris; and drank the
. coconut milk. Then Rangda and her two daughters received a
; message from the god of Rangda that he was’ coming and they
: danced to the temple and then to the cemetery to receive their
’ masks. When the mask was placed on Rangda, she screamed loudly
3 and invited the Barong to come and fight, saying, ‘If you are brave,
3 come here.’ At the temple, many men began to cry and moan’as
3 they bent over in a sitting position and rocked,’ muscles ténsing
i and jerking. At the sound of Rangda’s voice in the cemetery, about
20 men who had entered trance-possession (bebutan) suddenly
jumped up and raced towards the seven-foot high concrete ‘wall
that surrounds the temple. Many were restrained by the villagers;
others broke loose and managed to run-to the wall and climb it
$ abruptly and swiftly as if it were a small hurdle, and then ran to the
> cemetery where Rangda was. When they reached Rangda, they fell
e down because they felt frightened at the sight of her eyes. There,
a they were brought out of trance-possession by holy water from the
e priests. Men who remained in the temple grounds began to stab
a themselves with krises and perform Self-stabbing (ngurek) cere
a monies for some time. Meanwhile, the Barong had returned to the
d temple and many of the men who were still in trance-possession
a and were considered to be his followers went up to the head of the
t Barong, grasped the beard, and'put it on their faces. Many of these
tt men were brought out of trance-possession at this time by’ holy
= water from the priests as well. After an hour or two-of these activ-
ities; all the people walked slowly and quietly out of the temple and
iS went home.
LZ) On the following day, the ceremony began at 3.00 p.m. inside
of the grounds of another temple located directly on the main‘ road
y that passes through Jimbaran. This road had been decorated with
e€ many banana trees stuck in the ground at intervals along the road
n and with the traditional long, bamboo ornaments specially hung over
‘
£< -
ep
===PDFPAGE 101===
i
100 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
Ht the streets for this festive occasion. Inside the temple, six young
men were being dressed in the elaborate costumes of, women 4
| dancers. Some women sat around, preparing offerings-made of
il woven palm leaves. A ceremonial cock-fight was held to signify the
Hy spilling of blood on the ground, an offering to the evil spirits.. The
. Barong and the six adolescent male dancers (Sandar) with. their
ii} white masks and fan held in one hand, all in identical costumes,
i) paraded out of the temple and walked a short distance down the
| street. The gamelan played continuously. They stood near the.gate
i} of another:temple for about an hour and. then ,performed.a-dance,
i} as helpers of the Barong: The young male-dancers in their female
| costumes and masks appeared very feminine in.their movements.
i The leader of this group of dancers (Telek Sandar) performed a
dance following the dance by the Sandar, who then stood near the
if Barong. Four more dancers, called Omang; who wore masks'with
long black hair, tried to disturb.the Barong and the six men--while
Ii they were dancing. This performance lasted about an hour; when it
| ended, all the male dancers left and two ‘daughter Rangdas’ entered
the temple. It is believed that they cause bad things to happen.to the
Hi people. Rangda herself then appeared at the.temple door with her
HIRE magic white cloth draped over her head. She.asked her,daughters
1 to find her a baby and if that was not possible, to give her.the inner
iI organs of the baby’s body because. she needed to eat,them. After
they had found the baby (a doll), they faced the Barong,who said,
wh ‘Don't do it,’ and took the baby fromrthe.n. The two daughters then
; ARE fought with the Barong but the. Barong won...Angry,.they went
hay home and told.their. mother .(Rangda)-what had happened. One
i daughter said, ‘You must, beat him. (the Barong). I cannot do it/ .
i z Rangda again asked her two daughters to bring food..This time,
1 i they brought the Barong, and so Rangda was forced,-to fight,
Hi saying, ‘Now | will kill you.’ Suddenly, about 10 men with krises
i } appeared at the other end of the-short part-of the street and
(i { approached Rangda with menacing gestures, as if threatening to ;
Hie destroy her. Rangda moved towards them. At intervals, one. of the
ai men would suddenly charge towards Rangda but as he reached
Hil. her and she waved her magic cloth, he fell unconscious at her feet
ih and remained unconscious for the rest of the ceremony. Each of
Bt | these men had to be carried off the street by villagers .and laid
down at the side of the road. There they lay, eyes closed, motion-
(1 He less, and completely unconscious in a trance-possession state.. Many
Hi of the men advancing towards Rangda with krises turned the krises :
4 ‘ rt on. themselves and self-stabbed themselves in. front of. Rangda.
: :
;
DDE eg teers ssemetesseesrenee—_——
===PDFPAGE 102===
) MASS TRANCE-POSSESSION IN CEREMONIES 101
This behaviour is apparently a show of devotion to the Barong
: standing behind Rangda, as the Barong is believed to have: the
ability of giving power to the men. sit; -
Finally, Rangda, no longer imbued with power, walked slowly back
to her temple. Inside the temple, she spoke for about 5 minutes to
the throng of villagers seated around her on the ground. She-then
sat down and her mask was removed and placed back in its con-
: tainer, where it would remain in the temple. The man possessed
by Rangda was then splashed with a great deal of holy water—
particularly over his head—by the priests, after which he: slowly
| came out of trance. He was able to walk slowly on his own accord
and in a normal manner to.a pavilion in the temple. The spectators
went back into the other temple to witness an hour of kris stabbing
} by bebutan. This ceremony concluded at about 6.30 p.m.
| In these ceremonies, the individuals who are possessed are ‘re
garded as special since not all individuals can be possessed. Certain
| families are regarded as having inherited the ability: of being:pos-
sessed. The trancers report that the lower god’says'to them, ‘Iwill
possess (xgayah) you. I am ‘the: god: so-and-so,’ giving’ one of
several names. Each trancer: has aldifferent type of experience
depending on which: god possesses:him. People(standingiaround
give a kris to the possessed individual to execute his self-stabbing
behaviour. When the god gives his name as:Kobar Api, the indi-
} vidual feels that he needs fire to complete the trance, In this case,
assistants surrounding the ceremony light large torches of straw
d and bring them to him and he stamps them out:with his bare feet.
If the god identifies himself as I] Belatuk Tanah, the trancer:needs
a chick to complete the trance. He will twist off the headof the
chick and suck the blood from its body; after this he needsiarak
| berem to drink, followed by application of holy water, which brings
him out of trance. The same god may possess another person after
the possessed person comes out of trance. Later, these individuals
usually claim that they acted automatically and’ were outiof‘self-
i control, a “By! fi
| At one of the previous ceremonies, a man:who was self-stabbing
i himself with a kris injured himself when’the kris entered his chest
. to a depth of about 3 centimetres. The priest handled this'case by
‘ asking. the man to sleep at the temple, and treated the wound by
: rubbing:a red flower (pucuk bang) and sandalwood-treated -water
i over it. The man recovered. after 3 days. -.
In this ceremony, unlike the ones at Kesiman and Timbrah, the
. gamelan music was slow and soothing, a music eminently suitable
:
. i
+ A = $5
: OO TEE ——
===PDFPAGE 103===
l
102 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN’BALI
| for welcoming the gods, which did not appear to stimulate trance
| induction. Rather, trance-possession occurred at the sight and/or
voice of Rangda. Puy Ja ytiote
i} This ceremony is performed in order to bring the gods back to
| the people. Offerings are given every day and the gods are believed
to stay in the village for a matter of months. Every kajeng-kliwon,
! the villagers may repeat some part of the ceremony, such as making
offerings or placing the head back on the Barong and the Rangda.
A 35-year-old man, a bebutan, was interviewed. He is married
with two children and has had five experiences with this ceremony.
His parents were also bebutan. At the temple, he felt the hair.on his
body stand up and then he became amnesic, and he felt that some-
thing possessed him but he forgot what it was. After he was given
holy water and avak berem, he felt normal again. During another
experience, he described his body feeling as if it. was on-fire, and
he was not-aware.of the situation around him. He felt very happy
when he saw the kris. He felt.an itching above this eyes and ‘then
on his neck and everywhere on his body. He stabbed the itchy
spots with the kris. He recalled the kris stabbing and felt he could
not control it..Although he felt he did it, yet at.the same time he
Th: - believed it was some other force or energy—a power of the god—
ta that made him do it. His thoughts were focused only on the kris,
Hy! but he felt as though some: other person or agency held the:kris
AHL}: = rather than himself. When he was possessed, everything ‘appeared
Hi): shadowy to him. The priest looked like a referee.at a football game,
A one which he automatically followed. When someone brought him a
11 ie chicken or a flower, his feet turned: cold and-he: asked >for fire.
HE. : Then he felt he wanted a chick; his body became hot and he needed
||| a the blood to suck. He did not perceive the blood.as offensive. After
rT: he had sucked the blood, he drank arak berem and regained:con-
Hh) sciousness. The heat of his body disappeared.as he became
TY: conscious. yet}
When the man was possessed at the Uluwatu temple, he felt.his
. head was heavy and all his body was hot; he felt as if people were
{ tugging at his body and that they were moving like smoke.. After
| his. possession was over, he felt very tired, as if he-had carried: an
Ht | extremely heavy load. Every time he fell into possession, the ex-
perience was approximately the same, but the name of the god who
iH possessed him was different and his feelings differed depending
a on the god who possessed him. For example, the god who wants
{ fire (I Kobar Api) makes his body feel cold. When the white monkey
BI. . god (Bojog Putih) possesses him, he needs fruit and Balinese cake.
i
= ES ee TL 0 ee
===PDFPAGE 104===
| MASS TRANCE-POSSESSION IN CEREMONIES 103
. When the god Ulu Siwi possesses him, he needs coconut and then
1 climbs a tree to eat the coconut like a monkey. Sometimes the god
| needs holy water and he then drinks more than a litre of water. ;
| Relating his experience at the cemetery, he said that after hearing
| the voice of Rangda, he felt angry, so he ran away to find her with-
| the aim of killing her. He felt a power or some energy pushing him
| as he ran to climb the 2-metre temple wall. When he saw the face of
/ Rangda, he suddenly felt fear and wanted to retreat. He believed
. he was not responsible for his actions. When he fell to the ground,
' he knew he was himself and in control again, so he proceeded to
find Rangda. He didnot feel horrified by the decaying smell of
flesh and rotting offerings in the cemetery and passed these with-
; out thinking. When he was near the big tree, he felt drugged; as if
suffering from a hangover, and: his body became hot; then he felt
weak and fell down to the ground. As many people carried him, he
experienced pain in his body and he sensed some people-were
; bringing string to bind him up (a hallucination): He-said that other
) people did not see this process and that people could not release
his hands or his legs from the bands because they: knew he was
bound up by the god. People carried him to the Barong, andi the
. priest gave him holy-water. He saw Rangda-and she*turned-her
face away. He again felt brave and wanted to kill her. When he re-
gained consciousness, he felt tired and:experienced some soreness
in his muscles. !
He described his experience during a second ceremonial day.
. When he fell unconscious on the road, he said he did not feel:any
: pain. After awakening from trance and possession, he felt shy be-
cause his clothes were dirty and tattered, unlike the other people
around him who were neatly dressed. If he were to go home while
1 he was possessed, he might destroy the furniture of the house, so he
only went home when he was completely conscious. After awakening
from trance, he felt clear-headed, calm, and at peace. These feelings
lasted about a month and during this time, it was very-easy toget a
job and to complete it. Lehi EES
The priest at the Jimbaran ceremony was interviewed several days
{ after the ceremony. In his daily life, he regards himself as a humble
fl and quiet man. But in temple activities, his attitude and personality
change; he becomes more like a leader and the people follow what
he says. He said, ‘I cannot do it without the god.’-He'prepares him-
| self by fasting for a day. On the day of the ceremony; he suddenly
feels unsteady, swaying with his body bent over; he experiences a
floating sensation, he does not see or hear the people around him
: |
f
aaa a
===PDFPAGE 105===
| 104 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
and everything to him looks ‘empty’ (i.e. there is nothing: around
him); and he perceives he has a ‘new power’, which makes:him
! feel strong and self-confident. This contrasts with his feeling im-
| mediately after he comes out of trance when he feels tired, and
| sleepy, but mentally normal. 2
| The above description pertained to his experience when he was
carrying out the ritual performance of placing the head of the Barong
and the head of Rangda on to the heads of the men possessed by’
the gods of these figures. He had the same experience at the time
he severed the heads from the Barong and Rangda, which had
rested in the temple for 7 months after the connecting:ceremony.
| At this head-severing ceremony where the Rangda mask rested on
HT a skull in a box at the temple, he described how he suddenly: took
| out a kris which he felt he would throw at Rangda. At that time he
HT perceived the environment to be very quiet and was apparently in
A trance. He also described the feeling of another power possessing
HILL him and inciting him to cut off Rangda’s head. When he slashed at
ht: her head three times, he suddenly felt weak, without any energy; he
aE. fell.down and afterwards was given holy water by another priest. At
HE this point, he still did not feel normal; he experienced a cold sweat,
Hit * and some people directed him to the templeso that he could: make
Hi an offering to the gods. After receiving the holy water, he recalled:
Hit everything that he had done and felt tired. Afterwards he slept for.
aH) a few days and then he felt normal again. Hiessiei a
aT} ; The experiences of most trancers at Kesiman, Timbrah,-and Jim-
A) & baran- who fell down unconscious appeared to be similar. -All ex-'
ibe pressed violent emotions, and the aspect of devotion to the‘gods,
HH: the social expectation, control, and approval seemed! to‘ be the
1 same. ctiak Bess
Hi: C. Muller (personal communication) described a ceremonial
ath) trance in a group of balian gathered in 1989. for the:;annual
; | 3 kuningan celebration on Turtle Island, near:the capital:city of
' Denpasar. Thousands of Balinese come here annually for temple
He ceremonies (odalan). The day before, effigies of the gods, were’
brought to the island late at night and about 10 balian,-both men
i and women dressed in white coats with hair piled up-on‘ their
i} heads, assembled at the temple.. They talked about: current
He problems and the rituals to be performed in. order to bring about
itt harmony and balance into life. Abruptly, all the balian:went.into
trance-possession and began to talk in strange-toned voices in an
EE | ancient Javanese language called Kawi, which is very little
| q : understood. At one point, one balian executed.an astounding feat:
t mi i
if
a ee.
===PDFPAGE 106===
= MASS TRANCE-POSSESSION IN CEREMONIES 105
Bt he suddenly sprang from a sitting position up into the air, his body
outstretched and rigid, only to be caught in mid-air by the others.
It appeared like an acrobatic circus stunt. The trancers did: not‘act ,
i surprised and quietly resumed talking among themselves.
. $s
:
Mass Trance-possession at Family Ceremonies _
i At periodic intervals, sometimes yearly, some extended families hold
: ceremonies at the temples of the extended family for the purpose
of honouring the gods and ancestor-spirits. Two attended by the
authors in 1991, one in Denpasar and one in the south peninsula,
: were similar in form. At Denpasar the family invited 28 male priests
and 14 female priests. At the peninsula, 7 male priests came. At each
H ceremony there were offerings to the gods, including food, banten,
: and arak berem (an alcoholic drink not drunk by the participants),
. and the offerings were blessed. Groups of women;sang in monoton-
| ous tones. A Rangda went into trance-possessionand-danced. After
: he had finished, he sat down; his mask-cum-head-dress was removed
#1 and he was slowly brought out of trance-possession by a priest's
holy water ministrations. Some ‘family members in .trance-
possession, mostly elderly, danced individually: or in groups. The
. priests sat on an elevated platform of a pavilion, the gong orchestra
. at one end. As the gamelan played, the women sang and the priests
tl entered into trance-possession. Most began to shake, with their
| arms extended in front of them, trembling, and with their faces
. contorted, while some lurched backwards to be caught and
' assisted back into the sitting posture by surrounding family
members. The body spasms and trembling lasted about a minute
: and then the trancers sat quietly, eyes closed, face impassive.
: Sometimes, some of the possessed gods spoke. At Denpasar two
priests sat quietly, head bowed, with heavy strands of mucus, about
20 centimetres long, streaming down from their noses, the symbol
of being entered by a certain high god. The highest god did not
| come down but the second highest did. The priests (now gods) were
handed coats and head-dresses to put on. All accepted except one
who said sharply, ‘This is not my dress.’ The people asked politely,
} ‘Which dress do you need?’ and he responded, ‘You know.’ He was
. then handed a coat and hat of the second god and he accepted it
and put it on. Finally the spokesman for the family politely asked
the gods if their offerings and ceremonies were acceptable to them
{ and if they had done everything right. The priests (gods) assented
in each case and the family spokesman politely said that they were
f
===PDFPAGE 107===
‘3 MASS TRANCE-POSSESSION IN CEREMONIES 105
| he suddenly sprang from a sitting position up into the air, his body
: outstretched and rigid, only to be caught in-mid-air. by:the others.
It appeared like an acrobatic circus stunt. The trancers did not-act :
surprised and quietly resumed talking among themselves.
| ,
Mass Trance-possession at Family Ceremonies
: At periodic intervals, sometimes yearly, some extended families hold
} ceremonies at the temples of the extended family for the purpose
4 of honouring the gods and ancestor spirits. Two:attended by the
{ authors in 1991, one in Denpasar and one in the south peninsula,
were similar in form. At Denpasar the family invited 28 male priests
and 14 female priests. At the peninsula, 7 male priests. came. At each
; ceremony there were offerings to the gods, including food, banten,
and arak berem (an alcoholic drink not drunk by the participants),
and the offerings were blessed. Groups of women sang in monoton-
ous tones. A Rangda went into trance-possession and.danced. After
he had finished, he sat down; his mask-cum-head-dress was removed
and he was slowly brought out of trance-possession by a priest's
j holy water ministrations. Some family members in trance-
! possession, mostly elderly, danced individually. or in groups. The
priests sat on an elevated platform of a pavilion, the gong orchestra
at one end. As the gamelan played, the women sang and the priests
ri entered into trance-possession. Most began to shake, with their
arms extended in front of them, trembling, and with their faces
contorted, while some lurched backwards to be caught and
# assisted back into the sitting posture by surrounding family
4 members. The body spasms and trembling lasted about a minute
i and then the trancers sat quietly, eyes closed, face impassive. ~
: Sometimes, some of the possessed gods spoke. At Denpasar two
priests sat quietly, head bowed, with heavy strands of mucus, about
. 20 centimetres long, streaming down from their noses, the symbol
i of being entered by a certain high god. The highest god did not
come down but the second highest did. The priests (now gods) were
handed coats and head-dresses to put on. All accepted except one
i who said sharply, ‘This is not my dress.’ The people asked politely,
‘Which dress do you need?’ and he responded, ‘You know.’ He was
j then handed a coat and hat of the second god and he accepted it
and put it on. Finally the spokesman for the family politely asked
z the gods if their offerings and ceremonies were acceptable to them
: and if they had done everything right. The priests (gods) assented
{ in each case and the family spokesman politely said that they were
{
i
- “ ; Boat SES ages heey
===PDFPAGE 108===
106 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
free to leave now at which point each priest slowly came out of
trance-possession. Following this ceremony a number of the male
priests and all the female priests danced in trance-possession as a
group. Then a number of priests and family members in trance-
possession self-stabbed themselves with krises. The ceremony, |
which began at about 9.00 p.m., continued until about 2.00.a.m. ;
| It is striking that the behaviour at a ceremony of this type
/ described over 50 years ago by Belo (1960) is similar to that seen
today. At a village she observed, Belo claimed that all -of the
members, including the smallest children, could: enter and had
) entered trance: }
IT
The very youngest of the children's bodies as they were gripped. by, con- .
i vulsions, rigidity, tautness, or fell limp in collapse, produced an impression
Hi] stronger than any I had experienced in witnessing such a scene. The |
ita Balinese say the children are ‘nearer to the gods, having just come from .
1 there,’ and perhaps it was the conception of this nearness which made their
| ‘ trance so fantastically unreal and at the same time a terrifyingly present |
ay actuality. ua't
Hil Mass trance-possession still occurs in a number of villages in Bali.
Hi The various types of trance described by Belo exist today in similar
Hite forms. This is understandable since they are integral, parts of
kes fundamental religious ceremonies. Gira
) ie The behaviour of these trancers is unlike that of Westerners in |
ah: trance, even those in deep trance. Under hypnosis Westerners may |
i express profound emotions, particularly crying, but they do not
Hi} become violent; they seldom have convulsive-like behaviours, and
Be they do not become possessed. It must be concluded that social
ie expectation is critical.in determining spontaneous behaviour: in
& trance states of Westerners and Balinese. The possession ac-
EE companying trance in Bali is both a function of beliefs® and a rep-
: resentation of a structured type of biopsychosocial phenomena. It
ita is different from the type of psychotic thought and behaviour that
asserts that something or someone outside them has entered into ;
them: that is a delusion (a fixed, unrealistic belief) which.is not a
considered appropriate, and is not subject to control by the society 8
and the group around them (see Chapter 9). ' )
{
xe & : |
i Trance with possession by God and gods occurs in participants at .
various private and public religious ceremonies in many parts of |
: if 2 Bali. Communal or mass trance-possession in religious ceremonies
| : : ;
pe 2) areas: Soc 2e oe
Rie om Sas eae: vo ee ee
—_ SS SS ee Lee
===PDFPAGE 109===
MASS TRANCE-POSSESSION IN CEREMONIES 107
continues to occur in the same villages and in much the same way
as described over 50 years ago. Approximately 80-100 men and a
few women enter a trance-possession state at yearly ceremonies to ,
welcome the gods back to the village temple. When entering into
trance, the subjects experience changed perceptions such as a ‘dark-
ness’, a constriction of awareness of surrounding stimuli, happiness,
and increased energy. With possession they sense that a god is
coming into them, taking over their body-mind and their behaviour
becomes automatic. The eyes close, the facial expression becomes
flattened, and the mouth turns pale. After trance-possession, there
is partial or complete amnesia regarding the trance-possession state. ~
These trances with possession are expected, controlled, and highly
valued by the society because they help maintain the prosperity,
security, peace, and health of the community. Trance-possession
enables the persons possessed to carry out exceptional muscular
feats, to come into contact with fire without sustaining burns, and
to perform self-stabbing behaviour without hurting’ themselves. In
; trance-possession, individuals express behaviour and emotion§ not
socially permitted or acceptable in their usual state of conscious-
i ness, a catharsis that may be positive for mental health; in this way,
: trance-possession may be considered a form of self-therapy.’ Fol-
lowing trance-possession, individuals usually experience pleasurable
feelings of peace and calm lasting several days. :
1, This particular ceremony is held to give thanks to heroes who succeed in
; achieving good over bad (darma over adarma).
2. The ceremony in this village was described over 50 years ago by De Zoete and
Spies (1970: 280-4) and appears to have been virtually the same as that observed in
1991.
3. The large mound of rice is placed in a pavilion as an offering to God. After the
i priest blesses the rice, it is given to the children to eat, This ceremony signifies that
5 God provides food to the villagers. ; }
i 4. A legendary mythical animal; the term is also used to denote the Barong
costume worn by two men:
2 5. A classic witch in dramas and ceremonies, as well as a symbol of a goddess.
; 6. To the people in some areas of Bali, trance-possession in ceremonies is an in-
i dication that the gods or God has come down and participated in the ceremony. They
; will know that the offerings they have brought to the ceremony are complete and
well received by God and the gods and perhaps they will receive a message from
the gods about this coming into their life. For example, if there is an epidemic in
the village, they may be told to make a white cross with stones on the house gate
; and put a leaf of the panda tree on it.
===PDFPAGE 110===
| :
, : ‘ | . §
; | ;
. 1
‘ . ? | i
Chapter 5 ‘ |
Trance-possession in Dance and Drama |
and Individual Trance-possession |
DANCES and dramas, which are traditional and widespread in Bali,
provide the most common examples of trance-possession on the
island. They are also a rich source of information about the trance-
possession state. This chapter analysed descriptive data from
Balinese dance and drama for characteristics and consistencies in
the trance-possession process in individuals, pairs, and groups..__ 1
Dance has been associated with trance in a.number. of diverse
cultures, including those. of ancient.Greece, Africa, and Morocco, |
In Africa there are legends about actors being possessed by the |
spirits of the characters they impersonate (Yap, 1960). Balinese |
dancers, actors, and persons wearing the Rangda or the Barong
mask in ceremonies often go into trance-possession (katakson or
kalinggihan), usually at the point when the large, sacred mask is : /
placed on their head. : f |
Belo’s (1960: 57) description:of Rangda at a village temple %,)
ceremony in 1935 is similar to that seen in villages today: |
The man placed in the Rangda mask was very violent in his trance. j /
Though the mask is heavy, and it is difficult to see through it, he danced a
great deal with a mincing step, waving his magical white cloth. ... Rangda }
continued calling upon the spirits of evil to come to her. ‘Leak, leak Men
Gobieh, come here!’ she shouted at the night sky with upraised arms and
guttural noises interspersing the words. As she stomped out towards the
gate, Rekun was close behind her, shouting ‘Who is brave enough to invite
Men Gobleh to come here?’ Everyone remained absolutely quiet while the
eeriness of the whole scene made people crowd close together and huddle
at the back. Her arms were flung high over her head, the white cloth‘was
waved to and fro, and she laughed the witches’ laugh defiantly into the
graying sky. i
{
===PDFPAGE 111===
4 TRANCE-POSSESSION IN DANCE AND DRAMA 109
a The Rangda dancers at the communal trexce-possession cere-
e monies at Kesiman, at Jimbaran, and at the family clan ceremonies ;
4 described in Chapter 4 were observed as they were coming out of
P trance-possession at the conclusion of their performances when
the masks were removed. Each time, the Rangda dancer would sit
3 down in the temple, with his legs extended or crossed, eyes
closed, face expressionless, and body still, and a priest or his
assistants would then carefully lift the mask off him. One to several
minutes after the priest had sprinkled or splashed holy water over
: his head, the dancer's eyes slowly opened, his head moved slowly,
F and he gradually regained consciousness. Minutes, later, he arose
j of his own volition and stood quietly subdued, among the many
people. The Rangda dancers reported being ‘taken over’ during the
a trance and they experienced partial amnesia.’
The Little Girl Trance-possession Dance
(Sang Hyang Dedari), \>.. ;
3 This dance, dating back to the pre-Hindu period, is performed to
stop evil spirits from causing disease and death in the community
and to drive them out. It is performed by two girls .of:pre-pubertal
age to the accompaniment of separate choruses of men and women
seated on each side of the stage. Belo described this dance as she
q observed it in 1935, and Bateson and Mead took movies of it in
at 1937. The performances they reported and photographed were
i those in mountain villages. Sang Hyang Dedari is still performed
5 occasionally in some village ceremonies. i
The following trance-possession induction described by Belo
(1960) is typical of a Seng Hyang Dedari performance: rath
The putting into trance took place in the outer court of one of the holiest
a temples of the village. In a thatched shelter, lit by one dim light, sat an old
4 man, continuously uttering a discordant, wailing chant. A few girls, one of
| whom was the Sang Hyang, were busy with offerings beside an altar. The
3 Sang Hyang wore only a long white kain, wrapped several times round
‘ waist and tied with strings attached to one end. She knelt down before an
Z incense bowl, from which rose thick smoke, and sat with folded legs, her
E hands lightiy resting on the ground in front. For over an hour she leaned
above the smoke, occasionally swaying a little from side to side, or raising
herself languidly she would fall back into the arms of the attendants, who
: sat beside her. Her face remained entirely passive, her eyes shut. Gradu-
@ ally, one by one, children and older boys and men assembled, and’ sang
hymn after hymn with her attendants, against the background of the old
L
|
ok 6. a3 as
LS
===PDFPAGE 112===
110 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI |
man’s monotonous, cracked chant. A certain amount of laughter and con-
versation also mingled with the song. Now and then a‘woman would Jean .
over the incense bowl to speak to her, and she would shake ‘her head or
lazily nod. At last her flower-covered crown was brought and placed before
her on the opposite side of the incense bowl. The song changed as she |
passed into the different stages of her trance (possession) with sudden
variations of tempo. During her moments of respite from the smoke her
body hung in a-lovely pose in the supporting arms of the women behind
her. Sometimes she would rest her hands actually on the embers. At last she
was judged to be sufficiently in trance (possession), though there were
none of the usual convulsions or sudden cries. Her clothes were brought
in baskets; she put on the head-dress herself, her languid fingers seeming
to move intelligently. Then she was stood up and dressed, her arms sup- 2
ported on each side by a woman.’She kept her white skirt, but was bound
round and round from breast to hips with the cloth-of gold belting of the
Legong dancer, till she looked like some lovely golden idol. At last she
was seated in her carved and painted litter, sprinkling the people who
crowded round her with holy water, and the singing procession set out ;
into the starry night. Her flower-covered crown waved above the crowd, el
her arms moved already in dance. _ i
Today, performances are given regularly near Denpasar, spe-
cifically for tourists. When the authors first observed this dance at
the village of Bona in South Bali, they questioned if the little girls, Ay
who danced in nearly perfect synchrony with eyes closed, were truly
in trance, but subsequent observations and interviews convinced
them that the trance was real. 1
One dancer whom the authors interviewed was an 11-year-old .
Balinese Hindu in the sixth grade. Although she had ‘had two years’
experience, like other Saag Hyang Dedari dancers, she had not
been trained in the dance. This is in sharp contrast to other
Balinese dancers, such as those performing the legong, who need =
years of intensive training. She said that she danced because she |
liked it. She came to the performance fully dressed in her costume, a
; but worried (ye) about whether she would be possessed during
the dance. This was evident from her facial expression and. her E |
verbalizations. During the interview just before the dance, she ap- 3
peared tense and had difficulty answering questions, her stock |
response being ‘no problem’.
At the interview after the dance, she presented’a very different
mood and countenance. She smiled, answered questions easily and j
quickly, and appeared graceful and charming in her movements in 4
contrast to her tense, strained appearance before the dance. She ;
said that at the beginning of her performance, the world became
| |
“ t
Y PS ee 2.3 ee
KS. eee
===PDFPAGE 113===
: TRANCE-POSSESSION IN DANCE AND DRAMA 111
; dark (dunia tampak gelap), she heard only the women’s chorus
= singing, and then she lost consciousness. She recalled a change in i
* perception during the dance: a hallucination of a beautiful woman
j in front of her and sometimes beside her. She paid no attention to
g the audience and did not see it. She heard the singers whose |
5 vocalizations encouraged her to dance and she danced automatic- | |
2 ally, as if controlled and moved by some other power, not her own.
3 When she fell down (falling is a regular part of the dance itself), she |
2 felt that others, not herself, had caused that to happen. nar
rd The other dancer was a 12-year-old Balinese Hindu, pre-pubertal, if
7 in her second year of secondary school. She had been dancing for |
z one year. The interview before her dance was difficult because she
= appeared to be extremely shy, a trait confirmed by other people |
Zz backstage. She had visible sweat on her face and neck and had
2 difficulty answering questions. hea
3 In sharp contrast, after the dance, she was smiling and appeared i
H happy, and she answered questions directly. She said that after she
: heard the women singing she had a headache, her vision became
| dark, and, after that, she had only patchy recall. She reported
Z seeing an old woman with white clothes, and recalled that when
; she fell down in the dance, it was as if another person had fallen.
2 She felt that she danced automatically, with eyes closed, and she i
FI found it very difficult to open them. Like the first dancer, she |
z believed that some other person’ had‘given her the ‘power’ to H
é dance. She remembered being brought out of trance-possession by j
Z the sprinkling of holy water from the priest.
£ It is significant that the religious aspect of Sang Hyang Dedari is '
5 retained, even though the performance is for tourists: the dancers
& always pray beforehand and the priest is conspicuous. It can be
3 assumed that if the religious context is not present, the little girls
t will not experience trance-possession.
2
; The Fire/Hobby-horse Dance (Sang Hyang Jaran)
This ancient dance, which is performed for tourists 5 days a week |
: at Bona, near Denpasar, remains much the same as described by
b4 Belo (1960). First, two men will prepare a fire made of coconut
r; husks, raking them into a mound of flaming embers just prior to
ie the performance. Behind the stage the dancer prays to the gods to '
obtain permission for the dance. A hobby-horse with a wooden
head and dried grass on a pole for a body is then placed on his
shoulders, and he grasps it firmly with both hands. As he enters |
‘| i
3
|
TE EE EOE EO EEE EO OOOO ESE ET S| SS “—.« *: .»=&: te i»
===PDFPAGE 114===
i
112 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI S|.
the arena in trance-possession, a women’s chorus, sitting on-the }
low. stage, starts chanting. The words, sung in a monotonous and 4
repetitious way, go something like this: ‘Please don’t worry, there ;
is fire, it will not hurt you. Please jump into the fire.’ He runs and
skips quickly about the arena through the fire, scattering the
embers, which the fire builders periodically rake back into a
central pile. He dashes to the sides of the arena where the embers :
are scattered as if seeking to stamp them out: His face is blank. and 3
expressionless, his eyes closed, After running around for about
5 minutes, sweat covers his face and body. At the completion of
the dance when most of the embers are out, he sits down on the
ground and two attendants pry the horse from his fingers. Up to
this point, his body and the horse are a single unit, not separate
entities. As he sits on the ground with legs outstretched, his arms :
jerk convulsively. After the priest sprinkles holy water on him; he
relaxes, opens his eyes, and slowly awakens. He then thanks ‘the
gods in prayer. The soles of his feet are coated with ashes -but d
show no signs of burns. '
A Sang Hyang Jaran dancer was interviewed by the authors after |
a performance. A 50-year-old married man with elementary school ;
education, he has performed this dance since 1972..He became.-a
Sang Hyang Jaran dancer because he was asked to do so by agod
who .possessed him when he. fell into, trance during a temple .
ceremony. Relating his experience, he said that after praying, he 3]
saw the coconut husk fire being prepared. When.he heard ,the |
female chorus, he had no fear of the fire. He felt happy: when. they .
put the straw horse on his shoulders. Then the world turned dark, :
and. his eyes closed. automatically and he joyously followed. the 4
singers’ invitation to come to the fire. When he saw. the.fire, he felt ;
that ‘a power’ had entered his body. He was happy to see the fire i
and he felt physically big and energetic. As the fire got bigger, he .
became happier and more eager to begin his performance. While 2
dancing, his body felt light, his movements fluid, and he enjoyed ml
touching the fire. His attention was focused on the singing and the .
god, who was acting through him. Immediately after coming out of a
trance-possession, he was afraid to touch the fire and he no longer a
experienced the happiness he felt when he saw the fire during his =
trance. ; E
The exposure to fire without sustaining burns is readily under- i
standable when conceptualized in Western psychophysiological E
terms: trance/hypnosis phenomena. offer sufficient explanation. a
The mechanisms include dissociation of the parts of the nervous Aa
system that register heat and pain, resulting in non-perception of |
3 f
| |
===PDFPAGE 115===
; TRANCE-POSSESSION IN DANCE AND DRAMA 113
; pain and awareness in the brain, and therefore non-elicitation of
3 responses to the heat of the fire, such as reflex motor withdrawal '
: or inflammatory reactions of the tissues. Thus the skin may be
3 charred by the heat of the fire, but there is no redness (vaso-
3 dilation) and no blistering or consequential peeling of the skin. The
‘ heavy plantar calluses and dirt on the soles add further protection:
5 Interviews with other dancers confirmed the similarities between
& their trance-possession and communal trance: a religious context,
singing, changed perceptions, the sense of a power taking over, |
; and termination of the trance by holy water. |
The Kecak Dance r |
This popular dance—in its present form created specifically for
tourists in the 1930s—has its origin in an ancient Sang Hyang or
trance dance in which the dancers are possessed’ by deities. The |
story derives in part from the old Indian Ramayana epic.'It'is a
unique dance accompanied not by a gamelan’ but by a chorus‘ of
about 80 men, who sit in three concentric circles surrounding the
actors. seta | Se ea)
At a kecak performance observed by the authors, interviews
were conducted half an hour before the performance with some
members of the chorus, a priest, the dancer who played the prince’s
wife (Sita), the leader of the chorus (who also danced), and’Several
: other actors, all farmers who work in the rice fields during the day.
: Prior to the dance, the priest in attendance prayed to God and the
4 gods for permission to stage the performance and to request a
good performance by all dancers. During the dance, the men‘ of
the chorus directed their attention towards the leader ‘of ‘the
group. While singing, the leader periodically emitted an unusual
sound, something like a blast from’ an antique car horn,’as ‘he
suddenly popped up from a sitting position as if on a‘spring, ‘a'most
unusual muscular action. The men interviewed claimed that’ their
movements were automatic and required no concentration. The
chorus performed in unison, swaying their bodies and emitting
4 monkey-like chattering sounds. Most of the time, their eyés were
3 open. Some of these men were in trance as evidenced by their
4 changed-pérceptions, passive countenances, unusual motor feats,
and automatism. They said that after coming out of trance'at the
completion of the performance, they felt tired, slept well at home,
and awakened the next morning, feeling happy, revitalized, and
; ready to work. Eins :
Generally, the performers receive very little monetary payment,
!
‘
===PDFPAGE 116===
114 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BAI!
only 75,000 rupiah (approximately USS40) every three months for
their work. Some of the money derived from the performance goes
to the welfare of the community (e.g. for the upkeep of the banjar ;
and the temple). Pay does not concern them because they enjoy
dancing and feel it is not only for themselves but for the good of
the community. Furthermore, they are pleased to make the audience
happy. They are glad to have the attention of the audience and
they desire to perform well so that the dance will provide good
memories for the audience and will continue its run.
A Combination of Modern Western and Balinese Dances
In 1990, in Denpasar, an international troupe of both American and
Balinese dancers performed a repertoire consisting of a com-
bination of Western and Balinese dances which they had presented
on tour in America and finally in Bali, primarily for a local
audience. The only part of the repertoire that was clearly re
cognizable as Balinese in type was that derived from the kecak
dance.
Following the performance, four of the American dancers, three
women_and one male chosen at random, were interviewed. None
felt they had entered trance while dancing but they often felt a
high-or what they called an ‘adrenaline rush’ depending upon the
audience’s reaction and this good feeling lasted several hours. One
recalled that she had entered into trance on two previous occasions
while performing Brazilian dances. She described these episodes
as sudden and unexpected feelings of energy that came over her
and made her dancing seem automatic. She said the sounds be-
came more intense and described the sensation as a wonderful ©
feeling, nothing like her usual performance. The feeling lasted for
several hours, and she felt no fatigue. During, the Balinese
performances, none of the American dancers experienced this. ;
Five Balinese dancers, four males and one female, were inter-
viewed separately following the performance. Each described feeling
nervousness before the performance, enjoyment during the per-
formance, and emotions during the kecak dance which were entirely
different from these during other parts of the performance. Special
energy engulfed them and their ‘concentration and thinking did
not work’; they ‘just followed the leader’ and tended to hear only
the voice of the leader; and they danced and acted almost auto-
matically as if their bodies were controlled by ‘another power’. By
contrast, in the other dances they had to think about what they
{
‘
EEE eS_—cocVHT—
===PDFPAGE 117===
TRANCE-POSSESSION IN DANCE AND DRAMA 115
were doing or what they were going to do. During the kecak dance,
j their facial musculature flattened, a typical feature of trance; this
was not evident in the other dances.
The dancers said that when they performed the dance involving
fighting, a mixture of Eastern and Western dance forms, they en-
a joyed it but felt no special emotion as ‘they played what the story
and the rhythm called for’. They consciously tried to suppress all
emotions and felt lucky to be able to do so.
| Although kecak is not recognized as a ‘trance dance’, the interview
data indicated that the Balinese dancers in this performance went
| into a trance state, possibly with possession, during the kecak dance,
i the only part which is characteristic of traditional Bali. Those dances
which contained a mixture of both cultures or appeared more
H Western than Balinese were not associated with an ASC.
| Individual Trance-possession
. Individuals frequently fall into trance-possession during ordinary
j and special religious ceremonies in which trance is not part of the
i ritual. There may be accompanying music from a gamelan in a
{ procession of which the trancer is a part or music may ngt,be in-
: volved. This is illustrated by an interview with a physician who had
| vivid memories of his two trance-possession experiences. A faculty
| member at Udayana University, he had spent several years studying
! medicine abroad. The interview was conducted mostly in English
| in which he was fluent. He was cautious and careful about the
interpretation and translation of Indonesian words into English. .
| This physician had inherited the role of temple helper from his
‘ grandfather, and the group of priests (pemangku) of the temple
i expected him to become a priest. He had no difficulty accepting
this role because it would allow him to go to medical school and at
the same time continue to function as a part-time.priest or temple
helper. t havee ous
( He recalled most clearly his second trance-possession experience
¥ at the age of 26 in 1973, when he was a medical student. On this
occasion he had gone with his family, which included his father,
aunts, and uncles, to the temple of their clan for the purpose of com-
municating with and honouring their ancestors. They had taken a
tape recorder to record any messages that any one of them might
receive from the gods or the spirits. Before the temple keeper
could begin his prayers, the young man, without premonition or
4 conscious intent, abruptly sat down, apparently without control of
;
| 7
===PDFPAGE 118===
116 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
his movements. His eyes closed and he was unable to open them.
He tried to think but could not: ‘I couldn’t think what I wanted to
say.’ However, he could hear people talking around him. He saw’‘a
darkness closing in without images, just black’. He felt his body:
was light and out of his control, which was ‘an entirely novel
sensation for him. While he was sitting, he felt he could not walk.
However, he recalled feeling that he was moved by another power
and forced to sit on the temple platform (dale) where he grabbed
burning incense with his bare hands; this was not painful and did
not result in any injury. His eyes continued 'to remain closed and
he called his family by their nicknames, something he’had not
done before. He had no image of the power at this time and
reported no hallucinations. He did not feel he had encountered a
god or a spirit; rather he felt ‘a superpower that could control’a
human’. He spoke automatically but his words did not seem to
make sense to him. During the trance-possession, he believed that
he told his family some messages that he had obtained from the
ancestors. In trance, he was able to ponder on’his sitiiation and
remembered thinking, ‘Why do I do this? Why is this happening to
me?’ However, he was unable to express ‘himself. He recalled that
the trance-possession state was terminated by someone’ sprinkling
holy water on him. Prior to the trance, he had not experienced any
change in his thoughts or feelings and’ he. wa~ not, expecting ‘it
when it happened. After the’ 'trance-possession, ‘he’ was rather
embarrassed about his rudeness in calling his relatives by their
nicknames. However, he also reported feeling a sense of peace or
‘emptiness’, tiredness, quietness, and calmness, which lasted several
days. Following the experience, his family explained to him that he
had been possessed. No other family members had reported such
a trance-possession experience. ; ila
’ This’ physician’s first trance experience occurred a’ few years
before the second and was similar.'He was with his family clan ‘in
the family temple. He had sat down at the back of the family group
when much to his surprise he went abruptly into ‘trance ‘and
touched the burning incense without feeling any pain or receiving
any burns. At the beginning of this trance, he moved to the front of
the family group and sat down facing the pagoda tower (meru). He
talked to his family in a kind of automatic speech which he was
unable to control. The trance was terminated by someone sprinkling
holy water on him. After the trance, he had the same terrible feeling
of having been rude because he had talked improperly to his
family; he felt he had exhibited‘some gross lack of respect. How-
a 0 rn a scenester enn
===PDFPAGE 119===
a TRANCE-POSSESSION IN DANCE AND DRAMA 117
BY ever, his family accepted his behaviour without comment. As in his
second trance-possession experience, feelings of peace and calm ;
4 following his awakening remained for several days.
g This individual's episodes of trance-possession occurred during
: his youth, which is the common pattern. His possession experience
: : was similar to that of many others. He did not feel a spirit or a god
= entering him but an outside power controlling his body and his
Z mind. To the Balinese, this experience is equivalent to possession
by a spirit or a god. Furthermore, he did not have a mental image
i of the power or any hallucinations, as may be expected with
; possession. Four aspects of the experience are consistent with
r| what is known as the depersonalization phenomenon: (1) feelings of
- detachment, observing the self, and feeling unreal; (2) feeling of
* being an automaton; (3) feeling of the body being light; and (4)
i j retention of reality testing. However, in several respects the trance
; experience differed from depersonalization:. (1) the. sensation, of
| another power outside of himself controlling him; (2) changes in
4 external behaviour; (3) a change. in physiological response (no
3 pain or burn from fire); (4) a subsequent emotional change; and
(5) amnesia. ie 7
: These data on individual trance with possession are particularly
illuminating because they are provided by a man who is highly
; educated, articulate, psychologically minded, and who is intent on
: giving accurate information because of his sincere motivation’ to
a provide useful data about possession in the Balinese. He expressed
the hope that the results would be translated into Indonesian so as
: to benefit his countrymen who he felt would have much to gain by
: learning more about their own behaviour and culture.
| Suryani herself has had possession experiences which have
u helped to shape her personality. She began at the age of 14, when
a] she was possessed by God and, at times, by a goddess who, over a
4 3-month period, taught her many things, including a philosophy of
: life, what it feels like to be sick, what one experiences when one
dies, and how to heal people. Her experiences are more fully
described in Chapter 8.
: Trance-possession also occurs in pre-pubertal children and in
& the elderly (Belo, 1960). The physical ‘afterglow’ or special feelings
H of calmness which follow individual trance are similar to those
reported by the traditional gamelan players in trance without
- possession (Chapter 6) and in the trancers who are possessed at
. mass ceremonies, some of whom are unconscious and amnesic for
: most of the experience (Chapter 4).
——S—n——e—e ee a oer ggg gg SSS
===PDFPAGE 120===
118 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI _
These data on trance-possession in individuals are consistent
with data obtained from the trancers in mass trance-possession. :
They indicate a process at work in trance-possession that has not
yet been defined or described in Western psychological terms. :
The trancer feels that the possession is not part of his body or E
himself, although he is aware that it enters him, and acts through
or utilizes his body. Western psychology and psychiatry have no {
term for the concept of an outside power or entity acting through |
or controlling a normal person as in trance-possession.
:
: +x & |
Trance-possession in Balinese dancers at tourist performances and ;
in the individuals studied helps to explain spectacular feats such as
synchronous automatic dancing, and handling fire and walking on i
hot coals without suffering burns. These performances attest*to '
i the critical role of spiritualism/religion in the trance-possession ;
: process. The Westerner frequently poses such questions as ‘Does j
; a spirit or god or some power of the universe really come into the ;
: trancers? Is possession a demonstration of the reality of spirits?’ '
‘ The answers are unquestionably ‘yes’ for the Balinese. Anis in ;
if: Wesiern terms and psychological concepts reduce possession’ to e
i dissociation, a process by which certain. areas of the brain/mind
it: are accessed and made to express conscious and unconscious j
| material. In taking this point of view, however, it is not possible to H
: rule out the as yet scientifically unprovable spirit world as a factor
in the process. ian '
| ? i
‘
M4
===PDFPAGE 121===
BS
3 Chapter 6
; Selfhypnosis in Gamelan Musicians
Sy
| GAMELAN music is an ancient art which originated in Java and
F | developed its own distinctive style in Bali. The sounds from a five
; note scale played on xylophone-like instruments, with cymbals,
flutes, drums, and gongs, are haunting and ethereal. The music is
Fi familiar to almost all Balinese and captivating to many Westerners.
} McPhee (1970: 276), who studied the music of Bali over 50 years
| ago, described gamelan thus: . - '
4 The swift, aerial music of the Balinese orchestra,or gamelan, fills the
i open air with chiming resonance. Innumerable little gongs, large and
H small xylophone-like instruments with ringing. bronze. keys blend in an
‘ intricate polyphony that floats above the throbbing. drums and _ periodic
4 accents of deep and vibrant gongs. The air is shattered with a continuous
{ shower of bright, percussive sound as the difficult music is performed by
a thirty or forty carefully rehearsed musicians. The music itself is based on
/ a fivetone scale; beneath the complex ornamental patterns lies melody of
; unique grace and charm, constructed according to metric forms that have
/ mathematically balanced proportions. tay
F} The tone colour and instrumentation of the gamelan varies with the
2 nature of the performance. Small flutes, a pair of drums, cymbals, and a
bamboo gong are enough to accompany the dancing and light, delicate
: singing of the e7ja operetta. The popular joged street dance takes place to
| the gay, staccato sound of an orchestra of xylophones. The large gamelan
4 | that accompanies historical mask plays and the heroic dbaris, or warrior-
: drill. dance, has a brilliant, heavily metallic sound and an almost barbaric
| splendor, while the music for the swift, humming-bird movements of. the
little legong dancers is filled with an indescribable, sensuous iridescence.
In and out of the glittering figuration the melody weaves, stressed softly
: | from time to time by gongs of different pitches, while from beneath, the
$ restless, agitated drums rise and fall, their syncopations intensified by the
HM thin clash of tiny cymbals.
i
===PDFPAGE 122===
= 120 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
Many villages have their own gamelan orchestras made up of
30—40 village musicians who work as farmers, labourers, merchants,
hotel workers, or artists during the day. The traditional music of ;
Bali, gamelan was originally restricted to ceremonial dance and
religious ceremonies. In recent decades, it is not uncommon to
come across gamelan in non-religious ceremonies or to hear it being
played simply for pleasure. The music itself is believed to be close
to the gods. Gamelan has undergone numerous modifications in
the course of its development. However, the traditional music
remains unchanged. It is possible to distinguish three types of
gamelan music: (1) the ceremonial or traditional; (2) the new
creation (reasi baru); and (3) the contemporary (musik kontemporer).
Contemporary gamelan is ‘currently new’ music. Kreasi baru refers
to ‘previously new’ arrangements of the older or traditional gamelan
music. Kreasi baru melodies and arrangements, which were new at
one time, may have been performed over many years or decades.?
Some background information on Balinese character and emo-
tional expression is necessary to understand the significance of .
this chapter and its hypotheses. The Balinese believe that it is
essential to maintain good relationships in all aspects of life,
including relationships. with the ‘family, the: clan (dadia), the
community (banjar), animals, trees, ancestors, evil spirits, the
god:, and God (Jensen and Suryani, 1992). Communication should
be ‘carried out in a’ manner that’ makes*one accepted by others.
This entails suppressing nearly all emotions that could disrupt a
good relationship, especially anger. However, there are outlets for
the expression of various emotions in daily life such as youth clubs.
(seka truna-truni), dance clubs (seka ngigel), and music clubs (seka
magambel). In religious ceremonies, emotions can be expressed in
offerings to the gods, in feelings of devotion, and sometimes: in
trance-possession (kasurupan), either individually or in groups: »
The aim of the study reported in this chapter was to-explore the
effects of playing gamelan (instruments and music) on the expres-
sion of emotions and trance. It was hypothesized that gamelan is‘a
vehicle for emotional expression, the contemporary more than the ;
ceremonial, and that it is a positive influence on mental health. Prior
to the study, it was not known if trance played a role in gamelan. =.
Selection and Interviews ;
In August 1990, 20 male subjects were studied: 3 composers and
17 players or instrumentalists. They were associated with STSI
?
Seen
===PDFPAGE 123===
SELF-HYPNOSIS IN GAMELAN MUSICIANS 121
(Sekolah Tinggi Seni Indonesia, the State Institution of the Arts),
and they regularly performed all three types of gamelan music.
These subjects were either professional musicians or conservatory ,
students, and their lives revolved around music.? All the subjects
were Balinese Hindus. The players, chosen at random from the
; larger groups working with each composer, were either students or
lecturers at STSI. In addition to questions about routine information
: (e.g. age, sex, occupation, and gamelan experience), subjects were
given two checklists to complete: one concerning personal problems
in the past three months and the other, symptoms in the past one
‘ month. Suryani then clinically evaluated each player in order to
: determine if he had any mental disorders. All 20 subjects were
3 subsequently interviewed on three occasions: at the conclusion of
training; after recording; and after a performance of the musical
| works. The aim of the semi-structured interviews, lasting about
5 30 minutes each, was to learn about the experiences and feelings
Es of musicians while playing and after playing the three different
- types of gamelan—traditional, kreasi baru, and contemporary—
and to establish whether a particular type of music effects a trance
state. ovis ay
The composers were asked about the meanings of kreasi baru
and contemporary gamelan music with regard to: (1) how they
create the music; and (2) how they transmit it to the players. They
were asked if they experienced different feelings when playing in a
s, public performance as contrasted with playing in a religious
ceremony and what feelings they experienced. In addition, the
7 composers’ training activities with the players were observed.
| Results of the Study
: The 17 Players Ai
3 The players were first evaluated based on their answers to the
3 questionnaires concerning personal problems and symptoms. The
4 personal problems they indicated over the previous 3 months are:
4 financial, x= 16; pessimism about the future; »=9; not pleased
. with their physique (e.g. too thin, too fat), »=7; and physical
:' illness, n = 6. Their main complaints over the previous one month
F are: difficulty in sleeping, especially after a performance, n= 6;
decreased interest in activities, »=6; decreased memory, n=6;
nausea or stomach symptoms, #=6; decreased self-esteem or
inferiority, 2=10; palpitations, »=7; difficulty in concentrating,
a
LPL
===PDFPAGE 124===
122 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
n= 11; tiredness, weakness, or low energy, m = 10; and tingling of
feet while sitting, »=6. On a psychiatric clinical evaluation,
dysthymic disorder was noted in one subject and generalized
anxiety disorder in one other.
In the interviews all subjects expressed dissatisfaction that they |
did not have an exact time for playing and that sometimes they had f
to train for a few hours at a time or long into the night. As a result
of waiting and training they always felt tired. They believed they 3
needed to sleep and eat more regularly in order to feel better. i
They felt different from their peers; they seldom exercised and
they spent much of their time sitting. Most were from the lower
! socio-economic group, and they felt there was a conflict between =
i enjoying gamelan and needing to earn more money for a better
: life. esis |
| All players gave similar answers to questions regarding recording 3
and performance. At recordings they felt tense, not relaxed, and ;
i they focused only on playing perfectly so that they would not have
to repeat. Not a single mistake is allowed in recording; otherwise ;
the whole piece has to be repeated. When playing, they must
remember all the instructions of the composer and they cannot
express emotion; they see only the quiet room and the cameraman. 3
In public performances they were more relaxed and not so tense,
because even when they made mistakes, the audience usually would =
} not realize it and they could cover up by adjusting their playing.’A
if performance is continuous without repeats. They felt that the
i audience provided an environment which favoured the expression
of emotion and encouraged improvisation, activities which did not 4
disturb the harmony of the group. :
. All players were unable to differentiate their feelings (e.g. mood) a
i with regard to kreasi baru and contemporary gamelan. The two =.
[ kinds allow freedom of emotional expression and improvisation, im
i but there is a difference in concentration. Kreasi baru has been :.
, known to them since childhood and does not require effort to :
remember; it is ‘automatic’. Contemporary gamelan is entirely @
new, so they must remember the composition and concentrate. =
| Contemporary gamelan is only temporary, performed only a few : Fy
times and then forgotten. Kreasi baru is longer lasting; it remains 3
| ‘in the heart’, and it is accepted by the public for repeat %
| performances. =
| Interview data regarding what they felt when playing contempor- g
| ary and ceremonial music are as follows. With regard to contem- 704
' porary music, the players must use discipline and remember all Bil
" +
2a : & ri eked -~- re 6) 33 ; és
on es Bere Gras
cee eae cae ei bye? Bales “atlas
+ 5 3 ’ - ae Veet > Fis ee are
’ Navies RE
a ee
===PDFPAGE 125===
SELF-HYPNOSIS IN GAMELAN MUSICIANS 123
the notes; furthermore, they cannot relax, as the time to play is
limited. (In a ceremonial performance, they play for an hour or ,
more.) When playing contemporary music, they can experience a
# full range of emotions while still keeping the ‘harmony’ or balance
of the group. They may feel more relaxed, energetic, or happy,
bi depending upon the music. After playing, they lose these emotions
= and return to their mood prior to playing, often physically tired.
3 Ceremonial gamelan music is for religious ceremony. It has a
& basic relatively simple unchangeable pattern. When playing cere-
4 monial music, the players feel no tension, are relaxed, and seldom
8 express any emotion except at special times, particularly during
& emotionally laden ceremonies such as mass trance or carrying the
3 corpse at cremation. The playing is repetitious, and the rhythm is
# the same; it tends to be monotonous in volume and intensity. All
é subjects reported experiencing the sensation that their body is ‘not
= here’; they feel as if they are floating above the ground, ‘nearer to
:| the gods’ and ‘in another world’ amidst peace and quiet. They feel
=; a sense of devotion to the gods while playing it. This feeling is
‘| especially strong in players of gender, a xylophone-like instrument
| used for shadow puppet plays. They feel like they are ‘following
z| the gods who are coming to them’. This feeling continues through-
2 out playing, persists at home, and sometimes lasts for 1-2 days.
2 They do not feel tired or experience backache although they may
| play for hours sitting cross-legged on the hard floor with very little
Z| body movement and no back support. Any feelings of anger and
a disappointment are lost after playing. All of them like to play the
| three forms of gamelan but feel happiest when playing ceremonial
g gamelan. Playing the newer forms helps to increase their creativity,
3 emotional range, and improvisational skills while playing ceremonial
=: gamelan provides them with the peace that they need.
2 | The Composers
| The three composers selected had had experience playing and
studying outside Bali and Indonesia and had established relation-
: | ships with foreign musicians. They were male‘ lecturers at STSI,
4 and their ages ranged from 18 to 35 years. Their responses are
recorded below.
: COMPOSER 1
; He regards kreasi baru as the development of ceremonial
e (traditional) gamelan music which still retains the pattern of the
‘ St Sea
Sr
===PDFPAGE 126===
i
i é ~
: a| 124 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI +
| original music, comprising the concepts of head, body, and feet
| related to the Balinese Hindu religion. This new creation comes from
) the composer’s imagination and experimentation, as well as the
| influence of others (i.e. through discussions). He regards contem-
porary gamelan as the music for today, unrelated to the traditional
: ceremonial form of composition: it does not show Balinese charac- &
) teristics and it is not considered to be Balinese by the Balinese. f
Although contemporary music is related to the types of instruments
| used and the culture of the composer, it does not conform to
Balinese gamelan music. The composer tells a group of players his :
| H ideas for a piece of music, and they all work together at the piece,
sometimes for as long as 2 months, until the result is satisfactory. 3
He When he plays, his feelings are similar to the players, i.e, he :
experiences increased tension and emotional expression with ‘im- ;
provisation when recording. He is more relaxed and free in per-
formance. He feels engaged emotionally with contemporary music
if it is on a religious topic but all such feelings disappear when he .
TES stops playing. He feels satisfied after a successful performance but el
| | quickly returns to his, normal state. When playing ceremonial ‘B|
| music, he also experiences a sensation of floating, a sense of being
| HE ‘in another world’ and at ‘peace’. This lasts for hours or, days. He i
44 prefers to play ceremonial gamelan for ceremonies because he |
| feels that in doing so he is expressing devotion to the ancestors, to |
. the.supreme God, and to the lesser gods. He does not have these Pn
| | feelings while playing the other two types of gamelan music, cs
| i COMPOSER 2 998 ¢etarn abate xl
ij } He regards kreasi baru and:contemporary-gamelan as the:same: ;
tg To him, kreasi baru is-related to the composer's personality and ; .
! | culture. He does not agree with the other composers that:contempor- 4
iS: ary gamelan is unrelated to their culture. He obtains new ideas for
i compositions from his own imagination, and from4 reading,
Hi 1 experimenting, and witnessing others perform. He believes that
Wa outside cultures have also influenced his ideas: he often mixes
| foreign influences with Balinese concepts for the final result. The “BR
| idea is a basic framework. He communicates it to his group of se) |
| players and together they work on the idea thraugh training until 3
Hie they have a satisfying form. The final result comes when his players
) understand what he means and then improvise on it. To transmit
nt his ideas to the players, he combines Western and traditional 5
4 i} methods. He said that the players find it easy to deal with Balinese =~
HEP Se: : 3
tatLe '
Hs, 7
i 3
i 4
er ie : ho erorye
===PDFPAGE 127===
el
aps SELF-HYPNOSIS IN GAMELAN MUSICIANS 125
Pa musical methods but difficult to use Western musical techniques.
, = This composer does not feel any tension when recording; in fact, ;
oe he feels more relaxed than in a performance because he can repeat
z if he makes a mistake. To him, recording and performing are the
iq same in terms of emotional expression and improvisation and he
¥ does not think there is a difference between playing ceremonial and
be contemporary gamelan. Both types of music create in him the
| same mood and feelings of happiness, peace, enjoyment, and
E| freedom to express emotion and improvise, which may continue
Br for some time at home. He does not appear to experience any :
3 changes in sensation suggesting an ASC. .
#
bE COMPOSER 3
a He regards kreasi baru as the development of. gamelan with a
3 certain amount of creativity but with the basic gamelan pattern of
3 Bali intact. For contemporary. gamelan music, he,combines old
3 gamelan instruments which are seldom used today.with current
gamelan instruments of Indonesia. and other cultures, creating’ a
2 new composition which differs from the Balinese gamelan pattern.
4 Therefore, his contemporary music is different in.composition,and
3 sound from basic gamelan, resulting in music: that is:not charac-
3 teristic of Bali. International musicians can play the music and feel
i that it is familiar. It is not specific to.any-one culture, as it involves
HM a mixture of instruments from different cultures with different
j sounds. The composer’s innovative ideas come from combining
information about gamelan with music or stories he has.read.
When he has sufficient ideas for a piece of music, he conveys them
; to the players and, by trial and error, both composer and players
¢ develop a new piece of music. The result derives from. the
‘ composer's ideas worked on by a team of players.5 x
j Conclusion: Trance with Spirituality
3 Composers of Balinese gamelan can use the music to express
4 emotion, imagination, thinking (beliefs), and devotion, as ;mani-
; fested in the culture. All are bound together in the life of the Balinese
5 as they are in gamelan but because the content is influenced by
‘ outside culture, changes have been effected in some respects. ...., ,
The process of creation is revealed by the method of transmitting
the composer's idea and framework to the players. This approach,
: novel to most Western musical compositions, is consistent. with
%
a
===PDFPAGE 128===
ai P
hin a
AY | 126 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
i Balinese character, i.e. decisions are based on consensus and co-
i operation by all (in this case, the players and composers).
i Although the composers had received their musical education
abroad and developed relationships with musicians from Western
i} culture, they still use their own cultural patterns. Suryani, a native
Ht Balinese, knows relatively little about Balinese gamelan, but at
i performances she could identify elements of Balinese gamelan in
il kreasi baru and contemporary music; the characteristics are dis-
| tinctive. To draw a parallel in medicine, Balinese medical science
| comes from the West and is influenced by Western practice but
Hl the balian still use traditional Balinese methods. If the two methods
are combined, the basic thinking of each discipline remains. In the
! same way, although kreasi baru is influenced by the West, it 4
1 nevertheless contains some basic elements of Balinese gamelan.
1 Both contemporary gamelan and kreasi: baru appear to- be in-
novations from ‘the traditional, using part or all of-the-‘basic
| gamelan patterns and manifesting the cultural characteristics of the
; composer. There is no distinct separation in form between the two |
| types of gamelan. It is hypothesized that each will endure for as
i} 4 long as it remains interesting and acceptable tothe public'and for a
i as long as the gamelan still touches the people's feelings, both in
i " terms of enjoyment and religious meaning. For example; the kreasi
i ; baru called kebyar has lasted several decades (McPhee, 1946).
i This study of gamelan musicians, Composers, and instrumentalists
1 is presented to show the occurrence (and characteristics) of trance . }
| j in a heretofore unrecognized setting. Balinese music alone’ does |
! i not appear to be sufficient to induce trance}‘a religious context and .
i f the devotion of the musicians are essential. This ‘study also reveals
i ' a number of effects of Balinese music that can be'conceptualized in #
i { Western psychological terms. There are two kinds of gamelan music |
| ag according to usage: one—the traditional—is for religious occasions; }
) H { and the other—both &reasi baru and contemporary—is for perform- |;
‘ith ances. These two kinds have. different behavioural and emotional \
| ramifications. A psychological analysis of the players’ emotional |
| responses indicated that playing the two kinds of gamelan’ brings 36!
| out different feelings and behaviours. In-non-ceremonial gamelan Al
{ the players are allowed to express emotions such as happiness and |
anger and to feel a sense of freedom, depending on the musical
| content. Ceremonial music, which is repetitious with a single melodic E
EE pattern and also longer with changing rhythms and crescendos, E
| has a special meaning: it is close to God and the gods, ‘and the ft
| bee: players feel a sense of devotion when playing it. Additional elements
f 3 that may contribute to an ASC in the players of ceremonial music |
t . H
i | ;
soy i see ae 2h ieee
a a gree
===PDFPAGE 129===
a SELF-HYPNOSIS IN GAMELAN MUSICIANS 127 |
3 are the crowding of the people (rame), incense smoke in the air,
: blessings by the priests, and a generally heightened sense of expect-
a ancy and excitement in the air often associated with temple and .
. other ceremonial occasions. These factors facilitate the induction
EH of a trance state in the players. The feelings and altered sensations
2 they reported fit the criteria for an ASC, specifically a trance/
ql hypnotic state. Associated feelings of peace, quiet, and happiness
{ which continue later at home and last up to several days are also
4 characteristic of trance-possession in the Balinese. In ceremonial
| gamelan, the players do not express emotion as they do in the
al other two newer types; instead they become. self-hypnotized.
4 These data support the conclusion that playing traditional gamelan
. ; music effects a kind of selfhypnotherapy, which results in the
“| disappearance of unpleasant feelings for a period of time. This
: finding also supports the hypothesis that playing gamelan contri-
z butes to positive mental health by providing an outlet for emotional
: expression. Panty gine
5 It is surprising that in his otherwise thorough review of trance
B and music, Rouget (1985) did not describe trance in musicians. By
4 contrast, all of the players and two of the three composers
* observed in this study experienced a trance/hypnosis state during
traditional gamelan. The high percentage of trance/hypnosis
among the Balinese musicians is:about equal to the estimate of
: 95 per cent of Westerners being -hypnotizable to some*degree
7 (Brown and Fromm, 1986).
This study raises several queries regarding self-hypnosis. Is self-
: hypnosis induced by the specific environment (i.e. the temple
setting); the particular type of gamelan music; the players’ under-
standing of the meaning of ceremonial music (i.e. it is for the gods);
or a combination of these factors? It is known that cultural beliefs
play a fundamental role in the induction of trance/hypnosis and the
particular forms it takes (e.g. trance, possession, or both). Partial
: answers to these questions may be obtained by. comparing :these
5 data with future studies of gamelan music performed by professional
F i musicians, village musicians, Balinese in foreign countries, and
\ £ non-Hindu musicians.
| :
5 i The discovery that gamelan musicians enter trance during the
2 af performance of religious music recalls to mind the spiritual factor
3 operative in ceremonial trance-possession and dances; without the
> : spiritual context, there is no trance-procession. However, it is a
Senne
===PDFPAGE 130===
) f
Hy 128 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
| known fact that a spiritual context is not a necessary condition for
| inducing all trance or hypnotic states. The question is raised: ‘Why
i} is the spiritual/religious factor essential for trance-possession in
1 the Balinese, and is the same true for possession in Westerners, ;
ie. can Westerners be possessed irrespective of a spiritual con-
text?’ This question suggests an important dimension for clinicians
li to explore when evaluating patients or clients for whom possession j
HY is a consideration. Clinical implications are that when the patient
H believes in the spiritual essence of his condition, the clinician must
have a broad enough perspective to accept the spiritual factor and
communicate with the patient in his or her own terms as well as in
| psychological terms. 4 cig Mile
| 1. In kreasi baru the shape of the piece remains, i.e. a three-part structure with
the ‘gong, cyclical, and repetitive’ form based on the ceremonial (traditional) type. 4
i Kebyar, an example of kreasi baru, was described by McPhee (1946) as follows: ‘
ihe ‘With the popular modern febyar, a brilliant exhibition dance performed by.a youth
| or small boy, we come to the breakdown of traditional forms in both dance and
| A music.-Composition is free in structure—a loosely connected series of mete: in
| different moods that are given a new and glittering orchestration. The, wot Rebyar
i| d itself means a sudden release of forces—an explosion, “a flower bursting suddenly
| open”, the crash of many cymbals. It indicates to perfection ‘the explosive energy
and liberation of both dance and music. Musicians and dancer alike find exhilarating |
WE} freedom in the rhapsodic music and choreographies that are composed in a spirit of |
| creative enthusiasm, for approaching festive occasions.’ : Z|
: Contemporary gamelan is derived from Wester. music. The gong cycles are not
. perceptible and the metric patterns are not double or repetitive. rae |
i 3 In ceremonial music, the basic element is asingle: melodic pattern of short :
} duration-repeated over and over. a
, These descriptions of the three types of gamelan music were. provided by
| ethnomusicologists Linda Burman-Hall, Sue Devale, and Elaine Barkin,,all professors
| es, at the University of California, who are engaged jointly with the authors in ethnomusic
| research in Bali. ; i
) ) i 2. Professional musicians differ from the usual gamelan players in the villages ]
ihe who are primarily part-timers. |
3. Co-operation-devotion, which is evident in ceremonial gamelan. music. is |
Hi generally acknowledged to be one of the character traits of the Balinese people. a
1) 4, Playing gamelan is traditionally a male activity. J
| i! 5. This method of composing gamelan music is traditional in Bali and contrasts |
| sharply with a Western composer's practice of writing a complete score and e
Hh presenting it to the musicians to play.
! ; |
i |:
Diae E |
ber |
| oa
iit
Ht
£ - a
===PDFPAGE 131===
Chapter 7 =
. Dissociative Disorders, Trance-suicide, _ -
| and Trance-possession Disorders
|
{ Dissociation, the psychological process involved in normal trance,
can also be abnormal, causing symptoms and resulting in a number
! of conditions or mental disorders, including psychogenic amnesia,
i fugue states, muscular paralysis, loss of sight. or hearing, pain,
| anaesthesia, muscle twitching, and seizures. The terminologies for
these disorders have changed over the years and can be confusing.
| Most of these disorders are referred to as hysterical neues or
| conversion disorders (Nemiah, 1980). Multiple personality
. disorder (MPD) in the West, a type of dissociative disorder, is
: considered by some theorists to: be a.form of self-hypnosis or
| trance (Bliss, 1984a; see Chapter 9). Most of these conditions
appear under the general heading of dissociative disorders in
3 DSM-III-R (APA, 1987), which also covers trance disorders. JCD-
3 10 (WHO, 1992) has also included, for the first time, trance and
possession disorders in its listing. wee
& All dissociative disorders (as well as hypnosis in normal indi-
¥ viduals) involve the same underlying fundamental process concep-
tualized in psychiatric terms as the unconscious psychological
3 ‘defence’ mechanism of dissociation. It is. théorized that most
dissociative disorders develop as an unconscious reaction’ to
5 overwhelming situations, impulses, or feelings which cannot be
| tolerated by the fully conscious mind, although these are not
2 always discoverable in therapy. It is well known that the symptoms
5 of conversion disorders are closely related to cultural beliefs.
The following case vignettes of mental disorders (mainly
3 hysterical neuroses of the conversion type) in the Balinese indicate
ff that some of these disorders are similar to those in the West. The
‘ ze patients in these cases recovered relatively quickly after undergoing
é
Some
ee a
===PDFPAGE 132===
130 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
brief psychotherapy. This type of disorder is often successfully :
treated with hypnotherapy or Amytal interviews.? -
1. An 18-year-old Balinese woman suddenly developed paralysis
in one leg. Conventional neurological examination was negative.
Supportive psychotherapy, together with the suggestion that she
would regain the ability to walk, plus brief non-specific treatment
with Valium relieved her symptom and feelings of tension. The
nature of psychological conflict underlying her symptom was not
revealed.
2. A 28-year-old Balinese woman collapsed and experienced
paralysis and weakness for three days prior to her visit to the doctor.
She recovered abruptly after supportive psychotherapy.
3. A young Balinese woman developed blindness seven days
prior to her visit to Suryani. Medical examination was negative.
Psychotherapy involved suggesting that she was not blind, that
there was something she did not want to ‘see’, that she had some
problem which she could talk about, and encouraging her to talk
about it. The problem turned out to be conflictual feelings towards
her father, who had three wives and who she felt did not pay
enough attention to her mother. Her symptoms cleared after
several psychotherapy sessions. pate i
Trance-suicide in Bali ca '
‘Suicide is a serious problem in the West and in many Eastern
countries, The rate ranges from 5 to 20 per 100,000 in most
countries (Murphy, 1982) but it is extremely high in certain parts
of Malaysia, 157 per 100,000 (Maniam, 1988). The rates in Bali are
unavailable but are believed to be relatively very low, estimated at |
only about 9 per cent of the rate in Singapore (a country with a
population equal to that of Bali) (Tsoi and Kua, 1987).
The rates of suicide attempts in Bali for 1989 are presented. in
Table 7.1. The rates for the year 1990 were not significantly different
for sex, age-group, and total. Each group under 20 years was
overrepresented and the age-group over 60 was relatively low, 2
about 4 per cent.
In the West, suicides and suicide attempts occur in. association
with a variety of mental disorders, including adjustment disorders,
borderline personality disorder, depressions, and psychoses of :
various types. Western suicide attempters give a variety of reasons |
for their attempts, some rational (e.g. relationship problems, .
attention seeking, anger or despair at being rejected, and feeling that i .
to
. > t
ay oo ae
et ae DADS SG
===PDFPAGE 133===
|
DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS 131
TABLE 7.1
. Cases of Suicide Attempts Admitted to Hospitals in Bali in 1989
by Sex, Age, and Marital Status! ‘ '
; — eee
| Sex/Age” <20 20-60 260 Total
! Male 45 55 3 103
| Female 68 53 1 tes 4122
Total 113 108 4 225
Sex/Marital Status? Single Married Separated Divorced Widowed Total
Male 56 30 0 0 6 92
| Female 62 51 0 0 1 114
. Total 118 81 0 0 7 206
El =< On
1 = 228.
| 2Sex and age unknown « 3.
| 3Marriage or sex unknown = 17.
i life was not worth living), some irrational, and.some psychotic (e.g.
. ‘command hallucinations’ telling them to..do it). In the great
| majority of Western. suicide attempts, patients report no amnesia
: regarding the event; they recall it fully, including their behaviour
and the feelings leading up to it, as well as their feeling afterwards.
They generally give rational explanations of how and why they did
i it. Studies of suicide attempts in Asian countries (Maniam, .1988;
Tsoi and Kok, 1982; Tsoi and Kua, 1987) have pinpointed
1 | interpersonal difficulties such as marital quarrels and other family
t conflicts as the major cause of such attempts but generally provide
3 : no data on the thoughts, sensations, or feelings of the individuals
2 at the time of the attempts. awe
t A study of suicide in Toraja, South Sulawesi, Indonesia (Hollan,
a 1990) concluded that the primary reasons for suicide there were
. intense shame or remorse over any kind of wrongdoing, especially
a { deep feelings of injustice and mistreatment. However, the data, for
t these determinations appear to have been gained from talline ep
Ss the general population and not from the persons who made. the
', i suicide attempt. It cannot be assumed that the beliefs expressed.by
. families or other members of the culture were necessarily
a representative of the attitudes and feelings of the suicide victims.
3, ¥ Ingestion of pesticides is the predominant means used for suicide
of | and attempted suicides in a number of South-East Asian countries.
‘s Suryani was motivated to study suicide in Bali because she was
3, ‘ puzzled about Balinese committing suicide since it is so deeply
at . wrong (salah pati) according to Balinese Hindu belief. In Bali,
|
baa | est
SS. ng te re ee ne
a SS —————
===PDFPAGE 134===
132 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
religious beliefs are extremely powerful in shaping and controlling
behaviour. Two studies were carried out—the first from 1969 to
1974, and the second in 1988 and 1989. '
Study 1 aries
Seventy-seven case records of attempted suicide—all cases that
were admitted to Wangaya Hospital Department of Psychiatry?
from 1969 to 1974—were reviewed. Thirty-nine available subjects
were interviewed regarding associated problems, reasons, attitudes,
and experiences during and after the attempt. Records!of the : |
remaining 38 were also studied. Forty-six were male and 31 were |
-female. The cases came from all over-the-island-of Bali but mostly |
from two districts, Badung and Tabanan, because they. have .
hospitals there. The age distribution is as follows: 12-20 years, .
51 per cent; 21-30 years, 28 per cent; 31-40 years, 30 percent; |
over 40, 8 per cent. The means of suicide attempt are as follows:
ingesting pesticide poison, » = 26; using a knife; = 14; hanging,
n = 8; taking medication or drug, ” = 9; jumping into a well, n = 2; |
and drinking either ‘battery water or brake fluid,’» = 9. These :
‘patients denied they had previous suicide attempts, and no repeated i
attempts were noted in the records. Twenty-one were married,'56 |
: were never married. Psychiatric diagnoses according to: ICD-8
classification are as follows: psychoses, # ='16; reactive depression, |
: n = 60; reactive anxiety, 7 = 1. bel i » for} |
; - Anumber of the '23 non-psychotic suicide attempters described
existing problems which were associated with relatively mild stress ay
(e.g. father disagreed ‘about a boyfriend) but'none reported more :
serious stress. When queried about why they made the’ suicide .
attempt, all gave similar responses: they had a perception that the :
world was getting ‘dark,’ they were confused and unable to'think; H
their mind felt ‘empty’ and a ‘power’ controlled and caused them to ;
do it, i.e: a power that compelled them 'to drink the poison, a power 3
that made them behave like robots. After the suicide attempt, a few
recalled hearing some family commotion and crying but they ‘did :
not have the energy to stand up. Then they forgot everything; most 4
suicide attempters did not recall being brought to the hospital’ When t
asked if they felt like attempting suicide again, they generally t
replied, ‘I pray to God not to give me an experience like that again.’ » 5
They also denied any responsibility for having done it themselves. 4 i
All respondents, including the psychotic patients, said that they 21
felt afraid to recall the experience. g
| bil
| sm
I. ; ae
an a a — =
I
===PDFPAGE 135===
DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS 133) |
When interviewed, the 16 psychotic patients said that they were q
confused and didn’t know or could not explain’ why they ‘had awe
: attempted suicide. About 30 per cent of them claimed they ‘had
4 responded to command hallucinations that told them to do it. None
described sensations characteristic of an ASC or a trance state: '
Study 2
The second study was a replication of the first because general
: information suggested that in recent years there may have been an
' increase in the incidence of suicide and Suryani wanted to know
1 whether there were any changes since the previous study and
whether the patterns of attempts were similar. __ it
All records of attempted suicide from the Department of
| Psychiatry, Wangaya Hospital, between 1982 and 1989 were
reviewed—a total of 315 cases, 131 males and 184 females. The
. age distribution is as follows: 10-14 years, n = 9; 15-9 years, =, 109;
. 20-29 years, » = 137; 30-44 years, » = 56; over.65 years, » = 4. The
. methods of attempting suicide are: ingesting pesticide, = 281;
. using a knife, 2 = 14; hanging, = 4; using a gun, ” = 1; taking
! medication or drugs, » = 15. Diagnoses according to JCD-9 are; acute
reaction to stress, » = 158; depressive reactions, n= 90; confusion
reaction, » = 20; conversion reaction, » = 4; anxiety reaction, m=.20;
i acute psychosis, » = 22; and personality disorder, m = 1. a oaiitens
Thirty-five patients were interviewed and asked the same
| questions as in Study 1. The interviews, which were conducted in.a.
| private room, were long and probing, without being suggestive, in
order to obviate the Balinese characteristic difficulty in explaining
4 their verbal and non-verbal responses. The patient’s eyes were
‘| observed for responses indicative of trance, In response to initial
r questions about their feelings or experiences, subjects typically
said, T've forgotten.’ Further questioning of the. non-psychotic,
3 patients elicited essentially the same responses; they did not know
i why they did it, they were unable to think at the time, they. were
confused, and they felt as if some thing, power, or energy. had
controlled them and influenced them, to act as they did, The
4 psychotic patients’ experiences differed from those of the non-
H psychotics in Study 1; however, the psychotic patients said. they
P| ‘were scared (taku) by the suicide attempt and did not want a repeat
; experience. None of the patients mentioned the usual reasons that
tJ Westerners give for suicide attempts. me
The results of the first study were unexpected and at that time
i |
‘
a
===PDFPAGE 136===
134 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
Suryani did not know how to explain the process that could fe
account for the data because she was not yet familiar with hypnotic _ as
states as defined and described in Western literature. After ge
becoming a hypnotherapist, she recalled the earlier study and in be
retrospect recognized that the suicide attempts involved ASC. th
With greater knowledge gained from interviews with balian and
individuals in trance, it was clear to the authors that the experiences th
reported by the suicide attempters were those of trance-possession as
(kasurupan). This finding has not heretofore been reported in the ye
literature for any culture. The uniformity of response of the patients di
was striking. All had perceptions and experiences consistent with Ss}
trance-possession, i.e. the initial perception of the world getting m
dark, confused thinking or an inability to think, the perception of a ul
power taking over and controlling them, automatic behaviour, and o1
a period of amnesia regarding the events. They denied that they
acted consciously of their own volition. Their conviction after ce
recovery that they would never want’to have such an experience al
again contrasts with the behaviour of Western patients, some of C
whom continue to express suicidal ideation, although most of tl
them say they would not do it again. None of the Balinese patients A
described life as not worth living; nor did they want to die. None ar
had made repeated suicide attempts. a:
‘The authors considered the possibility that these suicide Ww
attempters claimed that their actions were beyond their control in’ a
order to obviate shame or guilt about their behaviour. However, ig
this is unlikely in view of the fact that the subjects had’no contact h
with each other and they were interviewed in private; yet all zave B
similar reports, each of which contained evidence of ASC. S
A few cases of attempted suicide in Bali do not involve trance and tr
are similar to those reported in Western literature. In 1990, a 17- ¥
year-old girl took an overdose of anti-pruritic pills, but she did not Pp
know that they were non-lethal. She said she wanted to die because” o
her father often beat her at home and objected to her lifestyle and li
her preference for spending time with boys. He called her a s
prostitute because she stayed out at night and had many boyfriends. d
He objected to all her relationships with boys and seemed to be p
jealous or somewhat paranoid about them. She reported that her oO
parents always quarrelled with each other at home. Her mother had
attempted suicide once because of displeasure with her husband. n
The reasons given by the Balinese as to why their people commit d
suicide are similar to those reported in many cultures. They b
include frustration, anger, disappointment with parents or friends, ; 7)
H |
jee gare! ers “5u8
Ate teen he Soe
OL. L124... hc: .6lLee ee: ,--- Ll e e —————<<—.€£= ~~
===PDFPAGE 137===
|
' 134 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
‘
Suryani.did not know how to. explain the process that could
account for the data because she was not yet familiar with hypnotic ,
states, as defined and described in Western literature. After
becoming a hypnotherapist, she recalled the earlier study and in
retrospect recognized that the suicide attempts involved ASC.
With greater knowledge gained from interviews with balian and
individuals in trance, it was clear to the authors that the experiences
reported by the suicide attempters were those of trance-possession
(kasurupan). This finding has not heretofore been reported in the
literature for any culture. The uniformity of response of the patients
was striking. All had perceptions and experiences consistent with
trance-possession, i.e. the initial perception of the world getting
dark, confused thinking or an inability to think, the perception of a’
power taking over and controlling them, automatic behaviour, and
a period of amnesia regarding the events. They denied that they
acted consciously, of their own volition. Their conviction after
recovery that they would never want to have such an experience
again contrasts with the behaviour of Western patients, some of
whom continue to express suicidal ideation, although most of
them say they would not do it again: None of the Balinese patients
described life as not worth living; nor did they want to die. None
had made repeated suicide attempts. ie
The authors considered the possibility that these suicide
' attempters claimed that their actions were beyond their control in’
order to obviate shame. or guilt about their behaviour. However,
: this is unlikely in view of the fact that the subjects had no contact 4
with each other and they were ‘interviewed in private; yet all gave
similar reports, each of which contained evidence of ASC. tabi
‘A few cases of attempted suicide in Bali do not involve trance and
are similar to those reported in Western literature. In 1990, ‘a 17-
year-old girl took an overdose of anti-pruritic pills, but she did not
know that they were non-lethal. She said she wanted to die because”
her father often beat her at home and objected to her lifestyle and
her preference for spending time with boys. He called her a
prostitute because she stayed out at night and had many boyfriends.
He objected to all her relationships with boys and seemed to be
jealous or somewhat paranoid about them. Ske reported that her
parents always quarrelled with each other at home. Her mother had
attempted suicide once because of displeasure with her husband.
The reasons given by the Balinese as to why their people commit
suicide are similar to those reported in many cultures. They ‘
include frustration, anger, disappointment with parents or friends,
Mere : ste gee aed
PAT th ADS Ete Loy Sey Se
a
===PDFPAGE 138===
. DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS 135
feeling of hopelessness, or insufficient money. When relatives are
asked why a particular person has committed suicide, they will
generally not say that evil spirits are involved even if they believe it to.
be so. They do not want people to think that evil spirits are affecting
P| their family.
L.-Connor (personal communication) interpreted cases in-which
4 the Balinese explained suicide by saying that ‘the evil spirit did it’
as a manifestation of a projective personality trait.. However, Sur-
: yani’s interviews with suicide attempters indicated something quite
different: they were confused and a ‘power’—sumething like an evil
spirit—made them do it. These individuals indicated that they were
not functioning normally at the time ofthe attempt, that they were
3 unable to distinguish between good and. evil, and that they carried
| out the act without thinking.
: The question of religion.as a major deterrent to suicide must:-be
J considered. The main reason for a relatively low rate of suicide
among Malays is their Islamic religion; suicide is a sin for Muslims
E| (Tsoi and Kua, 1987). One study of suicide in Americans suggested
that their religions may not be a significant deterrent to suicide.
j American World War II veterans who committed suicide. were
4 actually overrepresented in the Catholic faith, which regards suicide
as a mortal sin (Schneidman and Farberow, 1960). However, it
: would be a mistake to assume that the Balinese Hindu religion:
_@ affects the beliefs, morals, and behaviour of the Balinese‘ in a
manner comparable to the effect the major religions in America
i have on Americans or the effect Islam ‘has on Muslims. Religion in
F Bali has broad and pervasive effects on the mind and person:
Specifically with regard to suicide, Balinese Hindus regard it as
‘mis-death’ (salah pati) with the consequence that the individual
; willgo to hell, not heaven. The people know that suicide (1) incurs |
punishment from God; (2) causes God to send one to hell instead
of heaven; (3) incurs bad karma resulting in a more difficult future |
ql life; and (4) causes the reincarnation process to. take a.con-
* siderably longer time.“ These are considered highly effective:
a deterrents to suicide. Suicide rates in Bali are not yet available but
a preliminary estimates appear to be very low compared with those
3 of most countries.
7 The findings indicate that most suicide attempts and probably
e most completed suicides by non-psychotic Balinese are carried out
a during ASC, specifically a state of trance-possession. This study
BI broadens the knowledge of the medical/psychiatric consequences
® of trance and identifies a heretofore unrecognized trance disorder.
|
2
4
tase ee ; Bree:
ie oa
aS ane Mes) [eg
===PDFPAGE 139===
"
f 136 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
The Balinese findings can be compared with data from other
cultures, especially Western, in several respects, including methods ’
of suicide, suicide pacts, trance, and other psychological factors.
Suicide and suicide attempts have been reported in many countries
and cultures—in the Western, Eastern, and Third Worlds—but this
is not the place to review the extensive literature on this subject.
Mention, however, should. be made of several’ pertinent issues.
First, the patterns and rates of suicide differ and the methods used
vary according to culture. For example, in Sri Lanka (Diekstra,
1989), Malaysia. (Maniam, 1988), Singapore (Tsoi and Kua,’ 1987), .
Sulawesi, Indonesia (Hollan, 1990), and in Bali, agricultural -pesti-
cides are the most common means of suicide. In the United States
the use of medications or drugs is. the leading method: The causes
of suicide have focused on interpersonal and socio-economic causes,
as in India (Bhatia et al., 1987) or on psychiatric disorders, :par-
ticularly depression, as in the United States. Suicide:pacts (double
suicides of lovers, spouses, or*friends), which occur in’ many,
countries, are the most common in Japan: (Fishbain and Aldrich,
1985), but are very rare in Bali. Suicide pacts indicate premeditation:
and probably a conscious suicidal-act.'In 1991, the mews media of
Bali reported the case of a young couple whose parents disapproved:
of their marriage and who. committed suicide after expressing a:
desire to be buried together. Because custom: (adat) prevented.
this, they were buried separately with photos:of each other: The
generally accepted definition of suicide. in Western literature
includes the concept of a conscious act to end life-(Schneidman,
1987): The finding of trance-suicide in Bali indicates that instead of '
being a conscious act, suicide may in fact be an-unconscious one.:A:
culture-sensitive definition of suicide must take this into account:
-A cross-cultural comparative, study found suicide to be most
common in countries which are ‘stable agricultural types’ and which
customarily expect very restrained or very open” expression : of
emotions versus moderate expression (Smith and Hackathorn,
1982). Balinese Hindus have both characteristics.. Comparisons.
among Balinese are not possible because of inadequate data to
gauge the prevalence of suicide in the community. af
The Trance-suicide Concept
There are no citations in the suicide literature that deal with ASC or
the concept of trance as a significant mechanism. However, some j
Western and Eastern suicides suggest a trance state. One example
is ae ae x Peay
piste le Aca ee ii eee
Ste P< So ae yes 3 wae sate
—$—$—$—$————$$$ See ee
===PDFPAGE 140===
a DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS . 137
: involves individuals who have doused themselves with gasoline and
Ri immolated themselves while sitting quietly in‘'a tower of flames,
; usually as an expression of political protest. Almost-all of these
individuals died and there are no data from interviews with survivors
to ascertain their psychological state at the time. '
+ Several mass suicide events, well known in history, have occurred
| in both Eastern and Western cultures. In Bali; two episodes of
{ what may be considered mass suicide occurred in 1902 and 1908,
when royal families marched ceremoniously into the gunfire of
advancing Dutch troops and turned their:krises on their families
and themselves. At Klungkung in 1908, the entire royal family of
about 200 members were killed, and only one member, a'male,
: survived because he was out of town at the time. It was believed that
{ the self-inflicted death was chosen by the leaders because they
perceived that they would be conquered by the armed Dutch troops
4 and.as a consequence lose all they had—material goods as wellsas
=. religion. The authors hypothesized that these self-sacrifices occurred:
3 in an ASC, probably in trance. Investigation ofthis hypothesis could :
# possibly be pursued by studying the films taken of the massacre
: which now reside.in Holland. lanil Gye rote.
; In Bali as in India prior to the twentieth century, itwas'the custom
i ' for a wife of a deceased royal member to throw herself on‘to:the
7 flaming cremation pyre of her husband and die of immolation:: In ;
q Bali, this practice was outlawed by the Dutch’colonial government;
| the last instance occurring in 1915. The authors hypothesize ‘that
a this act was accomplished in a trance state.
i During World War II at Saipan, Micronesia, thousands. of
4 Japanese soldiers forced their families to climb to a high cliff where
% they pushed them and then jumped to their own-deaths on the
ia rocks below when it was clear to them that they would be:con-
q quered and possibly captured by US Marines invading the island.
| In 1978 at Guyana in the Caribbean, Jim Jones, an American reli-
. gious cult leader, together with about 900 fo.lowers,.took cyanide
3 in ‘Kool Aid’ (at his directive) when he believed that his group.was
EB threatened by the arrival of a US Congressman’s: delegation
3 (Harrary, 1992). Harrary (1992) reported that many of the deaths
of were murders, especially in cases where children were forced to
a drink cyanide. For months leading to the event, Jones had prepared
a4 his followers for suicide in this manner at their religious meetings.
5 Nearly the entire settlement of over 909 people, men, women, and
2 children perished. It.can be hypothesized that many of these
a people from two divergent cultures—Western, many with Black
Ree ETS wa OS 3
a Ae ee 7 Sg
ee BEES as pa 2.
a
===PDFPAGE 141===
138 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI .
heritage, and Japanese—were in an ASC, particularly a contagious
self-hypnotic state, during suicide. ; ;
After a suicide attempt, American patients generally recall their
experiences. Very few cases involving amnesia have been reported.
However, amnesia following suicide attempts was identified: in
three cases reported in Japan (Takahashi, 1988). Six additional
cases of amnesia involving suicide attempts in Japan (Takahashi,
1989) recalled hallucinations of people during the attempts, while
two recounted personal histories completely different from their
own. The reports made no reference to dissociation, ASC, or trance.
These appear to be cases of dissociative disorder and possibly
multiple personality disorder. | -
The one case reported in the world literature of a suicide attempt
while in trance was a 37-year-old American Vietnam War veteran
who had post-traumatic stress disorder. (PTSD). He was also
diagnosed as chronically psychotic although symptoms of the latter
were distinct from the acute dissociative disorder (i.e. trance) of
his suicide attempt (Haberman, 1986). Two cases of Vietnam War
veterans with PTSD involved self-cutting which suggested disso-
ciation (Kim and Ainslie, 1990; Putnam, Zahn, .and Post, 1990).
Non-schizophrenic PTSD patients related auditory hallucinations
suggesting that they commit suicide (Mueser and Butler, 1987).
Vietnam War veterans with PTSD are atihigh risk-of suicide and
those who have suicide ideation or have:attempted it suffer signi- :
ficantly from guilt over having lost control: oftheir behaviour :
because of being in a state of terror and rage (Hendin and Haas, ,
1991). Such ‘loss of control’ is: suggestive of dissociation and ‘it '
raises the question of whether their suicide behaviour occurred:in i
that state, possibly during a flashback experience. Like MPD '
patients, PTSD patients have been found to be highly hypnotizable :
(Spiegel, Hunt, and Dondershine, 1988). The psychological mech- }
anism of PTSD involves an underlying dissociative process. ]
The following case of what was considered a suicide attempt by
an-overdose of Tranxene (a minor tranquilizer) and lithium (used ‘
for the treatment of manic depressive disorders) appears to have ;
involved dissociation. The patient was a 35-year-old divorced single ’
American White woman, who went to a general physician 2 weeks {
prior to the overdose episode because she showed symptoms of ‘
depression. He prescribed lithium, 300 milligrams, three times a day,
and Tranxene. On the day after the overdose, the patient could ‘
recall her bottle of medication falling to the floor at her bedside and ]
two pills falling out, but after this, she remembered nothing until: r
t
.
ngage oe ee eae
Meters ‘ “s eee
===PDFPAGE 142===
% DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS 139
3 she awakened in the hospital. Her boyfriend had brought her to the
| hospital emergency room because she could not be. aroused. ;
: There she was irrational, yelling and exhibiting uncontrolled motor
i behaviour which required restraint. Her lithium level was, 2.36,
F} which is considered a toxic level. The toxicology screen of her blood
‘1 was negative for street drugs and she denied taking any kind of
P| street drugs for the previous year. Her blood alcohol level was zero.
Pi When interviewed at the psychiatric hospital 13 hours after the
i overdose, she was alert and had a clear sensorium; furthermore,
# she exhibited rational behaviour and her thinking was coherent. She
A denied that she intended to take an overdose of medicine or. that
| she ever had any suicide ideation. She seemed puzzled as to why
= she had taken extra pills, which was what she was told she had
| done, and she had no recollection of it. She also did not recall her
4 irrational behaviour in the emergency room. On another exam-
¥ ination 12 hours later, there was no evidence of a personality dis-
i order. She denied any previous episodes of loss .of memory: for:
; events or of losing time. She had no history of mania, was happy to
i accept the recommendation that she would no-longer need med-
Pd ication, and was discharged from the hospital. to return to: her
5 home that same afternoon. ; ye! | ints
A Although this patient had an elevated blood level of lithium. at
i the time that she arrived at the hospital and was irrational, it is not
Fi possible for lithium to have produced amnesia at the point before.she
4 took the pills, and furthermore, excitable, uncontrolled, or irrational
= behaviour is not a side-effect of lithium toxicity. Rather, lithium
= toxicity is likely to produce sedation and coma. This patient's
history did not reveal any reasons why she would have taken an te
overdose as an attempt at suicide. On the other hand, it was clear
oa that she had amnesia regarding the overdose and for a subsequent
% period of approximately 6 hours. The episode would appear to
i represent trance disorder.
iW Suicide attempts and depression are reported to be characteristic
: of patients with fugue states, a type of dissociative disorder (Stengel,
~ 1941). However, seemingly contradictory to this are several patients
with fugue states (with amnesia) which the authors interpreted-as
deterrents or alternatives to suicide (Gudjonsson and Haward, 1982;
| Stengel, 1941).
Schneidman’s (1987) authoritative book on the psychology of
suicide identified twelve psychological characteristics that are
: present in most persons who commit suicide. Two of them suggest
, ASC, dissociation, or trance: (1) a perceptual state of constriction;
Rp me age
we Se aa 2 : 2355 a
we: z eres
===PDFPAGE 143===
t i :
cs '
3 140 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI :
and (2) egression, which refers to a person’s intended departure
from a situation of distress. Schneidman pointed out-that suicide'is qa.
the ultimate egression, a desperate attempt to escape. He felt’that j
suicide is best understood as a ‘transient psychological constriction 4
of affect and intellect’. In this state, the suicidal person totally loses 5
the usual life-sustaining images of loved ones. The mind ‘turns his
or her back on the past and declares that all memories are’unreal’. {
This type of change in thinking can occur in ASC and represent ;
dissociation. The concept of. constriction would“ appear to be i
similar to that of absorption, which is‘a defining characteristic of the
hypnotic state (Tellegen and ‘Atkinson, 1974). This absorption-has |
been described as ‘a disposition for having episodes of single total }
attention that fully engages one’s representational (i.e. perceptual, :
enactive, imaginative, and ideational) resources’ (Tellegen. and $
Atkinson, 1974). Schneidman suggested that’ the concept of :
constriction has implications ‘for the management of suicidal
patients: there is a need to counter this constriction of thought by
attempting to widen the individual’s thought process and to'remove :
him from this fixed thought or idea, a state in which there’are no
other considerations. He ‘cited ‘the case of a young, unmarried 4
woman who was pregnant and had only one thought in mind, namely t
suicide, as her only option. As he talked to her about a number of !
; other options, she came to consider these and at this point gave up
; her singular fixed thought of suicide: ‘ ietia-2 ;
7 Egression and a perceptual state of constriction and absorption if
appeared to have been present ‘in’ the Balinese ‘patients who H
attempted suicide while in trance: Their trance states, like hypnosis,
were characterized by a'reduction of perceptions, an ignorance’ of i
environmental stimuli, and changes:in cognition. Although: the ' :
Balinese suicide attempters did not describe a conscious desire to fi |
Hi escape a stressful ‘situation or affect, their behaviour'‘can’ be 3
interpreted as an unconscious intent and attempt to escape.: ~ : : |
; The following case of multiple suicide attempts by an American :
patient is an example of dissociation and in a number of respects it |
is similar to the Balinese cases of trance-suicide attempts and other .
trance-possession states. i Beta i
Jane is a 39-year-old single White female, unemployed, with a 3
history of severe and prolonged sexual abuse in childhood. She :
has engaged in over 50 suicide attempts or episodes of’ self- H
destructive behaviour. These have included cutting herself with ;
knives or a razor many times, usually on the arm, wrists, back, and i
vagina, and taking overdoses of medications prescribed for pain, j
pee «oe
LV d”)hl lL | ll: hm LhhL””~|~CU””~””!”»~™»§6)}» o dL tie ————“£
===PDFPAGE 144===
. DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS 141
| sleep, and anxiety. Some of the latter have been near-fatal episodes
3] and many have required hospitalization. She describes the usual :
Ee} episode as follows: initially she gets a,sensation that things look
| farther away, like in a fog or darkness, and then a power takes over
; her and carries out the behaviour, which her body performs
= automatically like a robot. This power has been likened to a.‘very
3 angry little girl’. She also feels that this power is ‘my own demon’.
bs It sometimes speaks, saying that she is bad and that she is going
y to take an overdose. She also refers to this power, or little girl,.as a
¥ ‘coid-blooded killer’ who wants to hurt her and feels very happy
i about doing so. At these times her mood is euthymic; she shows no
| signs of depression hypomania, or agitation. When she is abusing
Pf herself by cutting her own skin, she does not feel any pain and:she
: j sees herself smiling because she wants to do it. When taken to the
2 emergency room in a hospital, she is able to recall only small
: portions of events that happened during and. after.the suicide
“4 attempt. Generally, she only learns about what happens through
é someone else telling her what she. did: The state may last.for
4| several hours or up to 2 days before she becomes.aware of, what
4 has happened. Following this, she worries, feels frightened, and is
# scared because she does not want to die. She said, ‘I do not know
z what would happen if I'm not aware of my behaviour.’ au
ie She describes the very angry little girl who.enters her as, being
; thin with brown hair and brown eyes and she claims that this little
5 girl does not like authority. She can talk to this little girl but she
z cannot control her. She feels that the little girl is inside her. This
Ea experience first occurred several years ago and has subsequently
Bi happened frequently, perhaps 60 per cent of the time. The exper-
. ience lasts about 1-2 hours, and she recognizes. this little girl-as
bs the one who wants to hurt her and who feels glad that she is hurt.
Bs The ‘little girl’ admits to being scared and will not show herself
P very often.
2 The patient experienced one such episode during an interview
3 with Jensen and, at that time, she displayed a great deal of anxiety,
* saying that she felt panicky and had a strong desire to hurt herself.
g These feelings were calmed to some extent by 2 milligrams of
$ Ativan, a benzodiazepine. She said that she would like to be able to
i ‘come to terms’ with this little girl and even contract with her to.avoid
ba panic and danger. She felt she needed to accept the little girl as a
/ person with rights and she believed the little girl to be ‘the part of
, her that was abused’, That abuse led her to ignore ‘the little girl for
many years, something which she was no longer able to do.
3
Fs ee
===PDFPAGE 145===
;
3 142 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI i
rt |
In another type of suicide attempt, this patient felt panic-stricken |
and out of control, and she would do anything to stop this feeling, ] .
including cutting herself. She said, ‘This is the other side of the coin. #% :
I don’t want to continue and I do it to myself under self-conscious |
control.’ At that time, she felt ‘scared’, and she described her @
thoughts as ‘racing’, and her mind as ‘zooming’: : |
This patient has written suicide notes to her son on four or five |
occasions, stating that she is sorry, that he will not understand, and )
that she feels despair. At these times, she knows that she is going
to make a suicide attempt and does so immediately afterwards. She
i describes the nature of these attempts as ‘the power entering her’.
On the Dissociative Experiences Scale (Bernstein and Putnam,
1986), she scored nearly maximal—95 per cent—on the number of
items endorsed. The average score of items endorsed is about 40.
This number of items endorsed is comparable to typical scores for
patients with multiple personality disorder (MPD). The average
score of items endorsed is also comparable to the scores of PTSD
patients. She probably has both conditions.’ She certainly meets
the diagnostic criteria for MPD. Her description of the little girl
taking over is similar to the Balinese experience of possession.’
This case report is similar'to other cases of MPD suicide attempt.
Ross et al. (1989) noted that self-destructive behaviour and suicide
attempts are very common in MPD patients: 72 per cent attempted
suicide and 2.1 per cent killed themselves: The methods were drug
overdose (68 per cent), self-inflicted burs or other injuries
(56.6 per cent), and wrist cutting (49.3 per cent). In Ross's experi-
ence, cases of complex ‘MPD involving over 15 multiple person-
alities with amnesic barriers were associated with histories of |
physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. He reported that these
patients may be amnesic with regard to the suicide attempt. They a
may report depersonalization while harming themselves and Bt
accuse an alter of being responsible for the behaviour. Their self- ‘
destructive behaviour was not the usual ‘cry for help’ or ‘attention- 4
seeking’. The MPD suicide attempt group had a history of greater
prevalence and more severe physical and sexual abuse, rape, and
more acute psychopathology (Ross et al., 1989). wat ;
Given that the majority of these MPD patients have a history of
childhood abuse, it may be expected that they would be prone’ to
dissociation (van der Kolk, Perry, and Herman, 1991). This was ae
supported in a study of 74 subjects with personality disorders or S
bipolar II disorder. Thirty-two per cent of these subjects had border- :
line personality disorder and 79 per cent of them reported a history
es ae , pe iat Bee
rapa eee tee reg SOS cae
Le SE v Ee Sart
EE
===PDFPAGE 146===
3 / DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS 143
| of significant childhood trauma. In the overall study; childhood
: trauma scores (as measured by the Traumatic Antecedents :
4 Questionnaire) predicted suicide attempts, self-cutting and other
. self-injurious behaviour, and anorexia. There was a link between
/ witnessing parental violence in childhood and suicide attempts.
Scores on the DES were highly correlated with histories of trauma,
Es self-cutting, and anorexia, and there was a trend towards a cor-
| relation with suicide attempts. During follow-up study of these
cases, the DES scores continued to predict self-cutting and suicide
4 attempts. The authors concluded that ongoing dissociation is directly
associated with self-cutting. These results confirmed the previous
i studies that dissociation is associated with self-injury, and that
x many such patients report feeling numb and ‘dead’ prior to
| inflicting self-harm (Bach-y-Rita, 1974; Favazza, 1989; Favazza and
3 Conterio, 1989; Gardner and Cowdry, 1985; Graff and Mallin, 1967;
Grunebaum and Klerman, 1967; Leibenluft, Gardner, and Cowdry,
1987; Pattison and Kahan, 1983; Rosenthal et al., 1972; Roy, 1985; :
: Simpson and Porter, 1981; Stone, 1987):
F: This study of the Balinese has implications for the management
= of the suicide problem in Bali, It suggests that it would be helpful for
% educators to include, in the regular religious teaching in public
% schools, concepts regarding the consequences of suicide and the
attitude of the culture. Psychotherapists’ realization that a disso-
3 ciative mechanism operates in suicide attempts of the Balinese can
% provide an understanding of the need to direct efforts at increasing
4 self-esteem and confidence in suicide attempters. and to avoid
implications that the patient has deliberately done wrong, while still
providing education in religious belief and custom. Understanding
the psychological process of suicide in both non-psychotic..and
4 psychotic patients helps therapists to provide appropriate support
A to the patients and their families. Since most suicides in Bali are by
3 ingestion of pesticides and appear to be impulsive (in trance), public
z health authorities should consider practical techniques to make
pesticides less readily accessible.
B|
; Amok :
; Amok is a classic example of what has been called a culture-bound |
'g syndrome;! that is, it is specific to a given culture and is not found |
2 generally across many cultures, as is, for example, schizophrenia.
by Actually amok occurs in a number of South-East Asian cultures,
és particularly Malaysia. Typically, amok is characterized by a person,
oe |
ie es me ee |
ase See
a ee ee ””ddmc LL et ee — —— ——
===PDFPAGE 147===
{ Ee
ai 144 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI ;
ie .
H suddenly and without provocation or warning, losing control of his
actions and behaving violently. It may last minutes to hours and
can result in injury and death to persons, who fall victim. to. the
attacker. ; re
| In Bali, amok occurs occasionally and is generally believed to be
| more frequent in the areas of Karangasem. Suryani (1984) noted an
if 11 per cent incidence of amok among persons affected with the
possession disorder termed bebainan. Suryani and her husband, a
general medical practitioner in Denpasar, have examined a number
| of amok cases, three of which are described below. spighery sy
Rh Case I ‘ MC ee
In 1987, a 36-year-old policeman, off duty at home, went out into his
i neighbourhood one morning and shot five women on the street,
i seemingly at random. He was restrained by other policemen living ; &
in the neighbourhood and brought to jail.’ Suryani and Dr Denny
H Thong, then Director of the Bangli Mental Hospital, examined’him,
Ht and found no psychiatric symptoms except complete amnesia
| regarding the event. They diagnosed amok (a dissociative disorder).
HH He had no evidence of an organic disorder: EEG, psychological
Hh testing, and x-ray of the skull were negative. History revéaléd'that
H for several months prior to the episode, the man had been under
ie severe stress from his job and his wife, who had been admitted to a
y hospital. The patient was sentenced to 6 years in jail. In 1992; Suryani
hay met him at her private practice when he came with a ‘patient, a
H friend from his policeman days. He hoped that his friend would not
! experience what he did when he had severe stress. Suryani asked
Hh how he got free and he said that he did not go to’jail becausé the
i highest court gave him freedom. But he felt very sad and guilty
HH because he did not know he had killed five women. He lived for a
ie year outside Bali. After he decided that this was his karma; he tried
to accept what the community thought about him, and went’ back to
HH Bali to become a farmer. He continued living with his wife, as‘he had
| ; done prior to his attack. ; seit
| Case 2
| In 1970, a 30-year-old male, who had no prior psychiatric history,
suddenly locked his extended family in the family temple..and
| killed the entire lot. Psychiatric examination revealed that he- had
i visual illusions that his family members were pigs entering a
4 temple. The police asked, ‘Why did you kill your family?’He said, ‘I~ -
ik 2
+ te
] . 4
sare Bs. ot 3. aoe
= : . Bae eae
ESSE (i ——< . i.” ee eee eee
===PDFPAGE 148===
P DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS 145
# didn’t. I just saw pigs at the’temple and wanted to make it clean.’
¥ He spent 15 years in jail without exhibiting any mental symptoms. ;
x Case 3
zI In 1990, an adolescent took a knife and suddenly attacked and
= killed his father after he had quarrelled with him regarding his
z| desire to sell their land. The young man felt that the family would not
| be able to survive without ownership of the farmland. On exam- |
q ination, he stated that he did not know why he did it. He said that
1 the world was dark, and his thinking ‘empty’, and‘he felt as if
| someone controlled his thinking and behaviour. He was remorseful
| about the event and in jail experienced visual hallucinations of his
| father’s face but did not manifest a psychotic disorder. ah
a In Bali, persons who have committed serious crimes while ex-
- periencing an attack of amok may be correctly diagnosed as amok |
but nevertheless are given jail sentences. If amok or’a comparable
q behaviour were to occur in Western society, it would fit the criteria |
4 for a court of law acquittal on the basis of insanity: the individual did
4 not know the significance nor was he ‘aware of his act‘at the'time
and sometimes subsequently as well. The M’naghten rule, which
3 still governs insanity pleas in many states of America, holds that '
to establish a defence on the ground of insanity, it must be clearly proved
4 that at the time of the committing of the act, the party accused was
* laboring under such a defect of reason, from disease of the mind, as not to
4 know the nature and quality of the act he was doing; or if he did know it
e that he did not know that he was doing what was wrong. .
s During amok Balinese lack the capacity to appreciate the wrong- |
a fulness of their conduct.
mf There are no known cases of recurrence of amok inthe Balinese |
if except for that which occurs in bebainan (see below). Similarly, no
% evidence of recidivism was found in Malaysians who committed
amok (Carr and Tan, 1976). This is unlike the general-pattern of
s violence among most Western criminals in which violent behaviour |
Es is recurrent. In the West, it is well established that the best predictor
x of violent behaviour is a history of previous violence by the
Pi person.° While Suryani has not examined patients during an amok
z attack, she regards the disorder as identifiable by the symptoms of
id amnesia following the attack, the lack of awareness of why they
es had behaved aggressively during the attack, and the absence of a
S psychotic disorder. Amok fits the criteria of a dissociative state‘or a
3)
Co aimee se saree. .
Se — — - eeeoerererreOOOO rv _ _O|MO ’ OOO
===PDFPAGE 149===
t 146 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI bod
? trance-like state. However, it belies the general rule of hypnosis ois
that persons in trance will not do something they would not:do.in ae
their usual or non-hypnotic state. ae
Bebainan: A Trance-possession Disorder® vss
This was an investigation of 27 cases of bebainan, a disorder which
the Balinese believe to be caused by sorcery (Suryani, 1984). The
most common symptoms were sudden feelings of confusion,
crying, screaming,.and shouting, followed by an inability to control
' one’s actions. The victims, mostly female, reported suddenly ‘losing
control of themselves’. Some cried out continually for no reason
(82 per cent), some spoke, giving voice to the bebai (see below) that ;
they felt possessed them (44 per cent), whilst others were ‘silent
(11 per cent), and a few ran amok (11 per cent). Only a:small
number of respondents could not say how they felt or acted during
an attack (7 per cent). In the majority of ca:es, attacks were. brief,
lasting ¥, to 1 hour. ; vrrieset
In an attempt to control troubled and uncertain feelings during
the prodromal stage, sufferers usually went to.a bedroom. After.lying
down, they suddenly found that they could not-control themselyes
anymore. They cried out or sobbed or talked to themselves,against
all attempts to calm them down. Most (81 per cent) were lying down
at the time of an attack, 15 per cent were standing or walking; and
4 per cent were running around aimlessly. If restrained, 89 per cent
said that the more they were restrained, the greater was'their
capacity to resist. None could say how they gained the extraordinary
strength. For example, a female sufferer who was restrained by six
men-was still able to, struggle free. ies enkiust)
Bebainan is an illness which the Balinese believe to be caused
by the possession of the. soul of the ill individual by a malignant
spirit called the bebai. The term bebai (meaning: evil spirit-in old
Balinese) refers to both the malignant spirit and its material
representation. The latter is an embodiment of Balinese belief.in
the supernatural characteristics of the newborn. In Balinese religion,
it is believed that at conception the ‘soul’ of the mother and.that of
the father intermingle to become the foetus (rare. ring jeroning
garba) which assumes the quality of a supernatural human. being
(manusia sakti). This quality. remains with the foetus until the
newborn reaches the age of six Balinese months, ie., about 210 days. :
Belief in the powers of the newborn has inspired some Balinese, who
seek.to practise sorcery or black magic (imu pengiwa), to capture
those powers and transform them into those of a bebai (Weck, 1937).
4 : é é v « se
es ey a ‘x : 3 ard
ae ee
ap oe 8 . ae, ee
IF SEL: 2 tS t Basi TRS
===PDFPAGE 150===
DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS 147
4 Bebai may be made of different raw materials such as an aborted
foetus, a baby which has died before or during delivery, a placenta,.a
: bud of the banana tree, which is still very young and is commonly ,
used in ceremonies (pusui), an egg of a black hen, the water which
4 ‘has been used for bathing a corpse, or the brain of a murdered
1 person. The type of material used determines the power of bebai.
ps For instance, a bebai made from an aborted foetus of a female high
é| priest (pedanda istri) would be much more powerful than another
made from the foetus of an ordinary woman. A very powerful bebai
P| is called ‘king of bebaz’ (raja bebai).
‘i Having found the material needed, the sorcerer then proceeds to
b | treat the object as a baby. Like a real new baby, the bebat undergoes
# the normal series of ceremonies, performed for it immediately
i after ‘birth’, after one (Balinese) month and seven days, at the age of
A three months, and finally at the end of six months. Unlike a human
i baby, after the last ceremony the bebai is taken to the cemetery
} where a special ceremony is performed. At this ceremony;:the
| sorcerer makes offerings to the gods, entreating them to bestow
i} on the bebai the greatest powers possible. If the request is granted, :
5 the sorcerer then gives the Jebai a name, usually:simply ‘human
i baby’ or bayi wong. Afterward, back at home, the sorcerer prepares
i rice and other dishes specially for the bebai; which is now truly
a treated as a precious and precocious child. The next period lasts
| until it reaches the age when a normal child begins to talk. During
4 this period, the bebai is not only fed. regularly. but is also given
a special offerings on kajeng kliwon (an important Balinese religious
Be day which comes every 15 days). Finally, now that the bebaf can
‘talk’ and ‘understand’, it is regularly consulted by the sorcerer to
q ascertain its ‘maturity’. Only when it is fully mature is it ready to be
M4 used. At this stage, it is said to have acquired 30 powers or to-have
g become 30 bebai in one. These powers can be used-either by the
. sorcerer-owner, rented out, or sold.
# Each of the 30 powers or manifestations of the bebai has:a
x particular name and produces a particular symptom through ‘the
; person it possesses. For example, J Bebai Bongol makes its victim
# unable or unwilling to talk. On the other hand, J Bebai Sebarung
makes the person in its possession very talkative and ‘rude.
4 Another example is J Rejek Gumi, presumed to have 108 bute (evil
: spirits) under its command and therefore known as the king of
3 bebai. This bebai attacks its victim violently in the pit of the stomach,
‘a making the victim enraged before rendering him or her un-
q conscious. The victim is likely to die unless help is quickly obtained.
D Although each power or manifestation of the bebai has a distinct
Fr |
ya . Ex 2S
me a4
= ; nd
$n
===PDFPAGE 151===
i i 148 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI # i
name and a distinct mode of attack, the various manifestations are { Hi :
supposed to be very co-operative, and to be ever ready to help'one i
another to subdue victims. ig =
Not every hated person can be attacked or possessed by bebai. 4 Zz
The impervious individuals are those who are free of sins, who-are #8 0
wise, or who have powerful amulets. The vulnerable persons: are .
those who are believed to be weak either in mind or body and :
those who are sinful. past) | | ia
Most commonly, a person falling into the possession ofthe-bebai 7a
is reported to experience a sudden sense of blankness, ‘loss: of x“
! desire and will, and confusion. These feelings are accompanied’ by 7a ~
a stomachache or headache and ringing in the ears, followed bya ;
loss of vision and a feeling of cold starting from the feet upward to =
the pit of the stomach. Finally, the victim ‘loses all control ‘and ae oar
either cries uncontrollably, shouting and screaming, or incessantly '
talks angrily to himself or herself. Sometimes, the afflicted’ person «BSE
becomes violent, exhibiting unusual strength. yt ? ie
Once in control, the bebai is believed to be capable of harming |
or even killing the individual. Usually, however,.its powercan be @&
mitigated and overcome by a traditional healer (balian). Sometimes _
a spiritualist. (ahli kebatinan) or a Balinese Hindu high priest “a ~
(pedanda) is consulted. But since the illnessis consideréd:to-be #%
4 impure (that is, affliction by-a lower form:of spirit), help canbe 9m
ry obtained relatively easily: only from:the.balian. The high priestis
if usually reluctant to come into contact with'thisillmess. 9{s) - #1! i=
i Puri Klungkung encompasses the residential quarters‘or com- @a
pounds of the family of the former King of Klungkung. It consists:of :
| Puri Agung or the grand compound where the King and his principal gt -
wives (including the queen) live, Puri Agung Semara Negara;where j | #1
; the younger wives reside, Puri Agung. Saraswati where the:stil] 4 =
| 4 vounger wives of the-King have their quarters, and three otherpusi ae
(ie. Puri Anyar, Puri Kaleran, and Puri’ Semarabhawa) wherethe
brothers and sisters of the King and their. families havé their ae
; residences. At the time of the fieldwork, conducted inJuneandJuly =a"
1980, the puri accommodated a total of 59 families or households 3m —
with a total of 296 members. dete |
In the past, a pxri girl would at adolescence (following herfirst “a -
menstruation) be taken out of school and.confined to the ‘puri. a
From then on, she would be taught to weave, prepare offerings,
and behave properly in accordance with the intricate etiquette'of | i hs:
the puri. For her, the outside world only appeared through ithe 3y
cracks and openings in the walls of the puri. In the past decade, : Pe
however, this tradition has undergone a slow decay. Anumberof 3% BS
bn
fa E Stage 4
SE ; ae o>
LT L—=—= CC CCC
===PDFPAGE 152===
| DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS 149
| puri girls have continued their education as far as the university, and
some have outside employment in government bureaucracy and in
private enterprise. Nevertheless, almost all of the female members in :
“| the puri have been trained in the weaving of the Balinese
i traditional sarong (kain songket), the Balinese hat (udeng), and the
: shawl (selendang). And in general they are stil] unrebellious. They
. seem to be complacent and willing to accept the decisions of their
| parents and families.
' In the puri as a whole, the older generation .of men generally have
3) more than one wife while most of the younger generation have
q monogamous marriages. All the wives in each polygamous marriage
: i live together in the same compound, apparently quite harmoniously,
4 each one putting the interest of the husband above her own. They
4 appear to comply with the expectation that they should be
y completely obedient to their husband and, at the same time, be able,
F { generally through weaving, dressmaking, or retailing, to support
ql themselves and their children with minimum help-from him. /At
H any rate, none of the wives expressly expects.to,be completely
4 supported by her husband. They accept support-from him;- of
i course, but without exception they recognize the need to be,self-
. supporting. In effect, each wife with children is the head,of-her
| own household. i
Suryani administered formal questionnaires and interviewed all
qz of the members (296 persons) in the compound of the descendants
! of the former royal family of Klungkung. Twenty-seven individuals,
1 mostly female from 16 families, had experienced bebainan at-least
#3 once. All these individuals, who were between 10 and 76 years of
‘g age, were included in the sample. The control group consisted of
: 215 individuals, puri residents who were between 10 and 75 years |
of age. 2
When the first signs of an attack occurred, all family members
; who happened to be in the immediate vicinity of the victim rushed to
his or her side to render assistance. As mentioned above, relatives
| always tried to physically restrain the sufferer who might,.be
' shrieking, writhing, crying, or running around aimlessly. At this
& stage, families had a lot of discussion about where.to find a.suitable
; healer to treat the victim. Close family members usually had.no
ql hesitation in making the diagnosis of bebainan as the symptoms
z were easily recognized and bebainan was regarded as 2 common
2 illness. It was also considered a condition which must be treated
id by traditional healers (because of the sorcery involved) and which
lay outside the power of modern doctors and.paramedics to cure.
i In 93 per cent of cases recorded in the survey, the family
‘ os : 4
===PDFPAGE 153===
150 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI . o>
P immediately sought the help of a traditional healer. In 30 per cent of ; pow
cases, the help of a Balinese Hindu high priest was sought:in ee
addition to, or as an alternative to, the healer’s ministrations. In only ee
11 per cent of cases was the patient taken to a doctor or paramedic:
In some of these cases, the close relative took the sufferer-to’a
doctor (not accepting the diagnosis of bebainan). while other
relatives sought the help of a healer as well. A mere 3.7 per cent of ;
cases did not receive any treatment at all.
In most cases, the healer would be summoned to the house-yard
of the victim. Several healers living close to the puri were the ones ee
usually summoned to treat bebainan cases. On some occasions; ;
close relatives would go to the house of a more distant healer for :
advice and medicines, but rarely was the victim taken outside the .
puri walls.
The healer usually arrived while an attack was in progress ‘and
typically the sufferer would cry out in fright at seeing the healer, and
ask for mercy. In fact, it was the voice of the creature possessing
the sufferer (the bebat) which was believed to be talking through ‘its .
victim. The bebai’s utterances varied little in content and tone from .
one victim to another. Sometimes the healerinterrogated the bebai
who had possessed the victim, asking, for example: ‘Where'do you -
| come from?’, ‘Why are you here?’, and so on. After such a session; :
{ the healer prepared to exorcize the bebai. Some healers used holy ss
j water, or certain ritual objects. Another common technique ‘was to =
squeeze the thumb of the victim, so that the bebai was forced to cry
' out in pain (through the victim), asking for mercy and promising not
to bother the person again. Often the bébai would only leave the body . |i
f of the victim after its demands for certain foods or offerings were F
satisfied. When food was asked for, it was not necessarily food:which | $:
f the victim would normally have found appetizing. After the vietim =
i had returned to normal, the healer gave the family a supply of holy > |e
‘ water or oil, which they were advised to administer regularly.so that =P ~
there should be no recurring attacks. During and after the attack, ; oe
several close relatives of the victim were occupied with carrying *
out the healer's instruction, e.g. preparing food or making the &
small inexpensive offerings usually required. i
In cases where the healer was delayed in coming, the distressed cl
relatives of the victim might seek help from other puri households Oe
in treating the attack. Close relatives sought out other residents who ,
had experience in handling cases of bebainan and who mighthave my.
reserves of holy water and other medicines on hand. Thus Sebainan = oe
attacks provide opportunities for informal co-operation between puri
households, a temporary breakdown of other wise rigid behavioural | a
at
Use para tet ete ie, oe
Grn. Besa 5 eae SS Qo} 4 ae
===PDFPAGE 154===
’ x
DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS 151 "a
codes. Some time after the attack, on a predetermined day, the
afflicted person underwent a purification ceremony which: was
thought to have a calming effect on the sufferer: It was performed :
i by a very high-ranking priest who had a special relationship with puri
residents. The ceremony itself was small, brief, and inexpensive,
Fi and was performed at the priest’s house. This ceremony provides
; an occasion for the former victim to leave the puri briefly.
| Basically, the same procedures were followed for first and
recurring attacks. Apart from the purification ceremony mentioned
. above, no special attention was bestowed on the bebainan sufferer
when not experiencing an attack.
Analysis of the psychological and social pressures acting on
these women suggested that bebainan attacks provided sufferers
| with an opportunity to release feelings of frustration and anger. about
conflicts engendered by their social environment which they had
3 no means to resolve. The victim benefited psychologically from the
| disorder because it was one.of.the few ways in: which women in
particular might give vent to negative feelings without risk of wide-
spread disapprobation or stigmatization. However, bebainan was not
instrumental in altering access to. resources within the restricted
environment of the royal'compound, nor did it empower the victim
| within this environment in any but the most transitory ways:
7 From the psychiatric standpoint, the most compelling charac-
teristics of bebainan are its sudden occurrence and the temporary
character of its impact. During its attack, the victim suffers a
severe impairment of consciousness and sense of identity and loss
of control over motor functions. But these symptoms disappear
4 completely at the cessation of the attack. There is no amnesia for
events during the attack. Bebainaaz cannot be regarded as a form of
psychosis, even of the reactive or atypical type; it is neither an
a organic mental disorder, nor a form of neurosis. Instead bebainan
* can be considered a form of dissociation, specifically trance with
: possession, which is understandabie only in the context of. local
4 Balinese culture. The disorder fits the definitions of trance and
P| possession disorders in the newly published JCD-10 (WHO, 1992).
z It.is highly significant that within a year after Suryani’s study of
: this long-standing disorder, it ceased to occur in the palace
4 population. Because of this, some families regarded Suryani.as
Fj having magic powers. The authors regard the disappearance of the
=| disorder under the circumstances as consistent with it being a
# community-wide culture-related dissociative disorder with posses-
sion. It is hypothesized that the families’ relaxation of restrictions
P| on adolescents took the pressure off them and decreased their
E
2 j
“Wy ‘
te Shee
a TS ee a
===PDFPAGE 155===
152 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
resentments. Possibly this and related changes in the community, é
which reduced the stress-producing customs and the education _ a
which Suryani provided about the nature of the disorder, removed ti
some of the mystery of the illness and were the primary factors t n
responsible for its curious disappearance. It still occurs sporadic- . n
ally in the wider Balinese population. | d
li
Kasurupan: A Dissociative Disorder in Schoolchildren’ .
Aclinical study of an outbreak of dissociative disorders (kasurupan) i
in 45 elementary schoolchildren (Suryani and: Jensen, 1991) c
illustrates a mass or epidemic trance disorder and the ‘need for n
Western-trained psychiatrists to develop an intimate and thorough s
knowledge of the Balinese culture as it affects behaviour, personality tl
and mental disorders, and clinical strategies. f u
In January 1984, a number of schoolchildren in a mountainous s
area of central Bali began to experience spells characterized ‘by °
sudden onset, fainting, unconsciousness, crying, visual hallucina- °
tions, anxiety, and occasionally automatic dancing (lasting minutes to a
hours) with complete awareness of events of the spell after recovery. tt
The number of children-afflicted (45 of the 215 schoolchildren), G
the frequency of the attacks (65 per cent’ had 6-15 episodes; one te
had 30; some had:several per day), and the apparently contacious te
nature of the disorder, interfered severely with the functions of the ro
schools and caused fear in the children and community. It was | t
apparent that this problem touched the entire community, as well | Pp
as the children experiencing the mental disorder. Treatment efforts | te
by traditional healers and psychopharmacotherapy advised by / s}
psychiatrists were ineffective. Education ‘and government officials is b
from the region became concerned and involved. ) desi |
The village heads and associated government officials invited . si
Suryani to investigate the problem. She visited the village on several : Tr
occasions and interviewed teachers, school officials, community . c
members, and afflicted children, examined one child during an fe
attack, and surveyed 19 victims by structured interview. 2
The spells consisted of three phases: prodromal symptoms, trance, si
and recovery. The prodromal phase was characterized by weakness a ty
(90 per cent), a feeling of emptiness in the head, piloerection on ! q
the neck, closing of the eyes and difficulty opening them, and 5 si
intense fear of impending events. This phase lasted from 2 to | tr
10 minutes. if te
The trance phase was characterized by hallucinations and disso- . tt
| oe
7" * f
er ae pio ae Bee e Re, BY
Pee Soo ASS CRS Ca
===PDFPAGE 156===
DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS 153
a ciative phenomena. The experiences varied in details but had
4 common elements. Many victims lost their hearing and the ability ;
to hear voices around them. Most (70 per cent) saw a woman or a
man, usually a big, ‘horrible’ woman with yellow or red-coloured
3 matted hair, a red or black face, hairy arms, and long hair hanging
ij down or fixed behind the head (45 per cent), sometimes appearing
like a giant or Rangda, the witch in classical Balinese drama well
zl known to all Balinese. Some saw a woman with light-shaded
4 beautiful skin. Some reported that this woman took them for a walk
ad in the forest (in front of the school).and spoke to: them, but they
4 could not speak back. In the forest, they cried from fear, saw little
# men and snakes with big bright eyes, and then were led back-to
Fl school by the woman or man. A few experienced being taken’ to
| the forest along with another child from school to whom they:were
Z| unable to speak. On one occasion when 17. girls had attacks
4 simultaneously, two sixth-grade children suddenly sat-up and:told
P| of being ‘possessed’ by the two women spirits who were sisters; the
a older one lived in a large stone, partially buried in the: schoolyard,
| and the younger one lived in a stone hidden under a classroom of
i the school. The spirits asked for floral offerings to the supreme
=| God and for a traditional Balinese gamelan orchestra so they could
a teach the children to dance. The teacher complied by turning: on
2 taped gamelan music. At the first note of the gamelan, all the
¥ children who were experiencing the attack suddenly arose and the
3 two girls danced legong, a classical Balinese dance that most had
probably seen performed in the village but had not before learned
ie to do themselves. The other 15 children then performed legong
| spontaneously. When the music ended, all returned to sleep-like
Bat behaviour. The trance phase lasted about 40 minutes.
< The recovery phase was characterized by sitting up, expres-
_ sionless, confused and anxious with weakness of neck and body
3 muscles (70 per cent). After a few minutes, most of the victims
= continued with their schoolwork as usual but a small number were
I fearful and went home.
- A number of responses of the teachers and community were
| significant. Soon after the episode began, they recalled an episode |
4 two years before when two children suddenly lost consciousness i)
3 (pingsan) at school, were taken home, and recovered after about
ed six hours with several recurrences. They were treated by a
= traditional healer (balian), who said the cause was a buried small
“¢ temple on the school grounds that offended the gods. At that time
' the community promised the balian they would build a new temple
ee
Reo 2 rs ; ~ A %,
nn EE eee
===PDFPAGE 157===
!
‘ 154 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI sia
but had not done so because of a lack of funds. With the onset-of
this new outbreak of a similar disorder, the community quickly: 3
built the temple on the school grounds. This effort along -with
ceremonies and offerings to the gods was fruitless. The ‘spirit’ rock
on school grounds was fenced off. Teachers became fearful and
unable to teach effectively because of these: interruptions. The
school authorities transferred some victims to another school;
however, this caused additional attacks in other children in that
school and they were returned. The balian believed the attacks
were caused by the gods who were angered by the villagers’
mistakes. Non-afflicted children feared being attacked, and the
news media expressed alarm.
Examination of a 13-year-old child during an attack revealed a
pale face, flickering eyelids, and resistance to efforts to open her
eyes. Pupillary reflexes and deep tendon reflexes were normal. Her
extremities were cold, but her heart rate was normal. Fifteen minutes
later, she was crying and breathing slowly (five respirations per
minute). Eye movements resembling nystagmus were noted, After
another fifteen minutes, she sat up, was unresponsive to questions;
and had cold extremities. Fifteen minutes after this, she spoke’slowly
with an expressionless face. Forty minutes later, she returned: to
her normal behaviour and could recall her experience well.
Interviews with victims included questions about their relation-
ships with parents, peers, and siblings, and about their life out of
school. There were no reported changes at home except fear that
the'‘big woman’ would follow them home. They typically reported:a
home life lacking communication with parents and with inadequate
opportunities for play, because of the lack of immediate neighbours. |
Working or doing school homework were their chief activities.
They did not report sleep problems but some felt fearful at night.
At school, the pattern of play with peers went on as usual but fear
of another attack persisted. .
It was clear from these studies that the attacks represented a
dissociation phenomenon or trance. The stressor for most victims
in this study was anxiety among the children and teachers. A specific
stressor for the children initially afflicted could not be identified.
There was evidently a high degree of suggestibility involved as
evidenced by the ‘spread’ of attacks to new contacts, including two
adults.
Suryani observed that the temple built on the school ground was
not properly oriented in its location according to the traditional
Balinese Hindu religion. She became aware of the many visiting
ae A oe 3" a “ft ae as
Ser RG see ee: eet
cis ieee nS 3 “As ea
eS Oe SSS eee
===PDFPAGE 158===
‘ DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS 155
strangers (i.e. officials, news media, and curious outsiders) and their
§ apparently disturbing influence on the village and iits people who
previously were relatively isolated from outsiders. ,
Various possible approaches to the problem were discussed.
First, diagnosis was necessary. Arriving at a diagnostic term to. be
used in the management process with the community involved
taking into account its suitability not only for individual ‘patients’
but for the community and even the country as a whole. It had to
be acceptable to the culture if it was to be workable. For example,
labelling the behaviour ‘hysteria’ would insult or anger the people
: and destroy rapport; using the term ‘epidemic illness’ would cause
# fear in the Balinese people; the diagnostic term ‘dissociative
] disorder’ would be incomprehensible and if used with the people
would destroy confidence in the psychiatrists. This situation pre
: sented a dilemma to and generated conflict an.ong the psychiatrists.
The diagnostic term finally chosen was possession (kasurupan), a
% concept known to the Balinese, and understandable as well-as
acceptable to them. This term does not carry with it-an implication
of illness or stigma; rather, it is part of normal life in Bali. ay:
Next, a treatment and intervention strategy had to be developed. ;
3 There was no precedent for treatment of this kind of disorder in
Bali. Pharmacotherapy was ruled out because prior experiences
had shown it to be ineffective. Individual and group psychotherapy
was considered but regarded as impractical in view of the urgency
and extensiveness of the disorder. The epidemic nature of the
problem suggested public health strategies. It was agreed that
multiple aspects of the culture had tobe taken into account and
brought into harmony or balance with psychiatry. The final plan
developed combined clinical and socio-cultural elements. sth
The main components of the plan were outlined to the community
leaders, and to health, education, and religious officials at a meeting
held in August 1984, one month after initiation of the study. ‘The
characteristics of the disorder were explained, the diagnostic label
: of possession (kasurupan) was used, and specific measures were
Fe advised: Pie
1. The high priest (pedanda) was recommended as the primary
: healer. This decision was based on his traditional role in treat-
y ment of mental disturbances, his high status in religious matters,
and the prior ineffectiveness of local balian. The villagers would
» regard the high priest's intervention as appropriate since the
; community believed the attacks were caused by supernatural
3 forces (anger of the gods) and did not represent disease.
| |
‘
re as ee : : ; Beek:
Ves taieriee < ie
Bet fi ie : 38 Ao eae
Rae ae 5 poe
elle”... LL
===PDFPAGE 159===
| =
i’ 156 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
2. A new temple should be built to correct the error in orientation
of the existing newly built temple on the school grounds.:This :
rationale adhered to the concept of ‘balance’ of forces traditionally
believed to cause mental disorder. A proper temple is regarded
as the source of all community power. et
3..Teachers would allay fears of the children-by reading ‘and
teaching traditional stories from the Hindu epics, Mahabharata
. and Ramayana, which feature positive and benevolent spirits.
These stories are consonant-with Balinese Hindu belief. ~
4. The village should be closed to all outsiders including the |
investigators. This was intended to reduce confusion, stress,
and fear engendered by outsiders. bt
5. Individual psychotherapy was offered if needed. : issue
These suggestions were accepted and. all were carried:.out
immediately. The high priest directed the temple change and the
ceremonies of purification. Teachers had more confidence.and a
fresh direction of teaching; village life returned to its usual pattern.
Within one month after the initiation of the plan, all attacks ceased.
At yearly follow-up visits during 1985-90, no further attacks.were
reported. ne 7
Spirit Possession in Other Cultures BY
‘ la te bt
In. north-west. Madagascar, two types, of: spirit possession,-haye
been described which manifest behaviours similar to those of both
the bebainan and kasurupan types.of possession in Bali (Sharp,
1990). : cd ilseess
One type of spirit possession called jarinintsy isa ‘sickness’
occurring primarily in adolescent girls which,.sometimes causes
violence. It may typically begin by a teacher asking a student to
perform a task, perhaps an assignment at the board; instead. of
responding, the student-suddenly starts to. wail:loudly, sob, scream;
or yell obscenities and may stand up and run about the room.-She
may throw objects or swing her arms violently, and it may. take
four or five boys to catch her and hold her down. There have been
mass outbreaks of this type of possession, which is thought.to be
contagious. Fifteen or twenty students, including sometimes a few
boys, may become possessed at one time. It is regarded as a form of
possession or as a sickness caused by a bad or evil spirit. Symptoms
include shaking and chills, uncontrollable screaming and crying,
loss of memory, and mental confusion. During possession,.the
individual does not recognize anyone and has amnesia with regard
pees ee ME
eee “4, aS ey
===PDFPAGE 160===
| DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS 157
“| to the events afterwards. It is believed that if a healer is not obtained
3 who can drive the spirits from the person's body, he or she may go
@ mad or die. A study of outbreaks of the disorder among school- ,
. children indicated that it was the outcome of culturally and socially
' alienated youth in a rapidly changing society.
1 Another type of spirit called tromba primarily possesses women,
4 is troublesome, and makes demands on the traditional healers and
¥ others close to the individual. This altered state begins with an
$ onslaught of chronic symptoms, including headaches, dizziness;
x soreness of the neck, back, or limbs; or persistent stomach pains.
Whereas the possession by njarininisy is regarded as a problem,
. possession by tromba is an important aspect of the cultural identity
: of the women, a marker of status, and a means to enhance her status
4 locally. A woman who becomes a traditional healer for tromba,
% called a tromba-medium, is a powerful and respected healer.in the
community. Services and the techniques used. by,.these healers
B (Sharp, 1990) resemble those of the traditional healers of Bali in
} many respects. : tot
. Demonic possession has. been described as a ‘frightening, neg-
# ative experience of some uninvited, evil entities assuming complete
; control over one’s body’ (Goodman, 1988)..Goodman described:two
5 types of possession: African and Eurasian. In the Eurasian type,
; the evil entities who have settled in torment their victims and attempt
= to kill them. The feelings are relieved by dislodging, expelling,.i.e.
3 exorcizing, the malevolent being (Goodman, 1988: 98).8
4 There are relatively few case reports of possession disorders in
) the West. Since possession occurs in some Western religious
3 settings, it may be expected that possession would occur in non-
religious settings as it does in Balinese and in other non-Western
cultures. Only a few cases have been reported in Westerners and
s observed at first hand by a psychiatrist who is.an expert-in
dissociative disorders and MPD (Allison, 1992). Five cases. of
5 possession were reported by a Jesuit priest (Martin, 1976), two
7 cases by an anthropologist (Goodman, 1981, 1988)..In the latter
z two cases, data and examinations could not rule.out a number of
& other neurologic and. psychiatric conditions. These included
g seizure disorder, bipolar affective disorder, mania, multiple
4 personality disorder, and several other dissociative disorders. Jensen
£ examined a patient in California in. 1990 who seemed .to be
3 possessed by the Devil for a period of years and attributed his
murder of an individual to the work of the possessed Devil. On
3 psychiatric examination, it appeared that this man suffered from a
Bre Se See
===PDFPAGE 161===
rs 158 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
pt
psychotic delusion rather than a possession disorder. On the other
hand, it can be expected that persons who have grown up ina :
foreign country where possession and possession ‘disorders iare
characteristic are more likely to manifest possession disorder
while living in a Western culture. 3
ae * ,
Dissociative disorder is a general term applicable to a number of
mental disorders, including amnesia, fugue state, hysterical
paralysis, deafness, blindness, and multiple personality disorder
(MPD). JCD-10 (WHO, 1992) differentiates trance and possession
disorders from the others. Most types of dissociative disorders,
except MPD, have been observed in the Balinese. A study of )
suicide attempters revealed that most non-psychotic patients were = )
in a state of trance-possession during the attempt. These cases ‘are |
classified as a type of trance-pessession disorder and represent a .
heretofore unrecognized psychological process in suicide:Disso- /
Ciation is a significant mechanism in suicide attempts of patients
with MPD. Case-studies of amok indicate that trance is operative'in
an acute attack. An epidemic trance disorder (kasurupan) affecting
schoolchildren and a trance-possession disorder (bebainan) which
occurred in a palace population were studied and described. They
revealed several cardinal aspects of the’ trance-possession state,
including the factor of contagion, hallucinations, and wild;)un- — |
controlled behaviour. The treatment of these two conditions involved
traditional healing and a combination of traditional (religion-based)
and Western psychiatric methods. asthe: E
~ Delineation of trance-suicide has important implications'for'the 4
| management of suicide attempts in Westerners (see Chapter:9).
| The healing process used’ successfully with the children suffering
from trance disorder is a model for treating similar disorders'that 4%
occur in Balinese and other Eastern cultures, andin the West:The
current operating split of body/mind in Western medicine
compromises the treatment of many maladies. of Westerners. To
ignore the spiritual realm of life would further’ compromise .
healing. The Balinese cases of possession disorder bring into :
sharp focus the WHO definition of health: this would be more 7
complete when it adds the factor of spiritual health to its current
definition covering physical, psychological, and social health. -- ° as
__————— ate = 4 =“ .
Bight: eee ares cart
fs ae a. eas
a a a a
===PDFPAGE 162===
sg DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS 159
1. An Amytal interview is one conducted while the patient is in a sedated state
brought on by the controlled, slow, intravenous injection of the fast-acting barbiturate,
Amytal. .
2. Wangaya is the only public psychiatric hospital in Bali, apart from the mental
hospital at Bangli, Bali.
: 3. An exception to these beliefs was the ancient practice of the wives of royalty
2 voluntarily throwing themselves and burning to death on the cremation pyres of their
4 husbands (sasatia).
; 4. An alternative term is ‘culturally recognized syndrome’, indicating that it may
occur in cultures in which it has not yet been given the same degree of attention.
5. Single episodes of mass killing by individuals also occur in the West but are
relatively rare compared with the usual types of violent acts.
6. This section on bebainan is reproduced from The Balinese People: A Reinvest-
; igation of Character (Jensen and Suryani, 1992: 113-45).
7. This section on kasurupan is reproduced from The Balinese People: A
; Reinvestigation of Character (Jensen and Suryani, 1992: 163-7).
—« 8. For a description of exorcism rituals used by Catholicism, see Martin (1976)
x and Goodman (1988: 120). ;
‘|
-
] , ;
/
4
| :
ig | al
Re | :
oe | 5 aS
tats SS ~
Se ees ets oth ‘ r =
—————oor me aaa a a at
===PDFPAGE 163===
ot i
8 ;
-% ¢
rf
4
| Chapter 8
| Meditation, Meditation Healing, j
? i
| and Hypnotherapy ;
t
| |
}
i MEDITATION is an ASC (altered state of consciousness) that needs
to be differentiated from trance and possession. The technique of if
meditation healing used in Bali may prove useful to Western :
practitioners. The phenomenon of possession during hypnotherapy 4
of Balinese patients may contribute another dimension to Western 4
¥ hypnotherapy. i
Meditation ;
Meditation has a long history of practice in both Eastern and ;
; Western cultures. It is an act or process of focusing one’s thought fj
to become aware or to engage in contemplation. Broadly, meditation :
' is understood as a specific practice which achieves a number of i
different goals, including (1) selfdevelopment; (2) selfrealization;
(3) the act of experiencing oneself; and (4) the discovery of ;
ultimate truth (Chaudhuri, 1974). In Bali, meditation is usually t
performed by persons who want to learn how to relate to God and '
by older persons who are more inclined tc wards the spiritual life. t
BS Balinese meditation has two objectives: (1) to become aware of
and improve oneself in the natural world (e.g. increase one’s ability a4
i to solve problems and diminish needs stemming from real life); 34
t and (2) to understand one’s supernatural world (e.g. connect with 4
i the gods to get messages or a lecture from them). There is no
mind-body dichotomy in Balinese philosophy such as there is in
' the West. |
The various meditation techniques used for healing and pro- ii
moting well-being have been described in the literature. Most of 37
} these consist of imaging or focusing on the distressed or diseased %f
| 2)
ee err a [ - e
Ke . os! = : z AS
ee eee SS Se ee
===PDFPAGE 164===
MEDITATION AND HYPNOTHERAPY 161 7a
F part of the body (eBerry, 1992). It is believed that these f
3 techniques are effective in relieving pain, restoring health, possibly
4 prolonging life in individuals with AIDS, promoting localized '
healing (Schwartz, 1983: 114), and ameliorating cancer (Meares,
1978). Meditation has been found to be helpful for patients, with
: cancer in terms of improving sleep, relationships, attitudes
towards death, and understanding the meaning and purpose of life
(Magarey, 1988). There is experimental evidence that meditation is
. effective in reducing anxiety and depression (DeBerry, Davis, and
Reinhard, 1989). Despite these applications of meditation to distress
. and illness, in a critical comparison between ' meditation .and
. psychotherapy in terms of method. and. aims, Kokoszka (1990)
. stated that the aim of meditation is primarily. self-development
; through a specific way of life and practices,,whereas the aim of
s psychotherapy is to restore health. oerie'§ Swaie ce
f All forms of meditation are characterized: by, an-ialteration. of
" . awareness of attention. There are two basic techniques of attention
y . in meditation which produce ASC although both aim-to bring the
a | persons concerned to a better understanding of their mental function
as they experience a change in the level of consciousness from their
usual state. Both techniques are used in Bali. One is concentration
| with a single focus, using a visual object or an auditory stimulus,
such as a mantra. This is analogous to using a camera zoom lens.
d | The other technique is mindfulness, where the: individual allows
it | himself to be aware of a situation in general, such as mentally
n dl following the breath through the body. This is analogous to.a wide-
if angle lens. :
: In concentration meditation, one’s thinking and emotions tend
of ct to be subordinate; the focus of attention is limited to a repeated
y stimulus such as a word, a voice, a prayer, breath, or a visual
d : object, and a passive attitude is maintained. Intrusive mental
>, { activities disturb .concentration. If the meditator is disturbed; he
of * must refocus his concentration on the stimulus. When meditation
y H phenomena develop, his mood will change from relaxation to an
he 4 emotional and cognitive state of ASC.
h 3] In mindfulness meditation (Delmonte, 1989; Kelly, 1955),;the
o : individual tries to observe his or her mind without ignoring thoughts,
n : desires, and moods.. Thoughts are allowed to flow in and out of
zi the mind and the subject acts as if he is observing these non-
o- ; judgmentally from outside himself. This is analogous to the hidden
of nM observer phenomenon of the hypnotic state.
d In meditation, a number of psychological phenomena, which
{
===PDFPAGE 165===
162 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
occur in the normal non-ASC state, as well as in abnormal mental
conditions, are encountered. These include hallucinations, delusions, ,
depersonalization, and derealization (Castillo, 1990; Deikman, 1963;
Kennedy, 1976). ;
Meditation is characterized by a number of neurophysiological ;
changes, including lowered consumption of oxygen, decreased
heart rate, slow rate of breathing, low blood pressure, and |
decreased serum levels of lactic acid, increased skin resistance, ‘
and changes in blood circulation. These changes are related toa {
decrease in sympathetic nervous system activity (see Kutz, ¢
Borysenko, and Benson, 1985).: A large reduction in resting {
metabolism was recorded in. Tibetan Buddhist monks in India
during meditation (Benson et al., 1990). Experimental evidence
has been found for reduced beta-adrenergic receptor sensitivity’ in
subjects practising transcendental meditation which supports studies S
postulating that meditation is associated with reduced sympathetic 1
adrenergic receptor sensitivity (Mills et al., 1990). Other evidence a
of the effects of meditation on the nervous system come from 2
studies of Qi Gong meditation, which has been known for p
thousands of years in China and whichis widely practised (Liu et’al., g
1990).This form of meditation causes an enhancement of brain rn
stem auditory evoked response with a concomitant depression of p
cortical responses. These changes are: hypothesized to be related n
to the healing and other health benefits of this type of meditation. n
Findings of brain wave changes during meditation are not entirely
consistent. Kutz, Borysenko, and Benson (1985) found a’change in T
« and ® rhythms of the EEG (electroencephalogram) during ai
meditation. Triman et al. (1978) studied 69 meditation subjects hi
who practised meditation for over 15 years and 69 non-meditation as
subjects in Surabaya, Java. The frequency of breathing and heart tk
rate decreased in the meditators but was unchanged in the control hi
subjects. The EEG of the meditation subjects showed a change in fe
o rhythm, decreasing from 69.6 to 15.9 per cent, becoming more G
regular, and moving from the occipital-parietal towards the central di
area of the brain. 8 waves decreased (68.1 to 52.5 per cent) in the : th
frontal-central areas. 9 waves increased from 1.4 to 14.5 per cent. + fo
After a quiet period 6 waves decreased from 1.4 to 1 per cent. The ; th
control subjects, who sat quietly concentrating without meditation, f an
had increased « and B waves but in the same areas before and © oc
after the quiet period. @ waves were not increased. Respiratory rate ila
and heart rate were significantly different between the meditators i 4 ex
and the control subjects. Meditating Tibetan monks living in India sil
- iy
S ‘
ES ie, sis ae eeee ita, tong. : “bie ve
ee Sige Sie ame =. eas ME
SE eoeaey rik fis Seate <aiie ae
Beis natal eS . Sas: Se
===PDFPAGE 166===
MEDITATION AND HYPNOTHERAPY 163
7 showed a marked asymmetry in & and 8 activity between the hemi-
# spheres and increased f activity (Benson et al., 1990). In another .
# study, EEGs of non-meditating subjects came into coherence or
synchrony with those of meditators in the immediate area (Travis
x and Orme-Johnson, 1989).
q It has been hypothesized that meditation has field effects that
4 link individuals, i.e. the meditation affects non-meditators in the
vicinity. In support of this, studies of population groups reported t
that meditation in a group of individuals decreased crime in the
3 99 per cent of the community who do not practise meditation
(Willbeck et al., 1989).
i Meditation Healing and Possession
a Suryani learned meditation from a schoolteacher when she was
3 14 years old. At this time she spontaneously became possessed
; and she knew of about 30 in several thousand in the meditation
group who were also possessed and had visual hallucinations during
; possession. Several years’after her experience ‘of possession’ by a
goddess, the healing component of meditation ‘technique ‘was
revealed to her by God. For’ the past 25 years, she hasbeen
¥ perfecting and improving this technique. She has used it with
many patients and taught it to mental health workers, educators,
4 medical students, psychiatry residents, and a senior citizens’ group.
: The technique uses a combination of both kinds of meditation.
F The patient must sit in a comfortable position of his choice. He is
Be asked to relax all muscles and then focus on one point in front of
J him (about 1 metre) with sustained concentration. He is then
4 asked to wait, while focused, until his eyelids feel heavy and when
| they do, to allow them to close. Next, he is asked to concentrate ‘on
| his nose, to be aware of the sensations of breathing, and to try and
Z feel the energy from outside (this refers to ealing energy from
>» God) pass into his body and out through his nose. If he has
| difficulty concentrating, he is asked to feel the energy move from
BH the nose out through the feet, or from the nose out through the
zl fontanelle, and finally out of the entire body, by which time all
ba thoughts and feelings are focused only on the breathing without
BSI any change in the normal breathing pattern. When meditation
| occurs, breathing will decrease in volume, resulting in hypovent-
> ilation. The body will begin to feel lighter, and the person will
sl experience a feeling of peace. In that frame of mind, he can speak
| silently ‘in his heart’ to himself according to his own beliefs, e.g. he
a 4
Seen os : : eet”
5 oa Fee 2
ss aoe ey e ‘ J AS is e
Ste ee" : ee
i cm Te) TTY URE a
===PDFPAGE 167===
164 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
may pray to God, saying that he wants to be healthy or that he
wishes to overcome sickness. This is continued for a total of only. ,
10-15 minutes. The purpose of this meditation is to increase one’s
psychic ability to understand oneself, the environment, and God.
Meditation is recommended in the morning on awakening),to
prepare one for the day and in the evening before sleep for ‘clearing’
the mind of the day’s conflicts or worries and burdens. It may be
done at any time during the day when one wishes to resolve a
problem. There are no dietary or other prohibitions. It can, be
performed irrespective of date, time, or place. Shae vas Os
Suryani differentiates ‘meditation healing’ from hypnosis or:self-
hypnosis. She recognizes it as an ASC but one in which the
individual mixes an outer power with his own inner power, and
uses them in combination to effect the healing. The individual feels
himself taking the power from the outside as he goes through the
breathing exercise. By contrast, Suryani perceives the individual in
hypnosis as utilizing imagination from within himself. . t,t
Astate of relaxation without meditation is used for self-treatment
of tiredness, sleeping problems, and also sickness. The individual
sits down or lies down, relaxes all muscles, and empties his, mind.
The emphasis is on feeling the energy move from the feet, through
the body, and out of the top of the head (fontanelle), and then
feeling the energy from outside the body enter the fontanelle, go
through the body, and out through the feet. ‘Lnis is continued until
the feeling of fitness is attained. If there is pain or a problem in,one
area of the body, the breath is visualized and expressed as going
out through that particular place, all/the while focusing on, that
place. If this relaxation technique is used to treat a physical problem,
concentration is focused on the site of the problem.in the :body
until a feeling of relief is attained. If one feels sleepy, it is all right
to sleep for a few minutes or for whatever amount oftime is needed.
Persons who have difficulty concentrating may be helped by another
person in meditation: the individual can experience the power of
helping and/or healing from this other: meditator. ‘
Following the 3-month period in Suryani’s youth when possession
experiences were frequent, she worked with people who came to
her with problems, essentially as a balian works with clients, giving
advice, using her psychic powers, and sometimes divining for a
lost person or things. For example, her brother, who was repairing
electrical equipment at a hotel, was unable to get the circuits to
work. He asked her about it. She consulted God, who told her that
they should make an offering at a certain place and after this was
done, the electrical system began to work. She stopped practising
. ; . maar ee 3
; Sex ORES
OOO Eee se
===PDFPAGE 168===
MEDITATION AND HYPNOTHERAPY 165
as a balian when she became a medical doctor. Currently‘ in her
daily life and in her practice of medicine, she no longer talks about
her balian powers because she does not want colleagues or patients :
to be confused about her role as a physician. A few close friends
still come to her house to consult her about problems with their
family; in such instances, she may ask God what the problem is
. and provide counsel in the style of a balian. However, in her case,
she meditates only for a few minutes and the goddess uses her
body directly; no special ritual is required for her to be possessed
by the goddess. Most balian perform a ritual in order to enter into
the possession state. mes
Suryani had an unusual experience of possession during‘medita-
tion while visiting the high priest of Ubud, to whom‘ she had gone
to accompany a friend who wished to observe his techniqué: When
Suryani asked the priest about her level of meditation, he made
| extensive enquiries about her experience, asking her where she
| had learned meditation in the beginning and so! on: At the priest’s
: I request, Suryani proceeded to meditate ‘using’ her own method.-At
. that point she was suddenly overcome ‘by a’ power which she felt
emanated from him, a power which became so strong and-highly
a energetic that she felt she could barely maintain her” sitting ;
; position without falling over, collapsing, and possibly dying from it.
: In an effort to counteract this feeling, she breathed rapidly ‘and
{ i deeply and clasped her hands together, pulling them ‘strongly
: fi apart against resistance. The total .amount-of time she spent in
, meditation was about 10 minutes and she woke up in the usual
: : manner. The priest commented that her level of meditation’ was
, higher than her friend’s and told her not to relax her body'in deep
’ meditation. She and her friend noticed that the priest looked at her
t . intently with open eyes. During the ensuing’ five days,’ she
: spontaneously experienced the high priest's appearance’ on each
: a day in a number of different situations, including:at her home, at
f work, in the car, and at a store. Each time he appeared, he' spoke
to her, apologizing for his comment and asking her to give him
i : back his power. She declined and said that she did not want togive
) it back. Her reason for refusing was that she felt‘he might-use
z ei the power to harm her in some way. After those five days;'she
i u no longer experienced the hallucinations. This was her-first
z ht experience of a power entering her or possessing her'during
) qi meditation. Sea
t ; In Western terms, the ‘power’ Suryani described‘ during medi-
3 | tation can be interpreted as a possession phenomenon, ‘but‘one
z Ay that does not occur in a state of trance. During this meditation,
i |
)
ee ae ee ee a ee
===PDFPAGE 169===
166 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
Suryani did not have any of the sensory changes or perceptual p
experiences that she usually observes when she enters. into trance b
and which are typically associated with trance. The auditory and “y
visual hallucinations of the high priest on the days following -her
meditation experience occurred in her usual state of consciousness, 4
not in a trance state. This is an example of the phenomena. fre- t
quently seen in Balinese: auditory and visual hallucinations during 4
anormal, presumably non-altered state of consciousness. é
Suryani’s possession abilities and traditional healer techniques é
have affected the way she practises psychiatry. For example, after P
a relatively brief contact with a patient, Suryani often tells him/her ‘
what she believes the problems are and how to solve the problem ‘
with the family, based on intuition and the information she gets ‘
from the god who possessed her. She does. not tell the patient
where she gets her ideas from but simply presents them as part of
her psychotherapeutic work, as she explains, advises, and gives
support. Balinese patients find this technique familiar and reassur- '
ing because they experience something similar with the balian, to
whom they generally go for all sorts of problems. Functionally, this
technique resembles one used by Western practitioners in,.the
sense that Western psychotherapists often resort to intuition..in
their work with patients.
, Suryani feels that by using her psychic abilities it is-possible to
determine if her patients have black magic; it is not necessary. for
her to use any specific ritual or diagnostic techniques, as most
traditional healers do. If she determines that her patients have
been affected by black magic, she will sometimes advise them.to
meditate and may advise them to attend religious ceremonies and
make offerings as well: She does not tell these patients that this, is
her working diagnosis because she feels it may make them upset
and confused about her role as a physician. A number of traditional |
healers who refer patients to her tell the clients that Suryani has
the skills of both a traditional healer and a psychiatrist. fi |
A Balinese explanation of Suryani’s possession states and its i
consequences for her and her patients is straightforward. There is a
no mystery about possession and it involves supernatural power. |
Some experience it and some do not. Western accounts of it and |
explanations in the literature, however, are different from Suryani’s |
experience. For example, Connor (1984) described the case ofa |
man who had bizarre and psychotic behaviour for some months 1
and subsequently became a balian, an episode which she called |
divine madness (see Chapter 9). Belo (1960) described a 24% |
month-long illness of a man who was subsequently inducted, by.a )
if
pi ee 2 eae
ages oe a
pe ae eee
TSS
===PDFPAGE 170===
4 MEDITATION AND HYPNOTHERAPY 167 “
priest to become a balian. Suryani has known only one balian who 2
began his career without such a severe and relatively prolonged
illness. ;
It is a truism about Balinese culture that there are many vari-
ations in the cultural patterns. Villages may differ dramatically in
: their ceremonies. Examples presented in this book-are those at
q Timbrah and Kesiman (Chapter 4). The gods for which ceremonies
are held may differ as may the days on which special ceremonies
; are held. It is apparent that the patterns of trance-possession are
also different to some extent. Probably no two balian have the
; same style of practice, although their beliefs may be basically the
® same. Each balian develops his/her own style; the same can be
. said about Western physicians and psychotherapists.
i Hypnotherapy with Possession
Suryani is the only practitioner of hypnotherapy in Bali. She has
x found the Balinese to. be easily hypnotizable using a technique with
y relatively little verbalization in contrast to many Western induction
3 techniques. She has used it primarily for the treatment of patients
with chronic disorders, including anxiety, panic disorder, depression,
q and somatoform disorders. For patients with acute disorders, she
generally utilizes ordinary psychotherapy.
About 25 per cent of Suryani’s patients become possessed during
; hypnosis. Possession in hypnotherapy has not been described in
the literature. The following case is an example.
‘ A 25-year-old Javanese woman, married with two small children
x and living in Bali, had suffered tics or contractions of the facial
: muscles, fluttering of the eyelids, and severe spasms of the jaw
% | muscles. She was worried that she might have a brain tumour,
q although Western-trained Balinese physicians, including a neurolo-
{ gist-who had carefully examined her, reassured her that this was
| not the case. She also had episodes of collapsing on the floor (about
4 three times a day at home), chronic headaches, and a sleeping
a problem. All these symptoms, present over a 4-year period, had
been treated by many different traditional healers and a number of
| Western-trained physicians. One of the latter referred the patient
; to Suryani.
% A programme of psychotherapy at weekly visits was instituted
a and carried out over a 3-month period. It was revealed that several
| of her problems were related to her lack of understanding of
| Balinese culture:
4 1. She felt she was in a disadvantageous and unfair position at
#4
=
ise Jb Sa
a Oe . 7 3 ae “2
© ao . : er gat
eee mn Se eee ae
===PDFPAGE 171===
Re
: 168 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
home because her mother-in-law, who visited her every other
week, complained to her whenever her husband refused to give ;
: her the money she requested for ceremonies. The mother-in-
law claimed that she and her husband cared more about them-
‘selves than about his parents. (In Balinese-culture, a-son-is
responsible for his parents.) She did not like her mother-in-law
and her behaviour but was unable to express her feelings, and
she could not tell her mother-in-law that she did not want to see
her. “ht ri
2. Her husband seldom talked to her about any of her problems =}
and he was unwilling to discuss them. :
3. She felt disappointed that her husband was more attentive to his
parents than to her. She also felt bored. She merely stayed ‘at
home, did not work, and had few personal relationships outside
her home. Over time, she took progressively less responsibility
for the care of her children and husband.
Psychotherapy included couple therapy and prescription.of.a
minor tranquilizer for the facial tic, anxiety, and sleep problem: As
a result of these treatments, she started to show improvements.
She: began to sleep better; she no longer had ‘her- episodes of
collapsing; she stopped worrying about the possibility of a‘brain
tumour; she developed better relationships with her mother-in-law eB
and her husband; her headaches disappeared; she felt she:could 4 i
take better care of her children; and her mood improved. However, |
| the disfiguring rigid facial muscle spasms continued.» =» ¢ a
At this point in therapy, Suryani instituted hypnotherapy.'The mf
patient readily went into hypnosis‘and:on the first session became |
possessed by her dead mother’s soul. It was then revealed for the }
first time that the patient was.conflictual and. guilty about-her |
change of religion from Islam, which she had grown up-withsin 3g}
Java, to Hinduism, her husband’s religion. Her:dead mother’s:soul §
told her that she and her husband should go'to Java to undergo'a ay
ceremony which would absolve her from guiltand assured her:and &
her husband, who was present, that this would not be an elaborate ai -
or expensive ceremony. Under hypnosis and immediately following a
the hypnosis, Suryani discussed this with her: patient and: her 3
husband, and it was agreed that she would travel to Java for this 7
ceremony. Fee) 7
During the second hypnotherapy «session, the patient: was
possessed by her husband’s dead grandfather’s soul, who spoketo jj :
her about her illness and told her that she should make offerings agi
to God and take holy water in the husband’s family temple:so that 3
> !
LL LLLLLBLBBBBBBBBBR RB RDARDRDRADR RAR LLL LL LL RRRLRRRLllllllllllllll
===PDFPAGE 172===
: MEDITATION AND HYPNOTHERAPY 169
she would gain power from it to help herself. Suryani discussed
this recommendation with her and her husband during hypnosis, ;
and they agreed to carry it out.
7 During the third hypnotherapy session, the patient was possessed
by the soul of a neighbour, a woman who she believed was trying
to take her husband away from her. The soul said that ‘she did not
4 want to continue to love her husband and asked for help to leave
the patient’s body. Suryani asked the soul why she had come and
why she loved the patient’s husband, and advised the soul not to
disturb the patient further. The patient made spontaneous hand
gestures as if to remove the soul from her body. She awakened
from the hypnotherapy session in a relaxed and pleasant mood. By
the end of this session, her facial muscle spasms had completely
disappeared and they did not subsequently recur. .
; In this case a number of Western techniques were combined:
q psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy, and hypnotherapy. However,
; the psychotherapy and hypnotherapy incorporated cultural ‘con-
cepts of illness: religious healing ceremonies were incorporated as
j adjuncts. vi HEN
s Yoga in Bali
EY There are several types of yoga practised in the East and West: A
a form currently taught in Denpasar utilizes some techniques, similar
to those of meditation, which may lead to an-ASC. This form of
| yoga purports that learning how to concentrate by breathing
3 | correctly is one of the most important parts of yoga practice. It
j teaches diaphragmatic breathing, with each breath ‘absorbing the
universal energy’, called prana in India, which is regarded as‘the
; origin of all forces. By breathing correctly, exponents of this type
5 = of yoga believe that they are maximizing the amount ’of vital
‘ energy absorbed and feel filled with inner power. They practise
F- siow, gradual movements which are conceived as accumulating
energy in the person rather than expending it, as in vigorous
exercise. They believe that these exercises (asana) affect the internal
; organs, especially the endocrine glands. They relate the endocrine 2
3 glands to the chakra or subtle energy centres located along the
spine. The physical poses taken during yoga, such as sitting with
the head down, are believed to affect the pineal gland and develop
1 memory power and higher consciousness. A deep relaxation pose
relaxes muscles and reduces blood pressure.
sl
===PDFPAGE 173===
170 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI r
‘ x * & 2
+ Meditation is an ASC employed widely in the East and West to pro- .
mote healing, relieve pain, restore health, and combat disease. How-
ever, the basic aim of meditation is to enhance self-development,
self-realization, and selfexperience. In Bali, the general aims of
meditation are to become aware of oneself in the natural world and
to understand the supernatural world. Objectives of meditation
differ from those of psychotherapy. The Balinese use two basic
techniques: (1) concentration of awareness on a specific stimulus;
and (2) mindfulness of one’s entire situation. Meditation is associated
with numerous changes in psychobiology and neurophysiology.
Meditation healing is a specific technique developed and taught )
by Suryani. This technique includes awareness of breathing, appro-
priation of spiritual energy, and conscious focus on aspects of life in }
which changes are desired. A similar breathing and concentration 1
technique is used for relaxation only and also for treatment of a8
troubles or illness. Meditation healing is not the same as hypnosis. |
Suryani has utilized meditation, psychic abilities, and possession |
abilities in psychiatric practice. |
Hypnotherapy is particularly effective for the Balinese because |
they find it difficult to verbalize feelings, emotional states, and |
problems.. Balinese patients are easily hypnotized and about |
25:per cent experience possession under hypnosis.This posses-
sion state can be utilized in psychotherapy. tk cy )
Some of the techniques of yoga and. exercises practised in Bali |
are similar to those of meditation -(i.e. relaxation and breathing)
and may result in an ASC. They are useful for attaining feelings of
peace and well-being. jira
. Meditation and. yoga are integral treatment modalities in some
mind/body healing clinics in American medical centres, especially,
in cardiac disease reversal programmes.:, Meditation has great
potential as an adjunct to modern medicine. The phenomenon, of Sel
possession with hypnotherapy is little recognized in the West but
an awareness of it may expand the healing techniques of Western
hypnotherapy. wip :
; |
en. ee See
pe ae ot a ee
es ie TS oe ae
gy ses Swot Gees
i VI LL£=£=<<I
===PDFPAGE 174===
z Chapter 9
B Conclusions and Implications of
Trance and Possession for
¥ Western Concepts of Multiple
¥ Personality, Possession Disorder,
2 Suicide, and Mental Health |
THE foregoing chapters presented descriptive data on several ASC
| in the Balinese, including meditation, trance, and.trance-possession,
: (kalinggihan, kasurupan), both normal’ and abnormal. They also
3 delineated the psychosocial characteristics of these states and drew
a relationships to Western psychological concepts. These analyses
* will facilitate the recognition of similar normal and abnormal states
a3 involving trance and possession in the West. This final chapter draws
af generalizations about the trance-possession state,! conceptualizes
3 two continua of dissociation phenomena, advances a theory of
: possession, and presents diagnostic criteria for possession. Based
3 on this information, guidelines are presented for- differentiating |
a possession from psychiatric symptoms and the newly recognized |
condition called possession disorder is discussed. A primary
objective of this book is fulfilled by comparing Balinese possession |
a with the predominantly Western disorder,’ MPD: This leads: to
A insights into the psychobiological mechanisms.of MPD and carries
implications for therapy. Finally, diagnosis and therapy for suicidal |
ideation and attempts are viewed with ASC in mind.
a Trance and trance-possession are different states (Langness,
a 1976). Trance can occur alone or in association with possession |
g (Bourguignon, 1976). However, Bourguignon has added a classi-
3 fication of possession without trance. In this regard, the authors have | ,
¥ seen patients in Bali and America who claimed to be persistently
3 possessed, who were not in trance, who showed no evidence of
oe 4. a
Se eee : es aa
ape a
===PDFPAGE 175===
i 172 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI zt
ASC upon careful psychiatric evaluation, and also proved to be
delusional and psychotic. The only documented instance of posses- : ‘
: sion without trance in Bali is that of Suryani’s personal experience.
Although MPD patients appear to be possessed without trance,
MPD can be regarded as a selfhypnotic state (Bliss, 1986) or as
trance-possession as noted in analyses below.
Characteristics of Trance-possession a
The most salient.characteristic of trance-possession in the Balinese i
is the meaning it has for the culture. It is always linked to the 2
Balinese Hindu religion and. the supernatural is paramount in the i
forms it takes. Possession has also been noted to be connected with
religion in the many cultures~ studied. Almost exclusively, all
trance-possession states known to the Balinese are associated with
positive possession by gods, spirits, or souls. The exceptions in Bali
| are the trance-possession states of mental disorders, such asamok
and trance-suicide. The Balinese do not have a specific word for
trance. The words they use to designate wance-possession phe-
_ nomena literally mean ‘coming down’ (of the gods or spirits): This
| fact emphasizes the cardinal role played by cultural béliefsin =
trance-possession in Bali. i als a
- Balinese society has its own, and in many respects unique, |
repertoire. of beliefs; values, and ‘customs: Many ‘of these aré 3
; related to the Hindu religion but some are specifically Balinese. Itis |
the particular religious customs and°beliefs of the:society which |
f give trance-possession its characteristic patterns or forms in Bali’
i However, in spite of the cultural patterning: of the-trance §
i possession state in the Balinese; most'trancers experience the core |
t ‘symptoms’ of dissociative disorders in the West: amnesia, deper- ; ;
f sonalization,’ derealization,’ and identity alteration (Cardefia, 1989; 2
i Saxena and Prasad, 1989; Steinberg, 1991b). Amnesia is variable, j
i with some trance-mediums professing complete amnesia and others
; none at all. Most persons unconscious in trance (in ceremonies) : :
have only partial recall. It is clear that ‘amnesia is not a necessary 3
requirement for possession (Noll, 1989). ‘ahi J 3
Among the various types of behaviours observed'in possession 4 3
states, there are probably some aspects which are common to most
cultures. One is the pattern of falling down unconscious, and/another 3 ;
is shaking and crying out as if in a convulsive seizure. The latter 4
behaviour is easily distinguished from a generalized epileptic @rand -
mal) seizure. It does resemble it in terms of the unconscious state, + *
— = A. % 3 - y re t
Bes Sok a
nee ne eee te tt Te a ———————————
===PDFPAGE 176===
4 CONCLUSIONS 173
the arched posture with head falling back, and the occasional
trembling of hands and legs, but the writhing body movements, ,
facial expressions, and vocalizations are unlike a true epileptic
seizure of any type. In addition, grand mal epileptic seizures are less
variable in form than unconscious trance-possession (behaviour)
; and epileptic seizures may include bladder or bowel incontinence
: and salivation with foaming at the mouth. On the other hand,
3 hysterical seizures, currently called conversion disorders or hys-
; terical neuroses (APA, 1987), a dissociative pheaomenon, may
closely resemble epileptic seizures. 2
The quality of involuntariness is also present in the Balinese
> during trance-possession states. Spiegel, Hunt, and Dondershine
BS (1988) have identified involuntariness as a quality of experience
3 common to dissociation, hypnosis, and trance. Writing about PTSD,
a they stated, ‘The kinds of events that mobilize dissociation as a
si defense also seem to be those: in which the patient's volition is
z physically overridden.’ Whether it is consciously desired, as in the
a case of dancers, ceremonial participants, and traditional healers, or
3 unexpectedly experienced,.as.has occurred occasionally,, itis
| regarded as. being caused by, forces other than one’s,own will, i.e.
q God, the gods, spirits, or some such power. Ndtecnili seis «9!
EH The content and form of thought.of the Balinese in trance-
3 possession sometimes resembles that of Westerners in hypnosis. For
| example, they may speak clearly and coherently and/or may reveal
| cognitive material that is best understood as coming. out of their un-
i conscious mind.‘ A related pattern of thinking in the trance state has
& been called trance logic (Orne,.1959) or tolerance of incongnuity.
4 Orne (1959) believed that trance-logic is the ‘essence’ of hypnosis.
z He referred to it as ‘the ability of the S [subject] to mix freely his :
a perceptions derived from reality with those that.stem from. his
s imagination and are perceived as hallucinations, These perceptions
y are fused in a manner that ignores everyday logic.’ Trance-logic is
2 just one aspect. of deep hypnosis. E. L. Bliss (personal commun-
a ication) regards realistic fantasy as the predominant essence. of
hypnosis. (fee
=" Many Westerners are reluctant to be hypnotized because they fear
a that they will give up conscious control of themselves, particularly }
be to the hypnotist. The sense of being in control of one’s self is |
Be prominent and highly valued in Western personality and thought. r
3 This trait is not characteristic of the Balinese, whose lives have in )
% the main been controlled by their families, their ancestors, and the :
sf supernatural. The normal Balinese expecting or experiencing
j
|
che : wre a
Oc iin St 3 = Si let wins
===PDFPAGE 177===
174 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
possession gladly and completely gives up control of himself.
The basic psychobiological processes of trance may well be i
universal for mankind, regardless of culture. This is in keeping with
the theoretical understanding of trance as a form of hypnosis
involving dissociation, the ubiquitous normal psychological! activity
of the mind by which it separates or splits off one kind or aspect of
thinking, behaviour, or affect from a situation and from one’s usual
pattern of conscious behaviour and thinking.
Possibly other pan-cultural or universal characteristics of trance-
possession are psychic or parapsychological, such as the possession
of clairvoyance, ESP, the ability to divine, predict, or know aspects
of a person’s life and problems without having heard of them. All
these phenomena are commonly observed in the various forms in
; which trance and trance-possession occur in the Balinese, especially
in traditional healers. HS
It is clear from interviews and observations that most possessed
trancers experience the ‘power’ of the gods, and this power takes
over the mind and the body, resulting in changes in sensory per-
ceptions and motor functions which are generally out of keeping
with the individual’s normal and usual behaviour. This switch into
the possession state generally occurs instantaneously or in a matter
of seconds, and is often dramatic. (An instantaneous shift into
hypnosis may also occur in excellent hypnotic subjects.) It is a’step
beyond hypnosis or trance without possession. Possibly it occurs
only in states of deep trance.5 :
It is perhaps striking that the involved ‘spirits in possession ‘of
the Balinese are always positive and welcome spirits, except in'the
case of dissociative disorders such as bebainan (see Chapter 7).
Although the dancers donning the Rangda mask are possessed by
Rangda who represents evil in the Calonarang drama, Rangda is
nevertheless highly valued by society. The authors looked: for
evidence of evil spirit possession, particularly by buta-kala, the evil
spirits known to all Balinese, but could not find any. Annual
ceremonies in the village of Jimbaran in South Bali involve these
two bad spirits but they do not possess the trancers: rather it is the
gods of the buta-kala spirits that possess them.
In contrast to the ritual possession in Bali which involves posit-
ive entities, most of the possession states described in non-healer
individuals in many cultures throughout the world involve malignant
spirits except in religious groups such as the Shakers (Henney,
1973). Malignant spirit possession also occurs in many cults ‘in
Africa; for ‘example, Lewis (1971: 75, 82) has noted the possession
Fey dis Fs a ae es oe
ge ee ees = +S. : = tia
ne... SS eee
===PDFPAGE 178===
CONCLUSIONS 175
of Somalian women by malignant spirits which cause a range of
illnesses and bodily symptoms, such as ‘hysteria or light depression ‘
to actual organic disorders’. Similarly, women in China and Ceylon
are frequently beset by demons which cause sickness (Lewis,
1971: 84-5). These differences between Bali and other cultures point
up the factor of cultural determination in the forms possession takes.
: ‘Trance-possession in Bali is not only common, but desired, and it
} serves a number of diverse functions useful to society. In cultures
Y where it has been studied, possession is usually associated with
a] religion or with healing by the shaman or ‘medicine man,’ which
$ may be considered a religious function. The social role, meaning,
x and value of possession are significant factors in its occurrence
x world-wide. In Bali, the traditional healers, especially the trance
r mediums, use trance with possession very effectively in their
ei religion-based therapeutic techniques. Trance-possession in Balinese
H dance generally has a religious function, as in the ceremonies
% which involve Rangda (see Chapter 4). Sometimes trance-possession :
3 takes on a public health function, as in the little girl trance- :
§ possession dance which is traditionally believed’'to protect ‘the
village from epidemics, pestilence, and illnessés caused by evil
e spirits. Dances involving trance-possession include the ‘Barong’ (kris
3 dance) and the ‘Calonarang’, which, in addition to being presented
for entertainment, are sometimes performed to honour the gods in
| religious ceremonies such as those in Kesiman (see Chapter 4).
P | The trance-possession of musicians (see Chapter 6) and ceremonial
3 participants serves a mental health function (see Chapter 4). ’
In sharp contrast, possession states in Western societies are
4 relatively rare. They occur as isolated events, and have never been
associated with any particularly useful social function, except in the
; case of some channellers (Hastings, 1991) and relatively small
3 religious cults or groups such as the Holy Rollers, Jumpers (Linton,
: 1956), and Shakers who perceive that the Holy Ghost or Spirit enters
; them and shakes them from within (Henney, 1973).° Speaking in
4 tongues, or glossolalia, occurs in religious contexts world-wide and
Fi conforms to the pattern of possession in that the practitioners report
r that the Holy Spirit, or the spirit of an ancestor or a deity, enters their
% bodies, ‘possesses’ them, and uses their tongues to utter messages.
y Interestingly, their utterances are not related to their mother
3 tongues: Americans, Japanese, and Maya Indians all exhibit the same
patterns of speech (Goodman, 1972). When possession occurs in
4 individual Westerners, especially outside of a religious context, it is :
j almost always unwanted, relatively long-lasting, and usually regarded
fo eee rome |
ite “ Sa - ; ; _ |
===PDFPAGE 179===
Yi 176 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI s
" as pathological. Some authorities of the Catholic Church and.other
denominations recognize possession -(disorder) and _ still ,utilize
: lengthy ritual exorcistic techniques to terminate states which. may. be iB
prolonged and which they regard as possession by undesirable |
demons or the Devil. .
Most possession states in Bali do not present any problems to the |
individuals or society because they are always rather easily and |
reliably if not spontaneously controlled or terminated by public ritual &
behaviour. The authors know of no instances in. which trance .
possession in the Balinese persisted for prolonged periods; it
usually lasts no more ‘than several hours with a maximum. of .
20 hours. This is also true of possession in other cultures where it |
is common. gests!
There are no clear data on the sex distribution oftrance or-trance =} |
with possession in societies world-wide. Bourguignon (1976) gained |
the impression from the literature that possession-trance is more
widespread among women while trance without possession is:more :
likely to occur among men. In Bali, contrary to Bourguignon’s 4
observation, the persons in trance-possession in the communal Bs]
| ceremonies are predominantly men. A large.percentage of trance 7%
mediums who utilize trance and trance-possession are women, (see :
Chapter 3). Therefore, it appears that the sex distribution of trance .
i and trance-possession in Bali is governed more by social consid- |
erations (i.e. healing or religious ceremonies) than by,the form.the
trance takes (i.e. with or without possession)... - .. sit Huet )
F Pathology is often mentioned by authors discussing trance,and
possession. A number of scholars consider, these phenomena.ab-
normal while others.consider one or the other normal within a given
culture. In Bali, the matter of the normality of these altered statesis 1
based upon society’s beliefs and upon Western-derived psychiatric
definitions of normal and abnormal. Trance-possession.can represent
an abnormal condition as illustrated by an epidemic in school
children (see Chapter 7), or it can be, and usually is, entirely 4
normal, culturally appropriate, and institutionalized as exemplified by +
the trance-mediums and the communal trance ceremonies. Whether
trance-possession is deemed normal or abnormal in Baliis related +
to the social context and to whether or not itis a problem forthe
individual or the community. It does not depend specifically.on the.
state of trance-possession per se. Trance and trance-possession are
normal capacities of the brain/mind, probably in part genetically :
based. ; ii %
The thoughts and behaviours by persons in the trance-possession 4 :
state may reflect those from normal consciousness or the un- %
= —-— —— - — :
Be eS "ee ae aS es
— = SS SSSSSS””S””””’CN”.”*€é86€™=lGCU©lt=.£,i . |. £4x0=°=. «. .... t2£°0°0°(}0 (02000 00(.......<-<=_ = << =
===PDFPAGE 180===
i CONCLUSIONS 177
conscious mind.’ Examples:of the former are the coherent and
logical verbalizations of some trance-medium balian while examples
of the latter include automatic dancing of the schoolchildren in ;
trance-possession (see Chapter 7) and the particular hallucinations
: of the little girl trance-possession dancers (see Chapter 5). Just as
the data presented on trance-medium balian demonstrate conscious
and unconscious mental processes, the material expressed*by
3 MPD alternative personalities indicates both processes at work.
Thus, the two different types of expression are possible in disso-
Ciative states.
. The Dissociation Continua. . |
E| Because the psychological process of dissociation® is manifest in
i many different conditions, both normal (i.e. everyday behaviour
¥ and thinking, meditation, hypnosis, and possession) and abnormal
(i.e. dissociative disorders or hysterical neuroses, PTSD [Spiegel,
. Hunt, and Dondershine; 1988]; and: MPD),:it:would‘be useful:to
| clarify the concept by: reconciling all conditions as ‘manifestations:of
| a single:basic:process.: here rite. A |
4 ' Bernstein and Putnam'(1986) and’ Putnam (1991) reviewed the |
* historical development of the concept of a dissociative continuum
Et and traced it back ‘to the work of nineteenth-century clinicians,
s including Pierre Janet, Morton Prince; and William: James.For
ri example, M..Prince (1909:123) ‘characterized dissociation: as “a
. general principle governing normal psychology’ but abnormal
pit when in an extreme form. More recently, a number of others
(Ludwig, 1983; Orne, Dinges, and Orne, 1984; Shor; Orne}7and
b O’Connell,. 1962; H. Spiegel, 1963; Tellegen and Atkinson,~1974)
= conceptualized dissociative disorders ‘as forming’ a‘‘spectrumr of
increasing psychopathology. © » ea is: rina
ial Given similar basic mechanisms. of normal: and abnormal! disso-
i) ciative conditions, two parallel continua are:_proposedsManifestations
| of normal dissociative phenomena may be conceptualized on one
| continuum, ranging from everyday ‘normal dissociation at one end,
s such as fantasy and separation of one’s ongoing perceptions from
a one’s environment, to possession at the other end, with meditation
i} and trance in between (Figure 9.1). Each of the conditions on ‘this
a continuum has a spectrum: e.g. light to deep trance with amnesia or
a light to deep hypnosis (Brown and Fromm, 1986: 46-7). Those
=| normal states of trance and hypnosis may be regarded as repres-
2 enting varying degrees, depths, or intensities of the dissociation,
a or selfhypnotic? phenomena, to use Bliss’s term. Similarly,
E-|
eRe A i aa a
===PDFPAGE 181===
| 178 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI |
| FIGURE 9.1: | - ra
Parallel Continua of Dissociative Phenomena! tsi hc,
Normal Meditation Trance: Trance
Dissociation (ight to. deep) possession :
Depersonalization PSTD Other Fugue Possessign MPD . i
Disorder Disso- Disorder “wr
ciative i
a Disorders? |
1 Normal states above the line and abnormal conditions below. : |
? DSM-III-R (APA, 1987: 277) includes the following under other dissociative dis . 3am
orders (Dissociative Disorders Not Otherwise Specified): fugue without assumption
of a new identity; more than‘ one personality but these ‘never assume complete |
executive control; and dissociation associated with prolonged and intense coercive
' persuasion, e.g. brainwashing. : > q
3 Possession disorder is newly included in JCD-10 and is proposed for DSM-IV, to
‘be published in 1993. iesdertil rit ta
dysfunctional, symptomatic, or abnormal dissociative conditions.can
H be placed on a-continuum in.terms of severity (mild to maximum i
or severe), with depersonalization disorder at one end and: MPD q
at ithe other. There is consensus that MPD. is:the:most severe of 4%
the dissociative disorders (Putnam, 1985; D.-Spiegel, 1984).i;These 7%
disorders also: have their own spectra, e.g. transient, brief episodes 3%
of ‘depersonalization to quantitatively. and: qualitatively different,
recurrent,’ and’: prolonged. episodes .(M. Steinberg, personal @
‘communication).. tie 3 Oa. abtite: pis ;
{! - Writing about. the relationship ‘between, hypnotizability;.and
‘dissociation, Frankel (1990), pointed out that there'is‘alack ofclarity %%}
| on dissociation and questioned equating measures of hypnotizability
ih with dissociative capacity., He-(1990: 828); also questioned the per-
{ spective that dissociation lies along a continuum: ‘Dramatic amnesia
i and clear-cut changes in or discontinuity-of consciousness, control,
; or identity make compelling. arguments for the. presence.of both
the hypnotic state and dissociation. It is considerably. less clear:that
| other, milder experiences with some resemblance to the: core g
h event are qualitatively similar.’ Suggesting that the numerous 2
it implications of dissociation could be-a:detriment to the concept &
and might eventually render it useless, Frankel (1990: 825-6) noted 4
t that ‘common’ hypnosis is different qualitatively from;:the |
i ‘somnambulistic trance that yields a post-hypnotic amnesia’. He Er
regarded the two dimensions as related but distinct and stated that
it may be an oversimplification to ‘regard-all hypnotic:behaviourand 4%
' ies ‘
ES
| _ : as i
Pres. Pie ie Be
ST
===PDFPAGE 182===
: CONCLUSIONS 179
experience as evidence of trance’. Such comments emphasize the
lack of precise operational definitions of a variety of related terms.
In the proposal presented here of continua for both normal.and ‘
2 abnormal dissociative phenomena, dissociation is regarded as the
basic psychological mechanism. It is recognized that in the Balinese,
the differences between mild and maximum dissociation are not only
| quantitative differences but also qualitative. The characteristics of
possession suggest that there is a qualitative difference between it
} and trance, analogous to the difference that Frankel (1990) has
Z| observed between light hypnosis and trance with amnesia. However,
B in view of the awareness that dissociation is multifaceted, such
x differences do not necessarily vitiate the application of the general
i concept of dissociation to all these conditions. The qualitative
difference between trance and possession parallels that between
i low levels of anxiety and panic or fear. Although the latter two states
| are phenomenologically different, similar elements occur in both and
= they are linked by a common, basic, psychobiological, or neuro-
ie physiological process (Barlow, 1988: 206). The variety of behaviours,
4 symptoms, or clinical manifestations of a single psychobiological
| process need not:detract from ‘its conceptual and heuristic value.
ea Psychology, psychiatry, and. cultural anthropology are replete with
illustrations of this principle. Such unifying concepts are extremely
| useful. clinically: and are particularly desirable-when they..are
. scientifically researchable, as is the case with!dissociation and:the
: | forms in which it is manifest, especially hypnosis/trance and
: trance-possession.
4 While both the normal and abnormal manifestations of: disso-
: ciation take a variety of forms, the psychobiological mechanism in
all is postulated as a related process and more importantly, the
: process serves the same psychological function: namely, a‘split or
g switch out of a conscious state into-a state of thinking, behaviour,
7 and feeling that is quite different, more comfortable or enjoyable,
; and/or protective. The switch into dissociation wards off:conflict,
: anxiety, or terror and/or’ provides an outlet for behaviour» or
: q emotions that are not acceptable to or permitted in the usual-state of
; ; consciousness. ?°
; Professional Recognition of Possession :
: 4 It is astonishing that Western psychiatry and psychology have not
t recognized, defined, or given a name to the psychobiological phe-
l : nomenon of possession since it consists of objective and subjective
q |
§
eae
see : BS
ST rn onc ere er
===PDFPAGE 183===
180 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI =
behaviour that is describable, relatively consistent in manifestations,
and known to the laity and public at large for millenniums. One :
hundred years ago, William James wrote (in Oesterreich, 1974): *:
‘The refusal of modern enlightenment. to treat “possession” as a :
hypothesis to be spoken of as even possible, in spite of the massive ;
human tradition based on concrete experience in-its favor, has
always seemed to me a curious example of the power of fashion in :
things scientific.’ Only since 1992 has psychiatry considered a :
category of possession disorder (WHO, 1992). That possession :
phenomena has. not become a subject of. study by’ modern ¢ :
psychiatry and psychology ‘is all the more puzzling when one : ‘
considers that for nearly a century. Western. psychiatry has . | t
professionally recognized the phenomenon of depersonalization,2 t
a behavioural state or symptom that in some respects resemblés =| I
possession in types of behavioural and. emotional ‘manifestations :
(Levy and Wachtel, 1978; Mayer-Gross, 1935), is no less mysterious . |
in origin (Steinberg, 1991a, 1991b), and appears similar’ to ASC. . | I
Perhaps the reasons for this blind spot of Western science relate to‘a i t
widespread perception that possession lies in the.realm’sof a4 | (
metaphysics, magic, occultism, religion; and ‘unscientific’ thought, # | 3
areas from which Western. ‘psychiatry .and psychology have é! ¢
endeavoured to separate themselves.’ The great psychoanalyst, Carl * @ ‘
Jung, who maintained an interest in the occult:throughout his | @ j
lifetime, wrote:as follows in 1931 with regard to:religion and para- + | 1
psychology: ‘The European of yesterday will feel a slight shudder run 43 } y
down his spine when he gazes more deeply into these delvings. | c
Not'only does he ‘consider the ‘subject ‘of ‘this so-called research ee | t
obscure and shuddersome, but even the methods employed'seem'to 48 4
him.a/shocking misuse:of man’s: finest intellectual attainments? | k
(Campbell, -1975: 468-9.) An» unfortunate ‘consequence of the - Bi ti
professional avoidance is the failure of mental health professionals 3) 8/ a
to: recognize possession in most cases. It is unfortunate when i | ‘
possession disorder is wrongly diagnosed or, worse, treated inap- e
propriately as a psychosis, with antipsychotic medication. There is no Tiki S
question that Western psychiatry and psychology need to recognize iH ‘-
the possession state, identify its characteristics, and studyits clinical
forms. It is time that they accord professional recognition to Th id
possession and catch up with the growing public awareness of the a: d
condition, especially as it occurs in religious groups, trance- eit p
mediumship, shamanism, channelling, and mental disorders. 1 Ha ]
Possession is an appropriate term for use in Western psychiatry q 44 j a
because it is the word that best denotes a natural, vulturally diverse -§ i n
psychobiological process associated with trance, as well as wih @ f q
.
ast ic ante ; See es ar
Seb een, os : : BeRe ee
ae pee as 8 ; ee craks Pages 3
eh eae 5 of it pie
ESSE i a a
===PDFPAGE 184===
ee
CONCLUSIONS 181
certain symptomatic conditions in the West. On the.other -hhand,
possession is considered a lay term and until recently was not found :
. in the professional lexicon. The term ‘dissociation’ is correct -but
Lj non-specific.
Perhaps an alternative term should be used to denote. the
¥ phenomenon of possession. The authors suggest, as a possibility, the
term ‘intracorporal influence’ which conveys the meaning of-an
* identified entity, force, or alternative personality, perceived by the
individual as coming from outside the self, or an entity aside from
é the self or usual-personality (perceived as coming from within the
; self), operating and exerting influence within the body/mind of
rh the individual. This idea of entities is not incompatible with the
i psychological concept of dissociation. +
Possession Disorders: Balinese and-Western “*"' “
i Possession disorders have been known for.centuries and; have
=| been described in several cultures, particularly non-Western.ones
4 (Jensen and Suryani, 1992; Metraux,.1959; Suryani, 1984; Suryani
| and Jensen,. 1991; Yap, ,1960). They; were; the!focus of interest
> 300 years ago in connection with the fits of New Englanders who
| were subject to the witch trials at Salem, Massachusetts (Hansen,
. 1969; 36-8).. One case—that of. Anne Cole, in.1662 (Hansen,
d 1969)—was described in some detail. It was characterized by:fits. of
; violent bodily movements. and voices coming from her that: were
clearly: not her own and. that seemed to be plotting to further;harm
: her, She had amnesia with regard to these episodes but confessed
) ‘that the Devil had frequent use of her body. with-much seeming
3 but indeed horrible, hellish delight to her’. (Hansen, 1969: 37). After |
3 the hanging of the woman accused of witchcraft,-her fits.ceased.
; and did not return for at least 20.years. Crabtree (1985) reviewed
4 several reports of possession in Westerners who, did not desire or
3 consent to be possessed, dating from the 1860s.up to the present.
‘ Some of these were exorcised by religious figures and..were
4 reportedly cured. sigh att
Since possession disorder is to be included in the latest revision
, of ICD, ICD-10 (WHO, 1992),** as well as in a separate entry under
, dissociative disorders in DSM-IV,** it is important for mental health
professions to master the clinical presentation of the disorder. As
4 the new diagnostic category of possession disorder gains recognition
4 among the professions and many more cases are identified and
: reported, it will be possible to develop more comprehensive
4 descriptions of the disorder’s clinical presentation in the West., .,
p t
oe ge mee : sachs “ay eA
—_—_—_—_—_—_—_—_—_—_—_—_—_—=—== = —iiiLiLii6FS}FS S::=“—s=—S™,”:CCSC“‘C#S!”S”#(#“#N“‘“SSPN$N AA Ae _———<<£
===PDFPAGE 185===
H 182 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI ; ie
The possession disorders in Bali, which predominantly involve a} ©
| evil spirits, are of two main types. One type is well-recognized and “ag =
includes bebainan, described in the members of the royal household, ia
and kasurupan, described in the schoolchildren ‘see Chapter: 7). i]
These are of sudden onset and terminatiou; they tend to be of 2m
relatively brief duration (less than 5 hours) and involve a complete 1
takeover of the individual, along with aberrant, seizure-like, some- gE
times violent behaviour apparent to all during the acute attack. A }
second type is the possession disorder that becomes evident’ in Be
seizurelike behaviour only during treatment sessions by balian 1S
which are declared to be responsible for a variety of persistent
somatic symptoms, some of relatively long duration (up to ‘four
years), during which time the possession is not evident. The samé
long duration of symptoms is true of Suryani’s case of possession
revealed during hypnotherapy. (see Chapter 8). In such cases, the i
patient complains of possession by an evil spirit, the soul of a relative,
i or some other person ‘during treatment but is unaware ofthis am}
| possession prior to treatment. Possession is revealed only in |
{ hypnosis induced. by the therapist. The first type of possession
iF disorder is called overt, while the second is called covert~or i
obscured. i ||
| As in Bali, possession disorder in the West usually involves'a devil; a
a demon, or a malevolent spirit, although relatively few cases have
| been described (Allison, 1980; Crabtree, 1985). Probable casesofthe am)
} overt type of possession disorder have appeared in the literature but
have been labelled as psychotic disorders: (Blacker and ‘Wong;
1963). A few cases of the covert type of*possession have” been
identified through hypnotherapy (Allison, 1980). teh
The following is a case of possession disorder and related
dissociative symptoms in a Westerner. The patient was a 32-year-
old divorced female, a devout Christian, who began hearing voices BY
of ‘evil spirits’ approximately two months prior to admission to thé
psychiatric hospital in 1992, which she attributed to having ‘had; .
sex prior to wedlock, listening to rock and roll music, and other such
activities that she considered wrong according to her religion’ Thé |
; voices were clearly perceived as coming from within her'and 7
speaking and behaving through her. They made ‘faint, growling;
noises’. There was perhaps more than one voice telling her, ‘Youare
going to commit suicide because I've got you. You can’t do anything iam}
about it.’ She felt very suicidal prior to coming to the hospital. She 3
had no other symptoms of psychosis. Haldol medication was § 7
prescribed. At the same time she was praying to the Lord to ‘deliver’ FE
her and confessing her sins. The voices became weaker and finally e
oe Be ae
===PDFPAGE 186===
CONCLUSIONS 183
=m ceased in five days. They did not recur in the subsequent two
3 months after the patient’s discharge from the hospital despite her not ;
Ss taking any medication. This patient had two other similar
experiences. One day while walking down the street, she felt
‘uneasy’, as if the Devil (Satan) were creeping up on her and trying to
7 scare her or ‘take her’. She put her Bible, which she regarded as a
2 shield against the Devil, in front of her chest, and the sensation
| she had of ‘a power of the enemy’ immediately disappeared: She
3 attributed this riddance to the Lord. The other episode occurred
: when she was sitting in church. She felt she was being spiritually
Bt attacked by the Devil as she watched the ceiling fan above her
Fe | turning around. She believed that she could put a stop to this by
$ praying silently to herself, ‘Satan, you have no hold over me. Fama
| Christian. I can stop this by the power of the Lord.’ At this point,
S| ‘the force’ which threatened to ‘take over’ her disappeared. This type
| of experience did not recur. The patient felt that-her ‘sensation of
| these two experiences was similar to that of the evil spirit pdsses-
| sion but not as severe. ; te “T
. The patient’s hospitalization experience meets ‘the criteria for
| possession disorder. In view of her subsequent success in-con-
. trolling dissociative symptoms through prayer and religious ritual,
e it seems possible that her possession state was also relieved by the
same means and this raises the question of whether—and if so,
a how—the antipsychotic medication helped. The patient was:con-
: vinced that it was her prayer and strong religious belief that
delivered her from the evil spirit. Such a termination of dissociative
symptoms by religious ritual may be considered self-exorcism.”
: Crabtree (1985: 210) indicated that most cases of possession
f disorder present with three types of symptoms:.(1) the hearing of
g voices; (2) a sense of something residing in the: body; and (8) a
; feeling of regularly not being oneself. While identification ofthese
= symptoms in a patient points to the existence of possession disorder,
Ey. more specific information is required for diagnosis because these
§ symptoms are also characteristic of MPD.
- Diagnostic Criteria for Possessio.. Disorders
a Based on 66 cases of possession disorders admitted to a hospital in
“4 Hong Kong, Yap (1960) gave the following operational criteria for
2 what he referred to as the possession syndrome:
BY (1) short periods (a few minutes to a few hours) of change in the person's
2 identity manifested by change in voice, mannerisms, and behaviour—the
===PDFPAGE 187===
, =
ba
| 184 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI =
new identity may be of a known person already dead or of a culturally |
| accepted spirit, demon, god, or mythical figure;.(2).sudden onset and. =,
termination; (3) partial or complete amnesia regarding the new identity.and. .
events that occurred during the possession episode; (4) disturbance not,
due to an organic mental disorder; and (5) associated features: attention
| seeking and dramatizing behaviour during the possession episode—miay
occur during religious ceremonies. ae 3
Based on the Balinese data and the literature on Western cases, |
the following diagnostic criteria for possussion disorders. are
presented: he epic
1. There is an experience of unpredictable, uncontrollable, .un- |
| wanted, and sudden takeover of.the subject by a generally |
malevolent entity. ; hie ;
2. The observer(s) and the subject believe that the entity is the
Devil, a demon, a spirit, ora person. : i
‘3. The-entity speaks and acts through the subject who may exhibit
- changed affects. eer peng}
4. The entity speaks of itself in the first person and of the subject in
| the third person.,Jt may argue and carry on adialogue withthe
subject. The discussion loses normal progression, ‘and becomes.
illogical and incoherent. i onthe &
5. The possession may be preceded by a brief period of perceptual
changes-in the subject such as a.sensation of darkness:or
constriction (i.e. the subject experiences loss of awareness of
f .vaspects of the immediate environment or focuses:on restricted: :
| . stimuli). hu tas 3 }
6. During the possession, one or more of the following behaviours
j are observed: .- Tota Fe) 4
. . (a) Level- of awareness. and psychological function ranging, :
. from conscious to unconscious. ajoy =f
| (b) Falling or losing voluntary motor control, or manifesting
assaultive, violent, or convulsive-like behaviour without 7 a
i incontinence. 4 ¥
i (c) Unusual speech (i.e. different in tone or content). vn se i
(d) Inability to hold the eyes open.
(e) Physical movement perceived as automatic or not controlled =|
; by the subject.
() Hallucinations, auditory and/or visual.
(g) Unusual physiological phenomena such as feats of balance,
touching fire without feeling any pain or burning, andlossof My}
allergic reaction. 3
(h) Unpremeditated behavioural actions totally out of character 3
for the person or different from his or her usual states i “4
ippe tia Bice a ia
fat ; as fees
a SSS a
===PDFPAGE 188===
Li: CONCLUSIONS 185 %
8 7. Following the possession, the changes that had occurred
q completely disappear and the subject may experience: ;
m (a) Amnesia, partial or complete, with regard to the episode,
Te and :
(b) A sensation of calm or an absence of usual thought lasting
g a few hours to several days.
BS 8. There is no evidence or presumption of an organic factor
; initiating the possession.
9. The possession is not regarded as a normal aspect of the culture
za or religion in the society.
10. The possession results in social; occupational disruption,
“a and/or personal distress. ,
cl 11. The possession does not stem from a psychosis and is not due. to
i | a substance-induced disorder.
; .
va Differential Diagnosis of Possession Disorder
; “| In Western psychiatric classification. (APA, 1987),: symptomatic
‘trance states’ are included under’ the category of “dissociative
oe disorders not otherwise specified’: However,in a majority of cases,
fs Balinese trance (which is usually: associated with possession): is
. i not symptomatic nor does it represent a mental disorder. Rather,
the individual and his society consider the behaviour normal, and
es it does not result in his being brought to a traditional healer, .a
2 psychiatrist, or a mental health clinic. These reasons explain.why it
bs would be inappropriate to apply the DSM-JII-R (APA, 1987) nosology
= to most trance states in Bali.
he If one looks at Balinese trance-possession from the viewpoint of
x American psychiatric diagnostic classification (APA, 1987), it appears
ae to meet the criteria for depersonalization disorder. The latter include
ay a-sensation of not being in complete control of one's actions,van
or alteration in perception of oneself, and a feeling of being like. an
a automaton (APA, 1987; Castillo, 1990; Steinberg, -1991b): The
¥ Balinese.in trance-possession describe such sensations. However, ;
wi examination of the data in Bali in a variety of situations, both normal
: and pathologic, shows a number of differences between trance-
: possession and depersonalization disorder. The most significant
‘a difference is that the trancer does not feel estranged or separated
from himself. The trancer also does not exhibit associated features
of depersonalization disorder, including dizziness, anxiety, hypo-
Es chondriasis, fears of going insane, or disturbances in sense of time
& (Nemiah, 1980). In addition, trance-possession is marked by altered
outward social behaviour (e.g. stabbing oneself in ceremony, and
ere : | aes ce
LL KewvVe—sé:és:—C:::SC*=‘“‘CSC! SCL LiAtiiie: .. _:2.. 2 2... trim t———.|{. == °° °° —
===PDFPAGE 189===
*
186 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI tf
dancing automatically), as well as inward social behaviour (e.g.
falling unconscious, changing one’s voice and facies) which does cS. :
not occur with depersonalization (Levy and Wachtel, 1978: 292).
According to M. Steinberg (personal communication), patients with
depersonalization described changes in behaviour associated -with
feelings of ‘going through the motions’ and ‘lack of affect’ which
could be similar to automatic behaviour of the possessed. Patients
experiencing depersonalization do not report the post-possession
feelings of calmness and peace. These:differences separate trance-
possession from depersonalization disorder, even though the two }
conditions have some features in common and sharea basis. in
dissociation. Possibly depersonalization, which is experienced:by a
high percentage of normal young adults, up to 46 per cent (Dixon,
1963; Trueman, 1984), and occurs during meditation (Castillo, 1990)
becomes distressing and symptomatic only when the individual
experiences it repeatedly, over a prolonged period, and cannot
assimilate it into a framework of his or her society’s beliefs or
acceptable myths (Castillo, 1990). WW
During Jesus Christ’s time, it was believed that possession by evil
spirits, sometimes representing malevolent humansbeings, caused
madness and that Jesus could ‘throw out’ these evil spirits (Clarkj
1977: 778). Since 500 Bc, madness has often been confused-with
possessed trancers (Rouget, 1985). Some early anthropologists
studying witch doctors, medicine men, or shamans who-were
believed to:possess magical or paranormal powers in:their cultural
roles concluded that they must be delusional, schizophrenic, or
suffering from some mental disorder (Devereaux, 1956; Silverman;
1967). Such views are no longer held (Lewis, 1971). However, even
in Bali-and in the West in the early 1990s, trance-possession:is
sometimes confused with psychosis. Some Balinese psychiatrists
have difficulty in distinguishing trance states, including amok;
from psychoses. This is understandable, partic larly since trancers
sometimes hallucinate. When a Balinese develops a psychosis: for
the first time, especially in connection with religious delusions; the
people assume that it is a trance-possession state. Only when the
symptoms persist do they realize that it is not. Some psychotic
Balinese have the delusion that they are possessed by gods.
Although some psychotic patients in the West profess that they are
possessed by the devil (Berwick and Douglas, 1977) and other
mentally ill patients have attributed their episodes of violent
behaviour to a possession state, they are not truly possessed.
Western psychotic patients may also suffer from the delusion that
Toe, “ wa
Biers ; : ei Sy ae
EE —<—-— TL”, (La O<. °°
===PDFPAGE 190===
x CONCLUSIONS 187
za they are God. The latter complaints and symptoms need to be
' differentiated from possession. =e 1
* | There are several keys to differentiate psychosis from possession: :
i; | the abrupt and sharply delineated shifts in and >ut of the possession
2 (dissociated) state; the duration, which is generally not more than
ed several hours for possession states but lasts days in the case of
. . psychosis; the retention of reality orientation when the possessed
es person returns to his usual non-ASC state! in contrast to ‘the
| psychotic’s longer-term or persistent disorder of thinking and loss
a of contact with reality; and the possessed person’s lack of other
BS associated symptoms of psychosis such as persistent delusions,
a hallucinations, and sustained social decompensation. Balinese
3 : trancers may feel that gods have entered them or say that they are
ay God in the trance-possession state but when they are out of the
ag state they retain their sense of reality and do not believe that they
FE are God; they only believe that God or a god-used their-body inthe
i state of possession. Confusion of cases of possession with psychoses
4 has occurred largely because literature reports and case-studies of
= possessed individuals have seldom included psychiatric evaluation
% by experienced clinicians familiar with possession as well as the
2 full range of psychiatric disorders of the West and the non-Western
a cultures under study.
4 The diagnosis of possession disorder is sometimes difficult to sort
a out from a number of possibilities; it may be easily confused with
a both MPD” and psychoses, particularly schizophrenia and mania.
ss A case of probable possession disorder, originally diagnosed as
st a psychosis, involved auto-castration by 2:42-year-old White, single,
3 Catholic male (Blacker and Wong, 1963). For 13 days, he was unable
“3 to sleep and was tortured by ‘evil spirits’ who, he reported, used
“a his body to ‘perform unnatural acts’. On hearing both male and
RS female voices planning to possess his genitalia for their: own
4 purposes, he experienced a ‘burning sensation’ in his penis and
-& became anxious. “Then, panic-stricken, he ligated his scrotumwith
a string and proceeded to incise his scrotum in an effort to:free
“4 himself of the “spirit’s” influence. Still not satisfied, he had begun
aa to amputate his penis with a razor when he was discovered by his
be sister.’ At the receiving ward of the hospital, he seemed confused.
ee, However, the amputation act effected a permanent removal of the
: 2 feeling of being tortured by evil spirits, and subsequently he did not
ea have further hallucinations or psychotic symptoms (N. Wong,
on personal communication). As an illustration of the diagnostic
BS confusion in this case, Blacker and Wong (1963) reported in the
eh {
Pret ts > s toss art
Pata y > ~Hs
We niece tee ae ee
7 E anit ie
===PDFPAGE 191===
188 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI + os
same paper several other cases of auto-castration that appeared to a
be psychotic disorders. Sieg ery at heresy j a.
If other mental disorders, including MPD, coexist, even greater 9H”
confusion. may arise. The problem of differentiating between ‘i
possession disorder and MPD was brought to the fore bya-27- _@
year-old exotic dancer! who-was brought to a psychiatric héspital in ay
. Sacramento, California, in 1992, after she was found sitting down in sie
church speaking loudly and incoherently. She complained that she i |
was possessed by devils and she desperately wanted a priest.to an
| exorcize them. She had a history of child abuse, butshe was amnesic -
with regard to the actual molestation, although she could recall the i
| events surrounding it. She also had amnesia regarding her.own i
behaviour that resulted in her children being removed from: her +
custody several years earlier. She described the devils as having : 5
been present for 17 months, and as being-very distressing. She had :
never had such an experience or heard.voices before. At: times :
during interviews, she appeared to dissociate as she broke into i )
outbursts of loud, rapid, unintelligible speech, doubling over at what i
appeared to be hallucinations which she was unable to describe. -@%
These episodes appeared to be provoked by her frustration:at-her
inability to explain the nature of her symptoms;but theyralso 3
occurred throughout the day without any obvious provocation.She
was able to identify one of the voices as that-of her.deceased:father. 283).
She. also described hearing mumbling voices as‘if'there,;was ‘an “i
argument going on inside of her. At intervals during the interview, 4%
when she was able to recover from these distractions,she wascalm 3
F and ‘her thinking was logical and clear. In psychotherapy ;over a *
period of several days, she was able: to comprehend the conceptiof ie
} an entity taking over her and the possibility of learning'to controlit Gael”
' or prevent it from possessing her. After her discharge from hospital,
i she persisted in her desire to find a priest to exorcize'the entities; :
«It was not possible to determine if this woman was suffering from 3
a possession disorder.or had; MPD of the possessioniform:type att
| described by Kluft (199ic) in which the alter that is most evident,or :
the sole one, presents itself as a demon or the Devil: Wows 4 he
The difference in the course of symptomatology of MPD-and ¥
i possession disorder is helpful in distinguishing the two conditions. ae}
t MPD generally has.a chronic and unremitting course (although 4%
the alter states may be intermittent). Possession disorder is subacute |
Mi with intermittent episodes, often terminates abruptly, and may not
H recur, { esd sina a z
| Connor (1984), an anthropologist, described a man:who fell-ill for. 3
| au
3
or eee Set ee Sree
Bree OS Te aes
Eee ee ee eye Ee
===PDFPAGE 192===
I CONCLUSIONS 189
= two and a half months prior to becoming a balian. Her description
& of the: man’s behaviour, which she termed ‘divine madness,’ fits the
Si Western psychiatric criteria for a psychosis. He had both delusions ‘
= and hallucinations and in that sense, the lay term ‘madness’ is apt.
I The man’s behaviour after becoming a balian was no longer
ih psychotic and he continued to have possession experiences. In-such
| an instance, other balian may consider the person mad during the
acute manifestation of the psychotic behaviour but if he subsequently
becomes a balian, they regard his condition as madness conferred
a by the gods, who are testing him to see if he is strong enough to
‘eg bear the burden of becoming a balian.§ If so, they view ‘the
ey ‘madness’ in retrospect to be normal possession. This revision of
an assessment of mental phenomenon or illness, depending:on the
j | subject’s subsequent choice of social role or occupation, illustrates
g how confusion can arise as regards an actual mental state. .
3 Western-trained psychiatrists in Bali can make a‘clear distinction
E between psychosis and possession, a distinction not-always clear in
ES the minds of balian. mi bint) siferntgar ee ft
The following case of a Balinese illustrates how-psychotic dis-
: order can resemble ‘in some respects’ the type of illnesses:which
afflict balian prior to becoming balian.A 20-year-old woman:with a
psychosis of three years’ duration, diagnosed as schizophrenia,-had
is delusions that other people were in love with her,:.that she:was
8 pregnant, that she had intercourse with others, and that::she
; masturbated in a way that everyone knew what she was doing. She
S had auditory and visual hallucinations as well. At home, she’ was
i afraid to leave the house; she also slept a lot and was very lazy.
at Psychiatric treatment included'a number ot psychotropic medica-
tions including Haldol, Clopromazine, Trilafon, Tegretol, tricyclic
3 antidepressants, and citicoline. All. were given-with very: little
* response. She was last seen one year prior to a visit in 1990, at which
: time she returned by herself to visit Suryani and tell:-her that she had
recovered in January 1990. She described: the recovery process as
4 the consequence of an auditory hallucination telling her to work, not
to care about what others say, to go out of the house regardless’ of
Z what the neighbours say, help her mother, and take a cocking class.
¥ She did all of these things and expressed a desire to go to computer
school: She appeared to be establishing better interpersonal relation-
F ships over the past months and seemed much: brighter. She still
A had auditory hallucinations which asked her to find the voice.that
3 said ‘I want to marry you; try to find me.’ She believed that it was.a
; doctor’s voice and asked Suryani if she knew the’person. It is clear
3 {
Co spin wae : : : ‘ es &. 3
a a P|) oT Sn ne
===PDFPAGE 193===
| 190 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI ; a
that this patient had auditory hallucinations and an ongoing P
schizophrenic process, but the recent hallucinations apparently =
helped her recover her social adaptation in a remarkable way. 9
Aspects of this illness that do not resemble the illnesses of balianiare
the long duration of symptoms and the residual psychotic symptom
(hallucinations) following improvement. ifeush see
Hallucinations: Normal and Abnormal
‘rhe foregoing patient's psychotic hallucinations are similar to: the
auditory hallucinations of balian who are not psychotic and in daily
life act normally in all respects. To correctly interpret hallucinations, —_-
it is imperative to look at context and meaning. The authors estimate
that about 1 per cent of normal Balinese in the population have
experienced auditory hallucinations. During meditation, people who
are not psychotic may also have visual and auditory hallucinations.
Suryani frequently encounters Balinese with visual hallucinations ~~
who are asymptomatic and functioning normally. Her cook could —-
literally see spirits that keep the house safe. Another'servant
reported hearing people coming to the door of the house but found
no one there.” A person may report an awareness-of a very. bad
i smell, such as that of a decaying corpse or animal, but cannot
locate it and then the smell disappears. Normal Balinese people have ~~
reported visiting and seeing people who: have-died, apparently
hallucinations. ‘
Three factors may contribute to ‘the’ hallucinatory abilities: of
i normal Balinese: (1) in their beliefcsystem’ they form :a ‘close ‘
! relationship with God and many can see Him and hear His voice; -
i (2) the supernatural is very much ‘alive’ and perceivable; (3)-they
may have abilities on a genetic basis. In support of the last-is:the
fact that psychotic Balinese frequently have visual hallucinations,
while Javanese psychotics seldom do. (lava is geographically close
to Bali andthe two islands are also. historically.close in customs
| but not in religion.) This was Suryani’s experience during theyear ~
' when she was a resident psychiatrist treating psychotic patients in
Java-and was confirmed by Dr W. Maramis, a lifelong practising
} psychiatrist in Surabaya, Java. Psychotic Javanese do; however, have
auditory hallucinations. Some cultures differ in-manifestations of
i hallucinations. For example, in Mexico, visual hallucinations ‘of
' religious figures are relatively common in the normal Mexican :
population. A large-scale survey in England in 1890 found:9.9 per
cent of 17,000 subjects had at some time in their lives experienced
i
i
| (
Sieene A es
RR = Te ee —
===PDFPAGE 194===
oe CONCLUSIONS 191
3 at least one hallucination that was not accounted for by illness and
a ‘in 1948, a smaller follow-up study confirmed these findings.
: ~ Hallucinations in trance and hallucinations of normal people
=H seemingly not in trance may appear to be similar to psychotic
hallucinations, but differ in a number of respects (Table 9.1).
. Differences distinguish the hallucinations of different states and
suggest different psychobiological bases. Conversely, the differ-
= ences may help in clinically distinguishing hallucinations as mani-
By festations in normal persons not in trance, possessed persons, or
Bs: psychotics.
s Theories of Possession
KA There have been few psychological explanations of the mechanism
q | of possession or theories of possession. Janet (1898) regarded
E possession phenomenon as comparable to hysteria and claimed
Ed dissociation as the crucial psychological process (van der Kolk:and
E van der Hart, 1989). Sargent (1974) proposed classical (Pavlovian)
= conditioning as a mechanism. Several authors and scholars on
; trance (Brown and Fromm, 1986; Fromm, 1979; Gill and Brenman,
4 1961; Walker, 1972) have-elected to explain it by use, of, the
4 psychoanalytic concept of ‘regression in the service of the ego’,
Z originally proposed by Kris (1952) to explain the ability of artists to
: access symbolism from their unconscious for use in their creative |
a work. This concept itself, however, has been subject to controversy
q over whether the phenomenon actually involves regression or is
‘s more a type of ‘relaxation of other ego functions’ (MacKinnon, 1980). |
Bourguignon (1976) suggested a similar concept as a theoretical
4 explanation of ‘possession-trance’, termed ‘regression in the/service
3 of the self’. However, many of the trance states of the Balinese, for
g example, the musicians’ and various kinds of trance-possession,
4 which are regarded as normal in Bali, do not appear to ‘involve
~ regression at all in the sense of the definition of that defence, i.e. ‘a
2 partial or symbolic return to more infantile patterns of reacting or
& thinking’ (APA, 1984). This would appear to be the case with the
4 Balinese trance-mediums. Persons in-a trance-possession state at
z communal ceremonies may be dependent in the sense that they
: rely upon persons in their immediate environment to assist them
- = in order to function properly and safely, but it is questionable if
their behaviour qualifies as regression. For those who lean towards
4 psychoanalytic concepts, it would be appropriate to use terminology
x such as ‘dissociation in the service of the ego’ to connote a
e-. t
Oo Stier re 4 Tp) SSR
a
===PDFPAGE 195===
bas Mii eat
TABLE 91 S
Characteristics of Auditory and Visual Hallicinations in the Balinese under Three Different Conditions aa
Normal (Not Possessed)" Normal (Possessed)* Schizophrenia (Undifferentiated)
Not in trance In trance state Not in trance
Auditory and visual Auditory aad visual Mostly auditory; some visual
Religious meaning Religious meaning Often no religious meaning
Some have a religious context nat Religious context not related to stress Some may but often do not have
related to to stress religious meaning; may or may
not be stress-related
Exaggerated in size or features, or Structured and appear as if in real life Incompletely structured; may be
diminutive, or unlike real life fragmentary; lacks reality
Transitory; associated with coherent May be lengthy and associated with Thoughts about hallucinations often
’ Hhoughts “socially acceptable thought content idiosyncratic, incoherent or
: unintelligible
Thought associations normal ‘Thought assuciitions normal Thought associations may be loose
3 e |: No related delusions or other psychotic - No related delusions or other psychotic May be associated with persistent —
symptoms symptoms delusions and other types of psychotic |
eae 2 < symptoms
een tet ’ : cuneate baeiee tame kioniesedsdlgnaeimathhewe cies — Aaah Ob * Otte waren Lemay 2
Ee ae es — = + —______—---
oa ai oe —_
===PDFPAGE 196===
« oy iN, ; DY Map erreene :
ies Se syiaptoms
Sia ede ——————eEeESE
Normal affect Normal affect Affect likely abnormal
No social impairment No social impairment Generally associated with social
decompensation
Associated thoughts connected to Associated thoughts connected to Unrealistic content of behaviour and
reatity of cultural beliefs or religion reality of cultural beliefs or religion thought
No change in social behaviour Individual operates within socially Associated social decompensation
accepted standards
Considered normal by the society Considered normal by the society Considered abnormal by the Balinese
Person deemed normal by peers Person deemed normal (not crazy) Person regarded as crazy by peers
: by peers
Within socially approved and expected == Within socially approved and expected — Outside of society's approval and expected
bounds bounds bounds
Relatively common in general Common in some villagers andinsome — Less than 1% of population
population halien
* . (continued)
ES eS eee SSS ares
===PDFPAGE 197===
™~} 7 ah |
cite ie
ex cant € 1 j
{ “ i
4
TABLE 9.1 (continued)
. . . - ’, .
Nornwral (Not Possessed)* Normal (Possessed)* Schizophrenia (Undifferentiated)
as Sn Sehr SORE re A DARA ht rn ea ice fe~ bin edcnn. tate ch
Dealt with rationally by the individual Dealt with rationally by the individual Not tinder rational self-control
‘Transient ‘Transient Often persist for days, weeks, or months
No amnesia Mostly partial or complete amnesia; No amnesia
some, No amnesia
| Normal facies: no paleness Fiat facial expression; pale tips and Expressionless face; no paleness
touth
Normal eye appearance and expression —_No focusing of eyes (looks into Eyes focus but may appear as if looking
distance) into own workd
’ . | —_—_— ee... nn. —.—.—.—— ee
‘Examples are leak (witch-like spirits) phenomena and seeing religious spirits.
“Examples are traditional healers (befien), dancers, and ceremonial participants.
| bc a |
Rae ~¥ “ ole
Nee ;
===PDFPAGE 198===
CONCLUSIONS 195
3 theoretical concept of trance with possession. :
: Devereaux’s (1956) theoretical concept of the ‘ethnic unconscious’
appears to have merit in describing and understanding the forms ;
possession takes in various cultures. The concept holds that
; ‘conflicts are part of the ongoing but unrecognized cultural tradition,
| they occur in the “proper reactions” and can become stereotyped,
4 and are unconsciously learned by everyone’. As Langness (1976:
a 60) pointed out, ‘Unconscious motives may well be involved: in
| shamanism also; indeed it was in a discussion of shamanism that
oa Devereaux first invoked the notion of the ethnic unconscious.’ The
4 conflicts regarding good and evil, as espoused in dramas involving
b. Rangda and the Barong, are possible examples of an expression of
4 the ethnic unconscious of the Balinese. ' vd
Rouget (1985), a French ethnologist, proposed a theory. that
* possession is a ‘conjunction’ of several constituents: (1) an innate
% structure of the consciousness, making it susceptible’ to being
invaded by an emotional event that submerges-its normal: state;
a (2) social perpetration' of the event as a‘sign of ‘the will of ‘the
§ presence of a spirit or divinity; (8) ‘domestication. of the event with
the intention of establishing it as‘a mode of communication ‘with
‘ the divine; (4) ‘identification of the entranced’ subject’ with ‘the
S divinity held responsible for the trance; and (5) theatricalization of
the identificatory behaviour.
. The data presented in this book lead to a theory of possession
: (not including disorders) which contains one of Rouget’s con-
stituents and several in addition: (1) a genetic or innate degree of
hypnotizability of the individual; (2) a religious context; (3) entry
into trance; (4) dissociative transformation into another spirit or
| power; (5) in trance-possession, semi-automatic actions of the’person
3 with behaviour and emotions appropriate to cultural patterns and
enabling communication between the divine and the*people;
(6) expressed behaviour and emotions which go against the rules
of the society governing everyday life; (7) overt or covert
expectation, support, and encouragement by the society or group
4 and the individual's environment; (8) institutionalized or self-
3 imposed controls on the duration of trance; (9) often partial or
4 complete amnesia with regard to the possession state. The authors
2 agree with Rouget that the behaviour of the possessed one is often
theatrical in the sense that it is dramatic. Rouget’s idea ‘that the
F trancer identifies with the divinity held responsible for the trance
x is conceivable as an unconscious process. It should be borne in
a mind the above theory utilizes Western psychology only and does
BX pot . ee . Dy
eae “ SS Sey
eee 7
a tee oi Be
-_—— NT TT a ee eee een nn nn nn nn MMNnanAa ws ee
===PDFPAGE 199===
196 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI :
not incorporate the Balinese religious belief and concept of an
outside force or supernatural entity, which takes over and controls
the individual. wer :
Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) Conceptualized
as a Trance-possession Process rats
It is important for comparisons of behavioural phenomena in one
culture with those in another culture to be clear that the things
compared are of the same categories of discourse. Confusion could
arise. for some readers, when comparing normal possession.in
Balinese with MPD which is regarded primarily as a mental disorder
(and, indeed, it is considered a disorder by psychiatry). However,
persons with multiple personality are not affected by their condition
for certain periods, especially early in their lives, in any case notin a
manner or to an extent that it results in psychological and/or social
disability, nor does it interfere significantly with their functioning.
Nevertheless, in Western practice, all such persons are conveniently
and.conventionally labelled as manifesting a disorder, MPD. Hence,
the term MPD might be confused with the phenomenon of multiple
personality. In the following discussion, the traditionally accepted
term. MPD will be used to designate both multiple personality. in
non-impaired people and the clinically manifestdisorder, ,. .,;
It is not difficult for psychiatrists and psychologists. to reconcile
many. of the psychological commonalities of,mentally normal and
abnormal conditions because both non-symptomatic individuals and
patients often manifest some of the same psychological:mechanisms;
differing only in the degree of. distress, that. is.incurred by the
individual or the situation.. Examples, are. dissociation, and .other
psychological mechanisms operative in a number. of psychological ;
conditions such as some forms of depression, compulsive behaviour,
phobia, addiction, and anxiety; the mechanisms involved in,each
condition are the same, whether the individual is symptomatic or not.
The. data presented in this book indicate that normally. occurring
possession (e.g. in ceremonies) and the possession disorders, in
Bali (e.g. bebainan and evil spirit possession) . manifest. what
appears to be the same psychobiological processes. Trance in Bali
is the same psychobiological process in both normal.and abnormal
conditions and it is the same throughout all cultures. A similar
statement can be made about possession. ' ia
A number of dissociative disorders seen in Balinese are similar
to those in the West. These include the psychogenic amnesias,
mee: ae) a TS ass
eres “a ae
pec ce ee ee
ee
===PDFPAGE 200===
if
CONCLUSIONS 197 4
conversion disorders (e.g. paralysis, blindness, and deafness), ‘2
= psychogenic fugue states (abrupt unannounced travel away: from j
one’s home town with assumption of a new identity and amnesia a,
; regarding one’s real identity), possession disorder, and deper-
4 | sonalization disorder (a perceived experience of feeling detached
| from one’s mind or body or feeling like an automaton). eii3;
= One dissociative disorder seen in the West that does not occur in
. the Balinese, or at least that has not yet been determined, is
| multiple personality disorder (MPD), defined as the existence within
P| the individual of two or more distinct personalities, each of which
4 at some time takes full control of the individual’s behaviour :(APA,
1987).*! The authors have looked specifically for MPD cases at the
psychiatric hospitals, as well as in private practice, and have asked
other psychiatrists in Bali about possible cases. No ‘clear-cut cases
3 have yet been identified. Suryani has not identified a/single:case in
Es the psychiatric service of the major hospital in Denpasar in:the past
10 years. It is curious that multiple personality has not occurred!in
Bali, since trance is so common there and MPD has been regarded
as a form of self-hypnosis (Bliss,.19386). ete rt) thin.
: MPD, formerly regarded as rare, has recently. been recognized
q as relatively common in Western countriesand it-has a relatively
* stable set of case symptoms in North America (Ross, 1989)::Bliss
‘ (1984a) reported on over 100 cases; Putnam et al. (1986) reported
100 cases; Kluft (1984a) reported 171 cases; and Ross, Norton;‘and
3 Wozney (1989) reported on an assembled group of 236. cases.
f Multiple personality disorder was found to be relatively frequent,
3.3 per cent, in a survey of general psychiatry inpatients (Ross, Joshi,
and Currie, 1990). This is quite high, considering the fact that MPD
has been traditionally considered to be relatively:rare and by.some
: perhaps as infrequent as 1 in 100 patients admitted. to a psychiatric
a hospital. For every case of MPD there is’ probably at least-one
individual in society who has multiple personality and has not-been
4 identified as having a disorder.” ini
4 The fact that there are only rare reports of MPD in persons from
z cultures other than Western (Martinez-Tuboas, 1989; Putnam, 1989;
e Steinberg, 1990) suggests that it may go unrecognized or may bea
a culture-related syndrome of Western cultures.
¥ The mental health profession has a history of scepticism about
MPD based on ignorance and cognitive errors (Ross, 1990).
4 Physicians frequenily fail to recognize and diagnose it and it is
i z commonly misdiagnosed as affective disorder, personality disorder
(especially borderline personality disorder, which may also coexist),
!
Ey a YA a
===PDFPAGE 201===
’ 198 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI | =
anxiety disorder, and schizophrenia (Ross, 1989). Coons, Bowman,
; and Milstein (1988) found that MPD patients averaged 7 years in 3
mental health systems before the diagnosis was made. Although
MPD generally arises in childhood it is not usually recognized
i clinically until adulthood (Bliss, 1980; Braun, 1984a). Typically MPD
patients are diagnosed after having received various prior psychiatric
diagnoses over a number of years. To complicate diagnosis, MPD
patients can be associated with any of the 11 personality disorders
described in DSM-III-R (APA, 1987; Fink, 1991).23 Symptoms of
psychosis such as hearing and talking with other voices and ‘various
psychotic disorders must be differentiated from MPD whichiis not
a psychotic condition.
Although, classically, MPD has been described as occurring with
rather clear-cut and even polarized personalities, Kluft (1991c) has
' explicated how the majority of patients represent a wide variety of
; clinical pictures. For example, most alters exert influence without
F fully taking over the individual, the entities (alters) may not be overt,
and personalities may keep their existence secret from their-host:
Kluft (1991c) described more than a dozen different forms taken
by MPD patients, each of which characterizes the clinical picture.
In one type called switch-dominated, the switching process occurs
very frequently and/or rapidly so that no clear alter dominatesthe —3a8 |
patient at any one time and the patient may appear. bewildered,
confused; and forgetful. This type of patient may be misdiagnoséd
as having an affective disorder, a psychosis,.an organic mental
syndrome, or a seizure disorder (Kluft, 1991c: 625). - cpithistd
To further complicate ‘diagnosis, numerous*symptoms are: pre-
sented by MPD patients including anxiety, depressions,somatoform |
symptoms, sexual dysfunction, suicide attempts, self-mutilization,
; eating disorder, sleeping disorder, or symptoms of post-traumatic
stress disorder (Kluft, 1991c). Bitar
The psychological or scientific view of multiple personality hasia
long history dating back nearly two centuries, beginning withthe 4
concept of ‘divided consciousness’ which arose from demonstrations
of hypnosis, then called ‘artificial somnambulism’ (Puysegur,
r 1784). This view recognized two consciousnesses of the mind,
separate from each other, each having its own memories. The |
concept was applied to MPD as early as 1816, with the ideathat ag]
| the case of Mary Reynolds (Crabtree, 1985) was)a matter ofher <
| entering and leaving a state of somnambulistic trance. Pierre Janet, 3
a French psychiatrist in the late nineteenth century, developed:a
model of ‘consciousness and subconsciousness’ and the notion that
} ,
} f 4
| oo - ea EE ees, ees
ah ge : : ee ae
DE : cc Le See
fo Te: ; , te are os
sis BES ae |
ee e_ —_ —— —— — ——— ———— aa
===PDFPAGE 202===
oe CONCLUSIONS 199
’ eH subconscious fixed ideas such as a frightening experience could be
i ie cut off, or ‘dissociated’* from consciousness, and continue to exist
t i with an autonomy of their own and with thinking ability. Janet (1898) ;
i ai explained multiple personality this way.
ZT At the turn of the century, Jean-Martin Charcot, a famous French
: ee psychiatrist, and Janet developed a concept of split-off fragments of
, F the personality which they attributed to constitutional factors
i = (Crabtree, 1985: 239). In 1894, Freud identified hysteria as one of
5 a four types of symptoms representing an outcome of ‘neuropsychoses
; of defence’ against a memory of a traumatic sexual event in, early
: % life. Somewhat later, Freud formulated dissociation as caused-by a
4 conflict and representing a psychological defence.
3 In 1888, Robert Louis Stevenson (1937) produced his literary
: 2 tour de force, the tale of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. It is a brilliant
3 ¥ depiction of MPD, with some literary licence, particularly the’ aspect
: F of switching personalities brought about by ingestion of a drug.
3 Dr Jekyll’s explanation in his ‘full statement of the case’ referred to
; ‘dissociation’ phenomena (Stevenson, 1937: 80) resulting in. two
3 persons with opposite morals, good and horribly, bad, stemming
from a lifelong conflict. This is typical of MPD and illustrates.the
: 7 ethnic unconscious as well, i.e. the Christian moral polarities..of
: good and evil. An atypical aspect of Dr Jekyll’s story of his early
childhood as far as MPD is concerned was his report of an entirely
happy childhood with no evidence of child abuse: (Biographers:of
; Stevenson indicate that he himself did not have an abused or
4 neglected childhood.) Dr Jekyll explained: EF
; The worse of my [childhood] faults was a certain impatient gaiety of
3 disposition, such as has made the happiness of many, but such as I found
‘ it hard to reconcile with my imperious desire to carry my head high, ‘and
: i wear a more than commonly grave countenance before the public. Hence
3 it came about that I concealed my pleasures; and that when I reached years
i q of reflection, and began to look around me and take:stock of my progress
: and position in the world, 1 stood already. committed.to a profound
: duplicity of life. Many a man would have even blazoned-such irregularities
b as.I was guilty of; but. from the high views that I had set before me, |
regarded and hid them with an almost morbid sense of shame. It was thus
a rather the exacting nature of my aspirations than any particular degradation
; in my faults, that made me what I was, and, with even a deeper trench
: than in the majority of men, severed in me those provinces of good and ill
which divide and compound man’s dual nature. In this case, I was driven
to reflect deeply and inveterately on that hard law of life; which lies at the
root of religion and is one of the most plentiful springs of distress. Though
so profound a double-dealer, | was in no sense a hypocrite; both sides of
'
ql c
$$
===PDFPAGE 203===
200 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI 5
me were in dead earnest; | was no more myself when I laid aside restraint
and plunged in. shame, than when | laboured, in the: eye-of day, jat the a
furtherance of knowledge or the relief of sorrow and. suffering. And:it 7
chanced that the direction of my scientific studies, which led wholly towards 4 |e i
the mystic and the transcendental, reacted and shed a strong lighton this apa
consciousness of the perennial war among my members. With every day, Fae -
and from both sides of my intelligence, the moral and the intellectual, f a
thus drew steadily nearer to that truth, by whose partial discovery [have Bp
been doomed to such as dreadful shipwreck: that man is not truly one, but “3am a
truly two. “}-) 0) SR
z.. even before the course of my scientific discoveries had begun to ;
suggest the most naked possibility of such a miracle, I ‘had learnedsto ta
dwell with pleasure, as a-beloved daydream, on the thought) -of! the 4
separation of these elements. If each, I told myself, could be housed/in i
separate identities, life would be relieved of all that was unbearable; the oy
unjust might go his way, delivered from the aspirations and remorse of his : ee
more upright twin; and the just could walk steadfastly and securely on his 3
upward path, doing the good things in which he found his pleasure, and bei
no longer exposed to disgrace and penitence by the ‘hands ‘of this ee
: extraneous evil. It was the curse of mankind that these incongruous faggots Se
were thus bound together—that in the agonized womb of consciousness; re
' these polar twins should be continuously struggling. How, then, were they na
dissociated? i fniveen na atieds id
‘ Possibly Stevenson's creativity and inspiration for this work-owe# is
| something to what appeared to. be an. MPD phenomenon in himself me
t He experienced. a curious ‘other personality’ throughout his: life; Pe
which helped him in his’ creative writing. (Crabtree; 1985::87-8). ig
Ile described a conscious awareness of ‘little people’ or ‘brownies’, a
| as he called them, and, writing about himself in the. third pace rs
} stated, ‘For the most. part, whether awake or asleep, he is simply; :
occupied—he or his little people—in. consciously making-stories — 4
for the market.’ ‘Who are the little people?’ ‘What shall I say they are a
i but just my brownies, God bless them!.:.. who-do. one-half «my, re
work for me while I am fast-asleep and in all human likelihood ido a
the rest for me as well, when I am wide-awake and fondly supposeE f
i do it myself.’ He also referred to these ‘brownies’ as ‘unseetf Fe
collaborators whom I keep locked in a back garret, while I get all a
| the praise and they but a share of the pudding’. ee ei
| In 1880, Breuer (Breuer and Freud, 1955) began the psychiatric v4
} treatment of a young woman, Anna O., who had a hysterical illness of j 4
h two years’ duration. This was an excellent example of a hysteri i
(conversion) disorder including symptoms of paralysis and loss of te
speech, and probably, in addition, MPD, with the patient referring to | 4
; ia
hk ‘es Z - - —— -
Se soe ; The ee
miner Sesh 3
fet sea eee lic nega
Neen nnn
===PDFPAGE 204===
2 CONCLUSIONS 201 |
al these episodes as ‘absences’ and recognizing them as autohypnosis
| with total amnesia. Breuer (Breuer and Freud, 1955: 24) perceived P
3 these as self-hypnotic or hypnoid states.
; | Two entirely distinct states of consciousness were present which alternated |
Ea very frequently and without warning and which became more and more
B* 4 differentiated in the course of the illness. In one of these states’ she
} recognized her surroundings; she was melancholy and anxious, but
= relatively normal. In the other state she hallucinated and was ‘naughty—
E that is to say, she was abusive, used to throw the cushions at people, so faras
the contractures at various times allowed, tore buttons off her bedclothes
and linen with those of her fingers which she could move, and so’on. At
2 this state of her illness if something had been moved in the room or |
id someone had entered or left it [during her other state of consciousness]
Ba she would complain of having ‘lost’ some time and would remark upon the
= gap in her train of conscious thoughts..Since those about her tried to deny
, this and to soothe her when she complained that she was going mad, she |
would, after throwing the pillows about, accuse people of doing things to |
her and leaving her in a muddle, etc. F ons |
; At moments when her mind was quite clear she would complain‘of the
a profound darkness in her head, of not being able to think, of becoming blind
t and deaf, of having two selves, a real one and an evil one which forced her
to behave badly, and soon. rai
' Breuer (Breuer.and Freud, 1955: 45), observing that in her waking
state the patient was totally unaware of what had been going.on
q during her absences, noted:
... throughout the entire iliness her two states of consciousness persisted
side by side: the primary one in which she was quite normal psychically, and
the secondary one which may well be likened to a dream in view of its
wealth of imaginative products and hallucinations, its large gaps of memory,
< and lack of inhibition and control in its associations. In this secondary state,
& the patient was in a condition of alienation. he
Breuer described.one aspect. of her condition as. similar.to
P depersonalization or possibly the phenomenon Hilgard called the
oe hidden observer in hypnosis:
a3 Though her two states were thus sharply separated, not only did the
secondary state intrude into the first one, but—and this was at all events
: frequently true, and even when she was in a very bad condition—a clear-
a sighted and calm observer sat, as she put it, in the corner of her brain and
oe looked on at all the mad business. Anna O. was successfully treated’ with
a psychotherapy involving expressing her feelings. She had been severely
? physically impaired as a result of her muscular paralyses. Her ideas
- |
EES a: |
om ; : coe, |
— ————_-'000O8OV0OCORN————
===PDFPAGE 205===
: 202 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI ;
during her ‘absences’ were ‘disposed of by being given verbal utterance ir
during hypnosis’. (Breuer and Freud, 1955: 46.) | it
tt
McDougal (1926), eminent Professor of Psychology at Harvard, 1!
described how a person may succeed in getting rid of undesirable b
fantasies or drives and splitting them off from conscious awareness, oO
which he called dissociation. He believed that these dissociated c
units. could break through ordinary consciousness into a ‘psychic u
automatism’, which resulted in either. a ‘hysterical fit’ or multiple h
personality. Early psychologists described in detail the case histories Ww
of a‘number of individuals with fugue, conversion disorder, and p
multiple personality (Crabtree, 1985), tk
Any scientific consideration of MPD must take into account the h
occultists’ views of multiple personalities (Crabtree, 1985). These al
have a long history dating from the ritual practices of ancient Greek
cultures, extending through eras of witchcraft, and up to present- st
day channellers. Occultists’ views cover a large number of religio- Pp
philosophical traditions and explain all human mysteries including a
disease in terms of ‘hidden’ mystical forces in the individual and Ww
the universe, which operate according to well-defined laws. They tt
believe that ‘life-forces’ such as God and human-created objects and ; si
human thoughts or ‘thought-forms’ have power which can produce tt
effects on others. Perhaps the Balinese beliefs in malicious black F P
magic'and bebainan (Chapter 7) are comparable to occultists’ con- * d
cepts of human-created objects and their views of power which can ai p
produce effects on others. ? b
Occultists have held two views of multiple personality, both t a
involving possession. According to Crabtree (1985), the occultists’ i if Ic
general concept.of possession is that an individual spirit or centre of K
consciousness leaves the body to make room for another entity to j nT
enter, who then takes full control and leaves the individual amnesic; car a
However, the occultists also postulate a ‘lucid possession’ in which tt
the individual has full memory of the possession event. They believe al
that the intruders are generally malevolent. Possession in Bali = ¥
differs in several aspects: the Balinese do not believe ina leaving . p
of the individual's spirit to make room for the possession, the tt
possession is often positive, and, generally, the amnesia may be S| e
partial or complete. 4 u
Occultists see multiple personality as a special case of possession. q
Although it is usually considered an outside intruder, it can also be s a
‘a fragment of the individual's own psyche unconsciously crystallized i t
around ‘some thought-form’. ‘The victim may have given some S
Hl
Be AOR Y iota 7s Speed F Be
Se te: oN ——— ._—_
===PDFPAGE 206===
“a CONCLUSIONS 203
g | interiorly produced thought a specific personification and charged
it with such energy that it has the power to periodically break
| through into consciousness and take control of him.’ (Crabtree, ;
| 1985: 234.) This ‘thought-form’ or fragment of the personality may
be harmful to the individual or positive and sympathetic.. The
occultists’ treatment methods aim to remove these creations but
consider it essential that the individual participate lest he simply
> unconsciously recreates the situation. ‘Only if the victim recognizes
‘ his part in their production and claims the hidden thoughts which
: were the seeds of their formation can the personalities be
5 prevented from reforming.’ (Crabtree, 1985: 237.) In contrast, if
; the occultists believe that the alter personalities as possessions
5 have moved in from the outside, they take a different therapeutic
a approach, believing that these spirits must be removed. ;
ra Possession in states of trance has been considered operative in
% some MPD patients (Ellenberger, 1970).. Throughout the. ages
people have encountered ghosts, divine spirits both seen and Heard
(DeBoismont, 1855), some of which may well have been due: to
a what is now called MPD (Bliss, 1984a).: Kluft-(1991a: 161)noted
a that MPD provides a secular expression of many of the same mental
3 structures found in possession syndromes. It is intéresting'to note
5 that many patients with MPD complain of feelings of being
possessed or in trance (Kluft, 199la: 173). Kluft (1991¢: 622)
E described a ‘possessioniform’ type of MPD in which the alter
presents as demon or devil. MPD and possessed individuals have
E> been noted to have similar switching behaviour, personality changes,
d and amnesias (Krippner, 1987; Ravenscroft, 1965). An anthropo-
. logical review of several case reports of MPD and similar states led
Tienhy (1981) to conclude that MPD and possession are, pheno-
menologically similar, particularly in the aspect of amnesia.” ~
=) The etiology of MPD is currently disputed. A generally accepted
; theory is that MPD is post-traumatic in etiology secondary to ‘child
; abuse, particularly sexual abuse, essentially PTSD (D. Spiegel,
3 1984; Wilbur, 1984). Sexual abuse has been documented in 79-83
r per cent of MPD (Ross, Norton, and Wozney, 1989). A second
= theory is spontaneous selfhypnosis (Bliss, 1984a). A third theory
3 emphasizes MPD as created by repeated dissociations which
RE utilize state-dependent learning (Kluft, 1984b).
i State-dependent learning is a notion that what individuals learn
¢ and experience in one state of consciousness may not be readily
transferable to another state of consciousness (Weingartner, 1978).
a Several studies support this concept as a contribution ‘to the
EE, aS
===PDFPAGE 207===
204 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI q |
amnesias and impairments of memory across alter states (Ludwig,
Brandsma, and Wilbur, 1972; Nissen et al., 1988; Silberman et-al., leg
1985). Work on state dependent memory (Bower, 1981) has shown
that memories can be more accurately retrieved when the person is
in a mood state similar to that in which the eventor learning took
place originally. Hence, memories associated with strong feelings
might resurface only in a situation or psychological’state in which ‘
the individual could tolerate experiencing these strong feelings.- .
| D. Spiegel (1984) formulated the PTSD theory of MPD as follows: 4
Patients with multiple personality disorder can be seen as having had i
| multiple stresses in their early lives, and therefore this style of defense is
: against trauma becomes institutionalized through the need for repeated
| use. Such patients defend against the demoralization, fear, anxiety, and
depression of the unpleasant world to which they are unusually sensitive
| by saying metaphorically, ‘I know it is happening—but ‘not to me.’ The
hypnotic dissociation becomes an attempt to anesthetize the pain by seeing
it inflicted on a separate part of themseives. Frequently, they internalize the
role of aggressor in the second and generally hostile personality in-an effort
to control the inflicting of physical and emotional pain and thereby preempt
the external source of discomfort. ».-; a babie Thy tel
4 The connection between high hypnotizability and multiple personality
symptoms has been repeatedly documented. The personality dissociations
: have been frequently reported to have begun after the occurrence of
} physical or emotional trauma. Initially; in fact, the dissociated personality
may comfort the primary one, offering solace and consolation wished for
but unavailable from the parents. These dissociated aspects of the patient :
can be seen as efforts to' preserve some form’ of comfort, safety, and
identity in the face of overwhelming stress. a ie 2
A good example of this type of dissociation is a case of child
abuse described by Terr (1991: 17): A A
r Jamie was repeatedly abused by his alcoholic father; He had’ also +
repeatedly observed his father beat his mother. At age 8, he witnessed his
mother shoot his father to death. When he was 9,.the child-was
psychologically evaluated. At that time he told me, ‘I started someyplanets.
Hi I.made my planets up as a game. But it’s real now. It's no game anymore.’
f Jamie described a safe planet he had invented long ago, his own planet.
t He.also had invented a number of very unsafe planets where people ‘got 4
\ killed’. He said that he had come to achieve invisibility by repeatedly
i visiting his own safe planet and avoiding the unsafe ones. ‘Starting when I
was 6,’ he said, ‘I began to feel invisible. When my Mom pointed gun at j
my Dad ... I was thinking like “I didn’t see it”, like “This didn’t happen.” 1
blinked to see if I was dreaming.... 1 remember at first pretending 1 :
wasn’t there—that I was on my own planet. I had gone there a lot before: ==
l i - ;
BN recent . Se a oe
===PDFPAGE 208===
: py
<9 CONCLUSIONS 205 j
| When Mom and Dad would fight, I would try not to hear, not to see. Pd try
ar to go to sleep. Normally { couldn’t, I'd try to get out of the room. where !
4 they were. I'd try to visit my planet. But now my mind, yes, it just goes
a | blank. Mostly it happens at home. A few minutes at a time.’ A :
= Jamie repeatedly dreamed by night about his father’s death. And he
4 | visualized the killing by day. But from the moment that his dad was shot,
% Jamie wondered if he himself could turn invisible. ‘I know I can,’ he said, T
do it here on earth. I do it all the time on my planet. You're just going to
yy have to believe me, My friends believe it.... When my father was being
3 shot I felt invisible. But if 1 turned invisible in front of everybody, they’d
g take away my powers.’
Balinese mental disorders involving trance-possession, such: as
% in the schoolchildren and the women living in the palace compound
, (Suryani, 1984; see Chapter 7) who entered into trance states at
s unpredictable times but in certain situations. (.e.. school and
; palace), may have been precipitated by. anxiety, stressful events; or
3 recall of such events. Memories .of or associations with anxiety-
= laden or traumatic events are hypothesized'to be the triggering
factors in transformations of the personalities of MPD. patients.;!
Bliss. (1984a, 1986: 136). proposed; that'personalities of: MPD
patients are simply one armong many possible products of hypnosis
and that the basic process underlying the clinical syndrome of MPD
: is spontaneous self-hypnosis: ‘a rapid unpremeditated withdrawal
¥ into a trance, a dissociation, a primitive reflex that: they experience
when. anxious or fearful in response to some psychological or
4 physical threat’. Bliss’s work on MPD gives compelling evidence
for the key role of selfhypnosis in MPD and jis:supported by:other
authors (Braid, 1899; Moll, 1902;-D. Spiegel, 1990: .139; Sutcliffe
: and Jones, 1962). In addition to a high degree of hypnotizability,
MPD patients have an extreme range and high degree of common
: dissociative experiences (Bernstein and Putnam,-1986). Hypnosis
is a common and very effective treatment technique» MPD. patients
; frequently recognize that they have spent-a large part of their lives
: in altered states of consciousness (Bliss, 1984a). These spontaneous
transformations of the patients can be swift, with some patients
explaining that their personality simply disappears and the alter
3 ego assumes the body. Bliss (1984a: 138) asserted that the process
E begins early in childhood and that afterwards, self-hypnosis becomes
i a dominant mode of coping with unpleasant experiences: ‘The crux
: of the syndrome of MPD seems to be the patient’s unrecognized
abuse of self-hypnosis.’
; Several facts may argue against both the child abuse and the
’
a t
===PDFPAGE 209===
j 206 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI* |
self-hypnosis theories of MPD. Self-hypnosis has been learned and 4
| practised by multitudes of Westerners and in that state very few 7 if
switch into another personality. Selfhypnosis as a process could 7
account for a number of aspects of multiple personalities but perhaps
| not explain its major difference from hypnosis, namely being taken
over and controlled by an entity. Child sexual abuse is not
specifically characteristic of MPD; it occurs with ahigh prevalence
| in borderline personality disorders without MPD, 71 per cent in bd
i one series of patients (Ogata et al., 1990). In a survey of 960-;women @
in San Francisco, 38 per cent reported sexual abuse before age 18 4
(Russell, 1983) but a minuscule proportion of these would be 7
| expected to develop MPD. =
| Nevertheless, data presented in this boo’ and other reports of q
trance with possession in Bali (Belo, 1960) indicate many similarities 2
| in the characteristics of MPD and hypnosis as reported by Bliss
(1984a, 1986) and others (Bateson and Mead, 1942; Coons, Bowman; 4
and Milstein, 1988; Gill and Brenman, 1961; Hilgard, 1965; Jensen
and Suryani, 1992; Kluit, 1991b; Putnam, 1988; Ross, 1990).'These
4 include the following:
i 1. Patients with, MPD have unusual hypnotic abilities: It is ;
if hypothesized that this is present in normal Balinese who’enter 3
i! into trance-possession at community festivals and ceremonies.
; About 15 per cent of Western adults are excellent hypnotic —-
7 subjects (Hilgard, 1965). Western writers have’ believed that +
H most Balinese are highly hypnotizable (Gill and Brenman, ;
i 1961). ww he 4h] Be
H 2. MPD patients switch rapidly to their alters, many in less than
i five minutes and most in a matter of seconds (Coons, ‘1986;
Fe Coons, Bowman, and Milstein, 1988; Putnam, 1988; Putnam =
ci et al., 1986). Observations in Bali indicate that villagers‘who
‘a participate in ceremonial trance, trance-mediums, and"hypno-
| therapy patients enter trance-possession with similar rapidity; +
f the switch to the possession state appears to be instantaneous.’ 3
i 3. Almost two-thirds of MPD patients report auditory hallucine 2 }
H tions (Kluft, 1991a) and also vivid visual hallucinations which BS
may involve complex scenes (Ross, Norton; and Wozney; 1989; 4
j Putnam, 1991). Possessed Balinese report similar experiences.’ 9
R 4, Amnesia or loss of time is typical of MPD, in which the an
patients have no memory of performing complex behaviours *
i (Putnam, 1991), as well as other dissociative disorders. This is os |.
a prominent aspect of possession in Bali. pe
5. Putnam (Goodman, 1988: 20) regarded increased muscle :
i
5° ‘ : ys ° % 3
# Sake tose 2 yetads “ ex 3
—_——_——— CCP COMMS OSE ne LLL—=« 2 CCC
===PDFPAGE 210===
ze | CONCLUSIONS 207 5
3 tension as one of the most telling observable signs of MPD
: patients switching into or out of alternate personalities. Similarly,
3 a marked increase in muscle tension accompanies the i
2 possession states occurring in religious ceremonies in Bali.
x 6. A multitude of hypnotic-like episodes of MPD patients have
3 included almost every classical hypnotic feat (Bliss, 1980). For
a example, an adolescent alter of a middleaged adult may be
e. excellent at an athletic sport. Balinese in trance demonstrate a
Ee variety of unusual hypnotic feats, including automatic or
a synchronized dancing, putting hot coals in their mouths,
BS dancing on hot coals, incredible balancing, and self-stabbing, all -
4s without bodily injury (Belo, 1960).
q 7. It is not uncommon for family members and/or those involved
3 in traumatizing the MPD ‘patient tobe represented in direct,
: derivative, or symbolic fashion within the system of personalities
q (Kluft, 1984c). Similarly, Balinese traditional healers (balian)
3 and a Balinese patient in hypnotherapy were possessed by the
a spirits of more than one family member. | ws
Ee 8. Some MPD personalities have included animals (e.g: birds
y and dogs), Jesus, sister Mary, devils, ghosts, and God. Balinese
2 in trance are possessed by evil spirits, God, and sometimes
a animals.
: 9. Statements by MPD patients show that one personality using
Be the pronoun | talks about the other one in terms of the
aa pronoun she or he (e.g. ‘I'm a whore but she is very moral’, or
*2 ‘I'm a tease but she is very solemn’): The same type of address
ra has been observed in Balinese hypnotherapy patients when
ag they become possessed by spirits or other souls. ;
om 10. MPD personalities may appear only once for a single mission ‘
BS or they may continue to function. In Balinese under hypno- i
% therapy, possession may appear only a single time in therapy
Re or may reappear in subsequent therapy sessions. Individuals
a who experience spontaneous possession may have only one or {
“4 two such experiences in a lifetime or they may have them
a frequently, even daily.
y 11. Individual MPD personalities have specific and limited
zs | functions, and their repertoire remains static. Similar charac-
i teristics are true of Balinese possessed in trance (e.g. the
ad trance-mediums and kris dancers).
3 12. MPD personalities have an ‘unswerving dedication to their
pas missions’ (Bliss, 1984a) and they are consistent (e.g. one laughs
= but cannot cry, one is promiscuous, and another is violent).
Le a i
a nn nn 7 | is | | ne
===PDFPAGE 211===
208 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI F
Balinese in trance show a similar dedication to their missions. 4
This is particularly evident in the trancers of the kris dance in a ;
which individuals undergo self-stabbing precipitated by the wave a
of a -witch’s (Rangda’s) cloth (Belo, 1960). All trance dancers
perform similar bodily motions in trance and behave similarly
during revival from trance. : Be
13. In therapy, MPD patients’ feelings need to be recalled,
remembered, and processed consciously if they are to recede
into. the past as memories. Suryani encountered the same
process when utilizing hypnotherapy with Balinese who were
possessed under hypnosis. .. $33
14. When MPD patients switch from one-personality to another,
they undergo a process identical to that-in hypnosis; specifically,
the individual goes into hypnosis and the personality seems to |
disappear as if hidden, like a.second personality. The second
‘personality’ (comparable to the possessed entity): then appears eo
or emerges into the ‘real world’ as if he is.no longer under
hypnosis. In Bali this phenomenon is observed in persons in |
trance at ceremonies, in trance mediums, and in hypnotherapy 4
patients. it
15. MPD patients are often aware of detachment.or. a deper-
sonalization experience as if they are observing the behaviour S|
_ of the second personality. Out-of-body experiences are reported '
by -patients with MPD. (Ross et: -al.; '1989)..The same
phenomenon is observed, in Balinese trancers and_ patients |
possessed in hypnotherapy: they are aware of the possessed i
‘person’ (spirit), and. they may converse with him/her and
report their observations of the possessed entity.
16.. The-alters of MPD serve a variety of functions for the person, )
-including acting out repressed or split-off. desires or impulses :
that would occasion guilt-or shame. (e.g. aggression, suicide,
and sexuality).. Possession in the Balinese and: other cultures
demonstrates similar psychodynamics and probably serves :
similar functions.
17. Possessed Balinese who are aware of their behaviour or who
. are amnesic may feel compelled to behave in ways that are
contrary to their values, wishes, or ordinary judgement as
seen in individual and ceremonial trances. Similar ‘influence’
experiences are very common in MPD (Kluft, 1987a; Putnam, :
1991; Ross, Norton, and Wozney, 1989). :
18. MPDs regard alters as taking over, or sharing their bodies.
The Balinese view possession similarly.
SEC Te) Soi? 3 er eine
i LIC...
===PDFPAGE 212===
4 CONCLUSIONS 209 :
a 19. The personalities may have considerable investment in: their
a own separateness and express a pseudo-delusional degree of ,
conviction about their being separate and autonomous (Kluft,
1 1984b). The same quality is prominent in the Balinese trance-
mediums.
| 20. The alters of MPD may be subtle, barely noticeable, or clearly
i evident and dramatic as in the case of possessicn.
Fy 21. Patients’ recognition of their personalities 1s variable: ‘Some are
= known to patients, but usually they exist in a twilight zone of
dim consciousness or are totally out of awareness.’ (Bliss,
z 1986: 149.) The Balinese are generally only dimly aware of the
# possessions and often not at all until asked about them.
3 22. Events experienced under hypnosis, such as a vision‘or a
| ghost, if remembered after coming out of hypnosis, may be
a believed by the subject. This was true of the Balinese school-
E» children who experienced visual and auditory: hallucinations
= during a trance-possession epidemic. !
i 23. MPD patients come into therapy disavowing responsibility for
‘: the actions of their alters (Ross, 1990). Similarly, the Balinese
Ed believe that their behaviour duringa’ possession is the
4 responsibility of the entity. ast fi
24. As many as 80'per cent of patients known to have MPD have
| periods (sometimes a year or more) in which their symptoms
3 | are suppressed, or disavowed, and thus unrecognized (Kluft,
xs = 1985, 1987a). Intermittency is a characteristic of possession.
; 25. Only a small proportion—10 per cent—of MPD patients are
% exhibitionistic in their condition (Kluft, 1985). Similarly, only a
q small percentage of Balinese in possession show exhibitionistic
E behaviour. °
26. MPD patients have been described as influenced by the
: cultural patterns and beliefs of Western historical times:when
¥ life was replete with mysterious spirits, deities, and powers in
E the world (Frazer, 1935): The world of the Balinese is similarly |
populated with spirits, deities, and other powers (Bateson and |
3 Mead, 1942; Jensen and Suryani, 1992). :
2 27. ‘Characterological factors, cultural influences, imagination,
a intelligence, and creativity, make powerful contributions to the |
4 form taken by [MPD] personalities.’ (Kluft, 1991a: 166.) The
4 same factors shape the forms of possession in the Balinese.
ee 28. The Balinese frequently report that preceding trance-possession
E they perceive a darkness, as well as a narrowing of awareness
3 of stimuli in their environment, which is characteristic of the
5
Sap ", ‘By s ao
FP > a <A> ae
—_—— Sit mt. eee. cee ce
===PDFPAGE 213===
aE
210 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI = @
hypnotic state. A patient with MPD studied by Bliss (1986: 125) |
reported a feeling of ‘being pulled into darkness’ as the alter = ;
’ took over. She stated, ‘In deep hypnosis you give up, are calm,
totally numb, your body is relaxed and you can’t move. The |
next and final step is you are gone—everything is black. When |
Lisa (a personality) takes over it is the same thing.’ Bliss |
regarded this switch to an alter as a sel&hypnosis phenomenon. )
One of Jensen’s MPD patients described a. sensation of i
‘darkness like a curtain’ falling in front of her for a second or |
two with switches to some of her many alters:. ‘It feels cold, |
dark, and forbidding. Everything seems to be in darkness, even i}
on a bright sunny day.’
29. Many alters reveal their names consciously, and MPD patients |
often give names to each of their alters,.similar to the way a |
child names favourite dolls who possess animate or lifelike |
qualities .and familiar ‘personalities’.-A god..who. chooses to
possess a balian is eminently familiar to the balian and he/she
may know it by its common name or the name it reveals to the
balian.
30.. The Balinese hypnotherapy patients resembled MPD patients ;
in the manner of resolution: the possession states.in hypno-
therapy disappeared after the individuals became aware of the
nature of the possession and assimilated its demands and
wishes into their conscious activities. Spamarhgs
31. The possession state of the Balinese often. provides secondary
gain to the person, as for.example by serving-as.an outlet for
‘emotions and behaviour not permitted in the ordinary lifestyle
of the culture. Similarly, the alter’ personality of MPD brings
secondary gain in the sense of avoiding pain or unbearable —
distress to the individual (e.g. it allows the person to act out»
behaviour not acceptable to his conscious self). - -- q
32. ‘The gods or spirits of possessed Balinese speak and/or act .
through the individual and may give the appearance:of a ©
personality very different from the individual’s usual one— -
characteristics sensed inwardly by. the individual. This was .
evident in-the trance-mediums and some dancers. The alters of
MPD share these characteristics.
33. MPD alters (Kluft, 199la) and possessed Balinese may
experience and represent themselves as being of different ages, a}
genders, races, religions, sexual orientations, end as holding
contrasting values and belief systems.
34. Typically alter personality and possession state switches of
Pac Cita Rrra gee Gat
===PDFPAGE 214===
ei CONCLUSIONS 211
| Balinese are accompanied by changes in facies, speech (pitch,
| rate, accent, and language usage), motor activity, cognitive ‘
a ; processes, affect, behavioural repertoire, memory retrieval, and
sense of self (Krippner, 1987; Pattison and Wintrob,. 1981;
a\ Putnam, 1988, 1989, 1991: 152; Ravenscroft, 1965).
a 35. Severe headache is a common symptom of MPD patients, and
; it usually becomes worse during personality changes (Coons,
P 1988). A few Balinese reported experiencing headaches during
the onset of possession states.. |
E 36. The triggering stimulus. for, the actual switch of the Balinese
q into the possession state is not generally clear to the individual,
* although it is evident in cases involving the voice of Rangda or
F prayers used by the balian and priests. Similarly, the:-trigger
for MPD patients’ switches into alters is also not usually clear
4 to the individual. ‘Often, it is as if they were;taken oyer by
surprise and unaware of the internal or external stimuli
4 precipitating the switch. i: ik
a In the Balinese possession state an entity takes over the person
and they believe that it is God, a god, or a spirit. In. MPD an.entity
& takes over the person and he and his society believe that it is
another ‘personality’.”° It is evident that the conventional cultural
: beliefs play a large role in the form of expression of the two similar
conditions. ont
The foregoing similarities support.the contention. in this book
that normal. Balinese in trance with possession, persons. with
possession disorders, and patients in hypnosis with possession
; share many of the same experiences and consequences character-
; istic of MPD alter states. i
However, while personalities of MPD patients in. many- ways
F resembie Balinese in trance states with possession, it-is important
to note a number of differences between MPD and possession:
: 1. MPD alter states sometimes last longer than the Balinese
i .. possession states, An alternate personality may last a month or
3 sometimes a year or more (Bliss, 1984a).
; 2. In the Balinese, the duration of the state is controlled
‘ (terminated) by traditional techniques. “| |
i 3. MPD alters are generally children or people and MPD rarely
3 involves supernatural entities as does possession. This charac-
teristic of MPD is understandable since the alters generally
i developed in childhood or youth as split-off parts of the
. individual's personality, whereas possessions generally manifest
themselves in adulthood in religious contexts.
|
Seen “3s ag
ne ee eee
===PDFPAGE 215===
212 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI ia |
4. MPD is believed to be created out of repeated disSdciation i | i
experiences that occur under extreme stress, whereas'posses) UB}
| sion in the Balinese appears to be a process 'that can spontan- ; if
j eously and suddenly appear without apparent previous el
: dissociations due to stress. A possible explanation is that'spirits 4
| have already been created and they exist inthe ‘ethnic un- :
conscious’ (Devereaux, 1956) and in each Balinese unconscious tim
i over'a lifetime. aught eae - 3a
: 5. The possession state is often followed by a period of peace and : |i
calm, an experience infrequently noted and/or ofshorter ‘Bl
i duration than that felt by MPD patients after switching: from il
: their alters. te . ; ns ||
j 6. Possession occurs in a much higher proportion in the Balinese 3)
' population than does MPD in Western populations. This may be j
explained by the society's facilitation and support, and the value i |
; and usefulness that it serves in Balinese society. By contrast, |
i in the West, possession and MPD are considered pathological gi
: and undesirable. The only exceptions to this are the‘arcane
A Western trance channellers, Western trance-mediums, and ;
. some religious cults. ? a esas
7. Possessions are generally believed by the person to come from ; |
| outside her/himself, whereas most MPD patients perceive that |
| most of their alters are harboured within themselves:?” This 41
difference appears to: be primarily-a function’ of personality i. A
| ; '. development and cultural beliefs: most possessed spirits exist
| in the supernatural world “out there’; and the alters of MPD’ have f
i developed over time (as dissociations) within the individual. + 4
He Western psychological theory can regard entities in both‘cases ai
He as dissociated components of the personality; © vel} 2
‘He 8. Possessed trance-mediums demonstrate psychic abilities stich ce
i as clairvoyance and extrasensory perception,“ whereas MPD |
i patients do not. “ihe i |
| 9. Most possessed Balinese are not selfdestructive or*suicidal, :
a) whereas MPD alters frequently are! ‘ 3 Et
} } 10. MPD. patients show a degree of impairment from minimal to :
i profound (Kluft, 1991a), although in earlier-stages there may |
, ‘be no impairment. With the exception of possession constituting 3
iH a disorder (e.g. bebainan and kasurupan), possession does not aati
! result in impairment. Sirah
i While alter personalities in MPD and Balinese in possession are a4 |
a in many aspects similar, phenomenologically, the psychosocio- oat
q cultural causes of each’and the ways in which each culture regards $9
a them are different. 3 |
Bi : en ie Bik
ages Bota igh ar se Sees
a ee ee ee ee ee | |
===PDFPAGE 216===
4 CONCLUSIONS 213
f 1. In the West, the alter of MPD is regarded theoreticallyas a
. defence (i.e. dissociation) against or a psychological response
to affects associated with emotional traumas; in the Balinese, :
possession is a response to (and is expected by) the culture. It
is conceivable that possession in some Balinese, particularly
i when it represents a disorder such as bebainan, may: be a
a mechanism or ‘defence’ to deal with fearful beliefs or anxiety-
laden conflicts. :
. 2. In the West, most types of possession represent a symptomatic
) state, whereas in Bali most represent normal behaviour, either in
ceremonies or as used by balian.
: 3. The Balinese have socialized the phenomenon of possession
occurring in the presence of others, whereas in the West, the
alter of MPD remains a socially isolated phenomenon, generally
expressing itself within the individual... wee
E Similarities and differences. in the psychological processes.of
MPD and trance-medium possession are listedin Table 9.2... .,
; : TABLE 9.2 ; ;
Psychological Process Similarities and Differences in
; Trance-medium Possession and MPD Alter Personality
Trance-medium Possession MPD Alter Personality
& Occurs in religious contexts Occurs in non-religious contexts,
Enters trance by self Enters selfhypnosis _
, Power or spirit takes over Alter personality ‘comes out’
Possession perceived as Alter usually perceived as
‘ coming from outside self existing within self
: Believed to be chosen by Chosen by alter or unpremed-
* gods; may be unpremeditated itated
Psychic abilities - No psychic abilities ~
Accesses individual’s conscious Accesses individual's conscious
: and unconscious and unconscious fyi
Acts through the individual’s body Acts through the individual's body
: Switches at will with prayer Occasionally may switch into an
is alter at will but generally not
: consciously controlled =; _
4 Not selfiestructive or suicidal Often self-destructive and suicidal
Duration of minutes to hours Duration.of minutes to hours but
3 may last for days
Abrupt onset and termination Abrupt onset and termination
; Terminated by the possession Terminated by the alter;
q and/or by conscious will generally no conscious control of
E termination
See See ee ee 2g ee 2 ee
= ‘
See a % 2 ; : 3
| Oe STIS SevNSNS g ——————
===PDFPAGE 217===
214 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
If MPD is posited as a process similar to possession, the question
about duration arises: why would some MPD dissociative episodes .
last so much longer than trance-possession, sometimes weeks or
months?29 The answer may lie in the lack of institutionalized socio-
cultural control of possession in the West and-of dissociative
disorders in Bali and the West. In Bali, the person is generally
| brought out of trance-possession by ritual! sprinkling of holy water
over him by a socially recognized spiritual person, suchas a
priest. Because trance-possession is socially and publicly controlled;
everyone present, including the person in trance, trusts, expects, |
and is aware of the termination. Balian have practised bringing
themselves out of possession at will, just as they have learnt to fall |
into trance-possession, essentially at will. They enter trance-
possession by ritual prayer, mantra, and incense smoke and
terminate it when the possessed God or god says he is finished by
carrying out a brief ritual with prayer. By contrast, persons with
MPD have developed relatively little conscious control over their
alter states. Rather, the unconscious mind controls coming out of
an alter state, in the same way that it generally controls switching
to an alter. Although some of Jensen’s MPD patients could switch to
an alter at will, only one was able to terminate them at will, i.e. to
consciously and reliably switch back to his/her usual personality.
MPD patients are at the mercy or behest of -the alter(s). One
' adolescent MPD patient could switch out of some alters at Jensen’s
f request or suggestion: Two adult patients could sometimes prevent
an alter from taking over by exerting great conscious effort or by |
getting support from the therapist. It can be hypothesized that if
the patients with MPD had the internal ability, or if there were |
institutionalized (culturally accepted) standard procedures. to d |
terminate MPD alter states, they might not necessarily last so
long. With regard to duration of alter episodes, MPD can be ; al
considered a possession process out of control, both societally and
| individually. Hindrances to assisted termination are that often the
MPD herself/himself is the only person who is aware of the !
i manifestation of the different personality states, and conversely, |
| some MPDs are not consciously aware of their alters.
i The fact that there are a number of phenomenological differ- ;
ences noted between MPD and possession in the Balinese, in
addition to the broad array of symptoms and wide variations in the
clinical presentation of MPD patients, does not detract from the 2% |
hypothesis that both represent fundamentally the same psycho- !
biological process. It must be borne in mind that MPD represents =
| |
| y 4
ae “3 . . “ “ A
Bi eee tS Joe Ache. Tage
a
===PDFPAGE 218===
|i CONCLUSIONS 215.
: the outcome of a basic psychobiological process overlain with
3 complex psychosocial, developmental, personality, and cultural :
factors. The cultural overlay and psychological factors determining :
: the behavioural patterns of possession in the Balinese are much
fewer and simpler than those of MPD patients.
: Although MPD does not appear to occur as a clinical disorder in
¥ the Balinese at the present time, such cases probably exist; however
: they are likely to be regarded as possession. One type of balian
4 that might appear to be a multiple personality is the trance-medium
described in Chapter 3. This woman:takes on a totally different but
9 consistent personality as manifested by her behaviour, speaking
voice, and attitude on a regular basis when she is invited by her
4 god. She has a special name for the god that takes over in-her
q trance-possession state. When she comes out of trance-possession,
she is amnesic with regard to the episode: In her usual state, she
4 knows that she is a balian and she and her assistants make elaborate
a preparations for her work in healing but:she’does not know: what
she does in trance-possession. Similarly, most MPD patients have
3 ‘named’ personalities and many’are amnesic with:regard to: them.
E In contrast to "MPD, however, this dalian’s switches »to -her
possession state are very: predictable, ° structured; ‘and socially
: congruent, and she is rewarded by: her: clients in the form-of
. oiferings of money and ‘status. These factors: distinguish her
wy possession state from that of MPD, in which personalities generally
switch unpredictably without preparation and engage in behaviours
: which do not have a socially sanctioned and institutionalized role in
j the society. This balian is not regarded by the Balinese as having a
: mental disorder. Nevertheless, she fits the DSM-III-R (APA, 1987)
diagnostic criteria for the mental disorder called MPD: specifically,
4 the existence within her of two distinct personalities or personality
4d states (each with its own relatively enduring pattern of perceiving,
E relating to, and thinking about the environment and self) which
recurrently take full control of her behaviour. It is obvious from
$ this incongruity that the Western psychiatric definition of MPD is
4 not completely appropriate for Balinese culture. In such cases of
z seeming multiple personality and possession states in Balinese,
4 the culture as etiologic and the cultural context as determinant of
4 form must be taken into account in order to correctly comprehend
: them in Western terms.
a Since self-hypnosis or spontaneous trance is very common in the
5 Balinese, and their trances generally include possession, the authors
3 hypothesized that, if selfhypnosis is the cause of MPD as proposed
: /
4| ‘
===PDFPAGE 219===
* 216 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
by Bliss (1984a), it would be very common among them. There-
fore, it came as a surprise not to find any cases of MPD in Bali.;.... . I
. One possible explanation for.the apparent. absence of MPD in ;
the Balinese derived from a study of juvenile delinquency in Bali
(D. Rosenthal, personal communication). In a survey of all juvenile
delinquency cases in 1990 and from interviews with counsellors of
schoolchildren, no cases or even indications of child abuse were
found. It appears that this abnormal child-rearing practice, which
is a;common underlying etiologic factor in MPD, is extremely; rare
in Balinese society. This finding indirectly supports the theory that
MPD is commonly an outcome-of traumatic child sexual abuse.
However, not all cases of MPD have'a history of sexual abuse; the
abuse can be sexual, physical, or psychological, considered separately
or together. A few cases are just unhappy children with excellent
hypnotic capabilities who feel estranged and periodically turn to
their hypnotic world.and/or imaginary playmates for social
interaction (Kluit, 1984c). ide
It has been noted in India that the possession syndrome is very
common (Varma, Srivastava, and Sahay, 1970) while MPD is.very
rare (Adityanjee and Khandelwal, 1989: 1610): The hypothesis.was
advanced that ‘possession syndrome in India and multiple personality
disorder in the West represent parallel dissociative disorders with
similar etiologies despite. some major. differences in clinical
profiles’: The cases of MPD reported in Indians differed from most
Western .cases)in. that they .experienced \only minor stress. in
adolescence and had not suffered massive trauma or child abuse!
The question of the existence of MPD in Bali remains open..The
Western experience’ may be illuminating. Western psychiatrists
who would have:assumed that MPD is rare 20 years ago have-now
come to see it as being more common. It is no longer. unusual.in
the: United States. To date, most cases have been. identified; by
using descriptive phenomena. An objective assessment instrument ~
to help. diagnose MPD, the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-
II-R Dissociative Disorders, is now available (Steinberg, Rounsaville; -
and Cicchetti, 1990): Another scale that can. corroborate. the
diagnosis of MPD is the Dissociative Experiences Scale (Bernstein
and Putnam, 1986). This provides quantitative measures of 28
common types of dissociative experiences and MPD patients score
in the range of 40-50 per cent, significantly higher than normal
subjects. These instruments could be translated into Indonesian
and used in Bali to better identify now obscure cases. Loewenstem ~
(1991)-described an interview protocol for assessment of disso¢gi *
|
t
SY ake 1 est: aed eek
===PDFPAGE 220===
a CONCLUSIONS 217
4 ative disorders, including MPD, which greatly increases the
a) probability of clinicians identifying them. ‘i
3 | Given that it is common for the Balinese to be possessedand ’
b- that some trance-mediums when possessed act like alter personal-
q ities of MPD, the question of whether the psychological processes
fe of possession and MPD are alike was asked. The answer is ‘yes’-in
Eh the Western sense that both are similar forms of dissociation: in
5 which the individual changes into and temporarily acts as another
a entity, personality, or spirit. But one wonders why the Balinese
4 have one characteristic pattern of dissociation, i.e. trance with
x possession by gods or spirits, while Westerners manifest another,
es i.e. an alter personality. The answer to this question lies partially in
4 the significant differences between the characteristic personality
= | structure of Westerners and that of the Balinese.- :
a | An apparent absence of MPD in.the Balinese would suggest:that
B | Westerners have certain psychosocial characteristics necessary to
3 manifest MPD. One such possible characteristic: to: be considered is
. the psychological concept of a ‘unitary’ personality. A ‘unitary’
4 personality may be necessary for the emergence of multiple
4 personalities, i.e. the emergence of.an alter personality dependsion
E the concept of a personality unit from which it can:separate, In-the
: case of the Balinese, C. Geertz (1966), a cultural. anthropologist,
a theorized that the concept of personhood, or personal identity,
% which may be synonymous with personality, is concealed, anonym-
4 ous, and ‘depersonalized’; thereby, individual ‘personality’ is
iz submerged, unidentified, muted, or concealed. Geertz believed
= that social interaction of the Balinese is highly ceremonialized, and
a feelings of /ek (fear of embarrassing oneself or an ever-present
= | concern about making a faux pas) tend to! keep individual
4 ‘personality’ or personal identity of the Balinese from showing.
on Based on his view, it could be hypothesized that a factor responsible
4 for MPD being virtually absent in the Balinese is a ‘personality’
‘ss that is not readily accessible to them. However, questions can:be
g raised about the validity of C. Geertz’s view of Balinese ‘personhood’
a on the issue of /ek. There is no doubt that lek exists but it probably
ae does not play a pervasive or dominant role in everyday social
= interaction (Jensen and Suryani, 1992).
4 Connor (1984), a cultural anthropologist, set forth a relevant view
a in her analysis of Balinese ‘personhood’ (personality). She proposed
x the concept of ‘unbounded self: i.e. Balinese personhood is not
& unitary, as in the West, but a personality composed of a fusion of self
a and macrocosmos (6xana agung), both natural and supernatural,
a
yg j
3 t
: 3
Le nee SS e < ps Hz
STS LL
===PDFPAGE 221===
218 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI a
e.g. sibling spirits or souls and an intermediary spirit (taksz). Such :
an ‘unbounded’ self would constitute a significant difference! be: .
tween Balinese and Western personality. ia
The authors’ data from persons in trance-possession raise A
questions about whether the consciously expressed. personality-of :
the Balinese is entirely ‘unbounded’ with respect to some spiritual
experiences. For example, persons with trancepossession experk fel
ence spoke of a force, spirit, or god, outside of themselves, who ay
‘comes down’, influences their behaviour, or acts for them but who 2
is not part of them. Consistent with this is the fact that balian and
the: society in general regard the acts of a person in trance :
possession as being done not by the person but rather by the ;
possessor for whom the individual has no responsibility. In Suryani’s F
view, the Balinese consciously consider most aspects of the macro- :
cosmos as parts of their world and as influencing them but not.as ;
aspects of their own personality. The authors’ data indicate that —
balian can access their own intermediary spirit (taksu), who may
help them communicate with the gods; but contrary to Connors
view, they do not regard their taksu as part of themselves. BES f z
Nevertheless, it is true that the Balinese live in an interconnected |
world and universe of all things and, in this sense, they areless ~ Wf
separate from and are more accessible to both nature and the 4.
spiritual world than are Westerners. This psychosocial difference 4°
between cultures is significant and is difficult for most Westernersto © @ Ff
fully;comprehend because they have not-grown up with (and thus -§° '
internalized) such religious beliefs. The authors view the Balinese §
as having boundaries in’some respects, but as being closer to the 3 @ J }
natural world than Westerners and more susceptible to shifts intothe @ 9} j
supernatural world, as may be seen in their possession experiences:) j
In. support of the unbounded: self concept, the Balinese 2 9 F. i
personality can be described as non-unitary in that it incorporates i
many supernatural entities. From birth to six months of age,a @ @ § I
person is a supernatural human; he/she has an ancestor's spiritjas {
well as spirits of his/her own (i.e. sibling spirits; see Chapter), @ i
and throughout life he is an integral part of various groups and his F
community. The Balinese have long perceived spirits as being part = t
of the self in a manner comparable to the MPD’s perception of |
alters. The sibling spirits offer a good example. The infantis born | ft
with four ‘sibling spirits’ which after the 6month ceremony unify i
and become one with the spirit of the soul. The ‘siblings’ then p
become two kinds of spirits, Kala and Dewa. The spirit Kalais J
responsible for a person’s bad thoughts, emotions, and deeds; ifa 4 p
. o
\
§
pe Ril eter oe aaa Pe cars tat See
ee ene OG: te cake BEY
fe aes oie hae
Eeoey. en Mee: eg
BEY nee eee 2 Masses Che Sie
| ON CES” 3 ott
===PDFPAGE 222===
4 CONCLUSIONS 219
person is angry, it is believed that Kala has influenced him? Good
: emotions, thoughts, and deeds are attributed to the other ‘spirit,
q Dewa: when one is calm, Dewa is in the ascendant. These spirits of .
3 the individual continue to influence the soul throughout life and
Fy they have the power to help him at work and guard him against his
2 enemies. They are given care and offerings by the individual.
r Failure to do so properly could result in the spirits causing illness.
: At death the individual's soul (at#an) becomes unified with God
- or awaits reincarnation and the sibling spirits of the individual
q return to their source (i.e. water, fire, soil, and air). A Balinese
: traditional healer or an individual dissociates in trance and, in
Br Western conceptualization, accesses entities like the lifelong
¥ personally known aspects of themselves, such as spirits or gods,
§ and other culturally respected spirits which have always been
3 integral and intimate parts of their personal world.
3 The theoretical concept of multiple ‘ego states’ of Westerners
q discussed by Klemperer (1965) and Watkins and Watkins (1979) is
% relevant to the concept of unitary and multiple personalities: They
viewed certain ego states (i.e. certain configurations of thinking,
: feeling, and perception integrated around a common principle) as
e* repressed, dissociated, or split off from consciousness but exerting
influence over behaviour and feelings of the main ego state) Some
of these ego states may be involved in symptom formation and in the
; case of MPD, such‘a dissociated ego state may act autonomously.
These ego states may be contacted during trance/hypnosis. | ;
. What may be termed the unitary and the non-unitary personalities
3 of the Westerner and Balinese respectively could be crucial in the
processes of multiple personality and possession. Given that the
3 personality in Westerners is unitary, existence of more than one
5 personality in the individual implies separate entities. Although in
j theory, a multiple personality dissociates in trance to call‘ upon
parts of oneself, ic. personalities or ‘configurations’ of consciousness
¥ (Kluft, 1988: 51; Putnam, 1989: 103) which have developed as a'result
s of repeated dissociation in earlier life, for the individual these parts
x or reconfigurations ‘ (alters) develop to virtually take on-a life of
rE their own.
a This book proposes that the psychobiological mechanism’ and
B: the phenomenology of MPD and possession both in the West and
x in Bali are similar if not the same; MPD alters are viewed ‘as
s psychological entities equivalent to Balinese possessions. From
: the point of view of process, they are similar. MPD patients and
EE possessed Balinese report similar experiences: some other entity
|
é
Seine 3 Beatie ; : 2
; a aa a
===PDFPAGE 223===
220 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
or part of the self that to them has a real existence takes over. The
two states may also serve the same ends in terms of the healthy -
expression of feelings and behaviours not otherwise permitted by
the individual's ego or conscious state. tar
However, the thought content of the two conditions differs and itis
important to recognize that the particular cause of and motivation H
for the ‘like-kind’ possession take-over in the two cultures differ: In
the West, the multiple personality person’s motivation to dissociate ; i
generally appears to be anxiety, fear, or avoidance of intolerable :
stress, terror, or distress stemming from reverberating traumatic
experiences of early childhood, particularly sexual abuse. In: Bali,
the possessed. one is motivated to dissociate by strong, positive, '
cultural sanctions to receive the privilege and to enhance family.and
community. As a consequence of these causal and motivational
differences, it could be expected that the behaviour and/or
symptomatologies of the conditions in the two cultures would differ i
in many ways. abil)
Based on the findings presented in the foregoing chapters, the
authors propose to expand the self-hypnosis theory of the process
of MPD (Bliss, 1984a) to the following: selfhypnosis or trance. with
the possession process. The term selthypnosis is used jin:the sense
specified by Bliss (1984a): a rapid, usually unpremeditated with:
drawal into a trance, a dissociation. This theory combines readily
with the PTSD theory of MPD.(D. Spiegel, 1984). . ony é
The concept of possessions as comparable to MPD-alters need
not be negated or confused by Western psychological concepts of
MPD, including that of ‘dissociated components of a single person- ,
ality’ as argued by Ross (1990). He viewed MPD patients.as having ~
only one personality, as they are only one person in one body and = :
pointed out that ‘the term personality is simply a convenient, ~~ 5
historically sanctioned label for the dissociated states characteristic ; : t
of the disorder’. The Balinese view possession as an aspect of their ‘ 1
individual world of self. mn 6 t
It could be argued that the use of the concept of possession for = t
understanding the alter states of MPD could be counter-productive = {
if it implies that a supernatural outside-of-self entity (i.e. not apart i i
of the individual) has taken over the individual, since the long-term 7 t
goal in the treatment of MPD is to help the patients deal with 4 4
alters as parts of themselves in a unified personality. Perhapsithe 4 $
important concept for the MPD patients to develop is that they q r
; dissociate into apparent separate entities, which periodically take 1
over their behaviour and bodies, without viewing them ashavingan # t
|
: e ;
a ' = = <2
SSS eee
===PDFPAGE 224===
wy
. CONCLUSIONS 221
3 existence outside of their true personhood or personality. Trance-
q mediumship is a suitable model of MPD in this respect because
trance-mediumship is a positive and useful process of possession ;
x (take-over) and, furthermore, it incorporates self-control. It can
® also be harnessed and utilized for the good of the individual, the
: family, and the community. ; ;
= It is recognized that advancing the concept of MPD as a process
3 of trance with possession carries the risk of confusing MPD with
= possession disorder. The two conditions are different clinically but
ss share the-same mechanism of dissociation. There are as. yet
insufficient clinical.experiences and case reports of possession
= disorder in the West to enable clear differentiation from MPD,
: except in classical cases of each condition. Two helpful generaliza-
oa tions are: (1) in contrast to MPD, possession disorders are of shorter
: duration; and (2) once the possession leaves the person, it does
a| - notusuallyrecur.° ~ -
¥ For most Westerners, the term ‘possession’ conjures up.in the
; mind certain: characteristics, especially an intruding malevolent
4 spirit. Unfortunately, this idea:can be misleading in ‘terms of MPD.
E However, there does not:seem:to be‘a’simple, better term for the
a possession-like phenomenon!iof MPD. Basie’ clinical elements: of
eo MPD and possession are 'the takeover phenomena with changes in
Z identity, but this awkward and lengthy terminology would-be
2 limiting if it were to be used for the: shorthand labelling of the
Py mechanism of MPD.
aS Although a case has been made here to view MPD ‘and
Bi possession as a similar psychobiological process, it remains to: be
cS. proven. A conceivable way to do this is by neuropsychophysiological
x study (Braun, 1983; Putnam, 1984; Putnam, Zahn, and Post;-1990).
pe Preliminary attempts have been made by utilizing concepts ofistate
E. dependent learning to explain creation of alters, switching;-~and
3 psychophysiologic characteristics of MPD (Braun, 1984a).-MPD
wy subjects have shown distinct physiologic differences across: alter
ee states (Putnam, Zahn, and Post, 1990). Coons’s (1988) review of
= Be! the literature on electroencephalographic (EEG) studies of MPD
& indicated that changes in alpha rhythm probably reflect ‘the degree
of arousal and tension across different personality states’. The-EEGs
es (alpha, beta, and theta waves) of channellers while in trance and
Ps ‘possessed’ by an entity are distinctly and, statistically, significantly
a different compared with EEGs of persons in hypnosis (Hughes and
2 Melville; 1990), who have not shown any clear-cut changes from
che normal or non-hypnotic state (Putnam, 1991). This supports the
|
. ¢
fe oe ae “oh Sag
SRE So ae i ay. a
CO , LLL
===PDFPAGE 225===
222 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
concept that the trance-possession state is a neurophysiological state
qualitatively distinct from simple hypnosis. Evoked potential :
measurements on EEG were found to be different for alters;of
MPD patients (Putnam, 1984). It would be desirable to do EEG
studies on Balinese in trance-possession states but:to pursue these
at present presents technical and cultural problems. It must be
recognized that all physiological studies so far have not been
replicated and EEGs are not yet reliable indicators of MPD. Further
research will be required to confirm and interpret EEG findings
(Coons, 1988). Advances in biobehavioural research including the
neurotransmitters (Demetrack et al., 1990) may eventually add to
basic explanations. ah
Therapeutic Implications of MPD as a ”
Trance-possession Process § _ pa
A final consideration is the hypothetical and/or. practical, thera-
peutic, and clinical implications of the relationship between
possession and MPD. The treatment of MPD patients:is a highly
arduous and taxing endeavour for both therapist and patient. Many
therapists are unwilling to undertake. it, and those who do: so
continually seek to upgrade and add to their skills. When trance-
possession of normal individuals is viewed as a psychobiological
process like that of MPD patients, new questions may be asked
about this disorder which can lead to a better understanding of it,
both in terms of etiology and therapy. ibs
‘It is possible to generalize that a knowledge of the possession state
ofithe Balinese, including the helping and controlling techniques of
the persons who assist possessed persons, can help’ therapists ‘in
several ways: (1) gain a sharper focus:on a number of the charac-
teristic patterns which are exhibited by MPD patients; (2) provide
a perspective that alerts therapists to things they have not yet'seen
because they have not thought of them; and (3) suggest ideasfora
therapist’s demeanour and armamentarium for managing switches
of difficult-to-control MPD alters. There are. several issues! that
therapists should bear in mind: scat
1. It is necessary for the therapist to ask the patient specific
questions which will identify the alter state(s) of MPDiand = |
differentiate it from possession disorder, other: dissociative
disorders, syndromes, or psychoses. rhiih
2. The instantaneous, as well as the more gradual, switching from
one state to another by possessed Balinese and MPDs ‘helps
}
Sa? ; 3 f a. eer : 2 A :
= < Sees
Se
===PDFPAGE 226===
; CONCLUSIONS 223
a therapists appreciate and gain insight into the underlying
Fe psychophysiology. i. oo
¥ 3. The involuntariness and lack of control, sometimes :with
4 associated bewilderment.of both the possessed Balinese and
Be MPD patient, helps the therapist understand the phenomenon :
a of take-over of the body and the patient's inability to-switch at
ree will. ;
a 4. Itis useful to appreciate the realness of the experience of both
3 possessions and alters of MPD and their power to influence
3 the behaviour and feelings of the person.
¥ 5. There is the concept of a shared body.
E: 6. The patient has a.range of degrees of consciousness in the
a presence and activities of a possession and/or alter(s).
% 7. The patient exhibits degrees of amnesia, ranging from partial to
= complete, and there are possibilities for the therapist to enhance
a recall,
7 8. There is a need for psychosocial support and. understanding
4 and sometimes positive physical assistance and_restraint, espe-
3 cially when a possession or an alter is threatening or violent.
3 9. There is: a need, to:believe in-possessions,and alters;.to trust
% that they will:disappear, and to maintain, one’s/optimism. about
q a favourable outcome. shy yet Wp ahs 35
% 10. It is necessary for therapists and persons whojassist possessed
persons or alters to be friendly, strong, unafraid,. andsrespect-
j ful of them in these states whether they are co-operative. or
4 physically uncontrolled and violent. It is helpful:to the: patient
‘ 3 when the therapist shows an understanding of the possession
; 3 or alter by not reacting to his or her threatening behaviour
, y with fear or anxiety. In the management of-acute and crisis
‘ A conditions of MPD patients, Kluft (1989) emphasized that itis
: 5 important for the staff to be supportive, consistent, predictable,
; x and [firm within] set limits. These techniques are vividly and
t x graphically evident in the Balinese who help persons. in
; : ceremonial trance-possession. In addition to all this, the
: - ‘assisting’ Balinese offer the possessed persons firm control
j and guidance, which prevent them from going wildly:out of
: uy control or hurting themselves. It is illuminating to.see the
| 4 ‘assisting’ Balinese maintain such control and not be-led into
: E traps by the possessed individual. The potential for such
§ problems as splitting of staff (e.g. staff taking opposite sides in
\ 4 response to patients’ complaints about staff behaviour), sexual
; : seduction by the patient,°° or failure to predict. serious
4
# t
é {
ee re Re te ie er
ae, ee eee eee =, ge | . saan
===PDFPAGE 227===
224 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
consequences by alters is amply demonstrated in mental health
personnel’s management of MPD patients (Watkins: and ,
Watkins, 1984). ;
11. There is a need for therapists to acquire and use timely effective
state-terminating techniques, -including hypnotherapy and
Amyital interview, to switch the patient’s self-destructive,
threatening, violent, and socially decompensating alters.
12. It is useful to bear in mind both the psychosocial benefits and 1
hazards of dissociative states for the possessed person and the
MPD patient (Watkins and Watkins, 1984). For possessed
Balinese and MPD patients, the dissociative state often has a
secondary gain (e.g. personal attention). While some patients :
view dissociation as a coping mechanism, they can also stop
using it and utilize other less problematic mechanisms, as seen
with successfully treated MPD and other dissociative disorders
(Goodman, 1988: 85).
The concept that possession, as described in this book, and
MPD are equivalent in terms of process has other therapeutic
implications. MPD patients frequently lament that for years doctors
and therapists, as well as family and friends, did not recognize the
: true nature of their problem and did not understand them. This is
no wonder in view of the puzzling behaviour they usually present and
the scepticism, misapprehensions, and confusion surrounding the
disorder (Ross, 1990). These distressed patients desperately want
their hapless plight to be understood by someone, especially mental
health professionals. The therapist may acquire an increased degree
of understanding of the process of MPD by acquiring a knowledge
of and familiarity with the allied norma! process of trance-possession.
Such an understanding will be sensed and°appreciated by the
patient and help build his trust and confidence in the therapist,
thereby strengthening the therapeutic alliance. >
General basic long-term aims of the treatment of MPD are to
help the patient develop an awareness and acceptance that he/she is
fundamentally one personality, just as he/she is one: body, by
enabling he/she to resolve conflicts and to gain control of
precipitating and associated feelings so that they no longer result
in the uncontrolled dissociation of the dysfunctional alter(s) (Beahrs,
1982; Bliss, 1986; Kluft, 1984a; Putnam, 1989). To accomplish these
goals, a therapist generally helps the patient abreact (re-experience)
painful, often repressed, unconscious memories and ‘deal with
psychological issues that are avoided or coped with by dissociating.
Such objectives are not necessarily inconsistent with a conceptu-
gy t | no =
Ce Bete a Fe WG aren SEigst val,
spelen eenaiininadnebeeasineiatameiems ibis ee eae Soe is a ae ee ee
===PDFPAGE 228===
=
7 CONCLUSIONS 225
= alization of MPD as a possession-like phenomenon, In the: long
term, there is the ‘devilish’ problem of the chronic use of self-
- hypnosis: it is a long-practised entrenched habit and old habits are ’
hard to break (E. L. Bliss, personal communication). tive
MPD patients may require acute hospitalization because of self-
mutilation, suicide threats or-attempts, or aggressive antisocial
: behaviour. Some patients. have .a.history of 50 or more.such
< hospitalizations. of. relatively brief. duration over a period -of.a
: number of years. It is generally their alters that cause the crises and
3 they may be precipitated by-perceived rejection, often seemingly
: slight, such as neglect by. a family. member or the absence of their
therapist due to vacation./In these instances, a short-term goal is to
stabilize the patient so that he/she is no longer suicidal and ‘self-
mutilating. A: number. of; hypnotherapy techniques. have: been
& explicated, such as putting the alter, ‘to sleep’ and calling. forth
7 protective alters (Kluft, 1989)..Generally, the patients must.switch
* out of their threatening alters and facilitating this is a short-term
4 therapeutic goal. Under these conditions, therapists may utilize the
3 Balinese concepts of a strong network of social support:and co-
2 operation with the patient and possession (alters), and unswerving
P| expectation of the switch,’ <"““ ci SR
3 The phenomenon of Balinese switching out of possession states
© may have a parallel in MPD switching. The following vignette of an
# MPD patient is illustrative. A 45-year-old woman with a history, of
3 multiple hospital admissions because of suicide attempts and vie
4 mutilation was admitted to the in-patient psychiatric unit because
3 of suicide ideation. After one day of hospital service, the alter had
; left her and she seemed ready for: discharge..However,:;she
! suddenly relapsed with. anxiety..and)suicide/ideation caused: by
another alter taking over; this continued unabated for: four;days:in
: spite of support, encouragement,'and psychotherapy. Switching
was finally accomplished by an.Amytal interview conducted ‘jointly
; 3 by the patient’s regular psychotherapist (from outside thethospital)
; 4 and Jensen serving as the hospital psychiatrist-administering the
f 3 Amytal. The psychotherapeutic interviewiunder; ‘the: influence of
: 4 Amytal®! succeeded in relieving her of.the.,‘possession’;;by the
: « threatening alter, and allowed her. to switch-back to her.‘usual
: 4 personality, permitting resumption of her usual state and discharge
' 4 from the hospital the following day. ’ i
: Selected patients may find it helpful in understanding their-con-
dition by conceptualizing their alter personalities as possession-
like processes in some respects (i.e. valued, respected,.or even
é
PSUS oe Sapien
OO ———————————————
===PDFPAGE 229===
226 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
frightening entities that take over their body/mind).?? It is import-
ant to caution that this approach would be advisable only with
patients for whom the term ‘possessed’ connotes a positive concept
and for whom it does not have a negative or frightening connotation,
as it has for many Westerners and particularly for MPDs who have
suffered in Satanic cults. The next step would be to heip the patient,
possibly by suggestion, to accept such inside-based entities or
‘possessions’ (i.e. alter personalities) as split off parts of himself/
herself and as potentially reintegratable parts or components: of
his/her whole self. The ultimate realistic and optimistic aim: of
psychotherapy is to help the patient reconstitute a single personality,
or alternatively to bring about co-operation among the conflictual
or destructive entities.
In the following case, a psychotherapist or hypnotherapist might
conceivably utilize the concept of MPD» as:a benign type ‘of
possession phenomenon to develop the patient’s insight. An MPD
patient related part of her experience this way: |
All my life 1 knew I lost time and it seemed like I was watching [myself]
from. afar and I experienced the arguments [of the alters], but I didn’t
know they were entities. I didn’t know I was a multiple personality. Almost
all of my alters have come to realize it by now although there are still a !
few sceptics. This idea [of entities] made sense and explained all that I
couldn't explain all my life. No one helped me understand it. I came to this !
view by myself. | si
The issue of responsibility for one’s behaviour has conceptual
and therapeutic significance for possession and MPD. Both the
normal possession and abnormal (disorder) states of the Balinese
and. the alters of MPD are characterized by a reiative lack of |
personal contro! (involuntariness) of the switch into or out of the
states and by denial of personal responsibility for behaviour in'the
state; Non-disorder possession in Bali is a socially responsible action,
while MPD in the West is not. In Bali, and other societies in which
possession occurs as a socially integrated act, it is controlled and
supported by the family and the community. It is also highly
acceptable and valued and it works very well for society and ‘the H
individual. MPD has not been integrated into society. Patients
generally receive too little support from their family, friends, and
community. It is not an acceptable or valued behaviour, and ‘it is
ofter. incapacitating to the individual. A perspective on Balinese
possession suggests that it would be useful in the management of
MPD for the patient, families, mental health workers, clergymen,
ee es te eS
===PDFPAGE 230===
| CONCLUSIONS 227
=e! social agencies, and society in general to accept and assume greater
eH responsibility, as well as to develop techniques, for supporting and
E assisting patients in the control: of their dissociative states and :
: behaviours. MPD patients need a consistent, reliable resource
z network, ancillary to therapy, preferably with an in-patient facility
: safety net. This network would further help.individual MPD patients
¥ develop ways to take personal responsibility for their states:in a
7 manner analogous to the Balinese trance-medium, i.e. creatively
; and without guilt or blame. 1 2
a The case of a 39-year-old woman with MPD illustrates the need
; for a positive, therapeutic, family and community support net-
“ work for the patient. In the course of over 100’ hospitalizations,
3 mostly for self-mutilation or suicide attempts, her pastorcwas
generally tolerant of her, her son tried to help but'felt frustrated;a
e counsellor told her that it was all her fault, suicide prevention
a crisis workers asked her about her suicidal impulses and»referred
4 her to the usual sources of help, the clinic psychiatrist“did>not
3 believe that she had MPD, and the mental hospitals and psychiatry
a clinics diagnosed her as a combination of borderline personality
Br disorder; dysthymic disorder, and adjustment disorder, for:which
= she had been prescribed neuroleptics and -ntidepressants,'noneiof
= which helped. None of her friends or relatives: were helpful,’and
a nobody really understood her plight, pain, frustration, and need to
a understand what was really happening to her. She was unable to
a find anyone in the mental health system who could understand
her. Her recent experience with psychiatric care in which she was
ij diagnosed and managed as a case of MPD was highly reassuring
Z to her and consequently she sought out therapists who understood
: MPD, and resources in her community which ‘could’iprovide
: a support, particularly at times of anxiety and suicidal crises.
: Ep Consequently, she began to trust others and be more open’ rather
; by than withdraw into herself and conceal her alter states. ~~ -
‘ 3 Another area of possible application of the non-Western
{ g possession concept pertains to MPD patients’ potential for self-
. 2 control of dissociation. Kluft (1989) has pointed out the therapeutic
= value in helping MPD patients develop a sense of control! over
3 themselves, including their alters which may ‘run away’ with them.
{ % Extrapolating from the Balinese trance-medium phenomenon, the
3 % therapist may introduce the concept of termination when contacting
$ and exploring each alter’s personality with the patient, especially in
f i hypnotherapy. It is conceivable that by so doing the patient could
: 5 be helped to develop control of dissociation tendencies by learning
j
% {
‘
me ki t
Re: a fe
LE
===PDFPAGE 231===
228 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
to’ self-terminate (i.e. switch off) the alter personalities as trance- i
mediums do in a state of possession. Such control-would be helpful SS |
im-reducing distress from alters and limiting episodes of psychosocial a | ;
decumpensation, including suicidality. This becomes.of critical |
therapeutic importance because one of the serious problems of MPD il
patients :is created by .an alter who resists leaving (ie. switching
off)| and threatens to torture or kill the patient. ; j
The contagious quality of trance-possession may have implications |
for therapy. Trance by contagion was observed: in-a number..of
Situations in Bali, including communal trance-possession (Chap- |
ter 4), dance (Chapter 5), and’ mass hysteria. in schoolchildren |
(Chapter.:7). It afflicts a person or persons jin immediate H
association with the possessed person, it is generally unexpected ee i
by the individual, and it is often dramatic. Given that MPD patients’
switch to an. alter personality is a dissociative mechanism) or |
trance-possession phenomenon, and that dissociation is a normal
psychological mechanism of Westerners, it could be expected that |
there is the potential for contagion. It is conceivable’ that Western q
staff and therapists working with MPD. patients arexat risk;for
dissociating and experiencing selfhypnosis when dealing directly
with the: MPD patients and that this could:contribute-to various
problems in therapy, such as staff splitting, (e.g. the-adoption‘of
potential polar views of certain staff as being, good.or bad therapists
or as being right or wrong in behaviour), failure to protect patients
adequately against threatening alters, ‘over-involvement--expressed
in the form: of unusual or excessive contact outside: office hours; :
and submission to alters’ sexual seduction. Such phenomena could
be. termed .counter-dissociation’ or countertrance.: In :a parallel j
phenomenon; the great hypnotherapist Milton. Erikson discovered
that he inadvertently underwent self-hypnosis..while he treated
patients with hypnosis. Subsequently he cultivated this phenomenon i
for positive use in therapy: ‘When. there is.a critical issue witha a |
patient [in trance] and 1 don’t want to. miss any of the clues; J:go
into trance.’ (Erikson, 1977: 42.) seotasset ;
The. foregoing implications of Balinese possession states; for
treatment of MPD patients do not imply a full range of the principles,
techniques, or concepts that have been developed for. successful i
therapy with ‘MPD: these have been presented by skilled psycho-
therapists such as Bliss (1986); Bowers et al.. (1971); Braun (1980,
1984a, 1986); Coons (1986); Fine (1991); Kluft (1984a, 1989, 1991a,
1991b); Putnam (1989); Turkus (1991); and Watkins and Watkins
(1984). However, a number of the many principles and techniques fh
' '
RL
===PDFPAGE 232===
UJ
| CONCLUSIONS 229
= cited by these authors are consistent with those brought forth:and
thrown into a fresh or highlighted perspective by the data presented ;
t on the Balinese possession phenomenon. Perhaps these data can
B+ serve to emphasize issues such as contagion and the network of
3 family-community-society support. itt a
E : Sia
iS Trance-suicide
ez The data presented in this book led to the conclusion that the
j Balinese generally attempt ' suicide’ while in‘/a ‘state of trance
5 possession. This finding ‘has’ implications: for ‘evaluating,’ under-
; standing, and treating Balinese and Western’patients who have
a | suicidal thoughts or who' make ‘suicide ‘attempts! It’ behovés “all
a mental health clinicians to be alert to the possibility of this process'in
4 the patient and get a precise history inorder to recognize
i dissociation or exclude it in diagnosis. This means' possessing“ an
a awareness of the disorder and giving careful thought in diagnosis
5 to the possibility that the suicide patient may’ be ‘suffering ‘from
Bet MPD, possession disorder, borderline personality, PTSD?‘and
b psychogenic amnesia. Failure of the clinician ir concepts
dissociative suicide attempts correctly would ‘diminish’*the
£ effectiveness of psychotherapy aimed at the symptoms. In clinical
practice it has been evident to the authors that.’ Balinese‘‘and
D American patients who have made trance suicide’ attempts" are
relieved and reassured by a better understanding of the process
e itself. Some suicide attempters who have adjustment disorder with
‘2 depressed mood appear to have dissociated during the acute phase
4 of suicidal ideation and the attempt. The DES may be useful‘in
3 supporting the diagnosis. Psychotherapy for.suicide attempts
7 would take on very different objectives in the case in which trance
a or dissociation is critical as contrasted witha casein which the
3 suicide attempt is related to depression, ‘adjustment disorder, -or
% other psychiatric diagnoses most commonly associated with
& suicidality in the West. No one has yet studied a large series 'of
4 attempted suicides to see how many have heightened dissociation
# ability or higher degrees of hypnotic susceptibility and/or who
y went into trance states during suicide attempts. Such ‘fresh
a investigations are merited.
5 The phenomenon of trance-suicide may broaden one popular
4 concept of hypnosis. It is generally believed that under hypnosis
% (trance) the subjects will not do anything that they would not do in
4 their usual state; that is, their morals and selfprotective instincts
a 7
a ee ee ee ee
===PDFPAGE 233===
230 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
prevail. The Balinese cases of attempted suicide which occur ina’ ‘
trance state would appear to be an exception to this rule. It may’ be x 3
that onthe unconscious level the suicide attempter wanted to do‘it ]
ina manner similar to the alter of an MPD. MPD patients who 1
describe suicide attempts and selfmutilation behaviour by alters also 1
claim they have no conscious desire to carry out these actions. j
s
Trance-possession and Mental Health :
The investigations of Balinese trance-possession presented in this
book have shown that these phenomena, both normal and abnormal, t
permeate, and are more entrenched in, the culture than heretofore t
suspected or documented. They are present in individuals, musicians, I
dancers, healers, and probably many other sectors or groups not t
yet investigated. This concurs with the opinion of Bateson and I
Mead (1942) and Belo (1960) that the Balinese and their culture z
are particularly disposed to trance. For substandation, it will be t
desirable to conduct objective tests of hypnotic susceptibility on. €
Balinese populations for comparison with Western data. L
The emotionally expressive, often violent, socially uncontrolled. | I
behaviour which occurs in trance-possession but.which is not. me 3
permitted in everyday social life, followed by states of peace and calm, t
lasting 1-3 days, supports the long-held belief that trance is,a, I
factor, in the mental health of the Balinese (Belo, 1960). Preliminary z €
data presented here support such a hypothesis and merit further : c
study. : c
In.a discussion of observations of trance and possession in non-
Western societies, Whittkower (1970) stated: : iJ
Trance and possession states have undoubtedly an adaptive’ function” 4 t
culturally as well as individually. Their individual psychological effects | | F
consist of drive release; ego support, problem solution, relief from superego’ s | g
pressures, and atonement. There can be no doubt in anybody’s mind that’ : Et
trance and possession states in the countries in which they play a partof: § h
religious rituals have an important distress-relieving, integrative, adaptive: 2 a
function. As far as mental illness is concerned, they may be of prophylactic FE t
value. An increase in mental illness may have to be expected when, as.a. 5
result of culture change, they have ceased to exist. ; e
Kiev (1968) noted similar psychotherapeutic aspects of possession : h
in Haitians. % s
Whether or not spontaneous trance and trance-possession ex-’ ra h
periences not associated with a religious group are positive for the % Vv
mental health of Westerners is questionable. Channellers appear to 4 p
<
OL ™'_—ah0—a—ce——ererr
===PDFPAGE 234===
| CONCLUSIONS 231
= | derive personal benefit from such experiences and. probably
Western trance-mediums do too. However, Westerners reporting ;
1 UFO experiences, which appear to be unrecognized dissociation or
S trance states, sometimes with amnesia, are often quite distressed
: by them and/are subject to social disapproval by society (Gordon,
: 1991). The content of reported UFO experiences often: involves
- § sexual abuse. These facets point to the critical roles played by the
| differences in causation, cultural context, and cultural relevance in
| Western trance experiences and Balinese experiences. --
The data regarding the treatment of:patients by . Balinese
aa | traditional healers indicate that their techniques, which involve
3 | trance and possession of the healers themselves, resemble, in a
aj number of respects, psychotherapy as practised in the West, and that
z their treatments are of considerable value in overcoming both the
4 physical and mental problems of individuals and their families. It is
i: also clear why the Balinese generally consult traditionaljhealers
A before they seek care from psychiatrists using Western techniques
it : and why, after treatment by Western methods, they continue to
a | use the services of the traditional healers. The. work of: trance-
4 mediums dealing with bereavement appears to be highly-efficient
= and efficacious, possibly more so than Western psychotherapy
E techniques utilized for these problems in the Balinese. This does
3 not imply that traditional healers’ techniques .would be:'more
3 effective in the treatment of all or even most psychiatric disorders;
q certainly, in the case of psychoses, psychotropic medications are
I clearly the most effective. is
a The common history of balian (and shamans) experiencing severe
E illnesses, some of which appear to have been psychoses, just prior
: to becoming balian, or the grave concern that they mightbe
Be punished by God or die if they did not respond to God’s.or the
Q gods’ direction, followed by their subsequent good health after
$ becoming balian, indicates that the utilization of trance-possession
2 has a highly therapeutic function to the balian as individuals. They
2 are restored to a more sustained or higher level of mental health
> than would otherwise have been the case without it.
EI The data presented in this book documented, to some extent, the
efficacy of the traditional healer’s treatments in a number of case
histories although this was not a primary aim of the study. The
4 study was not limited to Balinese clients as was shown by the:case
z histories of several Westerners treated by balian. Most of the
= Westerners observed and interviewed had a strong belief in the
a power of the healer and great confidence in his or her methods. It
a
ee ee ee nn
===PDFPAGE 235===
232 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
appears that the ‘psychological set’ of beliefs isa crucial factor:in
balian healing for both Balinese and Westerners. |» irk P
|
In this chapter, the authors have indicated the roles:of trance . |
possession in Balinese society, advanced a theory of possession,
set forth specific diagnostic criteria for possession, and specified
factors useful to differentiate trance-possession from mental condi-
tions manifesting similar phenomena, including’ hallucinations.
Although possession has been little considered in Western '‘psy-
chiatric literature and has not been in its nomenclature, it deserves t
to be professionally recognized. Dissociation is the correct term’
for the process but it is’ non-specific. The term ‘intracorporal
influence’ is suggested as a potential psychological/psychiatric
descriptive term. Trance and possession disorders are being:
recognized and are likely to be more clearly specified-in the latest
revisions of psychiatric classifications of diagnoses. - nr
Similarities drawn between MPD in the West and possession-in
Bali show that the two states are phenomenologically similar-in
many respects. However, they differ in cause; motivation, and each:
culture’s acceptance, appreciation, and control of the behaviour. A
new ‘theory of MPD is proposed: selfhypnosis or'trance with a
possession process. It extends and combines: the» extant MPD
theories of self-hypnosis and post-traumatic stress disorder,
generally secondary to child abuse. The apparent absence of MPD
in:the Balinese is related to the rarity of child abuseiand neglectin ©
the culture. Differences in the manifest behaviours, beliefs,and/or ~
symptoms of the alter personality state of MPD in Westernersand =
the possession state in the Balinese are related to differences:in: §
the!normal personality structure in the two types of culture: what 4 ;
is called unitary in Westerners and non-unitary in the Balineses
Non-unitary refers to the inclusion in the personality.of super- |
- natural ‘elements such as spirits which are manifest in-Balinese ~
identity and personhood or personality. This type of spiritis
readily accessible to the Balinese and provides ‘the culturally ap- ‘
proved and valued entities utilized in the possession state. Western ©
unitary personality is conceptualized as an entity separate from =
the supernatural and a unit from which an individual can separate; #
split off, or dissociate into identified-entities or alters as in the case
of MPD. kid
A proposed theoretical view of MPD as representing a similan
7
; \
g $4 £
TS SCS
===PDFPAGE 236===
= |
4 CONCLUSIONS 233
‘3 psychobiological process to that of Balinese possession. has implica-
; tions for the management and psychotherapy of MPD, including'a ;
clearer understanding of the mechanism of symptoms, a better
J patient insight, more efficient staff management of MPD symptoms
3 and behaviour of alter personalities, improved techniques for
ce | assisting patients to acquire the ability to terminate alter states,an
ff awareness of the need for a broader, community-wide support
a network, and a realization of the counter-therapeutic potential for
= | dissociation contagion by the therapist and his staff.
a) Trance-possession suicide-attempts revealed in the Balinese may
= | open up ‘new perspectives on and psychosocial analyses for dia-
| gnosis, psychological treatment, and prevention of suicide involving
3) dissociation in both Balinese and Westerners. | :
2 There is evidence for positive mental health functions of trance
3 and possession in the Balinese. The analyses:suggest directions
4 for further investigation in Bali, the West, and other ‘cultures.
& pelts aS ny ae ' r
4 i s) é
ti xi rie
- 1. This book concentrates on the psychological aspects of trance-possession: In
€ contrast, anthropologists (Connor, 1986) tend to focus on the ideological aspects of
a ‘rance in the culture. t's
= 2. Briefly, depersonalization is defined as a condition in which one experiences
¥ feelings of unreality or strangeness concerning either the environment, the self'or
ES both (APA, 1984: 28).
a 3. ‘The symptom of derealization is defined as a sense that one's surroundings are
i unreal. Derealization may involve a feeling that one’s home or workplace is unfamiliar,
me or a sense that friends or relatives are strange, unfamiliar, or unreal.’ (Steinberg,
SF 1991b.)
4. Connor (1986) pointed out that the communications of balan in trance are
aS generally ambiguous.
: 5. Depth of trance is a recognized phenomenon but has not yet been reliably
4s measured (Hilgard, 1977; Tart, 1972). : i
4 6. An example of possible ‘creative’ possession was that of the famous ventriloquist
e Edgar Bergen. Jean Houston reported that Bergen stated that he had no idea of
what his dummy, Charlie McCarthy, would answer in response to his questions or
= statements to him (Charlie). It was as if Bergen was possessed by Charlie who
4 spoke through him and he would have a dialogue with that possession. =
= 7. Psychiatry (APA, 1984) defines the unconscious as ‘that part of the mind or
p mental functioning of which the content is only rarely subject to awareness. It is a
+ repository for data that have never been conscious (primary repression) or that may
8 B have become conscious briefly and later repressed (secondary repression).” ~~
& The psychiatrist C.O. Young concluded after studying cases of mediumship that
By ; discarnate spirit entities were likely constructions from within the unconscious but
S| gave no explanation of how the unconscious constructed the entities (Hastings,
® 1991: 175).
4}
3 t
Ds ia F =; Pt fe ies si te Sik
ges 1 RFasi0, Set ee
ys Ee ? . Sei. Ses
363 ees " Feri Se
—$—$—$—$_——— SI ee
===PDFPAGE 237===
234 TRANCE AND POSSESSION IN BALI
8. Dissociation is defined by psychiatry as a ‘defense mechanism operating, 5 ; :
unconsciously, through which emotional significance and affect are separated and, g : ‘
detached from an idea, situation, or object’ (APA, 1984). Thoughts and feelings are not 7 ty
associated or integrated with the stream of consciousness the way that they’ :
normally are. a 34
9. E.L, Bliss (personal communication) argued that changing dissociation to self; ;
hypnotic states would have an experimental advantage since one might use hypno- : :
tizability scales to study subsets of conditions to see whether high hypnotizability. x4
correlated with such things as hallucinations, religious experiences, suicidal efforts, + 3
and acute psychotic episodes in some peopic. my c=
10. Connor (1986: 279), an anthropologist, regards ‘possession’ in terms of function’ G3
and meaning as follows: ‘It expresses attitudes to problems of dominance- 23
subordination, equality and inequality, and agency and causality in human affairs.’ In, = 4 I
other words, for the Balinese people and the balian, possession is, in Connor's view, ;
an ideology. ry y 4 ¢
11. Briefly, depersonalization is defined as ‘feelings of unreality or strangeness
concerning either the environment, the self, or both’ (APA, 1984: 28). [I
“12. The Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry HI (Kaplan, Freedman, and.
Saddock, 1980) mentions possession only in connection with biblical accounts (p. 21),) as
practices of healing in the Middle Ages (p. 38), a ‘folk cultural concept’ widely used ¢
to explain altered states of consciousness (p, 497), voodoo especially as practised in
Haiti (p. 497), and demonic possession believed by Catholic charismatics (p. 498) | a
13. Exorcism of demonic possession in Westerners by religious persons has been = p
described by Goodman (1981, 1988). The procedure involves persuasion and ritual a3 ir
and sometimes physically painful violence to the possessed person in the belief that qi Fi
the demon is treacherous and must be dealt with harshly. The ritualistic aspect and, Fr i
painful aspects of these exorcisms have parallels in balian techniques to drive out evil = T
spirits for the. purpose of curing illnesses. For example, in some cases the balian, a a
administers pressure on the finger, which produces severe pain (see Chapter 3). _; s h
"44, IGD-10 is the tenth edition of the International Classification of Diseases used ce n
by psychiatrists in a Jarge part of the world. It proposes to specify trance ant Pd cc
possession disorders as follows: ‘Disorders in which there is a temporary loss of as st
sense of personal identity and full awareness of surroundings: in some instances, x
the individual acts as if taken over by another personality, deity, or “force”.’ Attention Fe 2 al
and awareness may be limited to only one or two aspects of the immediate environ- 2
ment, postures, and utterances. Only trance disorders which are involuntary or : qa
unwanted and which intrude into the ordinary activities by occurring outside (or [by], ‘ by
being a prolongation of) religious and other culturally accepted situations should be = di
included here. i i of
Trance disorders occurring during the course of schizophrenic or acute psychoses ‘ ex
with hallucinations or delusions or multiple personality should not be included here =] ca
nor should this category be used if the trance disorder is judged to be closely of lo:
associated with any physical disorder (such as temporal lobe epilepsy or head injury) G peo
or with psychoactive substance intoxication. m3 M
It should be noted that this definition is applicable to disorders of trance with ;
possession and does not pertain to the same phenomena in normal people. In the case £ da
of the Balinese, the possession disorders involve combined trance and possession. *
15. The classification system DSM-IH-R (APA, 1987), published by the American ‘ th
Psychiatric Association, has been influential in psychiatry and psychology in the % int
United States, Europe, and widely throughout the world. DSM-IV, due for publication :
j
t
‘ 4
‘ <
\ ; i; ee
SRA co ee 2 ae Regge as
1 oe ee ee 1 TE | TE
===PDFPAGE 238===
CONCLUSIONS 235 :
3 in 1993, may include trance and possession disorder under the category of dissociative i
= disorders. The draft form is as follows: Fara a
: A. Either (1) or (2): ; Suet: !
e (1) trance, i.e, temporary alteration in the state of cons¢iousness, as evidenced
| by two of the following: Hy '
| (a) loss of customary sense of personal identity; =
3 (b) narrowing of awareness of immediate surroundings, or unusually
| narrow and selective focusing on environmental stimuli;
=| (c) stereotyped behaviors or movements that are experienced as being
=a beyond one's control. |. FIR |
ae (2) possession, i.e. conviction that the individual.has. been taken over by a
* Spirit, power, deity, or other person... ; este
4 B. The trance or possession state.is not authorized as a normal part of a collective
“. cultural or religious practice. - Fs} fafeiadisgstbede!t oy. be
: C. The trance or possession state causes significant impairment in. social: or
occupational functioning, or causes marked distress... | 4. ° itey
D. Not occurring exciusively during the course of a psychotic,disorder (including
af Mood Disorder With Psychotic Features and Brief Reactive. Psychosis) or
a Multiple Personality Disorder, and is not due to a Substance-induced Disorder
- (e.g. Substance Intoxication) or a Secondary Dissociative Disorder. be 46
Saxena and Prasad (1989) recommended that possession disorder be recognized
i as a subcategory of atypical dissociative disorder. Two new categories have been
F proposed by Steinberg (1991b), The first, transient dissociative disturbance, would
{ include ‘culturally patterned dissociative syndromes’ (Spiegel and Cardefia, 1991:
= 375) such as involuntary possession states, which result in distress or dysfunction.
« In Bali this could include bebafnan, kasurupan, amok, and possibly trance-suicide.
cy The second category, brief reactive dissociative disorder (D. Spiege}, 1991), specifies
- a definite precipitant traumatic event. So fur no dissociative disorders of this latter type
& have been identified in Bali but it seems likely the occurrence will be reported in the
= : near future. Some cases of trance-suicide (Chapter 7) and the non-pathologic
xj condition of ‘hidden by the evil spirit’ (Chapter 2) may possibly be precipitated by a
¥ stressful event.
" 16. Multiple personalities are also not thought disordered during periods when
4 alters are not manifest. They make good sense during those periods. tei
- 17. The concept of possession and MPD may be confused. For example, Allison
2 (1980) reported a case of MPD where the subject was also considered to be possessed
3 by a demon, which was exorcised by hypnosis. Conceivably this was a case of dual |
+ diagnosis, both MPD and possession disorder. Another such example was the case |
x of Karen Kingston (Pelton, 1977), a teenage girl who reportedly had 13 demons |
i exorcised by a Baptist evangelist over a three-day period. Handwriting analysis.in this
= | case indicated that the demons were distinct personalities. However, in the absence of
a i long-term follow-up of this case, it is not possible to be sure whether these
7 | possessions have disappeared completely or could have reappeared as other alters of |
E MPD.
| 18. It is notable that MPD has been found to occur in 35 per cent of exotic
: | dancers (Ross et al., 1990).
- | 19. In general, balian commonly believe that madness is a punishment given by |
= jj the gods for a mistake or that it is due to one’s karma from another life. They may
zB. interpret religious hallucinations as divine will (Connor, 1984).
4 | 20. This could be an illusion rather than a hallucination. An illusion is a
= . Bee
Wie tog ees ; as
pet te ee
I
===PDFPAGE 239===
H }
236 TRANCE AND POSSESSION UN BALI |
i misinterpretation of a real stimulus whereas a hallucination is an experience of the
senses not based on realistic stimuli. G24 asst
21. The terminology of MPD and the patients themselves often indicate separate
i| personalities, Actually, in terms of psychodynamics, alter personalities are dissociated
components of a single personality. Ross (1990) has pointed out that ‘personality is
] simply a convenient, historically sanctioned label for the dissociated’ states E
| characteristic of this disorder’. 1
1 22. An example of a case of multiple personality in an individual who was not
| identified as a patient and did not know herself that she had MPD is a 35-year-old
i] divorced woman, who, while chatting socially with Jensen’at a workshop on
| shamanism in 1992, mentioned that she was often troubled by, in her words, a
| ‘possession’ of her grandmother who takes over her and chastises her. This sensation
happens at intervals and its onset is uncontrollable. She readily acknowledged that
in recent years she had struggied considerably over her anguish at being abused as a -
child between 4 and 8 years of age. Jensen explained her ‘possession’ phenomenon
to her in terms of the classical characteristics of multiple personality disorder: She
agreed that she could have a multiple personality and felt enlightened. The next
day when Jensen enquired of her how she felt about the idea of MPD, she reported
that she was reluctant to think of herself as MPD because it might imply to others
that she was crazy. After further explanation of MPD and reassurance, she‘said that
the concept of MPD as an explanation of her experience was useful to her because
it helped her understand what was happening to her, something that was distressing
and puzzling before. She volunteered that she would like to come to peaceful terms
| with the possessions in the future. She requested to complete the DES, which Jensen 4
| mentioned to her on the previous day. Her score on the DES was 25, consistent with j
scores of MPD patients. eee ia
| 23. The personality disorders include paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal, antisocial, ;
borderline, narcissistic, avoidant, dependent. obsessive ‘compulsive, passive-ag- ‘
! gressive, and not otherwise specified disorders. ' ne :
| ‘24. Janet used the term ‘déagrégation’, translated into’ dissociation; ‘he. never S:
; recognized self-hypnotic states. | ' Pestebr ’
25. ‘Occult’ means ‘hidden’ or ‘concealed.’ Occultism basically involves’a‘belief
Hi that: (1) there are hidden or unseen forces in the universe; (2) these forces exist :
whether we acknowledge them or not; (3) these forces operate according: to ~well- :
q defined laws; (4) there is thus an overall »eaning inherent in the universe;tand (5) 3
the purpose of life has to do with fathoming that meaning and getting in:tune with 7
4 those forces (Crabtree, 1985: 232). : Bib su di
ii 26. Possession by the tromba spirit in Madagascar (Sharp, 1990: 344); was
} described similarly: *... each tromba spirit has a very distinct personality and history 4
i as well-as associated behaviors, styles of dress, food preference, and complicated
if taboos, all of which are identifiable to the trained observer once the medium has gone
, into trance.” ies i
) f 27. Based ona review of historical cases of possession and assessment of MPD, .
Crabtree (1985: 261) concluded that ‘possession involves the invasion of a person me !
1 by an entity from the outside’ and ‘multiple personality. involves the spontaneous 3 |
emergence of a personality manufactured within’. This is not entirely consistent with ae 3
i the data of possession in Balinese, which shows that possessions may be experienced ee
if as either an outside entity taking over or a nondescript power not exclusively derived Fl
i from outside the individual. Furthermore some MPD patients may experience BS
; alters as external gods, spirits, or devils. Hence, the outside/inside quality of these -— -
phenomena is not a hard-and-fast rule. ‘
i te
| oe é
i a eS g 7
===PDFPAGE 240===
CONCLUSIONS 237
28. There are as yet no generally accepted Western scientific explanations of such
psychic phenomena.
29. Both in Bali and in the West, other dissociative disorders manifested by '
paralysis, amnesia, and fugue may also last for months and’sometimes years.
~ 30. Itis well known that unethical sexual involvement of psychotherapists occurs
most commonly with patients with borderline personality disorders, in which splitting
of affects is a predominate symptom. A case of unethical sexual involvement by a
prominent psychiatrist with an MPD patient was reported in Psychiatric News
(March 1992).
31. Amytal is a fast-acting barbiturate (sedative) administered intravenously under 5
highly controlled conditions, which relaxes patients and facilitates their expression of
feelings and conflicts.
32. Similarly, depersonalization disorders and associated panic/anxiety have been
successfully treated by .a process of ‘symbolic hcaling—that is changing the meanings
associated in the minds of the patients so it is congruent, understandable, and
acceptable within the cognitive and culture syntonic myths, beliefs, and concepts of
the society or group’ (Castillo, 1990).
,
/
ml Log - ‘ fs
We Wis 5; . Y
ee See — ere yi
Se eh ite A ais. feus
5 Pas pa : oe ges
oe EEEEEIEEEIEISEEEIEISSSSSISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSESNLILI SRNR 1.