Symbols of Possession: A Study of Movement and Regalia in an Anago-Yoruba Ceremony

The phenomenon of spirit possession exists throughout Africa and many other parts of the world. Recent studies view possession as a performance, concentrating on the manner in which mediums become possessed and a description of the ensuing action. The following study of the Ondo ceremony of the Anago-Yoruba in Dahomey, while concerned with this, focuses more specifically on the numerous symbolic references to possession within the dramatic framework. Possession cannot be meaningfully discussed solely as a state of dissociation. As a performance it is made up of complex arrangements of symbols—visual, aural, and kinetic. The combination forms the reality of possession as witnessed by the audience. An examination of each element in the ritual complex deepens one's understanding of the others and of the whole. Dance specialists, particularly those analyzing dance cross-culturally, should be sensitive to all contextual elements in order to perceive patterns of thought and philosophical ideas expressed kinetically. This paper considers a number of crucial ritual elements: first, imagery in oral tradition, which reveals the personalities of the gods involved in the ritual; second, shrine architecture and priestly regalia, which symbolizes man's relationship to the divine; and third, the possession dance, which unifies the vast array of references to possession in time and space.