There is a Somali girl. Let us call her Suubban. She could be residing in the Somali countryside, the miyi, some town in any Somali inhabited territory, or even the diaspora.
She could be newly married or still unmarried. She is beautiful in the classical Somali way, dark skinned, winsome eyes, dark lips concealing a sparkling white set of teeth, seen in coquettish smiles during happier days.
These days, Suubban is surrounded by all manner of people, her female relatives, a diviner, a sheikh and others who have come to support the young beauty. For she is possessed of a spirit. A rooxaan, mingis,boorane,saar,sharax,luumbi,waddado or any other spirit in the pantheon of Somali spirits. Her hair is wild, she speaks in tongues, she twists and turns. The diviner has some answers, and makes some offerings of jewels, perfumes, victuals to appease the spirit. The sheikh offers Quranic verses, cashar, amulets to appease the spirit. In due course, Suubban is cured of this malady and returns to her matrimonial home , if married or is soon betrothed to a Somali brave.The world of magic and spirits has retreated, at least for now.
Let's rewind a bit and go back to the seance session. A Somali scientist, let's call him Suubbane joins the motely crew in trying to determine what ails Suuban, and how to cure her of this malady. He asks to see the spirit tormenting the girl, only to be told it's invisble. He offers to use an infra red sensor to to detect the spirit, which is made out of fire, but is told that this invisible fire is heat less. Every physical test he offers to conduct is met with the same answer, your scientific tests cannot detect the spirit.
Suubbane comes to the conclusion that a being or spirit that cannot be physically detected by a battery of scientific tests, probably doesn't exist at all.
What is the evidence here that Suubban is possessed by a spirit. Apart from her wild hair and alternating voice, which could point to several other things,Suubbane is being asked to believe that Suubban is possessed because she says so, and the crowd at her possession also believe that she is possessed. It all boils down to belief. And because a large number of people, who are sane, normal, intelligent people believe it to be true, then it must be true, despite the absence of any physical evidence.
The only way these sane people will believe that Suubban is possessed is if they abandon scepticism, if they become willing collaborators in magic. For there is no magic without a willing audience, an audience that is will to abandon sense and reason. The magic stops the minute the audience refuses to cooperate with the magician.
The magician, the diviner, the sheikhs will tell you that her is no physical explanation to these kind of phenomenon. This is the world of spirits. And it is only they who are the bridge between the physical world and the spiritual world.
How does Suubbane explain what ails Suubban ? Is she having hallucinations as a result of sensory deprivation, drugs, illness, fever, lack of sleep etc. Maybe the clue lies in her youth. She is a hot, young, nubile girl, ready for marriage or newly married. She is in love, maybe with a particular boy, or just any young men. She spends sleepless night pining for this boy. The sexual tension builds up. She starts hallucinating, she has had sleepless nights. The rooxaan provides a convenient explanation that is socially acceptable. All the sane members of society collaborate to treat Suubban. When she is finally married off, all her symptoms dramatically subside. She is cured.
It may sound improbable as an explanation. But Suubbane is a trained scientist. He has seen mass hysteria in girls secondary school, sometimes attributed to Satan or some other spirit. He has some idea that raging hormones may be more responsible for this phenomenon than any denizen of the spirit world. Social scientists accept that these kinds of phenomenon, and the interventions by mediums, shamans, diviners, sheiks etc , play an important role in mitigating these kinds of tensions and enhancing social cohesiveness.There may be no scientific explanation, but most societies will accept and adopt these untestable ideas and use these rituals to enforce social harmony.
The challenge in this tale is how do we foster critical thinking, so that beliefs and rituals that may harm society or impede their progress are challenged and new constructive paradigms are established. It's always good to keep an open mind, without being extreme.
She could be newly married or still unmarried. She is beautiful in the classical Somali way, dark skinned, winsome eyes, dark lips concealing a sparkling white set of teeth, seen in coquettish smiles during happier days.
These days, Suubban is surrounded by all manner of people, her female relatives, a diviner, a sheikh and others who have come to support the young beauty. For she is possessed of a spirit. A rooxaan, mingis,boorane,saar,sharax,luumbi,waddado or any other spirit in the pantheon of Somali spirits. Her hair is wild, she speaks in tongues, she twists and turns. The diviner has some answers, and makes some offerings of jewels, perfumes, victuals to appease the spirit. The sheikh offers Quranic verses, cashar, amulets to appease the spirit. In due course, Suubban is cured of this malady and returns to her matrimonial home , if married or is soon betrothed to a Somali brave.The world of magic and spirits has retreated, at least for now.
Let's rewind a bit and go back to the seance session. A Somali scientist, let's call him Suubbane joins the motely crew in trying to determine what ails Suuban, and how to cure her of this malady. He asks to see the spirit tormenting the girl, only to be told it's invisble. He offers to use an infra red sensor to to detect the spirit, which is made out of fire, but is told that this invisible fire is heat less. Every physical test he offers to conduct is met with the same answer, your scientific tests cannot detect the spirit.
Suubbane comes to the conclusion that a being or spirit that cannot be physically detected by a battery of scientific tests, probably doesn't exist at all.
What is the evidence here that Suubban is possessed by a spirit. Apart from her wild hair and alternating voice, which could point to several other things,Suubbane is being asked to believe that Suubban is possessed because she says so, and the crowd at her possession also believe that she is possessed. It all boils down to belief. And because a large number of people, who are sane, normal, intelligent people believe it to be true, then it must be true, despite the absence of any physical evidence.
The only way these sane people will believe that Suubban is possessed is if they abandon scepticism, if they become willing collaborators in magic. For there is no magic without a willing audience, an audience that is will to abandon sense and reason. The magic stops the minute the audience refuses to cooperate with the magician.
The magician, the diviner, the sheikhs will tell you that her is no physical explanation to these kind of phenomenon. This is the world of spirits. And it is only they who are the bridge between the physical world and the spiritual world.
How does Suubbane explain what ails Suubban ? Is she having hallucinations as a result of sensory deprivation, drugs, illness, fever, lack of sleep etc. Maybe the clue lies in her youth. She is a hot, young, nubile girl, ready for marriage or newly married. She is in love, maybe with a particular boy, or just any young men. She spends sleepless night pining for this boy. The sexual tension builds up. She starts hallucinating, she has had sleepless nights. The rooxaan provides a convenient explanation that is socially acceptable. All the sane members of society collaborate to treat Suubban. When she is finally married off, all her symptoms dramatically subside. She is cured.
It may sound improbable as an explanation. But Suubbane is a trained scientist. He has seen mass hysteria in girls secondary school, sometimes attributed to Satan or some other spirit. He has some idea that raging hormones may be more responsible for this phenomenon than any denizen of the spirit world. Social scientists accept that these kinds of phenomenon, and the interventions by mediums, shamans, diviners, sheiks etc , play an important role in mitigating these kinds of tensions and enhancing social cohesiveness.There may be no scientific explanation, but most societies will accept and adopt these untestable ideas and use these rituals to enforce social harmony.
The challenge in this tale is how do we foster critical thinking, so that beliefs and rituals that may harm society or impede their progress are challenged and new constructive paradigms are established. It's always good to keep an open mind, without being extreme.
